13 Animal Training

Question 1

How animals (including us) learn (3)

Answer 1

1. Innate (instinct and habituation)
2. Latent/Exploratory Learning
3. Associative learning (conditioning)

Question 2

Instinct learning

Answer 2

usually related to hunting, finding a mate or territorial behaviour; under normal circumstances, the learning occurs during play with littermates

-tracking scent, catching mice

Question 3

latent/exploratory learning

Answer 3

involves making associations without immediate reinforcement/reward
- allows it to learn about it’s surrounding as it explores (door, bowl)

Question 4

Conditioning (2)

Answer 4

1. classical conditioning (learning to recognize)

2. Operant conditioning (learning to respond)

Question 5

Classical conditioning and example

Answer 5

associates an involuntary response and a stimuli (creates meaning in an unconditioned stimulus; bridging)
example: clicker training; click=treat, eventually the sound of click may become rewarding (need perfect timing)

Question 6

Operant training

Answer 6

forms association between a behavior and a consequence; focuses on either using reinforcement/punishment to increase/decrease a behavior
* consequences have to be immediate/ clearly linked to the behavior

Question 7

Operant training: consequences to any behavior (4)

Answer 7

1. something good can start/be presented
2. something good can end/taken away
3. something bad can start/be presented
4. something bad can end/be taken away

Question 8

superstitious behaviors

Answer 8

common in horses and dogs, where if they do one thing and do smth else and get rewarded for the first thing, they might think it’s the combination of both that got them the reward

Question 9

shaping and example

Answer 9

specific behaviors are more likely to exist on a gradual, continuous scale; must gradually shape behavior until ideal form is displayed

eg if want cat on the mat, start by rewarding when cat even looks at the mat; gradually work towards it (one step, two steps)
dont give too much rewards in the early stage but give jackpot in the end

Question 10

shaping: guidelines

Answer 10

• only reward behavior if it’s closer to ideal than previous
• always look for improvement; too much reward may fix less than ideal behavioural form
• lowest step will be the simplest version or the very first piece of it; reinforce successive approximations
• the moment they understand it, do it more times then level up

Question 11

Positive vs negative

Answer 11

+: something added

-: something taken away,

Question 12

Reinforcement vs punishment

Answer 12

R: anything to increase behavior
P: anything to decrease a behavior

Question 13

Training examples

Answer 13

1. +Reinforcement: dog gets a treat sitting
2. +Punishment: dog squirted with citronella when barks
3. -Reinforcement: trainer takes off pressure once dog lays down
4. -Punishment: dog put on a leash and taken from the park for coming to the owner when called
   * Not all positive is good and not all negative is bad

Question 14

Motivation for training

Answer 14

• what motivates one animal will not motivate another; trainers need to understand what the motivators are for the particular animal they are working with
• most trainers expect the animals to fit in with the motivation they use (eg tug toy) and dismiss an animal thats not motivated to work with their motivator

Question 15

Caution for motivation

Answer 15

• should be seen as payment for a job done
• each animal has a different pay scale, some requires more than others; up to the trainer to know what the individual animals pay scale is
• how much you give will keep their motivation going but must strike balance and keep them interested and not full (wont be interested anymore)

Question 16

Types of motivation/reward (4)

Answer 16

1. toys
2. food
3. game, body contact (pat)
4. relaxing in body posture (removing stimulus/relief)
   * may also depend on daily preference, switch it up

Question 17

Timing and ratio of rewards to behavior and example

Answer 17

the more irregular the pattern of the reward, the harder it is to extinguish the behavior
eg an animal used to getting a reward on a variable ratio/interval will carry on performing the behavior compared to one used to frequent reward

Question 18

Why is variable rate/ratio better?

Answer 18

doing the behavior becomes addictive; if they keep doing it, reward will come eventually

Question 19

Intrinsic rewards

Answer 19

-those that originate from within the dog; related to feeling good (usually)
-often stronger than extrinsic
eg, happy feeling when postman drives off and he barks, excitement of chasing bird

Question 20

Downside of intrinsic rewards

Answer 20

difficult to get rid of, eg chasing a bird) bc the action itself is rewarding (even more rewarding than treats)
-punishing them for something self rewarding will not work

Question 21

Extrinsic rewards

Answer 21

-those that originate form something beyond the dog; physically given for performing an action or behavior

eg giving the dog a treat for sitting, removing lead after dog has pulled you to the park

Question 22

Breed specific training and reward (3)

Answer 22

• dog that has been bred to herd (collies) may prefer to chase a ball rather than a game of tug
• lap (spaniel) might prefer food/pats to playing with ball
• dog that is bred for biting and killing (terrier) might prefer a game of tug to food

Question 23

Why is breed specific training important?

Answer 23

problems arise when people dont understand the needs of their dogs
- people often try to mould a dog to needs but instinct will usually override training

Question 24

Reward vs motivation

Answer 24

Motivation comes before the action; what drives the dog to take action or perform the behavior

Reward comes after the action; what the dog gets from taking the action or performing the behavior

Question 25

Dog motivators are: (4)

Answer 25

1. breed specific
2. age specific (most get more food motivated when they get older)
3. environment specific
4. past experience may affect ability to learn

Question 26

Appetitive vs aversive stimuli

Answer 26

• appetitive stimuli is something the dog finds pleasing (food, toys, play body contact)
• aversive stimulus is something the dog finds unpleasing (collar jerk, social isolation)

Question 27

Rewards in terms of appetitive and aversive stimuli

Answer 27

a reward can be purely appetitive or can be relief from something the dog finds aversive

Question 28

importance of engagement

Answer 28

engagement: dog WANTS to be with you and wants what you have (toy, food)
- if dont have engagement, how to train?
- when you try to force something, you will always be met with resistance