Free Shaping

Today's post doesn't really put an emphasis on dogs but that's quite alright. This is because a recent phrase that stuck to me after reading Jean Donaldson's "The Culture Clash". She mentions that all creatures are subject to the laws of learning and that learning happens very similarly in different species.

Aside from dogs, a big passion of mine has always been any kind of animal, but especially the small fuzzy ones. Rodents are very social creatures and when given the chance are able to learn various behaviors. While I did not know about clicker training or shaping behaviors when I had my own guinea pigs in the past, I did use positive reinforcement to teach them simple behaviors. With what I know now, I feel that the possibilities are nearly endless and I'm excited to embark on this new endeavor.

Piglet is a guinea pig that belongs to a friend. She was dumped at the local pet store and although my friend was only considering fostering her, the story continued on and Piglet ended up with a great home here in Houston. Often than not, I consider myself her secondary caretaker should anything ever happen to my dear friend. Regardless, with the new Dogs Speak Dog Training business building up and my passion for behavior and communication growing, I felt it was best I broaden my abilities and begin shaping behaviors with a species other than canine.

So far, two sessions have occurred and it's been incredible to observe the means of learning and understanding that Piglet shows. We began the first session by charging the clicker just as one would with any other species. Carrots were the main treat as these are Piglet's favorites. It didn't take long to pair the click with the treat and soon she was searching out the carrot after hearing the click.

The next order of business was to begin to ask her to offer something that was simple. The wonders of clicker training and shaping, especially with a small creature such as a guinea pig, is that one can't really force or "show" a small animal how to do anything. They will either do it or they won't. There is no harsh jerking or pushing or shoving or yelling. Most small creatures would find this highly aversive and likely shut down or even bite quicker than a dog would be! One of the most simple thoughts we had then was to shape a nose touch. Most animals when offered a hand will reach out to sniff it. It took possibly a total of three clicks before she fully understood what was being asked of her.

"In [dog] training, jerk is a noun, not a verb." -Dr. Dennis Fetko

Today was session two and we continued the nose touch as this behavior is quite simple and continues to teach her targeting behavior. Hopefully this will come in handy when we wish to lure her with a target stick or some other device in the future.

Regardless of any of the details, shaping behaviors makes you a better trainer in that it teaches you about accuracy, maintaining criteria, noticing what rate of reinforcement you're using and well you can keep the attention of another being. I can certainly attest that shaping with a small creature that is not a dog, is quite a different feat and considers some thought. The learning mechanisms may be similar, but the physical abilities of the creatures and what motivates them as a whole is very different.

So, if you are trying to learn something new and want to test yourself as a trainer, go out and train something different. Try to communicate with an animal you've never attempted to have a "conversation" with before. I guarantee the things you see will amaze you and it will open your eyes to a whole new manner of teaching.