Karen Pryor's Blog, page 6
September 24, 2009
Missy's Excellent Adventure
Misha and I are on our usual walk. We live on a busy block emptying to a very heavy traffic street.
A pretty little mini Schnauzer comes up to us. Who are you? And WHAT are you doing running around loose?
This is my neighbor Lois'es dog, I bet. Never off a leash in her six years of life. Uhoh.
Slightest hint of reaching for her, and she ducks away. I fear if I really try to catch her she'll bolt into traffic. But she's flirting with my Misha. He's charmed, too. Tails wag. I walk him up the block. The Schnauzer comes too. They play bow. Her driveway. She knows where she is, runs confidently ahead to her back gate--which is slightly open. That explains her wandering around! In we all go. I shut the gate. The dogs play. Yes, there's a back doorbell. Door opens, the Schnauzer dashes in, owner Lois gapes in surprise. Your dog was out, Lois. Now she's in. OMG in all these years that has never happened. I'm relieved, Lois is grateful --and the Schnauzer, Missy, now has her very first dog friend in her entire life--and they have a play date. My good deed for the week!
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
A pretty little mini Schnauzer comes up to us. Who are you? And WHAT are you doing running around loose?
This is my neighbor Lois'es dog, I bet. Never off a leash in her six years of life. Uhoh.
Slightest hint of reaching for her, and she ducks away. I fear if I really try to catch her she'll bolt into traffic. But she's flirting with my Misha. He's charmed, too. Tails wag. I walk him up the block. The Schnauzer comes too. They play bow. Her driveway. She knows where she is, runs confidently ahead to her back gate--which is slightly open. That explains her wandering around! In we all go. I shut the gate. The dogs play. Yes, there's a back doorbell. Door opens, the Schnauzer dashes in, owner Lois gapes in surprise. Your dog was out, Lois. Now she's in. OMG in all these years that has never happened. I'm relieved, Lois is grateful --and the Schnauzer, Missy, now has her very first dog friend in her entire life--and they have a play date. My good deed for the week!
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
September 20, 2009
News from Zoos: intro
I'm getting ready for a ten-day trip to St. Louis and Denver, to teach and talk about modern operant training in the zoos and the major shelters in each city. I'll be hoping to blog every day about my experiences as I meet, talk with, and coach shelter trainers, zoo trainers, horse trainers, and people-teachers.
Since Simon & Schuster's author pages are vetted before posting, they are sometimes delayed. For daily posts visit http://karenpryorblogspot.com or www.clickertraining.com.
I'll summarize here too, though!
KP
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Since Simon & Schuster's author pages are vetted before posting, they are sometimes delayed. For daily posts visit http://karenpryorblogspot.com or www.clickertraining.com.
I'll summarize here too, though!
KP
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
August 24, 2009
Training a crab
Lily is 17. She has been clicker training dogs since she was ten, and now teaches public obedience classes. She read my story in Chapter 1 of Reaching the Animal Mind, about training a hermit crab to ring a bell.
So, for her class research project last week at Shoals Marine Lab in New Hampshire, she set out to train a crab to ring a bell. Her professor doubted it would work, but she was so excited about it, he let her try.
Lily collected some of the local hermit crabs around the island. They were very small and timid so she used the local green crab Carcinus maenas instead. (These are pointy-shelled Portunid crabs, like the blue crabs we eat on the East Coast, only of course they are green not blue.)
Lily used the same reinforcement procedure I did--feeding with forceps, using the movement of the forceps as the click. She shaped the behavior of shoving a hanging weight with a claw, an improvement over my more complicated job of pulling a string down.
Just to be safe, in spare moments across two days she trained two crabs, Crab A and Crab B, Abby and Bertha. She took good and thorough data, photographs, and video too. When she presented her project, the other students burst into applause. The professor said her study was ‘practically publishable.'
The crabs really enjoyed the experience. How do I dare say that? For each session the crab had to be moved into a small experiment tank with a grid drawn on the floor (to measure exactly how far the crab came toward the target each time.) At first the crabs were hard to catch, and struggled mightily when lifted into the air. But soon, they got the picture. They held still to be picked up by the shell, and relaxed completely in the air, legs hanging down calmly. Now I ask you: isn’t that cool? Clicker-wise ‘operant’ crabs?
When the experiment was over, Lilly released Abby and Bertha back to the ocean in the same place where they were collected.
I found all this out by accident. I visited the lab with a Cornell alumni group, sat down for lunch at a student table,and was chatting with them when the girl next to me suddenly read my name tag and exclaimed, "You're Karen Pryor! Your book changed my life!" Changed the life of a couple of crabs now, too, I guess.
What were the chances that out of 100 people or more in the room I would sit down next to Lily?
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
So, for her class research project last week at Shoals Marine Lab in New Hampshire, she set out to train a crab to ring a bell. Her professor doubted it would work, but she was so excited about it, he let her try.
Lily collected some of the local hermit crabs around the island. They were very small and timid so she used the local green crab Carcinus maenas instead. (These are pointy-shelled Portunid crabs, like the blue crabs we eat on the East Coast, only of course they are green not blue.)
Lily used the same reinforcement procedure I did--feeding with forceps, using the movement of the forceps as the click. She shaped the behavior of shoving a hanging weight with a claw, an improvement over my more complicated job of pulling a string down.
Just to be safe, in spare moments across two days she trained two crabs, Crab A and Crab B, Abby and Bertha. She took good and thorough data, photographs, and video too. When she presented her project, the other students burst into applause. The professor said her study was ‘practically publishable.'
The crabs really enjoyed the experience. How do I dare say that? For each session the crab had to be moved into a small experiment tank with a grid drawn on the floor (to measure exactly how far the crab came toward the target each time.) At first the crabs were hard to catch, and struggled mightily when lifted into the air. But soon, they got the picture. They held still to be picked up by the shell, and relaxed completely in the air, legs hanging down calmly. Now I ask you: isn’t that cool? Clicker-wise ‘operant’ crabs?
When the experiment was over, Lilly released Abby and Bertha back to the ocean in the same place where they were collected.
I found all this out by accident. I visited the lab with a Cornell alumni group, sat down for lunch at a student table,and was chatting with them when the girl next to me suddenly read my name tag and exclaimed, "You're Karen Pryor! Your book changed my life!" Changed the life of a couple of crabs now, too, I guess.
What were the chances that out of 100 people or more in the room I would sit down next to Lily?
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
August 17, 2009
listen to PBS interview with Karen
Interesting PBS radio interview with Karen Pryor on how and why the click actually works: http://wamu.org/programs/the_animal_h...
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
August 13, 2009
Talking about unusual animal behavior, such as saying "Thanks!"
I did a radio interview with animal behaviorist Pia Silvani that you can download or listen to on line.
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Talking about unusual animal behavior, such as saying "Thanks!"
I did a radio interview with animal behaviorist Pia Silvani that you can download or listen to on line.
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Talking about unusual animal behavior, such as saying "Thanks!"
I did a radio interview with animal behaviorist Pia Silvani that you can download or listen to on line.
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Talking about unusual animal behavior, such as saying "Thanks!"
I did a radio interview with animal behaviorist Pia Silvani that you can download or listen to on line.
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Talking about unusual animal behavior, such as saying "Thanks!"
I did a radio interview with animal behaviorist Pia Silvani that you can download or listen to on line.
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Talking about unusual animal behavior, such as saying "Thanks!"
I did a radio interview with animal behaviorist Pia Silvani that you can download or listen to on line.
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
Just go to PetLifeRadio.com and look for Teachers Pet and Karen Pryor, podcast #48
Here’s what KPA graduate and Certified Training Partner Irith Bloom said:
“I just finished listening to the podcast, which I loved. Ms. Silvani asked wonderful questions and Ms. Pryor gave wonderful answers. I especially enjoyed the succinct discussion of why P+ is fraught with problems and R+ is preferable, and the clear explanation of why a non-verbal marker is so effective. What a great "thumbnail sketch" of "Reaching the Animal Mind"! Well done!”
Long-time clicker trainer Deb Manheim commented on our discussion of dogs saying ‘thank you,’ in Reaching the Animal Mind, “I soo enjoyed the phone interview. And, it is my belief, no data here, just observations, that dogs do say thank you. My dear Michael O' did walk-by licks to Stacey B at the Denver APDT conference when she brought him a bowl of cool water, and after every meal, no kidding, after every meal, my Wendy walks over to me and licks my leg. Just one quick lick. I do believe it! :-).”
Get more on Karen Pryor at SimonandSchuster.com
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