Animal Training Fundamentals with Barbara Heidenreich

Latest Episodes:

14 Progressive Bird Training with Hillary Hankey Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

My favorite kind of animal trainers are those who break the rules!! What I mean by that is that they are the ones who question everything in the name of doing it better. That is why this episode is entitled "Progressive Bird Training." My special guest Hillary Hankey is one of those trainers who spends every day analyzing, studying and practicing the art and science of animal training with a diverse collection of birds in southern California. And her results have demonstrated that indeed we can always improve. She describes the spectacular immersive free flight experience guests, students, clients and interns can have when they visit her facility. We discuss practices that can improve the welfare of birds trained for educational presentations, as well as enhance the guest experience. This means diving into how we create motivation, collection planning, the types of behaviors we train and altering guest's expectations. We also discuss the current trend of free flying companion parrots and some of the things pet owners need to take into consideration. Visit the episode webpage to see video clips and learn more about her online education program the Avian Behavior Lab and future on site workshops.

13 Extreme Falconry: Free Flight with Harris's Hawks Part 2 Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

Join me for Part 2 of my fascinating interview with animal training pioneer Al Kordowski. Although the basis of our conversation is falconry with Harris's hawks, Al's background brings us to some of the early days of marine mammal training. He shares his experiences from working with a wide variety of species, including killer whales, when the animal training industry was rapidly evolving. Learn how cross species experience translates into free flight and how it can level up one's skills. We also cover topics such as teaching animals to pay attention to specific signals such as cues and markers and how do you know what the animal is attending to? This also ties into discussions about the importance of teaching basic skills. Al also has extensive experience working in the service dog industry in which they developed and used temperament testing to match the right animal for the desired role. We discuss how this applies to the zoological field and falconry. We also discuss the merging of practical application and academia. It was another robust interview! I also answer your questions about dominance and have a special deal to help animal training enthusiasts make the most of the current situation.

12 Extreme Free Flight: Falconry with Harris's Hawks Feb 21, 2020

Show notes

My special guest this episode is master falconer Al Kordowski. Imagine spending your entire day doing what you love....flying birds! Not many trainers are accustomed to having free-flighted birds hang and partner with you for eight hours out in the field. Al shares how these relationships are developed by building thoughtful reinforcement histories that allows him to work cooperatively with a group of birds to achieve a common goal. This leads to reinforcement for all parties involved as well as strong connections and excellent inter species communication. You will be captured by Al's enthusiasm and blown away by his stories of what is possible. This is part one of this very eye opening journey into that kind of exciting training that draws upon years of experience, book knowledge, practical application skills, and challenges a trainer to keep growing and learning. I also answer your questions about training name tags, sloths and how to get an animal started that seems difficult to engage.

11-Every Animal Counts! Training Education and Children's Zoo Animals Jan 18, 2020

Show notes

Education animals, animal ambassadors, domestic animals and lab animals are often the ones who get the short end of the stick so to speak, meaning traditionally, participation was often up to the handler and not the animal. Progressive training flips the script. Animals have the choice to participate and when they do, desired consequences happen. As expected, the results are amazing behaviors. However, we are making other discoveries as well. We are seeing the impact it can have on our messaging, on research data, and most importantly on animal welfare. You will get a lot out this podcast that covers a wide variety of species from guinea pigs, rabbits, llamas, snakes, tortoises, chickens, horses, cows, pigs and more. Special guest Annette Pedersen, animal training coordinator from the Copenhagen Zoo shares some great examples and resources you don't want to miss. I also answer your questions about intermediate and terminal bridges.

10 Let's Talk about Sex...and Animal Training Jan 11, 2020

Show notes

What does sex have to do with animal training? Sometimes, everything! Animals with reproductive hormones in overdrive can present challenges with motivation for participation in training sessions. They can also present undesired behaviors such as territorial aggression. Some will direct sexual and/or courtship behaviors towards humans. Barbara has some great examples of ways to get past motivation issues with a wide variety of species as well as address behavior challenges. She also discusses how to use training to facilitate breeding success. Elephants, rhinos, big cats, great apes, parrots, guinea pigs, dogs, horses…..she covers a lot of ground in this one. Let's talk about sex, baby!

09 New Year's Resolutions for Animal Trainers 2020 Jan 01, 2020

Show notes

Happy New Year! It's time for resolutions relevant to animal trainers. Barbara has made these for several years running now. This is the first time she is sharing them in a podcast! Barbara gives you some great ideas to inspire you and launch your 2020 animal training adventures. Visit the episode webpage for links to previous resolution lists and some awesome resources mentioned in the podcast.

08 How Do You Know if Behavior is Fluent? Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

Fluency may seem intuitive ….on the surface. In behavior terms it is currently defined as the fluid combination of accuracy and speed that characterizes competent performance, in other words doing the right thing without hesitation. However doing the right thing in real life application can involve many different measures. In this podcast Barbara Heidenreich discusses what criteria to measure to evaluate whether a behavior is being presented with accuracy. The benefit of measuring is that it highlights what aspects of the behavior have been successfully trained and what particular aspect(s) still need work to achieve fluency. Barbara shares examples relevant to both zoo and companion animal trainers. Visit the episode webpage for video examples from the podcast.

07 Repetitive Behavior- Stop the Madness! Dec 08, 2019

Show notes

Not all repetitive behavior is stereotypic. Many times it is the result of reinforcement. Determining why an animal is presenting repetitive behavior requires asking our selves a series of questions that can reveal triggers and consequences that maintain the undesired behavior. This can then help us develop a strategy to address the problem. In this podcast Barbara Heidenreich goes over these questions as well as defines stereotypic behavior and some practices to avoid when dealing with a true stereotypy that can make the problem worse! Visit the shows webpage at www.AnimalTrainingFundamentals.com for a video example and a download discussed in the podcast.

06-The Benefits of Horse Agility Oct 05, 2019

Show notes

Special guest Animal Training Coordinator of the Copenhagen Zoo, Annette Pedersen shares how transitioning from riding horses using traditional training techniques to training for agility with positive reinforcement has made a tremendous difference in animal welfare. Learn about the easy to make apparatus the zoo uses to give horses the opportunity to use different muscles and practice balance. Behaviors have been trained specifically to maintain excellent physical condition. The horse training program has shown how training based in positive reinforcement can result in an exceptionally well-trained horses, eager to participate, well-behaved and willing to stop on a dime! Can horses be successfully trained with positive reinforcement? You bet! Take a listen and learn more about transitioning from traditional methods.

05 - Target Training: A Complex "Basic" Behavior Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

People often think of target training as a basic behavior. But a deeper dive often helps us see this basic behavior has many details to consider that take it from basic to complex very quickly. This podcast will help you fine tune your target training skills. Get ideas on how to get targeting started with an animal showing a fear response. Learn what to do when animals interact in a way that is in appropriate such as grabbing or biting the target. Find out if you are making some common target training mistakes. And discover some creative ways to get sharks, rhinos and giraffes to engage with a target. Lots of real-life examples are discussed in this podcast.

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