I’ve been getting ready for our next animal training and behavior analysis science camp, which is happening this weekend. I’m looking forward to spending three days with Alexandra Kurland, Dr. Michaela Hempen, Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz, Anita Schnee, and what I know will be a wonderful group of attendees. I’ll be giving a presentation about the […]
Last week, I wrote about how I learn the names of the students in my undergraduate class. This week, I’d like to share some thoughts with you about how my students learn my name. This may seem like it should be pretty easy for the students. However, for some of my students, I’ve realized that […]
My friend Aimee, who blogs over at mymegaedog, does herding training with her German shepherd dog Shelby. She trains all her dogs using positive reinforcement. Unfortunately, most herding trainers still use pretty aversive training methods, including lots of punishment and other tactics designed to scare, force, and intimidate the dogs. Even more unfortunate, as Aimee […]
Have you heard about clicker training? Clicker training is one of the fastest growing training methods because people who try clicker training find that their animals love it. Clicker training is a reward based training system that uses a special signal to tell the animal “Yes! That’s right!” In this article, you’ll learn all about […]
These are my notes from some of the lectures I attended at the 38th annual convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, which I attended in May. I attended a lecture by Cloyd Hyten which focused on the use of punishment by large businesses and corporations, especially when trying to enforce safety rules. Interestingly, […]
Have some reading time? Here’s a great and thorough look at the four quadrants of training (positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment) written by Katie Bartlett, an equine clicker trainer. Many of her examples deal with horses, but the theory and philosophy applies to much more than just horses. The article can be […]
