Shedd Animal Training Seminar: Cooperative Behavior

One of the most important things we can teach an animal is to cooperate with us humans. This is especially important for animals in zoological settings because the animals are often large and/or dangerous; being trained to work with the human keepers makes things safer and less stressful for everyone involved.

There are many types of cooperative behavior, and today we will look at what Ken considers the most important. These are the behaviors that allow us to successfully manage the animals in our care, and if there is anything that I took away from my week at the Shedd, it’s that we do not do enough to help our pets understand how to work with us in everyday situations.

Targeting

Targeting can refer to a number of different behaviors. In its most basic form, it simply means touching a specified item, but it can be much more complex than that. Some examples include touching different types of items, touching the target for an extended period of time, following a target, targeting with various body parts, touching multiple targets simultaneously, or going to a remote target away from the trainer. Targeting is possibly one of the most versatile behaviors taught to an animal because it can serve as the foundation for teaching the other cooperative behaviors.

Stationing

With stationing, an animal goes to and stays at a designated location. This may be a specific location (as in Leonard Lion sits by the big rock, Lucky Lion sits by the tree stump, etc.), or it may be a position relative to the other animals (Leonard always lines up to the left, then Lucky is next to him, etc.). This behavior is particularly useful during group training sessions or at meal times as it lowers the competition between animals.

A to B Behaviors

A to B behaviors refers to the idea of moving from one location to another. This can be done for reasons of safety. For example, a keeper may want to enter an enclosure without getting rushed by an excited animal. By teaching an animal to move from an area near the doorway to another spot, the keeper can enter in a safer manner. These behaviors differ from stationing in that there isn’t a set location for the animal to go to.

Gating and Separations

When an animal “gates,” it moves through a threshold (such as a doorway or gate) from one area to another. While this is closely related to A to B behaviors, it specifically refers to moving from one enclosure to another. This is important because zoological settings often have multiple areas for animals to live in. For example, at Shedd, we saw Ty the sea lion in four different areas over the course of the week. Having Ty be a willing participant in moving from one place to another allows him a great deal of variety, which prevents boredom.

In addition to gating, Ty also had to separate from the other sea lions. This is an important concept for animals typically kept in groups, such as the dolphins or beluga whales. The animals need to be comfortable leaving their group behind in order to participate in medical procedures or individual training sessions.

Tactile Behaviors

This beluga whale is comfortable with human contact. Also: SQUEE!

 Tactile work involves desensitizing the animal to being touched by humans. Since most zoological animals are wild animals not used to human contact, this work is a vital precursor to medical behaviors, either trained or untrained.

Tactile behaviors can be taught in a number of ways. The animal can habituate to human contact, which means that it happens passively without much thought from the trainer. The animal can receive basic desensitization, in which the trainer systematically increases the amount of exposure below the animals fear threshold. Counter-conditioning can be actively pursued by reinforcing acceptance of the human’s touch. Finally, the trainer can use flooding, which is an intense form of habituation in which the contact happens at full intensity and the animal is expected to “just deal” with it. Flooding is useful when there is no other way to teach the animal to accept human contact, but since it can result in learned helplessness, it shouldn’t be used routinely.

So, how can we use these concepts to help our dogs be more comfortable in the human world? Well, we can teach a dog to target our hands with their noses. Following a hand target can help a dog move through a difficult environment- something that can be especially useful for a reactive dog to focus on! We can teach a dog to go to a mat or a crate, which helps keep him out from under foot while we greet guests at the door or change baby’s diaper. And helping a dog feel comfortable being touched will make grooming and vet visits so much easier.

There are tons and tons of examples of ways we can help our dogs develop more cooperative behaviors. I’d love to hear how you’ve used these techniques with your dog! I hope you will comment with your experiences.

Learning Theory 101: Desensitization and Counter-Conditioning

Using desensitization and counter-conditioning, Maisy has learned to be 

comfortable in the presence of other dogs- even ones she doesn't know!

In my last post on learning theory, I discussed classical conditioning, which is the process of creating automatic physical or emotional reactions to a stimulus. Sometimes those associations are useful and desirable, and sometimes they’re not, like when a dog associates the presence of children (or other dogs or bicycles or balloons or whatever) with something scary. When this happens a dog might shut down in fear or behave “reactively” or aggressively. Although it is unfortunate when this happens, the good news is that we can change these responses through two complementary processes called desensitization and counter-conditioning.

History
In the post on classical conditioning, I discussed the Little Albert experiment, in which a psychologist was able to condition a child to be afraid of fuzzy white objects. His student, Mary Cover Jones, began experimenting with the reverse, and was able to use classical conditioning to reduce fears. Joseph Wolpe expanded upon her work following World War II. Reasoning that if most behavior is learned, it can also be unlearned, he developed a systematic approach for reducing undesirable conditioned responses called desensitization.

Definition
Desensitization and counter-conditioning are like two sides of the same coin: they are distinct from one another, but work best when paired with the other. They are used when we want to change the physical or emotional association a dog has already made with something.

Desensitization is the process through which we weaken the previously learned association. This is done by gradually exposing the dog to low levels of the stimulus without provoking the unwanted emotion or reaction. Counter-conditioning is a form of classical conditioning which changes the pre-existing association. While classical conditioning can happen quickly- sometimes in just a single trial- counter-conditioning often takes much longer. However, you can reduce the amount of time if you are careful to keep your dog sub-threshold, which is what happens during desensitization. Therefore, desensitization and counter-conditioning need to go together to both weaken the undesired response and then program in the desired one.

Practical Application
Okay, so let’s say your dog has created an association that you want to change. Perhaps he’s fearful like my dog and barks or growls or lunges at Scary Things. One thing Maisy will do this toward is people riding bikes. Although there is nothing inherently scary about bikes, the behavior happens because she has formed an association that says “bikes are scary!”and reacts automatically.

In order to stop the behavior, we need to teach the dog that bikes are not scary. We’ll do this through desensitization. However, if we don’t give the dog any information on how he ought to feel about the scary stuff instead, it’s likely he’ll “re-sensitize” to it. This means that we need to take our training a step further, and teach the dog that bikes are predictors of awesomeness. This will happen through counter-conditioning.

Start by making a plan. Identify as many of the things that triggers the undesirable association as possible. Pay attention to the variables for each trigger, too: is it all bikes? Only ones ridden by children? Or maybe men? Does the speed of the bike make a difference? Or maybe the distance?

Next, learn to read your dog’s threshold- that is, the point at which he reacts. When you begin training, you want to find the "sweet spot:" the point at which your dog notices the trigger, but doesn’t react negatively. He should be able to split his attention between you and the trigger. If you can’t get his attention, you’re too close to his threshold. If he doesn’t pay attention to the trigger at all, you’re too far away.

Although we typically think of thresholds in terms of distance, duration and intensity matters, too. If you can’t change your proximity to the trigger, try lowering the intensity. Use visual barriers and sound-dampening devices. Have cyclists move slower, seek out older children rather than younger ones, or whatever makes sense given your dog’s responses.

Now you’re ready to train. Take your dog somewhere that you can expose him to one trigger only and find the “sweet spot.” Now, create a new association by pairing the trigger with something awesome. The easiest way to do this is with really yummy food. Think chicken or hot dogs or whatever your dog likes best. As long as the trigger is present, feed your dog continuously. Stop feeding when the trigger goes away.

This will take time- Pat Miller recommends working with the same trigger and intensity for at least 20 minutes, or until your dog sees the trigger and says, “Yay! Where’s my chicken?”- whichever is longer. Then you can increase the intensity (whether that’s by moving closer, having the cyclist go faster, or getting more children to hang around) and repeat the process. Increase the intensity in very small amounts. If do too much too soon, you will undo you hard work and possibly even make things worse. Be very careful to stay in the "sweet spot" during all stages.

This process is time- and labor-intensive, but the more work you put in, the stronger the new association will become. I promise, it’s worth the effort. If you aren’t getting the “yay!” effect, I highly recommend consulting with a skilled trainer. A good trainer can help you figure out what’s going on with you and your dog.

Sources
In addition to the links in this post, you may find the following websites interesting:
Patricia McConnell on counter-conditioning: is it classical or operant?
This site does a great job of explaining how to create a systematic desensitization and counter-conditioning program.
Although designed for human use, this site does a nice job of breaking down the “anxiety hierarchy” when creating a desensitization plan. It may also have applications for those of us with ring nerves!