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| Picture is unrelated. But awesome. |
There are four more advanced concepts
that Ken discussed. Each is interesting, but there’s not quite
enough material to flesh out separate posts. So… here’s the quick
run-down.
Recall
It surprised me that Ken put a recall
(which he defined as a behavior that requests an animal to return to
“station”) as an advanced concept. After all, every puppy or
beginning class I’ve seen teaches “come!” I think the reason
Ken classifies it this way is twofold. First, he considers it a
safety behavior, either for the trainer or the animal. And second, he
outlined a number of errors that novices often make when teaching a
recall.
Really, the errors people make with the
recall all boils down to one thing: reinforcement. Ken said that a
recall should be reinforced often and well. He recommended practicing
it daily with your animal. If you use a recall in an emergency
situation, you should always reinforce the behavior,
preferably with a high-value item. And finally, he noted that novice
trainers often use the recall only when the animal has done something
wrong, or when good things are going to end (like when you call your
dog to come at the dog park and then leave).
Behavior Chains
A behavior chain happens when the
completion of one behavior cues the start of the next. Each
subsequent behavior reinforces the previous one. Ken discussed two
types of behavior chains, technical chains, where the trainer gives
ONE cue and the animal then performs a series of behaviors, or common
chains, where the trainer gives a series of cues, but there’s only
one reinforcer at the very end.
There are two ways to teach a behavior
chain. With back-chaining (which is the preferred method) the last
step of the chain is taught first, and then the trainer teaches
backwards to the first step. This is more reinforcing for the animal
because he is always moving towards something he knows well.
Forward-chaining (teaching the first behavior, then the second, and
so on) also works, but there are usually more errors.
It is best to teach each individual
component of the chain successfully. Each should be maintained
separately as well. Ken shared that the animals that are the most
successful at learning chains are ones who have learned about
reinforcement variety because they already know that a behavior can
be reinforcing.
Keep Going Signals (KGS)
A KGS is a signal that tells the animal
that he is on the right track. It’s encouraging feedback that
literally says “keep doing this and I’ll reinforce you!” It’s
technically a tertiary reinforcer- that is, it’s a signal that a
secondary reinforcer is coming (and thus, a primary). It’s sort of
the way you get a poker chip that can be traded in for money which
can then be used to by an actual reinforcer, like food.
Most people don’t purposely train
them; they tend to happen along the way naturally. That said, you can
purposely teach them by introducing them as a secondary reinforcer
and then approximating longer periods of time before giving the
primary. Interestingly, Ken said he doesn’t use them; he just
doesn’t need them.
End of Session Signals
An end of session signal tells the
animal that the training session is done and there will be no further
opportunity for reinforcement. While it might be helpful to let your
pet dog to stop bothering you, Ken pointed out that he doesn’t
particularly want a 700 pound animal realizing the (fun!) session is
over and thus refusing to let the trainer leave. That can be
dangerous. In fact, the staff at Shedd are pretty careful that they
don’t create an accidental signal that might lead to chaos, like
picking up a bucket of fish and walking away.
That doesn’t mean you should use
them. Ken simply doesn’t think they are important enough to argue
about. If what you’re doing is working, great.
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