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This page is still under construction. I'm adding info here in no
particular order at this stage!
Q. What's the difference between bribing with food
and using food rewards as positive reinforcement?
A bribe PRECEDES and INDUCES behavior. Reinforcement FOLLOWS and
STRENGTHENS a behavior. They are not the same thing at all, though
obviously a treat can be used as inducement (thanks to Morgan Spector for this
concise explanation!)
Q. Why isn't clicker training on Oprah?
A. Fortunately there is now some coverage of positive methods on TV
with shows like "It's Me or the Dog" and "Harry's Practice", but traditional
dominance and correction based training is still being promoted as the
way to go with dogs. The situation is even worse for horse training! The
above link explains why.
Q. Why don't we use this approach with people?
A. We can! And many people already do, without knowing it. These are the
people who were your favourite teachers at school as a kid, or a boss,
supervisor or company manager you enjoy working with as an adult. You
probably know some friends you can count on and who are easy to get
along with while not being pushovers.
To join a discussion group about using CT in everyday life, go to
tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ClickerLiving/
For information about positive parenting, have a look at
groups.yahoo.com/group/ClickaKid/
and
www.extension.umn.edu/specializations/youthdevelopment/DA6141.html
For further information about using CT in gymnastics and various other
sports, see www.tagteach.com
What about teaching kids at school?
Clicker training your spouse (good luck - in my experience human males
can be difficult to train but some women have had success...!)
Q. Does the animal need to be hungry in order for
food rewards to work?
NO! Generally (and there can be exceptions depending on the situation
and the species) we do NOT work with hungry animals. A hungry animal
will be stressed and frustrated if it knows you have food and are
witholding it. Depending on the species, (esp large animals), these
emotions can result in behaviour dangerous to humans, namely crowding
and biting but also a negative attitude toward training sessions.
Hunger puts detrimental pressure on training. No one can concentrate
and learn if they are preoccupied with hunger.
Food treats are used to add value or meaning to the bridging signal (the
click). Food has a positive meaning to all animals and eating is associated
with pleasure, security and relaxation. We do not want to use it in any
other context.
To set yourself and the animal up for success, make sure your trainee has
been fed sufficiently in advance before beginning a training session. By
the same token, animals should never be overly satiated either. (Owners
of horses who are good doers on perpetual diets will tear their hair trying
to balance this - I know how you feel!)
Note that the food treats used in training are very small and the sessions
are generally short. Generally, a training session will not satiate the
animal. If you end up using large quantities of food in training (depending
on the species), you will need to reduce the size of ordinary meals
accordingly.
Positive behavioural training is not about the food - it is about the
communication offered by the bridge (click). It is not even necessary to use
food rewards all the time.
Q Aren't most animals, especially horses and dogs,
hungry all the time? And what about animals that are
just greedy?
The digestive systems of grazing animals are structured to ingest
small amounts of food almost constantly over a long period of time.
Horses in particular have a relatively small stomach in relation to
total body size and energy needs. In order to ingest enough food for
their needs, the desire to eat is present most of the time. This is not
the same thing as hunger caused by lack of food for a lengthy
period of time.
The digestive systems of carnivorous animals are much shorter,
structured to take in large meals more infrequently. Satiation occurs
occasionally but not usually. Therefore dogs are usually ready to eat
at any time the opportunity may arise. Again, this is not the same
thing as hunger caused by lack of food for a lengthy period of time.
Hunger may be extreme, as in the case of starving animals, or
moderate, as in the case of animals due for a meal. In both cases
there is discomfort. Obviously extreme hunger must be addressed
before any training can or should take place, from a purely ethical
and humane point of view. However, we should also avoid working
with animals even in moderate hunger, especially if the trainer is
novice and the animal is inclined to be pushy.
Some animals are clearly getting enough to eat (and may be
overweight) but will still eagerly eat any food on offer. (They tend to
get nicknames like "Garbage Guts", "Porky Pig" or "Vaccuum
Cleaner".) Greedy animals are extremely motivated by food and can
be the easiest to train. It is particularly important to train good
manners around food with greedy animals.
The best way to use food treats with greedy and/or overweight
animals who have restricted diets and therefore tend to be hungrier
than usual, is to feed their usual ration shortly before you train
(giving enough time for them to digest it) or give them a larger but
low calorie meal in advance of the training session.
particular order at this stage!
Q. What's the difference between bribing with food
and using food rewards as positive reinforcement?
A bribe PRECEDES and INDUCES behavior. Reinforcement FOLLOWS and
STRENGTHENS a behavior. They are not the same thing at all, though
obviously a treat can be used as inducement (thanks to Morgan Spector for this
concise explanation!)
Q. Why isn't clicker training on Oprah?
A. Fortunately there is now some coverage of positive methods on TV
with shows like "It's Me or the Dog" and "Harry's Practice", but traditional
dominance and correction based training is still being promoted as the
way to go with dogs. The situation is even worse for horse training! The
above link explains why.
Q. Why don't we use this approach with people?
A. We can! And many people already do, without knowing it. These are the
people who were your favourite teachers at school as a kid, or a boss,
supervisor or company manager you enjoy working with as an adult. You
probably know some friends you can count on and who are easy to get
along with while not being pushovers.
To join a discussion group about using CT in everyday life, go to
tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ClickerLiving/
For information about positive parenting, have a look at
groups.yahoo.com/group/ClickaKid/
and
www.extension.umn.edu/specializations/youthdevelopment/DA6141.html
For further information about using CT in gymnastics and various other
sports, see www.tagteach.com
What about teaching kids at school?
Clicker training your spouse (good luck - in my experience human males
can be difficult to train but some women have had success...!)
Q. Does the animal need to be hungry in order for
food rewards to work?
NO! Generally (and there can be exceptions depending on the situation
and the species) we do NOT work with hungry animals. A hungry animal
will be stressed and frustrated if it knows you have food and are
witholding it. Depending on the species, (esp large animals), these
emotions can result in behaviour dangerous to humans, namely crowding
and biting but also a negative attitude toward training sessions.
Hunger puts detrimental pressure on training. No one can concentrate
and learn if they are preoccupied with hunger.
Food treats are used to add value or meaning to the bridging signal (the
click). Food has a positive meaning to all animals and eating is associated
with pleasure, security and relaxation. We do not want to use it in any
other context.
To set yourself and the animal up for success, make sure your trainee has
been fed sufficiently in advance before beginning a training session. By
the same token, animals should never be overly satiated either. (Owners
of horses who are good doers on perpetual diets will tear their hair trying
to balance this - I know how you feel!)
Note that the food treats used in training are very small and the sessions
are generally short. Generally, a training session will not satiate the
animal. If you end up using large quantities of food in training (depending
on the species), you will need to reduce the size of ordinary meals
accordingly.
Positive behavioural training is not about the food - it is about the
communication offered by the bridge (click). It is not even necessary to use
food rewards all the time.
Q Aren't most animals, especially horses and dogs,
hungry all the time? And what about animals that are
just greedy?
The digestive systems of grazing animals are structured to ingest
small amounts of food almost constantly over a long period of time.
Horses in particular have a relatively small stomach in relation to
total body size and energy needs. In order to ingest enough food for
their needs, the desire to eat is present most of the time. This is not
the same thing as hunger caused by lack of food for a lengthy
period of time.
The digestive systems of carnivorous animals are much shorter,
structured to take in large meals more infrequently. Satiation occurs
occasionally but not usually. Therefore dogs are usually ready to eat
at any time the opportunity may arise. Again, this is not the same
thing as hunger caused by lack of food for a lengthy period of time.
Hunger may be extreme, as in the case of starving animals, or
moderate, as in the case of animals due for a meal. In both cases
there is discomfort. Obviously extreme hunger must be addressed
before any training can or should take place, from a purely ethical
and humane point of view. However, we should also avoid working
with animals even in moderate hunger, especially if the trainer is
novice and the animal is inclined to be pushy.
Some animals are clearly getting enough to eat (and may be
overweight) but will still eagerly eat any food on offer. (They tend to
get nicknames like "Garbage Guts", "Porky Pig" or "Vaccuum
Cleaner".) Greedy animals are extremely motivated by food and can
be the easiest to train. It is particularly important to train good
manners around food with greedy animals.
The best way to use food treats with greedy and/or overweight
animals who have restricted diets and therefore tend to be hungrier
than usual, is to feed their usual ration shortly before you train
(giving enough time for them to digest it) or give them a larger but
low calorie meal in advance of the training session.
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