A New Trainers Guide
Hello, it is Melanie Canatella with Fluff and Feathers. Recently, I started a new hobby. I have been doing stained glass for a little over 2 years now, and love it. I also do photography but that is beside the point. I started interning for a glass blower, specifically lampworking, to learn the craft. I was ready for a new challenge and yet another expensive hobby, as if caring for parrots was not enough.
While working on this new skill, I have not been the best. I have been watching YouTube videos of other people working or hosting classes, I have purchased books to read, watching short videos on social media, and I am apart of different Facebook groups. When watching others, it seems so easy. I know what to do and what to think about, but putting it all together just has not been as easy as it looks.
Why am I talking about glass working on my blog? Well, I am sure this is how you feel or have felt while starting training either all together, a new behavior, or working with a new species. I have been training for a while, close to a decade professionally, and grew up training my dogs and two parrots. It has been a long time since I was a beginner. When I work with clients, or on my online classes, I try to give training plans and education that is geared towards my whole audience, no matter where you are in your training journey.
Though with simplified education that makes it easy to understand, once you put it into practice, it may be a bit more challenging. Like me with glass, you understand what you are supposed to do and when, but once you are in front of your subject, so much unexpected can get thrown at you, as well as remembering and implementing all the moving parts can be a challenge in the beginning. To say that lamp working has humbled me in regards to my training skills is an understatement.
When it comes to training, you must consider the steps, training aids, your animal and whatever behaviors they throw at you, the environment, timing, etc. It can be a lot to juggle and think about, as well as this does not always come natural to everyone. I wanted to get some tips and tricks together to make things easier in the beginning of your training journey, no matter what behavior you are teaching or animal you are working with. This is what my mentor is helping me do!
First, I recommend writing down your entire training plan for the behavior! I do this for all my clients, as well as have a section for them to write in the animal’s reinforcers from the most valued to least so they can use that to their advantage. You can learn more specifically about how reinforcer size and type can affect behaviors here. The reason for writing it down is to quickly reference, stay on track, and break the behavior down into small approximations for the animal and yourself. If you ever need help formulating a training plan, that’s what I am here for!
Second, start with giving food reinforcers to your animal. Learn how small of a food item you can give. Learn how you need to hold the food item to get it to them as quickly as possible, as well as safely. Work on giving them quickly in case you need to, like with a high rate of reinforcement. If you are working on giving reinforcers while you and your subject are moving, like teaching a dog to heel, then work on those mechanics as well.
Third, work on your timing. In training, and my clients know, we utilize something called a bridge. A bridge is a signal or marker that tell the animal they have completed the desired behavior, as well as bridges the gap between desired behavior completion and reinforcer delivery. If you have ever told your animal “good boy/girl” after they do something you like or know what a clicker is, you know what a bridge is! When it comes to training with a bridge, you need to be precise on when you are giving the signal. It must be immediately after the behavior is completed. If not, it allows time for the animal to possibly preform a different behavior, even just standing there, which then you would be reinforcing and increasing the rate of that behavior happening again, not the desired one. Do not worry about delivering the food reinforcer super-fast, the bridge gives you time to get the reinforcer to the animal.
Work on something called charging the bridge. All you do is bridge and immediately reinforce as much as you need to get the hang of it. It does not matter what the animal is doing; after two or so bridge’s, they will likely just be focused on you waiting for the next one. Next, ask for a behavior the animal knows, even if it is just giving you eye contact. Practice your bridge timing when the animal preforms the behavior. Remember, you want it to be as close to the desired behavior being completed without being too early.
These two steps will get you in the mindset to watch behaviors closer, know your timing, and be comfortable giving reinforcers to the animal. These helps take the thinking out of it where you can focus it more on remembering the steps and the behavior you are after.
Another tip that helps is role playing. Get yourself a stuffed animal or other object to demo on. This will help you get the steps down. For example, with target training, you need to hold the target stick in a specific way for parrots based off a variety of factors. You also need to remove the target stick when the behavior is completed and hide the target stick to not confuse the bird. So, you have the animal, the stick, timing the bridge, removing the target stick, getting the reinforcer, and delivering it. Though by now some of those skills should be easier, it is still a lot. So, practice the motions with the perfect subject; one that is not real! Once you get the hang of the movements on your end, then you can swap it out for your animal who will bring some more unpredictability back into the playing field for you to focus on.
Through mentorship, something I didn't have when I was starting to train animals, has been extremely valuable to me with glass work, and I know it would be for trainers just starting out. If you can find a mentor in your area, working with me virtually, or if you are close to Maryland coming to intern for me, it is extremely valuable. Just remember that the training industry is not regulated. Being sure that your mentor has a degree in the science of behavior, quality certifications, ample experience with a wide range of species or breeds will go a long way in being sure that you are being taught by a true professional!
Once you got all this down, you have a solid training foundation to help your companion reach the behavior goals you have set! The last thing that helps is keeping realistic expectations for yourself. I know it can be stressful when you are working on animal behavior compared to molten glass, but remembering that you are new to training and not getting frustrated, or giving up, is helpful. Behavior change can take time for your animal and for us. Some people pick up skills easier than others. If you are struggling, feel free to vent to me through email, and I hope I can give you even more suggestions and feedback to help make training work for you! You CAN do this!