Have you seen Lili Chin’s latest poster?
It’s inspired by this great quote from Ted Turner (behaviorist and head trainer at Sea World):
“If you can teach a whale to pee in a cup, you can train your dog without punishment.”
The illustration features twelve great examples of wild animals who have been trained to do extraordinary tasks without any use of force or punishment. (For even more examples, see my post from earlier this year, Clicker training goes to the zoo.)
I was privileged to get to see some of the early drafts of this poster and offer suggestions and feedback. Lili hopes that this illustration will inspire pet owners to use gentle, humane, force-free animal training methods. You can read more about the poster on Lili’s website and even buy your very own copy!
This is fantastic! I love the simple line about “if we can train a whale to pee in a cup…”. That’s a perfect analogy that I can use for my clients.
So glad that you liked it, Jennifer!
What kinds of clients do you work with?
cheers,
Mary
Very impactful and so true! Too bad so many people are still resorting to old school methods of punishing for bad behavior instead of rewarding for good!
I agree! Hopefully Lili’s poster will get some of the more traditional minded folks thinking about trying out new ways of training.
~Mary
Love it! I am going to share this for sure!
Yes, definitely feel free to share! This is one illustration that I think everyone who works with animals should see.
Also, if you check out the link to Lili’s site, she has references for where each of these animals was trained, which is pretty cool.
cheers,
Mary
A beautiful poster and a beautiful message! Plus, I would add that we should be able to raise our children without spankings and with positive reinforcement.
I agree! If we can train lions and giraffes without force or punishment, then surely we should be able to teach people without force or punishment.
~Mary
I want this on a t-shirt… something everyone should see. Don’t think it’d go down too well around here though (*very* traditional rural area)
Hi Kate,
Lili is selling the posters through zazzle. I bet that if you wanted a t-shirt (or mug, tote bag, etc.) that she might be willing to offer this, as zazzle makes it super easy to offer other products with the same illustration.
I hear you, though, that not all people might “get it.” Still, could lead to some good ways to start conversations about positive training. 🙂
cheers,
Mary
Great message and everyone should know this as second nature!
Fantastic! (and really cute illustrations). Thanks for spreading the word, Mary. I just linked to this post from my book blog.
-Susan Schneider (www.scienceofconsequences.com)
I’m glad you liked it, Susan!
Thanks for the link. 🙂
cheers,
Mary
Thank you so much, Susan! I have just ordered your book! – Lili