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Any Dog, Any Trick? (Part 3)

© Lesli Richardson

What do Sea World of Orlando, the San Diego Wildlife Park, and your dog have in common? Hopefully a lot once you read this article.

Did you ever wonder how the dolphin and whale trainers get their charges to do those fantastic tricks? And did you know that SDWP is now using methods to reduce their need to anesthetize animals for contact?

OP - Operant Conditioning. Also called positive reinforcement. How this works is that instead of scolding improper behavior, you only reward proper behavior. Pretty soon, the animal knows what behaviors will get it a reward and will only want to focus on those particular behaviors. Sometimes this method takes a little longer depending on the dog, but sometimes, especially when dealing with very nervous, shy, submissive, or tiny dogs, it's much more effective than corrections. Then again, many dogs, once they learn the secret, will learn a lot faster than they would through "traditional" methods.

Remember in an earlier article I cautioned you about scolding your dog after the fact? I used the example of your boss coming in and for no apparent reason, whacking you on the head with a newspaper. The opposite is also true. If your boss was to walk in and whistle and wave a twenty-dollar bill in your face, you're going to be glad to see him aren't you?

Whale and dolphin trainers (as well as trainers of some other larger animals) use whistles and other "markers" to indicate when an animal has done a behavior they approve of. IMMEDIATELY after the marker, the animal gets a treat of some sort. Before long, the animals are putting actions to cues to get the treats and as the animal learns, the trainer raises the bar.

SDWP also uses a little magic box called a clicker. It does just that, and it's now wildly popular in dog training. They train everything from raccoons that participate in shows at the park to training cheetahs to load into travel crates for transport.

Clickers are little plastic boxes with metal strips inside that "click" when you press down on them. They are available in most pet supply stores or on the Internet. And they're so easy to use you'll wonder why you didn't try it sooner.

Start by sitting in your living room and every time your dog looks at you, click and treat. (ALWAYS treat after clicking or you'll waste your time.) Pretty soon your dog will do cartwheels every time he hears the clicker. Once your dog knows what the click means (treat to follow immediately) then start using it as a marker to indicate desired behavior.

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