A while back I had the absolute pleasure of putting together and presenting a webinar for the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) on crate/trailer loading.
So, I thought I would share with you some of the videos we covered in this class! With the three main topics being:
- Benefits to training your animal to willingly go into their crate/trailer
- Suggested steps to increase success
- Problem solving tools.
There are many benefits to crate/trailer loading your animals and for me this is a foundation behavior. Watch the video below to learn about foundational behaviors and their benefits.
You can help set yourself up for success by maximising your reinforcers when training your animal to load into a crate/trailer! This includes giving your animal increased control with the ability to leave when/if it wants and as possible. You can see how this is implemented in the video example below with Molly the owl.
It’s also really valuable to have a shaping plan in place tailored to suit your individual animal. Watch this in action below with Devey the brush tail possum.
The above video is actually a paid lesson out of the Clicker Training Fundamentals course available within the ATA premium membership.
NOTE: If you want to get access to the entire Clicker Training Fundamentals course work you can do so via the ATA membership. Follow the link to get your exclusive trial membership and gain access today! >>> https://www.animaltrainingacademy.com/2019-membership-trial/
Finally when it comes to problem solving – creativity is really important!
Check out this video of Kim Archer – at the time working at Brooklands Zoo, Taranaki, New Zealand. Kim trains 3 meerkats at the same time in a super creative way.
Training your animal to voluntarily enter a crate is just one part of the training program, there are many more steps to get the animal comfortable with the crate/trailer. One of the biggest approximations is them being transported between locations.
See this blog post of voluntarily trailer loading a horse that includes video of the animals first bit of movement in the trailer >>> bit.ly/ATA_Trailor_loading
What ideas could we potentially add to this great training in this blog post to set the horse up for success even more?
I’m looking forward to everyone’s thoughts and feelings and please feel free to leave them all in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you.
Best Regards
Ryan Cartlidge
Animal Training Academy
P.s Currently I am working on some duration training in a crate with my dog Fibi as she is going to need this when her and I do our practical examination for the Karen Pryor professional dog training certification that I started this week.
To do this I have utilised a manners minders remote feeder and a Wyze brand digital camera so I can watch Fibi on my phone whilst I leave the room. See below.
Leave a Reply