Karen Pryor Clickertraining - Birds

Rising Like a Phoenix

Gale Pryor — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Phoenix Landing, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, was founded in 2000 by Ann Brooks to promote and protect the welfare of parrots, especially those with potential lifespans of 40 to 60 years. They have placed more than 250 parrots with new homes and manage a network of 80 foster homes for parrots awaiting adoption. Phoenix Landing's commitment to the welfare of parrots, however, goes far beyond locating adoptive homes for rescued and abandoned parrots.

Clicking Birds: A Veterinarian's Perspective

KPCT — Sat, 01 May 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Leigh Clayton is a resident in avian/exotic animal medicine at Boston's Angell Animal Medical Center, formerly Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, specializing in avian care. Recently we asked her a few questions about why she recommends clicker training for every patient she sees.

Clicking with Birds

Melinda Johnson — Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0600

Join this great online list and find out how to clicker train your parrot or other bird. Here's a message from Melinda Johnson, the author of our book on clicking birds, Clicker Training for Birds. Yes! Clicker training works for birds too. Birds were among the first animals ever to be trained by B.F. Skinner and his assistants.

A Change—and a Canary

Karen Pryor — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0600

For six years I have been writing a monthly letter to you. In the beginning, back in 2002, "Karen's Letter" was usually about new products and events, but gradually I began using the letter to talk about the science of training, and about the impact of the new technology we are developing from that science.

The Shape of Shaping: Some Historical Notes

Karen Pryor — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Shaping is a concept that many pet owners find hard to grasp. We're used to making animals do things by leading them or pushing them into the behavior we want—and it is hard to believe that there is another way. Common sense tells us that there is no possible way to get an animal to do something it has never done before, doing nothing yourself but reinforcing spontaneous movements.

Congratulations to the Canis Film Festival Winners!

KPCT — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Laura VanArendonk Baugh won Grand Prize at the first-ever Canis Film Festival, a contest designed to showcase innovative animal-training videos. This unique festival focuses on short films of seven minutes or fewer that educate animal owners and professionals about the power of training based on the science of operant conditioning.

Clicking Raptors in the Saguaro

Karen Pryor — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600

We're standing on a gently sloping foothill with Tucson's jagged volcanic peaks behind us, looking across the vast, flat Avra valley far below. The hills beyond that valley are in Mexico. The desert sky is a brilliant, piercing blue, filling the eyes with light. The mild warmth of the winter sun is welcome. This is Saguaro National Park.

Ridin' the Storms Out

Angi Millwood — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0500

During the hurricane season of 2004, Florida endured a phenomenon never before encountered in recorded history. The "Sunshine State" took the brunt of not one, not two, not three, but four major hurricanes! Three of these amazing storms, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, blew directly through Central Florida and impacted the two animal facilities maintained by Natural Encounters, Inc. (NEI).

Playtime

Karen Pryor — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Ah, summer! For weeks I haven't been able to get anyone on the phone, businesses don't answer their e-mail, professors are unreachable, my family is camping on the beach, and trainers I need to talk to are tracking down their ancestors in Iceland or bird watching in Belize or going fishing.

Everyone is playing. Play is a highly important part of life. I think it's also a highly important part of clicker training. No, I don't mean as a reward—following the click with a game of tug, say, rather than a treat. That's okay in its place; but that's not what I mean.

When B.F. Skinner Discovered Shaping

Gail Peterson — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Note from Karen Pryor: This paper reveals a fascinating piece of scientific detective work by Gail Peterson, Ph.D., a professor of behavior analysis at the University of Minnesota. During World War II, Skinner and some of his graduate students conducted classified research on pigeon-controlled guidance systems, at a secret laboratory in Minneapolis. One day, while waiting for government approval on their next steps, they decided to pass the time by trying to train a pigeon to "bowl."

Clicking Is Really for the Birds!

Karen Pryor — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Back in 1979 I taught a training course for keepers at the National Zoo. The zoo had a display full of abandoned cockatoos, some of which had been relinquished for behavior problems, others simply because they had outlived their owners. They were so hungry for attention and stimulation that one of my students taught a bird several tricks (hanging upside down from a branch, for instance) with the 'click' being a tap on the glass with her class ring, and the primary reinforcer nothing more than a chance to pretend to nibble her ring through the glass. Ever since, I have been touched and saddened by the loneliness and impoverished environment of many captive parrots and their relatives.

Come Back, But Don't Come Down: Advanced Exercise in Cueing

Karen Pryor — Tue, 01 Apr 1997 00:00:00 -0600

"Tell me this," said the Old Falconer, rocking back on his heels a little. "I want my bird to come back to me when she's too far away; but I want her to come back AND to stay up in the air. If I give her your click signal for coming back, she's got to come down to me to get her reward, right? So how can I do that and still get her to stay overhead?" And he glared at me with "Gotcha!" in his eyes.

Falconry and Modern Operant Conditioning

Karen Pryor — Tue, 01 Apr 1997 00:00:00 -0600

In the last five years, since training thousands of people, mostly dog owners, to use operant conditioning creatively, I've come to be aware that the conditioned reinforcer is much more important and useful than I knew, and that it has many functions besides telling the animal it's earned a treat. All of these functions can apply in falconry to make your life easier, your bird happier, your control more reliable, and your hunting and other interactions more successful and enjoyable.