There may be situations where you’re having a challenging time hand feeding an animal. For example, you might risk being bitten. This was initially the case when training Devey the Brush Tail Possum. You can see Devey in this lessons video. The video shows some very early stages of his training. Due to his management at the time we had prioritised the behavior of him voluntarily enter his crate. This however posed a challenge with regards to successfully delivering him his reinforcement.
You can see in the video that we overcame this by placing his food in plastic milk bottle caps. We combined this with the use of a clicker. So when Devey exhibited desirable behavior we clicked and then placed the plastic lid (with food inside) on some shelving. Devey quickly learned that this was how his reinforcement was going to be delivered. It therefore allowed us to easily avoid the possibility of him trying to bite. You can also see that later in the video I am able to hand feed Devey through the mesh door of his crate.
HAND FEEDING CHALLENGES
My time working with Devey unfortunately ended before we got to the stage of training him to hand feed from everyone without having to use the bottle caps or the mesh door. To do this we would have used positive reinforcement to shape Devey towards taking food from the hand in a more desirable fashion. You will learn more about shaping in the following three lessons.
In this situation the clicker really came in handy. Firstly as we learnt in lesson 7/A, one of the pros of the clicker is it’s unique, clear, distinct, sharp and universal sound. Secondly as we learnt in the last lesson it can help communicate to our animals when they might not be able to see us. We combined these qualities with the technique of feeding Devey in the milk bottle lids. As you can see we got results.
- Clicker Training Fundamentals (Course material) Module
- Lesson 1 – Clicker Training Course Lesson
This lesson is a quick welcome and introduction to the course. It includes the clicker training challenge.
- LESSON 1 – Clicker training course – QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 2 – Clicker Training Basics Lesson
In this lesson you will learn about the scientific meaning of reinforcement and punishment using examples.
- LESSON 2 – Clicker training basics – QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 3 – Reinforcement Categories. Lesson
This lesson is focused on understanding how the clicker works as a reinforcer for your animal.
- LESSON 3 – Reinforcement categories. QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 4 – Pairing Secondary Reinforcers Lesson
In this lesson we learn how we are going to start pairing the clicker with food.
- LESSON 4 – pairing secondary reinforcers. QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 5 – Starting clicker training. Lesson
We have learnt all about reinforcement now its time to start training!
- LESSON 5 – Starting Clicker training. QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 6 – Clicker Training is like signing a contract. Lesson
This lesson teaches about viewing the clicker as a contract between you and your animal.
- LESSON 6 – Clicker Training is like signing a contract. QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 7/A – Why use a clicker. Lesson
In this lesson we go over two alternatives to the clicker. A whistle and using your voice. We compare the pros and cons of these alternatives.
- LESSON 7/A – Why use a clicker. QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 7/B – When to use Clicker Training Lesson
In this lesson we examine some training situations where clicker training can be really beneficial.
- LESSON 7/B – When to use clicker training. QUIZ Lesson
- Bonus “micro lesson” – Hand feeding challenges. Lesson
- Lesson 8 – Shaping Behavior, Splitting Not Lumping Lesson
In this lesson we are going to go over how to split a behavior up into more learnable chunks.
- LESSON 8 – Shaping behavior, Splitting not lumping. QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 9 – Animal Training plans. Lesson
In this lesson we will start to go over how to write your very own training plan for your animal.
- LESSON 9 – Animal Training plans. QUIZ Lesson
- Lesson 10 – Shaping behavior. Lesson
In this lesson we are ready to start shaping new behaviors.
- LESSON 10 – Shaping behaviour. QUIZ Lesson
- THANK YOU
- Lesson 1 – Clicker Training Course Lesson
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