Thursday, July 24, 2008

#31: Flipper Stand part 2

Cordova's Flipper Stand Continued


[new video coming soon...]

There are many different ways to train a behavior. Often a combination of approaches is good. It depends on how you and the animal you are working with interact and what is comfortable for both. I started training Cordova's flipper stand by asking her to touch her hind end to a target. After many trials and very little movement, I decided to give her something to put her hind end on. This didn't work very well. I should note that a great deal of time had been devoted to her keeping her hind end still for voluntary blood draws and vaccinations. Another idea was to ask her up onto something. Asking her up onto a step worked. I was able to touch her hind end as it came up with the target and reinforce the upward movement, but she still wasn't offering the upward movement to the target without the step. Cordova is an animal who enjoys being touched. I am now actually picking her hind end up trying to get her to brace her front flippers and support her weight up on them.

-Cheryl

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posted by NEAQ at 7:01 AM 1 Comments



Friday, May 23, 2008

#9: Checkup

Reggae's Blood Setup



This is a video of Reggae, our 14 year old male Atlantic harbor seal. For the past two years I have been training him to allow us to take a blood sample from his hind flipper during a session. We have tried many methods and have found that, using a butterfly needle, we are more successful at getting a blood sample and the process is less intensive. So this was the training path that he and I took. The video shows the completed behavior where our vet, Charlie, is actually getting a blood sample while Reggae sits on the rocks. When the camera zooms in, you see the blood flowing up the tube attached to the needle. Success! At the end you will see me feeding him a lot of fish. This is called magnitude reinforcement and helps to communicate that he did really well. During sessions like this one, I will give him his entire pouch!


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posted by NEAQ at 10:47 AM 1 Comments



Saturday, May 17, 2008

#6: About Training

Why Train?

Why do we train the seals? That's a question that the marine mammal trainers are asked from time to time. There are lots of reasons why we train. We train so that we can keep these intelligent animals stimulated. They really seem to enjoy learning new behaviors. We train so that we can develop a close, working relationship based on trust. It's this trusting relationship that allows us to work in close proximity to them and touch them so that we, as well as our vet, can check out the condition of their entire body, including their flippers, their fur, their eyes and the inside of their mouths. We also train so that we can provide them with the best medical care possible. Taking blood samples, giving vaccinations, doing x-rays and ultrasounds are some of the important procedures that we need to be able to do. Having the animals cooperate voluntarily in the performance of these procedures minimizes stress. In the coming weeks we'll explain, as well as show you, how and "why" we train the different behaviors that we train.


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posted by NEAQ at 11:03 AM 1 Comments