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RussianSven’s Training Continues
Posted at 4:25 pm March 26, 2007 by Maureen O. DuryeePart #2
(Read Part #1, Sven Learns to Recycle)
Sven and I would start our day with a morning session on stage. I played peppy music while we worked on the behaviors. His tail would wag as he heard the music, so I knew he was enjoying our work together. I introduced different recyclable items to Sven to see if he was more prone to accept one item over another. I chose the item he was most attracted to and would progress to the least favorite in this order: paper towel holders, plastic bottles, aluminum cans. For whatever reason, Sven refused to hold or drop rolled-up newspaper. I gave it a good try, but accepted his final answer and we moved on from there.
I put the tub between us, placed a flattened-in-the-middle plastic bottle in his mouth, gently held his mouth closed, paired the word “inside” as I let my hands go, and the bottle would drop into the tub. I would bridge, cheer, and reinforce with dog treats. Sven picked up on the “inside” with the bottle in just a few sessions. We then moved on to the aluminum can. I think the can must have felt funny in his mouth the first time we tried it because he made a face with his eyebrows and held that can ever so carefully before dropping it. I want to stress that I ALWAYS ended on a good drop with loads of cheering and food, even if it meant only one drop.
After a few weeks, we were holding and dropping paper towel holders, flattened plastic bottles, and flattened aluminum cans into the tub on cue. I had always offered items to him right next to his mouth; the next step required him to just take it from me. I would wiggle the item very close to his mouth, but far enough away so that he needed to make a move. The moment he moved toward the paper towel holder, I would meet him the rest of the way and continue the behavior. This stage alone took about one week, as he didn’t want to grab, but before long he was taking, holding, and dropping paper towel holders, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans into the gray tub. What a star!!!!!!
Maureen O. Duryee is an animal trainer at the San Diego Zoo’s Hunte Amphitheater.
Look for Maureen’s next blog, Sven’s Breakthrough Moment.
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March 27th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Maureen, fantastic job for you and Sven!
Maybe he didn’t want to hold the wrapped newspaper because he might have associated it with negative training in his youth? Since people often use wrapped newspaper to make a loud noise to discourage undesired behaviors, maybe he made that association and wanted no part of it?
He obviously prefers positive reinforcement and is a pro-recycler.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Did you ever see the Reynolds Wrap commercials where they trained a dog to take foil used for cooking and storing food to a faucet, rinse the food off, and then drop it in the recycling bin? It was really great. Then they trained the female dog to teach her puppies to take their lunch boxes off to “Puppy school,” while she recycled the leftovers.
Where did you get Sven from? A shelter? If so, it might explain his reluctance to take the newspaper.