Do you want to successfully modify the behaviour of animals in your care?
Do you want to train your dog, cat, horse or pet goldfish? Maybe you work in a captive animal institution with lions, giraffes and elephants? If so then these animal training videos are for you. The fundamental principles of Training are all the same. Firstly behaviour is a result of past consequences. Also animals are always either moving towards the things they want or away from the things they don’t.
The principles I use are based on Behavioral Science and Applied Behavior Analysis. It’s my goal to spread the word about the most positive and less intrusive methods of Animal Training known.
My mission at Animal Training Academy is to empower you to make a difference. Maybe your stuck as to what the next move in your training endeavor should be? Have a look inside here at all of my training tidbits. I’m sure you will find some inspiration. Also join Animal Training Academy to gain access to further learning opportunities. We have new features coming soon such as forums, podcasts and webinars.
I’ve been working in the Animal Training Business now for nearly 10 years. I’ve worked in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I’ve worked with some of the best animal trainers in the world. I’ve also worked for some of the largest Animal Training Businesses. I’ve set up complete new Live Animal Shows. I’ve run zoo wide training initiatives. I’ve worked with pet owners and their animals. Additionally I have articles published in industry magazines. Last but not least I run my own Animal Training business.
Animal Training Academy had put together this free series of videos. Here you will learn about many different areas of Animal Training.
Interview with Meghan Arriola from YouTube channel Happy Tails.
Although I promote the use of positive reinforcement and proper environmental arrangement when managing your animal’s behavior, I do think it’s important to understand what the opposite of reinforcement is.
PUNISHMENT (definition)
Occurs immediately after behavior.
Serves to decrease the frequency/strength of behavior in the future.
There’s two types, positive and negative.
Positive is when something is added to the environment.
Negative is when something is removed.
Punishment teaches our animals what not to do. Our aim as animal trainers/behavior managers is to teach our animals what to do. So a really big challenge with using punishing strategies is that our animals learn what not to do but don’t learn what behaviors to do instead. On top of this punishment has some really significant and negative side effects, including;
Increase aggression.
Apathy (not doing anything).
Escape avoidance behavior
Overgeneralized fear of the environment.
So science can tell us that punishment works and provide us with information about the negative side effects of using it. However, it’s common for punishment to be used with little consideration given to the undesirable side effects. It is sometimes used so commonly in our societies that we don’t question it’s use especially when we might see our role models implementing it. Additionally, on top of all this punishment can be very reinforcing to the person using it. This is because the person using it ends up decreasing the behaviors they don’t want in their animals. Consequently, these individuals choose to use punishment again at high frequencies in the future. Another undesirable side effect that can result from punishment is Apathy and learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is where our animals learn that their behavior has no effect on changing their environmental conditions and consequently can just give up trying. To me learned helplessness is one of the worst situations we can put our animals in and should be avoided at all costs.
Although I promote the use of positive reinforcement and proper environmental arrangement when managing your animal’s behavior, I do think it’s important to understand what the opposite of reinforcement is.
PUNISHMENT (definition)
Occurs immediately after behavior.
Serves to decrease the frequency/strength of behavior in the future.
There’s two types, positive and negative.
Positive is when something is added to the environment.
Negative is when something is removed.
Punishment teaches our animals what not to do. Our aim as animal trainers/behavior managers is to teach our animals what to do. So a really big challenge with using punishing strategies is that our animals learn what not to do but don’t learn what behaviors to do instead. On top of this punishment has some really significant and negative side effects, including;
Increase aggression.
Apathy (not doing anything).
Escape avoidance behavior
Overgeneralized fear of the environment.
So science can tell us that punishment works and provide us with information about the negative side effects of using it. However, it’s common for punishment to be used with little consideration given to the undesirable side effects. It is sometimes used so commonly in our societies that we don’t question it’s use especially when we might see our role models implementing it. Additionally, on top of all this punishment can be very reinforcing to the person using it. This is because the person using it ends up decreasing the behaviors they don’t want in their animals. Consequently, these individuals choose to use punishment again at high frequencies in the future. Another undesirable side effect that can result from punishment is Apathy and learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is where our animals learn that their behavior has no effect on changing their environmental conditions and consequently can just give up trying. To me learned helplessness is one of the worst situations we can put our animals in and should be avoided at all costs.
In the video for this lesson you will learn about some specific aspects of clicker training using a case study with T-lo the cat. You will see a clicker being used to train behaviors such as targeting, stationing, and T-lo volunteeringly entering a crate. We additionally will cover the following topics;
Building the reinforcing strength of a clicker.
Charging the clicker.
Timing.
Benefits of the clicker.
NOTE: Although this case study is on a domestic cat the principles are universally applicable for all animals.
VIDEO – CASE STUDY (T-LO THE CAT)
CLICKER TRAINING – Charging the clicker.
You might hear people use the term “Charging the clicker.” What this refers to is maintaining a high reinforcing value for the clicker through many repetitions/pairings of it with a primary reinforcer (or other already established reinforcer). For example, food. This is frequently done right at the start of any training program that utilises a clicker. Its purpose is to communicate to your animal that the click sound has value and to build the association that the click means positive reinforcement is on its way.
CLICKER TRAINING – Timing
Timing is as important in clicker training as it is in any training you are ever going to do.
One important aspect to consider when using a clicker is to ensure we keep the hand with the food in it still until after the sound of the clicker. (Assuming that you are using food and also delivering the food with your hand). A great way to tell if you have your timing correct is by filming your training and watching it back. You can see a great example of this in the video for this lesson.
CLICKER TRAINING – Benefits of the clicker
Clickers provide our animals with a novel, sharp and distinct sound that we can use to communicate to them exactly when they have done the correct behavior. This can be especially beneficial if our animals can’t see us or they are not in our immediate vicinity. In these situations its common that we cannot deliver reinforcement to them immediately after they perform a desirable behavior and the clicker can consequently bridge that gap.
Here you will find all the extra lessons that Ryan has created over time and are now surplus to his current courses. NOTE: these lessons may swap and change over time however this intends to be a ever increasing resource.
In this lesson you will learn about how chains of behavior work. This is a really useful tool to use in your animal training, in fact you are likely already using them.
In this lesson you will learn about an important aspect of being a good animal trainer and/or "shaper" of behavior. This is splitting rather then lumping.
In this lesson you will learn about; building the reinforcing strength of a clicker, charging the clicker, benefits of the clicker and timing. We examine a case study involving using a clicker with a domestic house cat.
In this lesson you will learn absolutely everything you need to know about punishment. This will be achieved via written content, video content, podcast recordings and a quiz.
In this lesson learn about the importance of timing when training your animals. This lesson includes actual video from a ATA member's mentor program and links to other relevant content.
In this lesson you will learn about using the behavioral flowchart tool. Using this combined with all the information from the RECIPE is really going to put you in a powerful position to deal with any challenges you have moving forward.
In this bonus lesson I am going to provide you with a tool to help you properly utilize everything that you learn on this website. This tool is called the behavior flow chart.
How to use this flow chart.
Ideally the flow chart will be printed out and each page will be laminated.
Then a hole gets punched in the top left hand corner of each page.
Then the individual pages get held together with a large key ring going through the holes.
When you reach a behavioral/environmental challenge refer to this flow chart.
Flick through each page of the flow chart and make sure you have answered the question for that page.
This process will help you collect all the data that you need moving forward in your training and behavior management with your animals.
If you are a member of the forums they are also a fantastic tool to use to ask questions you can access them by CLICKING HERE.
What I’m also going to do is write each question from the flow chart below.
Where appropriate I will add links to content where you can get more information.
Have I discussed this training with the team and/other people being careful to only describe observable behaviors and also talk about frequencies of behavior?
In this lesson you will learn about using the behavioral flowchart tool. Using this combined with all the information from the RECIPE is really going to put you in a powerful position to deal with any challenges you have moving forward.
As a special thank you – I am going to provide you with a tool to help you out when you face behavioral difficulties. This tool is called the behavior flow chart.
How to use this flow chart.
Ideally the flow chart will be printed out and each page will be laminated.
Then a hole gets punched in the top left hand corner of each page.
Then the individual pages get held together with a large key ring going through the holes.
When you reach a behavioural/environmental challenge refer to this flow chart.
Flick through each page of the flow chart and make sure you have answered the question for that page.
This process will help you collect all the data that you need moving forward in your training and behavior management with your animals.
If you are a member of the forums they are also a fantastic tool to use to ask questions you can access them by CLICKING HERE.
This is the final of a 6 part series on Training Molly the Morepork owl. The series follows Molly’s journey from a three-month-old owl that wouldn’t let me come near her to a bird that’s now used in live animal shows.
In this lesson I want to talk about patience. Patience is really important in your toolbox when it comes to building your animal training skills. I’ve had people tell me that Positive Reinforcement doesn’t work. My understanding of this was that their animal did not learn a behavior in a time-frame, which was, determined by them (i.e. the human). The conclusion drawn was that positive reinforcement was not an efficient training tool.
Some of you might have seen my video about the first animal I ever trained: Bob the wedge tail eagle. If you haven’t seen it you can watch it HERE. The initial behavior I set out to train with Bob took me eight months to achieve. One reason behind this is that Bob and I were learning together. Bob had no schedule in the training.
Bob’s only schedule was going about his day doing the most reinforcing thing available to him at any point in time. It was my job to communicate to Bob what my schedule was. It took me eight months to do this and make that a mutually beneficial schedule, but we got there in the end using positive and un-intrusive techniques.
If you’re new to training practice patience. It’s okay if you don’t get the behavior as fast as you originally thought you might. Keep practicing and as importantly allow your animal to have lots of practice as well. The more practice the both of you have the more you will learn. To help develop you animal training skills be patient not only in individual training sessions but also with your animals learning pace (and your own).
ANIMAL TRAINING SKILLS
I hope you have enjoyed this lesson. I would love to hear what you think, so please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
Good luck with all your training endeavors. Remember to practice your patience and I will see you next time – Ryan Cartlidge – Animal Training Academy.
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This video is part of a series of videos that are being digitally remastered for Animal Training Academy’s first Birthday. The Molly the Morepork training series is the first video series ever produced by Animal Training Academy and this video is part A of a two-part lesson providing some crate training tips that can be applied to all animals.
In the video, I am using food to positively reinforce Molly for entering the crate. Although it’s not the only reinforcer I am using in the early stages of the training. I also want Molly to know that she can leave whenever she wants. To help me achieve this you will see I do a couple of things. Firstly I set the crate up so that only half of it is covered. Secondly, I leave the door of the crate off when first starting. This allows Molly the opportunity to leave quickly and easily.
Crate Training Tips
In the early stages of training allow your animal the opportunity to leave when they desire.
Use positive reinforcement to teach them that being in the crate is a desirable place to be.
Pretty soon after employing these crate training tips they won’t want to leave.
In this video, we talk about primary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers are things that are generally universally desired by all animals. Some examples of primary reinforcers include food, water, shelter, warmth, reproduction opportunities and safety. This is in comparison to secondary reinforcers, which are previously neutral stimuli that after being continuously paired with primary reinforcers have taken on their reinforcing value.
To learn more about primary and secondary reinforcers listen to one of my podcasts HERE.
I hope you have enjoyed these crate training tips and good luck with all your animal training endeavors. Also please leave a comment below and tell me what you thought of this lesson.
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This is lesson 3 with Molly the Morepork. In this lesson we are going to be talking about target training your animals.
This Target training lesson is part of the first video series ever produced by the animal training academy. It is being digitally remastered for the Academy’s first year anniversary. Read on to learn a little bit more about the content for this lesson.
Target training.
Target training has a large range of different and highly beneficial uses. One of the most common uses is to train your animal to touch its nose to a target stick. You can see an example of this demonstrated in the video for this lesson with T-lo the cat. Having an animal target trained to a stick like this allows you to easily be able to communicate to your animal that you want it to move from location A to location B.
Of course you don’t have to target a nose and you don’t have to use a target stick. For example, it’s common practice in zoos when working with dangerous animals like tigers to get them to target their bums against the mesh of their exhibits. This allows a carer to use positive reinforcement to train acceptance of injections into that area.
In this video you can see how I use my finger to get Molly to bring her entire body over to wherever I am. This is target training as well. I am targeting Molly to my tapping finger. Frequently you might find that your animals are target trained and you don’t even know it. For example if you do training with your animal and always feed it out of your hand. You might find that if you close your hand into a fist your animal will follow it around. This means that your animal is targeting to your hand.
Enjoy this lessons video content below and good luck with all your training endeavors.
This is lesson 2 with Molly the Morepork. Like the last lesson, this lesson talks about certain aspects of the RECIPE for successful behavior management of animals in your care. The RECIPE is an acronym standing for the following.
R – Reinforcement.
E – Environment.
C – Communication.
I – Information.
P – Partnerships
E – Empowerment.
This behavior management video series with Molly the Morepork is the first video series ever produced for Animal Training Academy. It is being digitally remastered for the Academy’s first year anniversary. Read on to learn a little bit more about the content for this lesson.
Behavior Management – Choosing with her feet
When training, it’s important to let your animal choose whether or not to participate. We can allow them to make this decision with their feet. I.e. if they don’t want to participate they can choose to move away. If they do want to participate (and be presented with opportunities to earn reinforcement) they can move towards you (or stay stationary, with you moving towards them). In this lessons video you will learn how Molly did just that. She communicated to me when I got too close by choosing to move away. However if Molly stayed stationary I reinforced her with food.
Three things to identify in the early stages of training/behavior management.
You have correctly identified what’s reinforcing for your animal.
You have your reinforcers ready to offer in your training sessions.
You listen to your animals body language and take things at their pace.
If you have achieved the above three things, this will assist with the following areas of your behavior management. Firstly it will help develop your relationships. Your animals will learn that they can control the environment via their behavior. For example your animal can communicate it’s uncomfortable with your proximity, by moving away. Also, if it does the behaviors you want, it will learn that good things happen (i.e. reinforcers get delivered). This practice helps empower your animal, promote high welfare and foster trust.
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This is the first of five videos about training Molly the Morepork owl. The series will cover building animal training relationships, hand feeding, target training, crate training and training Molly to be used for educational purposes in a zoological setting.
Although this is a bird based in a zoo setting, like all the videos on this site, the basic behavioural principles are applicable to all animals. So if you work in a zoo, great. However, if you’re a veterinarian, a domestic pet owner or something else, what you can learn here will work for you too.
This video demonstrates an important aspect when starting any new training program. This element is building partnerships (relationships with our animals). In the video you can hear me referring to the RECIPE. The RECIPE is an acronym that includes some essential ingredients involved in any good training initiative. These are as follows:
R – Reinforcement (positive).
E – Environmental arrangement.
C – Communication.
I – Information (scientific).
P – Partnerships.
E – Empowerment.
Although this is the first time the RECIPE has been mentioned on this website it will be referred to again. Consequently, make yourself familiar with the above essential training ingredients.
MOLLY ENJOYING THE SUN
ANIMAL TRAINING RELATIONSHIPS
Developing a good partnership with your animal is essential to building trust and getting success with your training initiatives. Trust is when you can do something like physically restrain an animal for a health check and have that same animal immediately approach you again and interact in a positive way. The reason they do this is because we have a good relationship with them. This relationship is based on an understanding our animal has. This understanding Is that we are the deliverers of predictable and pleasant events. We want our animals to think HEY… here comes that person, something good is about to happen.
Start all your training off on the right step. Spend time building up a partnership (animal training relationship) with your animal by being a constant deliverer of positive reinforcement into it’s environment. Watch this lessons video to learn more.
This is the first of five videos about training Molly the Morepork owl. The series will cover building animal training relationships, hand feeding, target training, crate training and training Molly to be used for educational purposes in a zoological setting.
Although this is a bird based in a zoo setting, like all the videos on this site, the basic behavioural principles are applicable to all animals. So if you work in a zoo, great. However, if you’re a veterinarian, a domestic pet owner or something else, what you can learn here will work for you too.
This video demonstrates an important aspect when starting any new training program. This element is building partnerships (relationships with our animals). In the video you can hear me referring to the RECIPE. The RECIPE is an acronym that includes some essential ingredients involved in any good training initiative. These are as follows:
R – Reinforcement (positive).
E – Environmental arrangement.
C – Communication.
I – Information (scientific).
P – Partnerships.
E – Empowerment.
Although this is the first time the RECIPE has been mentioned on this website it will be referred to again. Consequently, make yourself familiar with the above essential training ingredients.
MOLLY ENJOYING THE SUN
ANIMAL TRAINING RELATIONSHIPS
Developing a good partnership with your animal is essential to building trust and getting success with your training initiatives. Trust is when you can do something like physically restrain an animal for a health check and have that same animal immediately approach you again and interact in a positive way. The reason they do this is because we have a good relationship with them. This relationship is based on an understanding our animal has. This understanding Is that we are the deliverers of predictable and pleasant events. We want our animals to think HEY… here comes that person, something good is about to happen.
Start all your training off on the right step. Spend time building up a partnership (animal training relationship) with your animal by being a constant deliverer of positive reinforcement into it’s environment. Watch this lessons video to learn more.
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.
A reinforcer is anything that immediately follows a behaviour and serves to maintain and/or increase the frequency of that behaviour in the future. At any one time, there are generally numerous reinforcers available within your animal’s environment. Often when we are training our animals, we (and the reinforcers we offer) are the most reinforcing thing. Consequently our animals come over and participate in our training sessions. However as any good trainer knows, the value of what we have to offer can change between environments, over time and with scarcity/availability.
Competing reinforcers
Animals always orientate towards the most reinforcing thing in their environment. Competing reinforcers are different stimuli in our animal’s environments that have reinforcing value. As you can see in this lessons video (below), the most reinforcing thing is not always us. This is something that dog owners frequently report experiencing. Some dog owners find that when they are at home with their dogs, their dogs perform a variety of behaviors consistently and on cue. However the dogs behaviour changes when they leave the house and go to the dog park. One major difference between the dog park and home is the different reinforcers available (for example unique smells and other dogs at the park). In this lessons video you can see that taking training outside with T-lo the cat suddenly means that there are bugs to chase. The change in environment offers different reinforcers and consequently the value of what I have to offer is decreased.
Reinforcement is anything that immediately follows a behaviour and serves to maintain and/or increase the frequency of that behaviour in the future. By developing a thorough understanding of the meaning of reinforcement (and competing reinforcers) you can understand your animals behaviour a little bit better. Your animal is not being naughty or bad when they don’t do what you want, they are just doing the most reinforcing thing available to them. This knowledge challenges you to examine your animals environments, making the right behaviors easier to perform and more reinforcing then the wrong behaviors.
A reinforcer is anything that immediately follows a behaviour and serves to maintain and/or increase the frequency of that behaviour in the future. At any one time, there are generally numerous reinforcers available within your animal’s environment. Often when we are training our animals, we (and the reinforcers we offer) are the most reinforcing thing. Consequently our animals come over and participate in our training sessions. However as any good trainer knows, the value of what we have to offer can change between environments, over time and with scarcity/availability.
Competing reinforcers
Animals always orientate towards the most reinforcing thing in their environment. Competing reinforcers are different stimuli in our animal’s environments that have reinforcing value. As you can see in this lessons video (below), the most reinforcing thing is not always us. This is something that dog owners frequently report experiencing. Some dog owners find that when they are at home with their dogs, their dogs perform a variety of behaviors consistently and on cue. However the dogs behaviour changes when they leave the house and go to the dog park. One major difference between the dog park and home is the different reinforcers available (for example unique smells and other dogs at the park). In this lessons video you can see that taking training outside with T-lo the cat suddenly means that there are bugs to chase. The change in environment offers different reinforcers and consequently the value of what I have to offer is decreased.
Reinforcement is anything that immediately follows a behaviour and serves to maintain and/or increase the frequency of that behaviour in the future. By developing a thorough understanding of the meaning of reinforcement (and competing reinforcers) you can understand your animals behaviour a little bit better. Your animal is not being naughty or bad when they don’t do what you want, they are just doing the most reinforcing thing available to them. This knowledge challenges you to examine your animals environments, making the right behaviors easier to perform and more reinforcing then the wrong behaviors.
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In this lessons video I am at Natureland Zoo in Nelson, New Zealand, helping to train the Zoo’s Cotton Top Tamarin Monkeys. There are three Cotton Top Tamarins that live there. The Natural habitat of these monkeys is forests in Colombia, South America. Click HERE to learn more about this species and its conservation. The room in the video where the training takes place was relatively new at the time. The room helped mimic natural Tamarin environmental conditions. Inside the room were heaters to help keep the animals warm on colder days. We decided that we wanted the Monkeys to increase the time they spent inside this new area. Consequently we initiated some training to make that happen. Watch the video below to learn how.
We were using positive reinforcement to teach these animals that if they came into the room good things were going to happen. Positive Reinforcement is when something gets added to the environment after a behaviour occurs. This added stimulus acts to maintain and/or increase the frequency of that behaviour in the future. In this video we add meal worms and grapes into the Tamarins environment. These get added after the Tamarins enter the room. You can see how adding these items contingent on the Tamarins behaviour increase the frequency of:
The Tamarins coming into the room and;
The Tamarins staying in the room.
NOTE: You only see two of the three monkeys in this lessons video. This is a good reminder that all animals are individuals. Whats reinforcing for one animal might not necessarily be reinforcing for another. The Tamarin you don’t see took a while longer to build it’s confidence. Although you don’t see it in this video, over time he eventually started coming into the room at a higher frequency as well due to the use of positive reinforcement.
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Welcome to Animal Training Academy – The content on this page is created to help empower you. My goal is to spread knowledge surrounding positive and un-intrusive methods of Animal Training.
Why is my content valuable to people like you?
I accept a couple of things as true. Firstly, Behaviour is a result of past consequences. All animals are constantly moving towards the things they want. Additionally, they are moving away from the things they don’t. Understanding this and combining it with the ingredients you can learn here, will empower you. You will be empowered to improve your ability to successfully manage the behaviour of animals in your care. These truths apply to all animals in all situations.
Here is what some of the Academies students are saying about the learning opportunities provided.
Ben Silcock – Dog owner.
“The content was perfect for me as a new puppy owner. I’ve read a lot of training books and taken advise from many people but this content explains the ‘why’ behind most of the training techniques. Having this core understanding is great, it gives me a lot more confidence dealing with my dog. Ryan presents information in a clear and easy to understand fashion. The video quality is really professional and interesting. Great, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a better understanding of animal behaviour and it’s perfect for new puppy parents. Thanks Ryan.“
There are many so-called experts out there. My advice to you is to base your learning on science. Learning about Animal Training here, makes that easy for you to do. The scientific process basically means that numerous scientists have found similar results. Also that the studies have been reviewed and accepted by other experts in the field. This makes it the best information we currently have available. I base my methods on Behavioural science and Applied Behaviour Analysis. These methods have gone through the scientific process. They are proven to work and can also greatly increase animal welfare.
Here you can learn
About Animal Training principles that apply to any species in any situations.
Principles that apply to pet dogs, cats, bird and even fish.
Principles that work with animals in zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums.
The skills to empower yourself, take responsibility, learn about Animal Training and get the behaviour you want.
Register to Animal Training Academy to start learning now!
About Ryan Cartlidge
The Academy is founded by Ryan Cartlidge. Ryan works internationally as a paid Animal Training professional. His goal is to improve the lives of Animals and Hum-animals everywhere. His mission is to spread the word about the most positive and less intrusive methods Known. Ryan has worked with Zoo’s improving training quantity and quality. He has managed live animals shows. Additionally he has set up brand new live animal shows. He has studied and worked with some of the best Trainers in the World. His career has seen him train animals in Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand. Ryan also helps pet owners out with their pets and has articles published in industry magazines. Ryan is interested in your development and believes that you never stop learning. He looks forward to connecting with you and sharing ideas soon.
If you want more information then click HERE to contact Ryan Directly.
1) At the bottom of a blank piece of paper write down your final behaviour. This is the behaviour you want your animal to do after your training is finished. (point B) 2) At the top of that same piece of paper write down the closest behaviour the animal already does. That is the closest behaviour it already does to the final behaviour from step 1. (Point A) 3) Fill in the gaps. Write down small behavioural increments required to get you from Point A to Point B. 4) Implement your training plan. Reinforce each step along the way. Modify the plan as needed. Stop when you reach you final behaviour.
In this lesson we discuss how to write good training plans. Being able to write these plans assist in developing your shaping skills. Shaping being a technique used to train animals. Trainers of all levels are constantly practicing and refining this important skill set. Shaping involves understanding what your animal already does. Then thinking about the new behaviour you want from your animal. This is followed by slowly reinforcing any movement in the right direction. Starting with what the animal already does. Eventually ending up with the new behaviour. Having a plan written down on paper is a good idea. It helps clarify in your mind what you need to do in an individual training session. This is important. Because if you don’t know what your asking from your animal, then how are they meant to know?
NOTE: You don’t have to stick to your plan. If your animal is learning fast, miss a few steps. If your animal is learning slowly, Maybe add a few steps. Always listen to what your animals behaviour is telling you. Adjust your training accordingly. Watch this Lessons video to see how I put this technique into practice with a Red Crowned Parakeet.
In this lesson I’m going to be discussing how to write Good Training Plans. Being able to write these Plans will assist in developing your shaping skills. Shaping being a technique used to train animals. Trainers of all levels are constantly practicing and refining this important skill set. Shaping involves understanding what your animal already does. Then thinking about the new behaviour you want from your animal. This is followed by slowly reinforcing any movement in the right direction. Starting with what the animal already does. Eventually ending up with the new behaviour. Having a plan written down on paper is a good idea. It helps clarify in your mind what you need to do in an individual training session. This is important. Because if you don’t know what your asking from your animal, then how are they meant to know?
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD TRAINING PLAN
The process is rather simple. 1) At the bottom of a blank piece of paper write down your final behaviour. This is the behaviour you want your animal to do after your training is finished. (point B) 2)At the top of that same piece of paper write down the closest behaviour the animal already does. That is the closest behaviour it already does to the final behaviour from step 1. (Point A) 3) Fill in the gaps. Write down small behavioural increments required to get you from Point A to Point B. 4)Implement your training plan. Reinforce each step along the way. Modify the plan as needed. Stop when you reach you final behaviour.
NOTE: You don’t have to stick to your plan. If your animal is learning fast, miss a few steps. If your animal is learning slowly, Maybe add a few steps. Always listen to what your animals behaviour is telling you. Adjust your training accordingly. Watch this Lessons video to see how I put this technique into practice with a Red Crowned Parakeet.
This lesson explains what competing reinforcers are.
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I’ve had a wonderful career as an Animal Trainer so far (with hopefully many more adventures to come).
I’ve been very blessed to make some amazing connections and be inspired by some great people. These experiences have changed the course of my life.
When I was young I had no idea how to get into Animal Training, however, the people I have met have shown me the way. They have been my teachers. They have been my mentors. I found continual guidance in their wisdom. They aided my development. And they assisted in making me into the trainer I am today.
There is one teacher that stands out above all the rest. If I hadn’t absorbed his wisdom, I’d be half the trainer I am today. But this teacher isn’t a regular looking mentor. This teacher had a 2-meter wingspan and 750 pounds per square inch of closing pressure in his talons.
This teachers Name was Bob the Wedge Tail Eagle. He was the first animal I ever trained and the lessons Bob taught me, still guide me today.
(VIDEO) Learn about Bob’s story and what you can do to get started in animal training.
Bob the Eagle may have got me started, but, there were many elements involved in making me a good trainer. I’ve read a lot of books. I’ve been to a lot of conferences. I’ve networked extensively. I’ve studied many courses and qualifications. I’ve traveled internationally to seek out opportunities. This has been my odyssey. Of course, if someone asked me “how to get into animal training?” I wouldn’t necessarily say you have to do what I did. Rather I would say plot your own path, challenge yourself and never stop learning.
Here are three ideas you can focus on that might help you get started…
Teach yourself before you teach our animals.
Spend time learning. Read books, go to conferences and absorb all the content on the Animal Training Academy website.
Find a shelter, zoo or vet clinic nearby and inquire as to volunteer opportunities in your local community.
This allows you to observe the management of animals live and to also get crucial hands-on experience.
Find a Mentor.
This was actually one of the most important elements for me when I first started training.
Having people to bounce ideas off, provide encouragement and be a source of inspiration was crucial to my success.
Volunteering & Internships opportunities
Depending on where you are located and how far you are willing to travel there are some AMAZING opportunities available. I will link to three podcasts episodes below where my guests talked about some unique volunteer and internship opportunities they offer…
In this episode, Hilary gives advice to people just getting started in their animal training careers at 6:58. Additionally at 18:52 Hilary talks about internship opportunities available via her business Avian Behavior International situated near San Diego USA.
At 18:04 Anna shares advice for those people just getting started and don’t really know what to do. In this part of the podcast, she also shares information about internship opportunities available at the Animal Training Center in Austria.
“If you can’t measure it then you can’t manage it”
This is true in business and when Training Animals. Measuring behaviour when Training Animals is a concept many people initially struggle with. To make it easier to understand it’s beneficial to examine how we as humans communicate to each other. When talking about Animal Training it’s highly beneficial to develop a common language.
I generally encourage not using labels when training animals (e.g. Happy, Angry, Sad, Aggressive). Instead of using labels I suggest describing what you can see and hear your animal doing. For Example, rather then saying the dog was happy. Or the dog was excited. Or the dog was aggressive. We could say, the dog ran up to me. Tail wagging. Ears up and forward facing. And tongue hanging out to the left of his mouth. By eliminating labels we also eliminate differences between people’s opinions on behaviour.
People can disagree wether an animal is happy or sad. People can not disagree however that the bird has dilated pupils, raised feathers and is leaning to the left.
How you can improve your success. with one small technique.
There are three labels I use when working with behaviour. These three labels are Desirable, Undesirable and Acceptable.
We start of by defining what specific behaviours look like. We describe the behaviour in relation to what we can see and hear. For example, one of the behaviours in this lesson’s video is “standing up and huffing/hissing. “ Then we can assign individual behaviours to one of the three labels categories.
Let’s use the “standing up and huffing/hissing” behaviour as an Example. In the video we decided as a team that this behaviour was “Undesirable.” This technique works well in a team environment. Each individual animal ends up with a list of behaviours. Each behaviour falls into one of these three categories. We then measure behaviour by the frequency it occurs. As a team we work to maximise desirable behaviours. We work to minimize undesirable ones. This helps us set goals. Measuring behaviour becomes straightforward. Ultimately we are much more easily able to measure our success.
Watch this lesson’s video. With an Australian Brush Tail Possum as an example, you can see how we implemented the above.
If you have completed this lesson click the button below to make as complete so you know for future reference.
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Animal Behavior is the study of one. Each animal is an individual. And they all have different learning histories. Consequently each animal also has it’s own unique set of reinforcers.
So, what is reinforcing for one animal. might not be reinforcing for another. Likewise a Training plan that works for Animal A, might not work for Animal B. This requires us to sometimes be creative when working with animal behaviour.
An Animal Training secret that gets results.
I believe that one trait of a successful animal trainer is creativity. This refers to creatively solving your training challenges. Maybe you are stuck as to how to become more creative?
This is what I have found has worked for me. I consistently ask myself one question that repeatedly delivers results . “If there was something I could do. No matter how small or insignificant that something might be. What would it be?” When you ask yourself a question like this something happens. Your brain will eventually provide you with an answer. Then all you have to do is take action on that answer.
Do you sometimes experience challenges with achieving nice animal behaviour and training results? Try asking yourself the above question. Be creative and you might surprise yourself. Also remember that all animals are individuals. What worked for one animal might not work for another.
I was reminded of the individuality of every animal, when I endeavored to train two parrots to do the exact same behaviour. Watch this lesson’s video (above). Learn how I accepted the individuality of each animal. Learn how using creativity I managed to get results from both birds. I did this via completely different teaching strategies.
I hope you have enjoyed this training tidbit. Make sure to watch the next one. I would also love to hear how you have been creative with animal training. Leave a comment below. Share your story about Animal Behavior and Training.
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This video is about Feng Shui and Animal Training. You have probably heard of this term in relation to interior design. It often refers to how you might set up one of your living/working spaces. But have you heard about it with relation to Animal Training?
Feng Shui is a Chinese philosophy that promotes setting up your environment in a way that promotes its use. It’s believed that by proper environmental arrangement you can make spaces more comfortable. Feng Shui is also said to improve physical and mental health. Relationships are additionally believed to improve with good Feng Shui. Ultimately by improving all of the above, this helps lead to success. How can we therefore implement these principles with your Animal Training?
Feng Shui is important when setting up your animals environments.
You should endeavor to set Animals environments up in a way that makes desirable behaviors easier to perform. Furthermore we need to make desirable behaviors more reinforcing than undesirable behaviors.
We make it easier for our animals to do what we want. We pair correct behavior with positive reinforcement. This combination helps us empower our Animals in a positive way. In my experience, this is one of the most robust methods to achieve success. Correct environment arrangement and positive reinforcement Animal Training augment high animal welfare.
Watch the video (top of the screen) to learn more about Feng Shui and Animal Training. The Video has an example of good and bad Feng Shui in action with Molly the Morepork.
The first thing you should do before any training project is examine your environmental arrangement. Ensure that your animal can move freely within the environment. Make sure that there’s nothing unsafe in the environment. Make sure that the behaviour you are asking for is able to be performed easily. Check for unstable surfaces. Make sure there is enough freedom for movement. You and your animal should be able to move freely in the training space.
Once you have good Feng Shui You are ready to start your training.
Listen to an audio recording about this lesson below. (NEW)
Do you want to successfully modify the behavior of animals in your care?
Do you want to help train your or a client’s dog, cat, horse, pet goldfish or any other species?
Maybe you work in a captive animal institution with lions, giraffes, and elephants?
If so then this free series of animal training videos is for you.
The principles I use are based on Behavioral Science and Applied Behavior Analysis:
* Behavior is a result of past consequences.
* Animals are always either moving towards the things they want or away from the things they don’t.
* It’s my goal to spread the word about the most positive and less intrusive methods of Animal Training known.
I’ve been working in the Animal Training Business now for over a decade. I’ve worked in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I’ve worked with some of the best animal trainers in the world. I’ve also worked for some of the largest Animal Training Businesses. I’ve set up complete new Live Animal Shows. I’ve run zoo-wide training initiatives. I’ve worked with pet owners and their animals. Additionally, I have articles published in industry magazines. Last but not least I run my own Animal Training business.
My mission at Animal Training Academy is to empower you to make a difference.
Get started today by requesting my free video training series:
Please read the following & fill out the form below to access your free video training series:
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☑️ We will protect and use your data in accordance with our privacy policy and you can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.
Do you want to successfully modify the behavior of animals in your care?
Do you want to help train your or a client’s dog, cat, horse, pet goldfish or any other species?
Maybe you work in a captive animal institution with lions, giraffes, and elephants?
If so then this free series of animal training videos is for you.
The principles I use are based on Behavioral Science and Applied Behavior Analysis:
* Behavior is a result of past consequences.
* Animals are always either moving towards the things they want or away from the things they don’t.
* It’s my goal to spread the word about the most positive and less intrusive methods of Animal Training known.
I’ve been working in the Animal Training Business now for over a decade. I’ve worked in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I’ve worked with some of the best animal trainers in the world. I’ve also worked for some of the largest Animal Training Businesses. I’ve set up complete new Live Animal Shows. I’ve run zoo-wide training initiatives. I’ve worked with pet owners and their animals. Additionally, I have articles published in industry magazines. Last but not least I run my own Animal Training business.
My mission at Animal Training Academy is to empower you to make a difference.
Get started today by requesting my free video training series:
Please read the following & fill out the form below to access your free video training series:
☑️ By entering your details on this website you will also receive value-added emails on the subject of animal training & behavior, including information about products and/or services that you might be interested in.
☑️ We will protect and use your data in accordance with our privacy policy and you can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.
Do you want to successfully modify the behaviour of animals in your care?
Do you want to train your dog, cat, horse or pet goldfish? Maybe you work in a captive animal institution with lions, giraffes and elephants? If so then these animal training videos are for you. The fundamental principles of Training are all the same. Firstly behaviour is a result of past consequences. Also animals are always either moving towards the things they want or away from the things they don’t.
The principles I use are based on Behavioral Science and Applied Behavior Analysis. It’s my goal to spread the word about the most positive and less intrusive methods of Animal Training known.
My mission at Animal Training Academy is to empower you to make a difference. Maybe your stuck as to what the next move in your training endeavor should be? Have a look inside here at all of my training tidbits. I’m sure you will find some inspiration. Also join Animal Training Academy to gain access to further learning opportunities. We have new features coming soon such as forums, podcasts and webinars.
I’ve been working in the Animal Training Business now for nearly 10 years. I’ve worked in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I’ve worked with some of the best animal trainers in the world. I’ve also worked for some of the largest Animal Training Businesses. I’ve set up complete new Live Animal Shows. I’ve run zoo wide training initiatives. I’ve worked with pet owners and their animals. Additionally I have articles published in industry magazines. Last but not least I run my own Animal Training business.
Animal Training Academy had put together this free series of videos. Here you will learn about many different areas of Animal Training.
Interview with Meghan Arriola from YouTube channel Happy Tails.
Do you want to successfully modify the behavior of animals in your care?
Do you want to help train your or a client’s dog, cat, horse, pet goldfish or any other species?
Maybe you work in a captive animal institution with lions, giraffes, and elephants?
If so then this free series of animal training videos is for you.
The principles I use are based on Behavioral Science and Applied Behavior Analysis:
* Behavior is a result of past consequences.
* Animals are always either moving towards the things they want or away from the things they don’t.
* It’s my goal to spread the word about the most positive and less intrusive methods of Animal Training known.
I’ve been working in the Animal Training Business now for over a decade. I’ve worked in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I’ve worked with some of the best animal trainers in the world. I’ve also worked for some of the largest Animal Training Businesses. I’ve set up complete new Live Animal Shows. I’ve run zoo-wide training initiatives. I’ve worked with pet owners and their animals. Additionally, I have articles published in industry magazines. Last but not least I run my own Animal Training business.
My mission at Animal Training Academy is to empower you to make a difference.
Get started today by requesting my free video training series:
This is the final of a 6 part series on Training Molly the Morepork owl. The series follows Molly’s journey from a three-month-old owl that wouldn’t let me come near her to a bird that’s now used in live animal shows.
Bob’s only schedule was going about his day doing the most reinforcing thing available to him at any point in time. It was my job to communicate to Bob what my schedule was. It took me eight months to do this and make that a mutually beneficial schedule, but we got there in the end using positive and un-intrusive techniques.
In this video, we talk about primary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers are things that are generally universally desired by all animals. Some examples of primary reinforcers include food, water, shelter, warmth, reproduction opportunities and safety. This is in comparison to secondary reinforcers, which are previously neutral stimuli that after being continuously paired with primary reinforcers have taken on their reinforcing value.
This is lesson 3 with Molly the Morepork. In this lesson we are going to be talking about target training your animals.
If you have achieved the above three things, this will assist with the following areas of your behavior management. Firstly it will help develop your relationships. Your animals will learn that they can control the environment via their behavior. For example your animal can communicate it’s uncomfortable with your proximity, by moving away. Also, if it does the behaviors you want, it will learn that good things happen (i.e. reinforcers get delivered). This practice helps empower your animal, promote high welfare and foster trust.
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.
A reinforcer is anything that immediately follows a behaviour and serves to maintain and/or increase the frequency of that behaviour in the future. At any one time, there are generally numerous reinforcers available within your animal’s environment. Often when we are training our animals, we (and the reinforcers we offer) are the most reinforcing thing. Consequently our animals come over and participate in our training sessions. However as any good trainer knows, the value of what we have to offer can change between environments, over time and with scarcity/availability.
In this video we add meal worms and grapes into the Tamarins environment. These get added after the Tamarins enter the room. You can see how adding these items contingent on the Tamarins behaviour increase the frequency of:
The Academy is founded by Ryan Cartlidge. Ryan works internationally as a paid Animal Training professional. His goal is to improve the lives of Animals and Hum-animals everywhere. His mission is to spread the word about the most positive and less intrusive methods Known. Ryan has worked with Zoo’s improving training quantity and quality. He has managed live animals shows. Additionally he has set up brand new live animal shows. He has studied and worked with some of the best Trainers in the World. His career has seen him train animals in Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand. Ryan also helps pet owners out with their pets and has articles published in industry magazines. Ryan is interested in your development and believes that you never stop learning. He looks forward to connecting with you and sharing ideas soon.
used to train animals. Trainers of all levels are constantly practicing and refining this important skill set. Shaping involves understanding what your animal already does. Then thinking about the new behaviour you want from your animal. This is followed by slowly reinforcing any movement in the right direction. Starting with what the animal already does. Eventually ending up with the new behaviour. Having a plan written down on paper is a good idea. It helps clarify in your mind what you need to do in an individual training session. This is important. Because if you don’t know what your asking from your animal, then how are they meant to know?
I’ve had a wonderful career as an Animal Trainer so far (with hopefully many more adventures to come).
We start of by defining what specific behaviours look like. We describe the behaviour in relation to what we can see and hear. For example, one of the behaviours in this lesson’s video is “standing up and huffing/hissing. “ Then we can assign individual behaviours to one of the three labels categories.
Do you want to successfully modify the behavior of animals in your care?