The general objective of this course is to give an overview of the basics of animal training. The course is designed for animal care staff that needs to acquire basic concepts around animal training. The course will provide a brief overview of animal training theory, as well as terminology and an overview of training techniques. The importance of understanding an animal’s natural and individual history and how these impact training are discussed in the course. In addition to lecture, selected training concepts and skills will be taught via group activities.
The following are the learning objectives for the course.
- Students are able to define animal training and the benefits of an animal training program.
- Students can articulate and properly use basic terminology involved in the training process.
- Students have the ability to express how the animal’s individual history (individual idiosyncrasies, specific husbandry needs) and natural history (sensory modalities, communication) affect the animal in the training process and how the trainer can adjust for this.
- Students will be able to articulate the importance of selecting a clear goal and the importance of writing out the approximations that are necessary to achieve goals in the training process.
- Students will have an understanding of how to use a bridge and the importance of the timing of the bridge.
- Students will have an understanding of the important role that consistency plays in shaping/maintaining animal behavior.
- Students will have an understanding of what it looks like to have a behavior under stimulus control.
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