ABC'S: ANIMAL BEHAVIOR CONCERNS & SOLUTIONS
A Question & Answer Forum For Animal Professionals
Copyright © By Diana Guerrero

All content © by Diana L. Guerrero unless otherwise noted and may not be reprinted without prior written permission. All rights reserved. Contact arkanimals.com for reprint permissions and fees.

Welcome to the ABC's! Animal Behavior Concerns & Solutions is an animal behavior column written by animal behaviorist and animal trainer, Diana L. Guerrero. This section is dedicated to animal training techniques for all animals and pets, and topics related to operant conditioning and reinforcement. Behavior control issues are discussed in this two part topic. Be sure to read part one. For pet training please visit the pet section, see our pet behavior booklets in the shop, or visit our teleseminar section.

Common Training Errors 101: Dealing with Animal Behavior Control Issues
Part 2 of 2

QUESTION
American Zoo. How should we deal with behavior control issues?

ANSWER
Part Two of Two. Begin with Part One.
Last month was spent on taking a look at why a trainer might lose behavioral control over an animal. This segment will discuss what steps a trainer can take to obtain success with uncooperative behavior. Since no specific situation was given, the strategies will be predominantly preventative.

A quick review of some important points from last month:
· Know the natural history of the species and seasonal trends. This is important so that complications can be anticipated and dealt with prior to escalation.

• Build a strong rapport with your charge(s). This can help you through many consequences.
• Know your animal and watch for slight changes in behavior that can alert you to problems before they escalate. This enables you to recognize early warning signs, predict when there might be a problem and avert difficulties.
  
• Habituate your animal to change.
  
• Be an astute observer of animal dynamics.
  
• Keeping an animal occupied and challenged through training.

Here are some other areas to focus on so that you can avoid the loss of behavioral control:

Pay attention to the animal's physical and emotional state.
Take the time to assess your animal(s) on a daily basis. If you sense, or know from prior experience, that certain situations or certain times of year are difficult, then adjust your schedule accordingly.

Do not overlook veterinary medical assessment if you are seeing changes that are not normal.
There are some days when you should work through difficult situations and others when you should just refrain from training altogether. Being able to assess an animal and the behavior you are seeing, combined with experience and input from senior training staff are vital to your success.

Anticipate Breeding Cycles and adjust your programming accordingly.
If your animals are in a breeding cycle, is there a period of time where they are more responsive to you? Can you separate the animals? Can you deviate from your normal program to accommodate these changes? Can you wait it out and then begin again after the season? Some animals may remain cooperative while others will not. Being able to adjust your schedule and routine to work around the hurdles presented during this time is crucial to success.

Avoid predictable altercations.
If your animal has previously balked in a certain situation, location or seasonal time frame, there is a chance that the animal will react again in the same circumstances. Make sure you have a contingency plan to deal with the reactions should they occur. List alternatives and keep the animal occupied and focused if you find yourself entering into a similar scenario.

Additionally, if you have a difficult group dynamic to contend with, make sure you have enough trainers to assist, that the dominant animal is occupied and under control, and make sure that animals are positioned in an optimal manner to avoid altercations or low level threats. Finally, reward cooperation and redirect inappropriate behavior.

Redirect the animal when it reacts inappropriately to a stimulus.
Some animals will get frustrated with unclear directives from a trainer and may need to blow off steam or frustration. Make sure trainers are clear in requesting behaviors and when giving the discriminative stimulus. Additionally, be fair in your responses to the animal if a mistake is made as a result of trainer error.

NOTE: Many animals will learn to generalize the discriminative stimulus. Consider the performance an animal gives to the member of the public who gave it a cue very unlike the one the animal was taught!

If an animal makes a mistake during the training session you will want to redirect it into a successful response of a behavior, give a neutral response or take a brief time-out and redirect. Experience and the specific situation will help you determine the best course of action to take.

Use a different training schedule or reinforcement schedule.
Vary your routines to keep the animal challenged and to keep its attention on the trainer. When an animal is not fully attentive is when you may encounter problems. Reward cooperative behavior, attention on the trainer, relaxed positioning and related responses.

Sometimes you may need to adjust your schedule of reinforcement to adapt to stressful situations. You may address this by asking for less complicated and more ingrained behaviors while delving back into a short continuous schedule with primary reinforcement; this usually will pull the animal's attention back to the trainer when offsite or in new territory.

Habituate the animal to novel stimuli.
Some animals will react to novel stimuli in an inappropriate manner. This could trigger an inclination for flight or even aggression. Habituating an animal to novel stimuli is a good practice to get into.

Desensitization before you take an animal into a new situation, or introduce the animal to new stimuli, will yield a more stable animal. Take gradual steps and reward non-responses (ignoring the situation or object), relaxed postures and inquisitive overtures.

Maintain training criteria at station or target.
Strong foundation behaviors such as targeting or stationing are critical to keeping or gaining control in precarious conditions. Make sure that all trainers require the same level of responses. Work at duration, response time, and reward optimal behaviors heavily so that in stress circumstances the animal will be inclined to respond appropriately.

Ask questions and come up with creative answers.
Brainstorm and ask questions. If you work as a team you should be able to get some creative alternative approaches. Often other trainers have experiences to share that will related to what you are dealing with, so communicate!

Other
Finally, being unpredictable and engaging in unexpected actions can redirect an animal. Be sure you have a senior trainer around for guidance on feedback on this type of activity.

For instance, a trainer can change pace (quicken it, slow it down), run off in a different direction, close the gate that an animal has already bolted through and similar actions. Often changing the dynamics turns the table on the animal; especially when the animal found its behavior and the surrounding events reinforcing or "fun". The animal can be redirected to seek interaction with that trainer or to return to their location when the dynamics are changed through unexpected actions. Many will seek security or the familiar by taking their station or returning to the trainer or holding area.

Are you a reader with a question? Be sure to submit it--and good luck in all your training endeavors!

About the columnist: Since 1978 Diana L. Guerrero has worked professionally with both wild and domestic animals. Guerrero has been affiliated with and certified by a variety of animal programs in the USA and Europe. Based in California, she writes, consults, and leads safaris. Information on her animal career programs, training courses, and her books, What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality (SkyLight Paths, 2003), Blessing of the Animals (Sterling, 2007), Help! My Pet is Driving Me Crazy (Guerrero Ink, 2007), Animal Disaster Preparedness for Pet Owners & Pet Professionals (Guerrero Ink, 2007) are available through this web site. Questions for ABC's should be submitted to Diana directly through the ABC's zoo questionnaire on this web site, or contact her now.