Discovery News reports that the Zoo Atlanta has used positive reinforcement training methods to teach their gorilla, Ozzie, to accept the "Gorilla Tough Cuff". The Tough Cuff is a blood pressure cuff that was recently designed through partnership with the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Cardiac disease is the leading cause of mortality in male gorillas living in captivity, and this invention will help to monitor high blood pressure in older gorillas, which is a frequent precursor to Cardiac disease.
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Science
Gorilla gets his blood pressure taken, thanks to positive reinforcement training!
By KPCT on 11/11/2009
Survival: Why Reinforcement Can Determine if You Live or Die
By Aaron Clayton on 08/08/2009One thing I can't get out of my own mind after reading Karen Pryor's new book, Reaching the Animal Mind, is the fascinating neuroscience about how the click follows deep physiological, non-cognitive pathways involving the amygdala. Combine this with the "seeker circuit" physiology, and you have a big part of what make the clicker training process so powerful—it's permanent and impossible to resist.
Wolf Park—a Howling Good Time!
By Tia Guest on 05/22/2009I have always wanted to go to Wolf Park, a nonprofit education and research facility where you can get up close with wolves and learn about their behavior. Having heard about it for years, and having met people who raved after attending one of the seminars offered there, it was on my list of places I'd most like to see.
Cuddle up with your dog—but wash your hands, too!
By Marie Clougher on 02/24/2009These days, if it's not worry about the economy, it's worry about our health. The news is full of stories about superbugs and new illnesses—never mind the flu and other common viruses. One piece of positive news stands out—our pets can continue to offer comfort against these worries.
Aversive training techniques create aggressive dogs; deemed risky
By Miranda Hersey Helin on 02/19/2009In case anyone reading this needed confirmation, treating your dog with aggression creates aggression in your dog. In an article published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science earlier this year, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania released their findings on aversive training techniques and suggested that veterinarians warn pet owners about the associated risks. The abstract:
Prior to seeking the counsel of a veterinary behaviorist many dog owners have attempted behavior modification techniques suggested by a variety of sources. Recommendations often include aversive training techniques which may provoke fearful or defensively aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess the behavioral effects and safety risks of techniques used historically by owners of dogs with behavior problems.
A 30-item survey of previous interventions was included in a behavioral questionnaire distributed to all dog owners making appointments at a referral behavior service over a 1-year period. For each intervention applied, owners were asked to indicate whether there was a positive, negative, or lack of effect on the dog's behavior, and whether aggressive behavior was seen in association with the method used. Owners were also asked to indicate the source of each recommendation. One-hundred-and-forty surveys were completed. The most frequently listed recommendation sources were “self” and “trainers”. Several confrontational methods such as “hit or kick dog for undesirable behavior” (43%), “growl at dog” (41%), “physically force the release of an item from a dog's mouth” (39%), “alpha roll” (31%), “stare at or stare [dog] down” (30%), “dominance down” (29%), and “grab dog by jowls and shake” (26%) elicited an aggressive response from at least a quarter of the dogs on which they were attempted. Dogs presenting for aggression to familiar people were more likely to respond aggressively to the confrontational techniques “alpha roll” and yelling “no” compared to dogs with other presenting complaints (P < 0.001). In conclusion, confrontational methods applied by dog owners before their pets were presented for a behavior consultation were associated with aggressive responses in many cases. It is thus important for primary care veterinarians to advise owners about risks associated with such training methods and provide guidance and resources for safe management of behavior problems.
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It's all old news to clicker trainers, wouldn't you say?
