Jesús Rosales-Ruiz, Ph.D., ClickerExpo faculty member, is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas. As a researcher and mentor to graduate students in Behavior Analysis, he has developed a focus on applied operant conditioning, bringing formal study methods and data collection to real-world animal training sessions. Many of his students have gone on to work as behaviorists and trainers in zoos or as academics exploring the principles of behavior. Dr. Rosales-Ruiz's areas of interest include antecedent control of behavior, generalization, behavioral cusps, fluency-based teaching, treatment of autism, teaching of academic behavior, animal training, and rule- and contingency-shaped behavior. We were delighted when he recently agreed to answer a few of our questions about his work.
Dogs
Will You, Won't You, Will You Dance with Me?
By Gale Pryor on 01/01/2006Whether you know it as canine freestyle or heelwork to music—or you've never heard of this new dog sport at all—the time has come to dance with our dogs.
Don't Shoot the Dog! Audio Excerpt
By Karen Pryor on 01/01/2006In this audio excerpt from Don't Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training, Karen Pryor explains the difference between a "command" and a "cue." Do you say "sit" before or after you teach the dog to sit? Is the dog trying to do something, or avoid something? And why do clicker trainers use cues, anyway?
Extinction and Intermittent Reinforcement
By Wendy Williams on 01/01/2006Intermittent reinforcement is an interesting procedure. In many ways, it is hard to distinguish between "no-food trials in an intermittent reinforcement schedule" and "extinction". In both cases, no food is delivered following the target response. More importantly, the removal or prevention of a reinforcer contingent on a particular response (response cost or neg. punishment) adds another twist to the question. Here is how I would address the question:
Training "Leave It"
By Emma Parsons on 01/01/2006Q: I have a rescue Border collie/lab mix. He is about 5 months old, and an absolute delight. He picks up things very easily and constantly needs a job. We have been working on clicker training and we both really like it, but I have a couple of "positive training" questions. First. How do I train "leave it"? Second. How do I train him not to chew the house up? Third. How do I maintain the bond that I have developed, but have him listen to other people?
