Zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, sea world, nature centers, personal pets, we encounter animals around us all the time. Many of the wild animals we encounter today (especially in zoos and aquariums) are bred in captivity, rather than collected from the wild. Animals have a host of needs that must be met in captivity. If the […]
Using Shaping to Teach New Behaviors
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 […]
Stimulus Control and the Do Nots
As I’ve talked about before, cues are powerful only if we can get them under stimulus control. (What is stimulus control?) The animal must be able to distinguish between a variety of different cues, know which behavior goes with which cue and know not to perform the behaviors unless the cue is given. I’ve […]
The Four Quadrants of Training
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 […]
Training Tips: Improving Cues with Limited Holds
How do we increase response time to our cues and requests? Say we ask our dog to sit. The dog sits, but she takes her time and waits several seconds before sitting. We can reduce the time interval between when the cue is given and when the animal responds by using what is called a […]
Drill Team Dressage and Unicycles
Putting on a drill pattern with 10 girls long-lining 10 ponies would be tough enough. Now, how about doing it with all 10 girls riding unicyles! These girls have a bunch of talent and they also have some very well behaved, well trained ponies. Riding a unicyle is hard enough, I would think it would […]