Alienation. Connection. I’ve been thinking a lot about these terms lately. Specifically, how they relate to learning, whether that be clicker training a cat, learning a new skill or any other scenario you can conjure. Learning relationships, indeed any relationship, are a product of their environment, as are those individuals within them. Because of this, it is important to consider not only the end goal, but also the starting point. When focusing on a starting point in my training & learning, I want to ensure I am building connection & not alienation.
“Alienation” is defined as “an estrangement, or separation,” also as “a lack of unity, harmony & connection.” Both trainer & learner can experience alienation separately or at the same time. Regardless who is alienated, the fallout is a lack of “self-determination” & “self-realization.” These two terms can be equated with, in the case of the former, “control” & for the latter, “choice.” The terms “choice & control” are used in applied animal training contexts (see Alligood & Friedman in references). Whatever terms one uses, the goal is building of trust & relationship between trainer & learner. This is referred to as, “the trust account,” “a self-identification,” or as tend to think of it, “shared communication & understanding.” What leads to alienation, whether in Marxist theory, or training contexts, is lack of genuine choice & control.
Since choice & control can support connection, an increase of these aspects is essential. Positive reinforcement is ideal, but if there is only one way to access a reinforcer, it is also coercive.
Training strategies to support choice & control are, preference testing, not withholding meals, incorporating non-contingent degrees-of-freedom, not forcing training participation, offering enrichment with opportunities for species appropriate behavior, start-button behaviors, opt-in, opt-out responses & having conversations about “conse
The process & procedure of stimulus-to-stimulus pairing (S-t-S) is used by trainers to condition a bevy of behaviors especially recalls & stationing at a location. This approach has often been considered classical conditioning (CC) as it involves the pairing of a neutral stimulus (which through pairing becomes a conditioned stimulus) with an unconditioned stimulus. The paradigmatic example of CC is Pavlov’s dogs, where the sound of a metronome (neutral stimulus) was followed by delivery of meat powder (unconditioned stimulus). After recurring trials of this pairing, the metronome evoked the behavior of salivating in the dogs before the power was delivered. The sound of the metronome came to predict salivation due to its proximity to the delivered food & that if it had sounded, food was always delivered. Kiki Yablon Dog Training offers refreshing insights on the subtleties of how the process/procedure of S-t-S goes above & beyond CC in her blogs & resources (see comments for link to podcast). Reels never offers enough characters but some of the aspects I appreciate most are her use of the term “mind the gap” (paraphrasing & self-interpreting so if off the mark, mea culpa) as observing for the development of an operant “B” (as in A->B->C of behavior) between that S-t-S paring of the “A->C,” along with the use of the interrogative adverbs to help define the “how,” in terms of the “when” being availability in the form of the cue & the “where” being access to the reinforcer, while the “why,” in my opinion, is up to disequilibrium theory to ascertain its “bliss point.” In the video w/ Poe, the “how “ is an open-mouth(hold) (O-MH). (We want to build a more practical & functional O-MH than what we have currently). A large part of constructing this behavior was incorporating the neutral stimulus of the tweezers as the eventual cue (conditioned stimulus) as seen in the 2nd clip. In the 1st clip the neutral stimulus of the tweezers was pai
The process & procedure of stimulus-to-stimulus pairing (S-t-S) is used by trainers to condition a bevy of behaviors especially recalls & stationing at a location. This approach has often been considered classical conditioning (CC) as it involves the pairing of a neutral stimulus (which through pairing becomes a conditioned stimulus) with an unconditioned stimulus. The paradigmatic example of CC is Pavlov’s dogs, where the sound of a metronome (neutral stimulus) was followed by delivery of meat powder (unconditioned stimulus). After recurring trials of this pairing, the metronome evoked the behavior of salivating in the dogs before the power was delivered. The sound of the metronome came to predict salivation due to its proximity to the delivered food & that if it had sounded, food was always delivered.
Kiki Yablon Dog Training offers refreshing insights on the subtleties of how the process/procedure of S-t-S goes above & beyond CC in her blogs & resources (see comments for link to podcast). Reels never offers enough characters but some of the aspects I appreciate most are her use of the term “mind the gap” (paraphrasing & self-interpreting so if off the mark, mea culpa) as observing for the development of an operant “B” (as in A->B->C of behavior) between that S-t-S paring of the “A->C,” along with the use of the interrogative adverbs to help define the “how,” in terms of the “when” being availability in the form of the cue & the “where” being access to the reinforcer, while the “why,” in my opinion, is up to disequilibrium theory to ascertain its “bliss point.”
In the video w/ Poe, the “how “ is an open-mouth(hold) (O-MH). (We want to build a more practical & functional O-MH than what we have currently). A large part of constructing this behavior was incorporating the neutral stimulus of the tweezers as the eventual cue (conditioned stimulus) as seen in the 2nd clip. In the 1st clip the neutral stimulus of the tweezers was
Relationship is a deepening of connection. Such connection develops through life stories of shared communication & experience. Meaning is found in these stories. Such meaning offers context to the value of everyday life. How does the story of you & the cat(s) in your life read? What are some of the celebrations & challenges? Where is shared meaning found? In answering such questions, I invite you to become a part of a greater story positive reinforcement cat training. Let the clowder & I be your guides to explore how such approaches can open new worlds of communication & understanding. The Conditional Cat: Cat Herding 101, (Tromplo) a positive reinforcement training course starts July 1st & runs for 6 weeks (course remains accessible to the enrolled for lifetime access) offering premium & auditor spots. Either option accesses all course work, but premium spots receive more in depth feedback from myself during the course.Information covered includes:👉 reviewing the art & science of learning/training 👉 foundational behaviors of targeting & stationing👉 training behaviors via shaping, targeting & luring👉 training intermediate behaviors including: sit, down, high five (with both paws) & more👉 intro to cooperative care, voluntary carrier entry/exit, training baseline chin-hold & more👉 training with distance, distraction & duration 👉 understand & apply the concepts of predictable unpredictability & loopy training 👉 a review of environmental stimuli as cues & conditioning calm/relaxation👉 use the skills acquired & apply to scenarios beyond this course in creative waysReasons to take this course: 😺 enhance trust & relationship with the cat(s) in your life😺 offer mental stimulation & develop a dialogue with your cat(s)😺 acquire new skills & to help prepare for routine or emergent cooperative care😺 gain insight into positive reinforcement training, behavior & cats Course link: https://tromplo.com/course/the-condi
Generalizing Success: The Power of Programming Common Stimuli
In the last week I’m guessing you either shopped at a variety of stories, ordered items from more than (ahem 🙄) one website & either made dinner a few times or ordered out. I myself parked in different lots/spaces, cracked a few tops on various craft (🙄🙄) IPAs & followed some new Instagram accounts.
Though a rather humdrum summation, these are all examples of behaviors occurring because of the process of gen.
More specifically, the process of ‘programming common stimuli.’ Woah, woah, I know it sounds dry & technical, but it’s really not. It is really important for your training & understanding of behavior though.
What ‘programming common stimuli’ means is when certain objects are present you (may) interact with them in specific ways. Like when wanting to enter a building you never have before & encountering a door handle, what will you do? 🤔
Same with driving to a new location or talking to someone you just met. We’ve learned how to access functional reinforcement from all of these discriminative stimuli through conditioning or training.
In the video montage, Poe responds to the presence of the pink tie-dye station mat. Though scenarios & contexts differ, the station mat remains a ‘sufficient & salient stimulus,’ that Poe responds to. She is of course responding in this way because we have built a conditioned history of positive reinforcement in relation to the stimulus of that station mat.
(Note in last snippet Poe targets the notebook. This is an example of ‘stimulus gen.’, our explorations have focused on ‘response maintenance & response gen.’.)
This aspect of ‘programming common stimuli’ can open up new realities for you & all the species in your life. What are some examples of this programming from your own experience?
👉Comment & Follow along to learn more & keep the conversation going!
Resources
Erhard, P. & Falcomata, T., (2023). Generalization. In W. W. Fisher, C. C. Piazza & H. S. Roane (Eds.) H
In the last week I’m guessing you either shopped at a variety of stories, ordered items from more than (ahem 🙄) one website & either made dinner a few times or ordered out. I myself parked in different lots/spaces, cracked a few tops on various craft (🙄🙄) IPAs & followed some new Instagram accounts. Though a rather humdrum summation, these are all examples of behaviors occurring because of the process of gen. More specifically, the process of ‘programming common stimuli.’ Woah, woah, I know it sounds dry & technical, but it’s really not. It is really important for your training & understanding of behavior though. What ‘programming common stimuli’ means is when certain objects are present you (may) interact with them in specific ways. Like when wanting to enter a building you never have before & encountering a door handle, what will you do? 🤔 Same with driving to a new location or talking to someone you just met. We’ve learned how to access functional reinforcement from all of these discriminative stimuli through conditioning or training. In the video montage, Poe responds to the presence of the pink tie-dye station mat. Though scenarios & contexts differ, the station mat remains a ‘sufficient & salient stimulus,’ that Poe responds to. She is of course responding in this way because we have built a conditioned history of positive reinforcement in relation to the stimulus of that station mat. (Note in last snippet Poe targets the notebook. This is an example of ‘stimulus gen.’, our explorations have focused on ‘response maintenance & response gen.’.) This aspect of ‘programming common stimuli’ can open up new realities for you & all the species in your life. What are some examples of this programming from your own experience? 👉Comment & Follow along to learn more & keep the conversation going! Resources
An aspect I’ve observed in rescue & shelter work is that potential adopters are eager for tactile contact. Often seen by people trying to or better yet, asking, ‘can I pick up this cat.’ Instead of asking this question, a better route is to develop trust & relationship before planning to pick anything up. Cats do not inherently want to be picked up; people inherently want to pick them up. Thus, a discrepancy arises that can hinder development of trust & relationality between people & cats.
I do not often pick the cats in my clowder up. I certainly cuddle them. They sit on my lap (laying on my pillow/head, laptop, notebooks, etc. 😹). There is no lack of connection through contact.
I can, have & will pick both Durga & Poe up, but this is not a behavior I regularly express. I’m not a huge fan of tactile contact from humans (limited hugs please 🤣), so I think of being ‘picked up’ as unappealing. It’s not wrong to pick up a consenting cat, but it’s a conditioned behavior. One that an individual cat may not prefer, or actively dislike. These are crucial considerations for this conversation with the cat’s in your life.
Considering such, Poe & I wanted to share an initial session to begin ‘asking’ a cat if they would like to be picked up, while turning it into a bit of a game. The reinforcement of Poe being picked up is seen by her return to be picked again as the behavior pattern maintains. Notice how space & motion are used to arrange clear communication & establish a training loop of direction & flow. I used the words ‘pick up’ & ‘put down’ as communication for Poe as my wiggling fingers were the discriminative stimulus.
Note how Poe bunts my left hand with her head/shoulder before moving between both hands to bunt my right hand with her head as a start-button signal to pick her up.
There were some clear instances during this video that Poe offered as a slight opt-out as seen at 0:56-0:58 when looking at me, along with a sl
How to ask the cat in your life if they’d like to be picked up using positive reinforcement.
An aspect I’ve observed in rescue & shelter work is that potential adopters are eager for tactile contact. Often seen by people trying to or better yet, asking, ‘can I pick up this cat.’ Instead of asking this question, a better route is to develop trust & relationship before planning to pick anything up. Cats do not inherently want to be picked up; people inherently want to pick them up. Thus, a discrepancy arises that can hinder development of trust & relationality between people & cats.
I do not often pick the cats in my clowder up. I certainly cuddle them. They sit on my lap (laying on my pillow/head, laptop, notebooks, etc. 😹). There is no lack of connection through contact.
I can, have & will pick both Durga & Poe up, but this is not a behavior I regularly express. I’m not a huge fan of tactile contact from humans (limited hugs please 🤣), so I think of being ‘picked up’ as unappealing. It’s not wrong to pick up a consenting cat, but it’s a conditioned behavior. One that an individual cat may not prefer, or actively dislike. These are crucial considerations for this conversation with the cat’s in your life.
Considering such, Poe & I wanted to share an initial session to begin ‘asking’ a cat if they would like to be picked up, while turning it into a bit of a game. The reinforcement of Poe being picked up is seen by her return to be picked again as the behavior pattern maintains. Notice how space & motion are used to arrange clear communication & establish a training loop of direction & flow. I used the words ‘pick up’ & ‘put down’ as communication for Poe as my wiggling fingers were the discriminative stimulus.
Note how Poe bunts my left hand with her head/shoulder before moving between both hands to bunt my right hand with her head as a start-button signal to pick her up.
There were some clear instances during this video that Poe offered as a slight opt-out as seen at 0:56-0:58 when looking at me, along with a sl
In the 1989 publication, An Operant Pursuit of Generalization, Stokes & Osnes stated. “contacting natural reinforcers,” as, “the most fundamental guideline of behavior programming..& generalization programming.” This refers to training skills that can access reinforcers based on responding to an evocative cue, but also able to self-direct towards certain discriminative aspects of stimuli in other contexts apart from prompts or cues of a trainer. Such self-directions can allow maintenance of accessing natural consequences. By working to increase the behavioral repertoire available to the individual, as Stokes & Baer (1977) reflected, “subjects can become more prominent agents of their own behavior change, rather than being hapless pawns of more-or-less random environmental contingencies.”An example of maintaining natural contingencies is observed in the ability of a cat to manipulate puzzle feeders to access food. As K. Lashley & M. Wade (1946) hypothesized that gen. gradients are dependent upon those prior experiences of an individual with similar stimuli. In short, that the more experience an individual has with certain stimuli, the steeper the gen. gradient is, reflecting a more pronounced expression of discrimination in responding to & interacting with certain stimuli sharing stimulus class properties. In the video Durga manipulates puzzle feeders, most often with her paws & as the level of difficulty increases to access food, notice how that common behavior of using her paws is maintained, both in expression & frequency due to the natural consequence of accessing food. (Consider that Durga has a reliable history of offering high-5 & paw shakes on cue with both paws as well as using paws when playing. Are these important skills to have in her repertoire to access puzzle feeders?) Training tip takeaway: How are the behaviors being trained in more contrived & controlled training sessions able to support the maintaining of accessing natural reinforcers
3 Life Hacks for Play w/ Cats!
The behavioral expression of ‘play’ has been defined in many ways as its importance is undeniable. Just as Jack Torrence found that, ‘all work & no play makes Jack a dull boy,’ so too is it imperative to see to & cultivate this aspect within ourselves & the cats in our lives.
In this video we incorporate 3 factors that we find to set our own play sessions up for success. These factors include:
1) the arrangement & setup of session, including if variations are added to the environment from session to session. How can the environment be more engaging & exciting?
2) the sound that the toy produces as its brushes against & contacts the objects in the environment, along with the way you create this music of play. How can the toy sound more like a foraging bird or rodent?
3) the motion of the toy in navigating the environment as if it were a fleeing creature being hunted. How can the toy seem more realistic?
In considering these factors & setting the stage for such interactions, play encourages species appropriate behavior that mimics the same patterns observed in cats when hunting. Play serves as a function of maintaining physical & behavioral health, while building trust & relationality between human & feline & getting a chance to bring out the individual preferences & personalities of the cats in our lives.
Three excellent resources to explore both the scientific basis & practical application include: the current (& upcoming work) of Mikel Delgado, Total Cat Mojo by Jackson Galaxy & The Behavior of the Domestic Cat (2nd Ed.).
What do you find sets your own play sessions on for success? Comment below! 😺👇
#cat
Continuing to explore generalization further, this post focuses on, ‘training sufficient exemplars,’ as referenced in, An implicit technology of generalization, Stokes & Baer (1977). This approach refers to training various examples of a stimulus or response as detailed in, Generalization, Erhard & Falcomata (2023).
As articulated in, Multiple exemplar training: Some strengths & limitations, Holth (2017) through the variety of examples arranged for the behavior to occur over, the individual learns that these various trained examples are not different from one another. This may allow for the individual to develop a response class based on these examples of which future untrained examples will maintain in occurrence due to this development.
In the video Poe & I explore various exemplars through the response classes of the ‘snoot’ & ‘sit’ behaviors. When constructing a behavior, consider ways that you can arrange to incorporate different settings, conditions & contexts in graded & errorless ways. This approach is multifold & can include such aspects as training the same response at various times of day, in different locations & across varying distances. Other aspects of training sufficient examples could include incorporating different durations & distractions, including changing up your own position or standing on one leg like a 🦩.
Realistically, we are always training a slightly different exemplar, but still consider: how many examples am I training, how varied are they & what function is this behavior serving?
What are some examples of training sufficient exemplars that you are celebrating or focusing on? Comment below…😺
Preference Assessment
Have you ever considered how the value of “value,” affects training? Have you ever wondered how to increase the diversity of objects that could be used as functional reinforcers to meet and maintain the motivations of your learner? If nodding your head, as in, “yes,” then keep reading.
There are many aspects that lead to successful (and fun) instances of training with the animals in your life. The aspect this post is exploring is that of how value and preference can affect motivations and in turn impact how engaged learners are in working to access available reinforcers. If the reinforcers are not valuable or preferential, then why would they inspire any behavioral expression?
If the reinforcers that you have been employing are coming up lacking or getting a stale reception, then it’s time to arrange for a preference assessment. Preference assessments can be arranged to offer valuable insights into what objects may work as functional reinforcers in certain instances.
The preference assessment seen in the provided videos is a paired preference assessment. This assessment starts with a certain number of objects, let’s say four different kinds of treats and offers those treats in pairs, one on the left side and the other on the right side, presented simultaneously. All possible combination of pairs are presented and the most preferred treats are those that assessed initially ate or accessed at the highest rate.
A wonderful resource for planning and arranging your own preference assessment is the article, A two-choice preference assessment with five cotton-top tamarins (Sanguinus odeipus), accessed at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8217880_A_Two- Choice_Preference_Assessment_With_Five_Cotton-Top_Tamarins_Saguinus_oedipus
Along with a quality write up template for a paired preference assessment:
https://ebip.vkcsites.org/paired-stimulus/
YouTube links for full paired preference assessment videos:
A paired preference assessment with gustatory
Have you ever considered how the value of “value,” affects training? Have you ever wondered how to increase the diversity of objects that could be used as functional reinforcers to meet and maintain the motivations of your learner? If nodding your head, as in, “yes,” then keep reading.There are many aspects that lead to successful (and fun) instances of training with the animals in your life. The aspect this post is exploring is that of how value and preference can affect motivations and in turn impact how engaged learners are in working to access available reinforcers. If the reinforcers are not valuable or preferential, then why would they inspire any behavioral expression?If the reinforcers that you have been employing are coming up lacking or getting a stale reception, then it’s time to arrange for a preference assessment. Preference assessments can be arranged to offer valuable insights into what objects may work as functional reinforcers in certain instances.The preference assessment seen in the provided videos is a paired preference assessment. This assessment starts with a certain number of objects, let’s say four different kinds of treats and offers those treats in pairs, one on the left side and the other on the right side, presented simultaneously. All possible combination of pairs are presented and the most preferred treats are those that assessed initially ate or accessed at the highest rate.A wonderful resource for planning and arranging your own preference assessment is the article, A two-choice preference assessment with five cotton-top tamarins (Sanguinus odeipus), accessed at:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8217880_A_Two- Choice_Preference_Assessment_With_Five_Cotton-Top_Tamarins_Saguinus_oedipusAlong with a quality write up template for a paired preference assessment:https://ebip.vkcsites.org/paired-stimulus/YouTube links for full paired preference assessment videos:A paired preference assessment with gustatory items:https://y
Behavior is a powerful force that changes (& is changed) by the world. All behavior serves a function, but some tendencies of behavior lead to more defined & contextualized relationships with their certain contingencies. These tendencies are generalization & discrimination. Generalization is the tendency of a behavior to occur outside of the context/learning environment in which it was initially introduced. Discrimination is the tendency for a behavior to occur in certain contexts/learning environments but not others. Think of discrimination as signaling the availability of a certain consequence & generalization as the conditioning of that behavior to respond to that availability throughout varying contexts/learning environments. For instance, if I eat my first ever Reese’s peanut butter cup at a friend’s house, that behavior will quickly (due to my own MOs & preferences) generalize to me eating more in different environs, at different times of day, etc. The peanut butter cup package will become a discriminative stimulus, alerting me to the possible availability of such apart from other stimuli. So, both tendencies work inversely to set up my baseline rate of accessing peanut butter cups for success. The shared video was from the start of a recent session where I signaled Poe with the cue ‘station’ to locate at the small pink tie-dye mat. It was over distance & as I was behind Poe, her momentum was away from me. (All aspects of generalization from other sessions.) Note how at 0:06-0:07 Poe seems to pause subtly, but perceptibly as she walks on the cooling mat, which has a similar color (& somewhat texture) to her actual station mat. (I also kept camera perspective wide to show how ‘busy’ the room was which is a consideration for such tendencies as well.) Poe’s discriminative tendencies were noted when she continued forward after the slight pause & promptly contacted the station mat to access the available reinforcers. What others aspects of these tende
Let’s talk about shaping (diff. reinforcement) of successive approximations to a target behavior. In Poe & my case that target behavior is to roll around a basketball while balancing on it. Shaping is often viewed as a series of steps or linear process of planning focusing on a goal. Another view of shaping is one the clowder & I came across in 2020 by Mary Hunter - StaleCheerios. This is a non-linear approach to planning & can be viewed as a set of building blocks, focusing on actions over goals. These blocks are ‘subunits which compose the discrete unit of a response form’ (Stokes & Balsam, 1991). Thinking in this model is valuable to focus my own planning on skills & actions to accomplish a target, rather than linear steps to reach a goal. This model offers an ability to utilize a graded approach, while allowing for a learner-centered basis to explore skills & actions required to reach that grand goal in generalized ways. Things appreciated about this session w/ Poe: allowing P’s weight to generate movement & the necessity to balance, keeping @inaba_churu hand fixed & P working to remain on the b-ball w/ more observable adjustments than previously. At around 0:18 the ball rotates forward, but P adjusts & rooting in place if only for a half-second before capitulating to gravity( the intent & understanding are apparent. We’ll continue to use various & generalized forms of building P’s skills up before attempting the goal. Another beautiful example of non-linear planning & shaping is an example Hannah Branigan spoke with Mary Hunter on episode 109 of the always engaging podcast, Drinking from the Toilet. This was the example of the transitioning from a balance bike to a pedaled bicycle. An equine example found at https://equineclickertraining.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/asat-2020-mary-hunter-planning-your-shaping-from-a-non-linear-perspective/ along with an outline of one of Mary’s presentations. Skinner, B.F., (1953). Science & Human Behavior.Stokes, P
Unpredictable predictability is a concept I first started thinking about after reading a @zoospensful blog post discussing how elements of predictability (which I consider to be aspects of stimulus discrimination) & unpredictability (aspects of stimulus generalization) can affect & impact motivations, expectations & engagement when in training scenarios. In this reel, Poe & I are working to generalize her evoked bite response to target a new stimulus, being a very appropriate @gappay_germany Nylcot mini bite sleeve.
Looking at some predictable elements incorporated in this session: using a station mat & location (table) with history of stationing at, offering the knotted fabric for first few behavior cycles, utilizing a verbal cue that evokes the behavior & offering reinforcers in a systematic manner of signaling.
Some of the unpredictable elements include: offering the Nylcot pillow as a stimulus to bite, varying exact location of reinforcer delivery, offering two different reinforcers (Temptations & freeze dried chicken liver), changing my position in relation to Poe & directing her to shift & transition motion & location also.
A blending & balancing of these tendencies towards generalizing & discriminating is at the heart of this session’s success. This process is one of graded adjustments that works to cultivate errorless approximations through unpredictable predictability.
Some approximations to work towards: Poe & I have used the bite pillow for two play sessions where she did target it in ways expressive of clawing, biting & tendencies of evisceration. We will continue to evoke species appropriate behaviors resembling such play with the pillow before such sessions. We will also work to shape contact of Poe’s bite to occur more centrally so that all 4 of her canines are contacting the Nylcot.
Not sure if feline bite sport is more than just a romantic whim, but even so, this flight of fancy has become a rather indulgent reality. So thank you for w
Unpredictable Predictability How I train with it.
Unpredictable predictability is a concept I first started thinking about after reading a @zoospensful blog post discussing how elements of predictability (which I consider to be aspects of stimulus discrimination) & unpredictability (aspects of stimulus generalization) can affect & impact motivations, expectations & engagement when in training scenarios. In this reel, Poe & I are working to generalize her evoked bite response to target a new stimulus, being a very appropriate @gappay_germany Nylcot mini bite sleeve.
Looking at some predictable elements incorporated in this session: using a station mat & location (table) with history of stationing at, offering the knotted fabric for first few behavior cycles, utilizing a verbal cue that evokes the behavior & offering reinforcers in a systematic manner of signaling.
Some of the unpredictable elements include: offering the Nylcot pillow as a stimulus to bite, varying exact location of reinforcer delivery, offering two different reinforcers (Temptations & freeze dried chicken liver), changing my position in relation to Poe & directing her to shift & transition motion & location also.
A blending & balancing of these tendencies towards generalizing & discriminating is at the heart of this session’s success. This process is one of graded adjustments that works to cultivate errorless approximations through unpredictable predictability.
Some approximations to work towards: Poe & I have used the bite pillow for two play sessions where she did target it in ways expressive of clawing, biting & tendencies of evisceration. We will continue to evoke species appropriate behaviors resembling such play with the pillow before such sessions. We will also work to shape contact of Poe’s bite to occur more centrally so that all 4 of her canines are contacting the Nylcot.
Not sure if feline bite sport is more than just a romantic whim, but even so, this flight of fancy has become a rather indulgent reality. So thank you for w
As balance gets its foothold in stillness, it is time to start adding slight shifts & arrange incremental movements in graded ways that cultivate to the growth of both the goal & overall behavioral repertoire. For Poe & I that means, I am no longer steadying the basketball with my hand (note the two large rolled-up towels making a lane for the ball). Directly underneath the ball is a non-skid mat, on each opposite side, a rolled-up wash cloth at a 90-degree angle to the towel lane. The washcloths allow for just a tad of variable basketball motion & can be arranged to allow for varying degrees of such motion. Things important as Poe & I work towards not only balancing on a ball, but steadying on a slightly moving ball, to possibly stationing on & propelling that ball over a (somewhat) notable distance *gasp/sigh. For this session we are focusing on Poe holding her head above her shoulders & slightly elongating her neck to counterbalance her tail. Once steady, then we work to create micro & macro movement, which in turn moves the ball in ways that are minor, but require Poe’s attention to detail in order for her to adhere to a dignified equilibrium. #cat #cattraining #clickertraining #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementtraining #balance
