Part of our job as animal trainers and consultants is to support people on their way to become skilled trainers. Working with trainers of all levels and animals of various species for more than 15 years has allowed us to observe the development of positive reinforcement-based training, especially in Europe. While Read more…
In a modern zoo, exhibits are built with the species specific requirements in mind, and designed as close to wild and natural. There are many exhibits that look extraordinarily beautiful on the surface, but often we, and the visiting public, don’t think about the animals thoughts and feelings towards their Read more…
There are many reasons to use reinforcement over punishment. Easier said than done one may think, but the idea relies on ones observations. If you need to use forceful methods to reach a particular goal, you may be counter productive towards the goals you want to reach, or at least Read more…
Mixed species exhibits are regularly found in modern zoos worldwide. When done correctly they can look stunningly beautiful and have a range of benefits. Having visited a fair amount of zoos it’s fascinating to see how and what zoos have put together. Often to give a more natural look to Read more…
Eduardo J. Fernandez, a behavioural psychologist, and I discuss the differences between capturing behaviours and superstitious behaviours. Capturing behaviour is when you spontaneously reinforce behaviour the animal you work with shows. For example if you want to teach the animal to make a vocal sound and there is a moment the Read more…
As animal care professionals we talk a lot about the relationships we have with the animals we care for. All of us would say that we have strong positive relationships with certain animals. Many keepers value the relationships they have with those animals and draw parallels with close friends, family Read more…
Animal training is evolving all the time and we have to keep ourselves open to any and all options that will help the animals we work with learn. There are many techniques we can use, some better than others but the focus should always be on the animal. Some of Read more…
Cover Photo: Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand Might be thought provoking but that’s what we are all about! Positive reinforcement training is all about focusing on the behaviours the animal does correctly. Through successive approximation plans we try to assure the animal will not make any mis-movements. Adding a motivation strategy Read more…
Cover Photo Credit: AnimalTrainingCenter, Austria Whether you’re working on a voluntary mouth open, an ultrasound, or perhaps conditioning a blood sample with the tiger or rectal exam with elephants. All of these behaviours have one thing in common, and that is the duration of the behaviour. We have all trained Read more…
How do you move an animal from an enclosure to the other? From a backstage are to a presentation area? To the veterinarian or to another zoo? A transport box would be the answer. But how do you train such a behaviour is a question we often get here at Read more…
