The great outdoors can be a scary place! Autumn and I have started going for walks around the yard, which I wrote a bit about here. We’re encountering all sorts of strange sights, sounds, smells, textures, and noises. Some of these new objects can seem like monsters to a horse, especially once they’ve left the […]
I often think of targeting as a simple exercise. It’s one of the first skills I teach the horses when clicker training and it works great for teaching other behaviors. Usually, I think of targeting as a dog or horse touching their nose to something. However, there are many different ways to expand on targeting […]
Well, jump isn’t perhaps the right word, as it implies a major exertion of energy. However, he was pretty interested in them, especially once he learned I’d reward him for interacting with the barrels with a click and a treat. First, Shiloh nudged the barrel with his nose a few times. This evolved to licking […]
I played just a bit this afternoon with the Mountain Coati at the Heard Museum. Coatis, which are close relatives of the raccoon, are found in South America and some parts of South Texas. This coati was a gregarious, agreeable sort of fellow, similar to most raccoons that I’ve met. We mainly worked on a […]
Eighteen month old Tootie is super smart, but also a super mugger when it comes to treats. I stopped working with him last Spring because I didn’t really have the skills to keep up with him (or his teeth!). We recently had our first clicker session in months. I kept him behind a barrier so […]
Shaping is a powerful way to build behavior. Animals who understand shaping truly understand that they can control their environment and that their behavior earns them rewards. This is different from training with coercive methods (punishment, negative reinforcement) where the animal learns to perform or offer behaviors only to avoid the correction or get rid […]
