I’m nearing the end of a series of posts on the 2010 Art and Science of Animal Training Conference. This post is some of my thoughts on the presentation by the second speaker, and one of my favorites, Bob Bailey. Bob Bailey is well known through out the dog training world for his infamous chicken […]
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Clicker Training Shoulder Targeting
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 […]
Dr. Robert Epstein: Engineering Complex and Novel Behavior in Animals
Robert Epstein was the keynote speaker for the Art and Science of Animal Training conference this year. (Be sure to read the rest of my notes from the conference as well.) Epstein, who was the last student of B.F. Skinner, researches the creativity process and how novel behavior develops. All behavior, in some sense, is […]
Are You Having Fun Yet? (video)
Horse training (or dog training, parrot training, fish training, etc.) should be fun. Let me repeat, training an animal should be fun and enjoyable for both you and the animal! So, are you having fun yet? And is your horse or dog having the same amount of fun? Many times we say an animal (or […]
Alex and Me: Our Knowledge of Animal Intelligence
I recently finished reading Irene Pepperburg’s most recent book, Alex and Me. When Irene Pepperburg first started working with Alex, many people scoffed and laughed at her. Parrots were thought of as “bird brains.” While it might be possible to teach them to repeat back answers to simple questions, the bird wasn’t actually “thinking” or […]