Animal training is the act of teaching
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s specific responses to specific
conditions or
stimuli
A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to:
* Stimulation
** Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity
** Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception
* Stimulus (eco ...
. Training may be for purposes such as
companionship
The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...
, detection,
protection
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
, and
entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
. The type of training an animal receives will vary depending on the
training method used, and the purpose for training the animal. For example, a
seeing eye dog
Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blin ...
will be trained to achieve a different goal than a
wild animal
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...
in a
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
.
In some countries animal trainer
certification bodies exist. They do not share consistent goals or requirements; they do not prevent someone from practicing as an animal trainer nor using the title. Similarly, the United States does not require animal trainers to have any specific certification. An animal trainer should consider the natural behaviors of the animal and aim to modify behaviors through a basic system of reward and punishment.
Methods
The behavioral approach
Principles
During training, an animal trainer can administer one of four potential consequences for a given behavior:
;
Positive reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
: Occurs when an animal's behavior is followed by a stimulus that increases occurrences of the behavior in the future.
[Miltenberger, ''Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures'', p. 78]
;
Negative reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
: Occurs when a behavior is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, which causes the occurrences of the behavior to increase in the future.
;
Positive punishment
In operant conditioning, punishment is any change in a human or animal's surroundings which, occurring after a given behavior or response, reduces the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future. As with reinforcement, it is the ''be ...
: Occurs when a behavior is followed by the addition of an aversive stimulus. This causes a decrease in occurrences of behavior in the future.
;
Negative punishment
In operant conditioning, punishment is any change in a human or animal's surroundings which, occurring after a given behavior or response, reduces the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future. As with reinforcement, it is the ''b ...
: Occurs when a behavior is followed by the removal of a stimulus. As a result, the occurrences of the behavior decrease in the future.
Behavior analysts emphasize the use of positive reinforcement for increasing desirable behaviors and negative punishment for decreasing undesirable behaviors. If punishment is going to be used to decrease an undesirable behavior, the animal must be able to receive positive reinforcement for an alternative behavior.
Establishing new behavior
Reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
should be provided according to a predetermined schedule. Such a schedule of reinforcement specifies whether all responses or only some are reinforced and includes the following:
;Variable ratio: A reinforcer delivery occurs after a set number of responses, but that number varies around an average number.
;Fixed ratio: A specific number of responses occur before a reinforcer is delivered.
[Miltenberger, ''Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures'', p. 88]
;Variable interval: The first response that is emitted after a set but variable amount of time has elapsed is reinforced.
;Fixed interval: The first response that is emitted after a set time has elapsed is reinforced.
While continuous reinforcement in a fixed ratio schedule may be necessary for the initial learning stages, a variable ratio schedule is the most effective at maintaining behavior over long periods of time.
There are various methods animal trainers can use to prompt an animal to respond to a stimulus in a specific way. For example, shaping is a process by which successive approximations are rewarded until the desirable response topography is attained. An animal trainer can use conditioned reinforcers, like clickers, to bridge the interval between response and positive reinforcement. Some stimuli that is considered discriminative are signals, targets and cues. They can be used to prompt a response from an animal, and can be changed to other stimuli or faded in magnitude. In order to delay satiation, reinforcer size should be as small as possible and still be effective for reinforcement. Also, the timing of the delivery of a reinforcer is crucial. Initially the interval between response and consequence must be minimal in order for the animal to associate the consequence with the response.
Other important issues related to this method are:
*
stimulus control
In behavioral psychology (or applied behavior analysis), stimulus control is a phenomenon in operant conditioning (also called contingency management) that occurs when an organism behaves in one way in the presence of a given stimulus and another w ...
*
motivating operation
Motivating operation (MO) is a behavioristic concept introduced by Jack Michael in 1982. It is used to explain variations in the effects in the consequences of behavior. Most importantly, an MO affects how strongly the person is reinforced or pun ...
s
*
Desensitization
*
chaining
Chaining is a type of intervention that aims to create associations between behaviors in a behavior chain. A behavior chain is a sequence of behaviors that happen in a particular order where the outcome of the previous step in the chain serves as ...
* S-deltas
*
discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
*
generalization
A generalization is a form of abstraction whereby common properties of specific instances are formulated as general concepts or claims. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteri ...
.
Other considerations
Certain sub-fields of animal training tend to also have certain philosophies and styles. For example, fields such as:
* Companion bird training
* Hunting bird training
* Companion dog training
* Show dog training
* Dressage horse training
* Mahout elephant training
* Circus elephant training
* Zoo elephant training
* Zoo exotic animal training
* Marine mammal training
The degree of trainer protection from the animal and the tasks trained may also vary. They can range from entertainment, husbandry (veterinary) behaviors, physical labor or athleticism, habituation to averse stimuli, interaction (or non-interaction) with other humans, or even research (sensory, physiological, cognitive).
Training also may take into consideration the natural social tendencies of the animal species (or even breed), such as predilections for attention span, food-motivation, dominance hierarchies, aggression, or bonding to individuals (conspecifics as well as humans). Consideration must also be given to practical aspects on the human side such as the ratio of the number of trainers to each animal. In some circumstances one animal may have multiple trainers, in others, a trainer might attend simultaneously to many animals in a training session. Sometimes training is accomplished with a single trainer working individually with a single animal. In some species, the number of trainers is irrelevant, yet it can usually achieve the wanted outcome.
Service animals
Service animal
Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, havi ...
s, such as
assistance dog
In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a profe ...
s,
Capuchin monkey
The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...
s and
miniature horse
A miniature horse is a breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In liter ...
s, are trained to utilize their sensory and social skills to bond with a human and help that person to offset a disability in daily life. The use of service animals, especially
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
s, is an ever-growing field, with a wide range of special adaptations.
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, selected inmates in prisons are used to train service dogs. In addition to adding to the short supply of service animals, such programs have produced benefits in improved socialization skills and behavior of inmates.
Film and television
Organizations such as the
American Humane Association
American Humane (AH) is an organization founded in 1877 committed to ensuring the safety, welfare, and well-being of animals. It was previously called the International Humane Association before changing its name in 1878. In 1940, it became t ...
monitor the use of animals such as those used in the entertainment industry, but they do not monitor their training. The
Patsy Award The PATSY Award was originated by the Hollywood office of the American Humane Association in 1939. They decided to honor animal performers after a horse was killed in an on-set accident during the filming of the Tyrone Power film '' Jesse James''. T ...
(Picture Animal Top Star of the Year) was originated by the Hollywood office in 1939 after a horse was killed in an on-set accident during the filming of the
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
''
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...
''. The award now covers both film and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and is separated into four categories: canine, equine, wild and special.
It is best known for its end credit disclaimer "No Animals Were Harmed" that appears at the end of the credits of films and shows.
One animal trainer,
Frank Inn
Frank Inn, born Elias Franklin Freeman (May 8, 1916 – July 27, 2002), was an American animal trainer. He trained several animals for movies, including the dogs in the ''Benji'' series and the cat Orangey. He also trained the dog in ''Honey, I ...
, received over 40 Patsy awards. While there is a high demand for mammals for film and television, there is also a demand for other animals.
Steven R. Kutcher
Steven R. Kutcher (born January 9, 1944) is an American entomologist who has worked for decades as a "Wrangler (film), wrangler" of insects and other arthropods in some of the highest-grossing productions and with some of the most famous people ...
has filled this niche for
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s.
Companion animals
Dogs
![Australian Shepherd agility cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Australian_Shepherd_agility_cropped.jpg)
Basic
obedience training
Dog training is the application of behavior analysis which uses the environmental events of antecedents (trigger for a behavior) and consequences to modify the dog behavior, either for it to assist in specific activities or undertake particular ...
tasks for dogs, include walking on a leash, attention,
housebreaking
Housebreaking (American English) or house-training (British English) is the process of training a domesticated animal that lives with its human owners in a house or other residence to excrete (urinate and defecate) outdoors, or in a designated i ...
, nonaggression, and
socialization
In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultur ...
with humans or other pets. Dogs are also trained for many other activities, such as
dog sports
Dog sports are sports in which dogs participate.
Herding sports
* Herding
* Sheepdog trial
* Treibball
Obedience sports
* Heelwork to music
* Musical canine freestyle
* Obedience trial
* Rally obedience
Protection sports
* Schutzhund ...
,
service dog
In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a profe ...
s, and
working dog
A working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to pet or companion dogs.
Definitions vary on what a working dog is, they are sometimes described as any dog trained for and employed in meaningful work; other times as any dog w ...
tasks.
Positive reinforcement for dogs can include primary reinforcers like food or social reinforcers, such as vocal ("good boy") or tactile (stroking) ones. Positive punishment, if used at all, can be physical, such as pulling on a leash or spanking. It may also be vocal, such as saying "bad dog". Bridges to positive reinforcement, include vocal cues, whistling, and
dog whistle
A dog whistle (also known as silent whistle or Galton's whistle) is a type of whistle that emits sound in the ultrasonic range, which humans cannot hear but some other animals can, including dogs and domestic cats, and is used in their training ...
s, as well as
clicker
A clicker, sometimes called a cricket, is any device that makes a clicking sound, usually when deliberately activated by its user.
They usually consist of a piece of thin metal or plastic held in a casing so that the metal is slightly torqued; ...
s used in
clicker training
Clicker training is a positive reinforcement animal training method based on a bridging stimulus ( the clicker) in operant conditioning. The system uses conditioned reinforcers, which a trainer can deliver more quickly and more precisely than prim ...
, a method popularized by
Karen Pryor
Karen Pryor (née Wylie; born May 14, 1932) is an American author who specialized in behavioral psychology and marine mammal biology. She is a founder and proponent of clicker training.
She was formerly a Marine Mammal Commissioner to the U.S. g ...
. Negative reinforcement may also be used. Punishment is also a tool, including withholding of food or physical discipline.
Horses
The primary purpose of training
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s is to socialize them around humans, teach them to behave in a manner that makes them safe for humans to handle, and, as adults to carry a
rider under
saddle
The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...
or to be
driven in order to pull a
vehicle
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
. As prey animals, much effort must be put into training horses to overcome its natural
flight or fight instinct and accept handling that would not be natural for a wild animal, such as willingly going into a confined space, or having a predator (a human being) sit on its back. As training advances, some horses are prepared for competitive sports, up to the
Olympic games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, where horses are the only non-human animal athlete that is used at the Olympics. All
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
* Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
disciplines from
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
to
draft horse showing
Draft horse showing (UK and Commonwealth; draught horse, dray horse or carthorse) refers to horse shows exclusively for horses of the draft horse breeds. In North America, though a small number of draft horses are also shown under saddle, the term ...
require the horse to have specialized training.
![Sibylle-Schreiner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Sibylle-Schreiner.jpg)
Unlike dogs, horses are not motivated as strongly by positive reinforcement rewards as they are motivated by other
operant conditioning
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
methods such as the release of pressure as a reward for the correct behavior, called
negative reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
. Positive reinforcement techniques such as petting, kind words, rewarding of treats, and clicker training have some benefit, but not to the degree seen in dogs and other predator species. Punishment of horses is effective only to a very limited degree, usually a sharp command or brief physical punishment given within a few seconds of a disobedient act. Horses do not correlate punishment to a specific behavior unless it occurs immediately. They do, however, have a remarkably long memory, and once a task is learned, it will be retained for a very long time. For this reason, poor training or allowing bad habits to be learned can be very difficult to remedy at a later date.
Birds
Typical training tasks for companion birds include perching, non-aggression, halting feather-picking, controlling excessive vocalizations, socialization with household members and other pets, and socialization with strangers. The large parrot species frequently have lifespans that exceed that of their human owners, and they are closely bonded to their owners. Some
birds of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...
are trained to hunt, an ancient art known as
falconry
Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...
or
hawking
Hawking may refer to:
People
* Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist
* Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name)
Film
* ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Ha ...
. In
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
the practice of training
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s to catch fish has gone on for over 1,200 years.
Chickens
Training chickens has become a way for trainers of other animals (primarily dogs) to perfect their training technique. Bob Bailey, formerly of Animal Behavior Enterprises and the
IQ Zoo
Marian Breland Bailey, born Marian Ruth Kruse (December 2, 1920 – September 25, 2001) and nicknamed "Mouse",Clark, C. (2001). ''The Centre for Applied Canine Behaviour''. Retrieved on February 20, 2007. was an American psychologist, an appli ...
, teaches chicken training seminars where trainers teach poultry to discriminate between shapes, to navigate an obstacle course and to chain behaviors together. Chicken training is done using
operant conditioning
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
, using a clicker and chicken feed for reinforcement. The first chicken workshops were given by Keller and Marian Breland in 1947–1948 to a group of animal feed salesmen from General Mills, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Trained chickens may be confined to a display (Bird Brain) where they play
Tic-Tac-Toe
Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian or Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with ''X'' or ''O''. T ...
against humans for a fee, invented by Bob Bailey and Grant Evans, of Animal Behavior Enterprises. The moves were chosen by computer and indicated to the chicken by a light invisible to the human player.
Fish and molluscs
Fish can also be trained. For example,
goldfish
The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have ...
may swim toward their owners and follow them as they walk through the room, but will not follow anyone else. The fish may swim up and down, signalling the owner to turn on its
aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
light when it is off, and it will skim the surface until its owner feeds it.
Fish have also been taught to perform more complicated tasks, such as fetching rings, swimming through hoops and tubes, doing the limbo and pushing a miniature soccer ball into a net.
Fish have been taught to distinguish and respond differently to slight differences in human faces displayed on a screen (archerfish
) or styles of music (goldfish
and koi
).
Molluscs, with totally different brain designs, have been taught to distinguish and respond to geometric symbols (cuttlefish
and octopus
), and have been taught that food behind a clear barrier cannot be eaten (squid
).
Wild animals
Zoological parks
Animals in public display are sometimes trained for educational, entertainment, management, and husbandry behaviors. Educational behaviors may include species-typical behaviors under stimulus control such as vocalizations. Entertainment may include display behaviors to show the animal, or simply arbitrary behaviors. Management includes movement, such as following the trainer, entering crates, or moving from pen to pen, or tank-to-tank through gates. Husbandry behaviors facilitate veterinary care. It can include desensitization to various physical examinations or procedures, such as:
* Cleaning
* Nail clipping or stepping onto a scale voluntarily
* The collection of samples (e.g. biopsy, urine)
Such voluntary training is important for minimizing the frequency with which zoo collection animals must be anesthetized or physically restrained.
Marine mammal parks
Many marine mammals are trained for entertainment such as
bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...
s,
killer whale
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...
s,
belugas The beluga whale (/bɪˈluːɡə/) (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the wh ...
,
sea lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...
s, and others.
In a public display situation, the audience's attention is focused on the animal, rather than the trainer; therefore the discriminative stimulus is generally gestural (a hand sign) and sparse in nature. Unobtrusive dog whistles are used as bridges, and positive reinforcers are either primary (food) or tactile (rub downs), and not vocal. However,
pinniped
Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walru ...
s and
mustelid
The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in ...
s (
sea lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...
s,
seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
,
walrus
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...
es, and
otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
s) can hear in our
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
, so most of the time they will receive vocal reinforcers during shows and performances. The shows are turned into more of a play production because of this, instead of just a run through of behaviors like
cetacea
Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...
ns generally do in their shows. Guests can often hear these vocal reinforcers when attending a
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
show. During the Clyde and Seamore show, the trainers may say something like: "Good grief, Clyde!" or "Good job, Seamore". The trainers substitute the word "good" in the place of food or rubdowns when teaching a specific behavior to the animals so that the animals no longer need constant feeding as praise for achieving the appropriate behavior.
Field research
On an experimental basis, wildlife researchers have employed animal trainers in their interactions with animals in the field.
List of notable animal trainers
Known for their influence on the
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
:
*
Dolores Vallecita (1877–1925), American vaudeville entertainer, and circus animal trainer.
*
Hanno Coldam (1932–1992) Chief Animal Trainer with the 1960–1990.
* Brothers
Vladimir Durov
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukra ...
(1863–1916) and
Anatoly Durov
Anatoly Anatolyevich Durov (sometimes spelled ''Durow'') (russian: Анато́лий Анато́льевич Ду́ров) (1887–1928) was a renowned 20th century animal trainer. He was a member of the Durov family of performers who ra ...
(1887–1928) Russian circus animal trainers and founders of the
Durov Animal Theater
The Durov Animal Theater (russian: Теа́тр звере́й имени В. Л. Дурова) or Grandpa Durov's Corner (russian: Уголок дедушки Дурова) is a circus/theatre in Moscow, Russia. It was founded on January 8, 1912 ...
in Moscow.
*
Carl Hagenbeck
Carl Hagenbeck (10 June 1844 – 14 April 1913) was a Germans, German merchant of wild animals who supplied many European zoos, as well as P. T. Barnum. He created the modern zoo with animal enclosures without bars that were closer to their natu ...
(1844–1913) a merchant of
wild animal
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...
s who introduced "natural" animal enclosures.
*
Gunther Gebel-Williams
Gunther Gebel-Williams (September 12, 1934 – July 19, 2001) was an animal trainer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1968 to 1990.
Early life
Gebel was born in Schweidnitz, Lower Silesia (now Świdnica, Poland). As a c ...
(1934–2001) trained animals for the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
*
Martin Lacey
Martin Lacey (born 1942) is a circus ringmaster, company director and trainer of wild animals. He trained most of the tigers that were used in the Esso television advertisements in the 1970s
Professional life
He has been breeding and training an ...
, (born 1947), animal trainer, owner of the
Great British Circus
Great British Circus was a company that specialized in circus entertainment. Unusually for a UK-based circus company, it included wild animals such as tigers, camels and lions in its acts. Martin Lacey was the company's owner and Circus Director. ...
, trained most of the tigers used in the
ESSO
Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...
TV advertisements in the 1970s.
*
Martin Lacey Jr.
Martin Lacey Jr. (born 8 June 1977) is an English circus performer and trainer of wild animals who has achieved fame in Germany. He is the son of Martin Lacey, the circus ringmaster and animal trainer who bred most of the tigers used in the E ...
, (born 1977), son of
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
, an animal trainer and performer with
Circus Krone
Circus Krone, based in Munich, is one of the largest circuses in Europe and one of the few in Western Europe (along with Cirque d'hiver, Cirque d'hiver de Paris, Cirque d'hiver d'Amiens and Cirque Royal in Brussels) to also occupy a building.
Hi ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
Known for
scientific research
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
:
*
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov ( rus, Ива́н Петро́вич Па́влов, , p=ɪˈvan pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈpavləf, a=Ru-Ivan_Petrovich_Pavlov.ogg; 27 February 1936), was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist, psychologist and physiol ...
(1849–1946) studied the
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
of animal training and described the phenomenon of
classical conditioning
Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learni ...
.
Known for earliest commercial application of Skinner's operant conditioning:
*
Keller and Marian Breland, Animal Behavior Enterprises[Bailey, R.E & Gillaspy,J.A. (2005). Operant Conditioning Goes to the Fair: Marian and Keller Breland in the Popular Press. The Behavior Analyst No. 2 (Fall)]
Known for work in
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
:
*
Nell Shipman
Nell Shipman (born Helen Foster-Barham; October 25, 1892 – January 23, 1970) was a Canadian actress, author, screenwriter, producer, director, animal rights activist and animal trainer. Her works often had autobiographical elements to them and ...
(1892–1970) a Canadian film maker in early
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
.
*
Frank Inn
Frank Inn, born Elias Franklin Freeman (May 8, 1916 – July 27, 2002), was an American animal trainer. He trained several animals for movies, including the dogs in the ''Benji'' series and the cat Orangey. He also trained the dog in ''Honey, I ...
(1916–2002) trained dogs used in the ''
Benji
Benji is a fictional character created by Joe Camp. He has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the ''Benji'' franchise.
Benji is a small, lovable mixed-breed dog with an un ...
'' series.
* Brothers
Frank Weatherwax
Frank Thrall Weatherwax (June 23, 1902 – December 17, 1991) was an American actor and animal trainer. He is best remembered with his brother Rudd Weatherwax for their famous collie, Pal, the dog who became famous as Lassie in the 194 ...
and
Rudd Weatherwax
Ruddell Bird "Rudd" Weatherwax (September 23, 1907 – February 25, 1985) was an American actor, animal trainer, and breeder. He and his brother Frank are best remembered for training dogs for motion pictures and television. Their coll ...
trained the collie
Pal
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
, which portrayed the first
Lassie
Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fic ...
.
*
Ralph Helfer Ralph Helfer (born April 9, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American animal behaviorist, creator of Marine World/Africa USA, and author of books about animals.
He was born in Chicago and had one sister, Sally. In 1942, his mother left her husband ...
*
Richard (Ric) O'Barry trained dolphins for the original 1960s
''Flipper'' television series, now opposes dolphin captivity
*
Boone Narr, one of the most celebrated Hollywood animal trainers.
*
Sled Reynolds
Paul "Sled" Reynolds (born December 7, 1950), sometimes credited as Paul C. Reynolds, Paul Reynolds, Slad Reynolds, or Sled Reynolds, is an animal trainer, best known for his work in film.
Filmography
*'' Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1981) (head anim ...
, trained for ''
Benji the Hunted
''Benji the Hunted'' is a 1987 American adventure drama film directed and written by Joe Camp and produced by Ben Vaughn. It is the fourth film in the Benji series. The film is about Benji trying to survive in the wilderness and looking after the ...
'', ''
Dances with Wolves
''Dances with Wolves'' is a 1990 American epic western film starring, directed, and produced by Kevin Costner in his feature directorial debut. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 novel ''Dances with Wolves'' by Michael Blake that tells the s ...
'' and ''
Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...
''
Other:
*
Warren Eckstein
Warren Eckstein (born April 6, 1949) is an American "pet behaviorist", animal trainer, animal rights activist, humorist, author, director of the Hugs & Kisses Animal Fund, and broadcaster in the United States who hosts ''The Pet Show'', a radio ...
, animal trainer, author and radio personality.
*
Dr. Ian Dunbar
Ian Dunbar (born April 15, 1947) is a veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer. He received his veterinary degree and a Special Honours degree in Physiology & Biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College (London University), and a do ...
, veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer.
*
Victoria Stilwell
Victoria Stilwell (born 20 July 1969) is an English author, dog trainer and television presenter. Stilwell has appeared as a pet behavior expert and served as a producer on several international TV series including ''Dogs Might Fly'' (Sky TV), ...
, dog trainer, author and television presenter.
*
Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
dog trainer (particularly
detection dog
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by d ...
s), and television personality.
*
Brandon McMillan (animal trainer)
Brandon McMillan (born April 29, 1977) is an American television personality, animal trainer, author and television producer best known for his role as former host and trainer of the television series ''Lucky Dog'' on CBS.
Early life and career ...
, movie animal trainer, author, executive producer and dog trainer featured in the CBS television series Lucky Dog.
*
César Felipe Millán Favela, dog trainer known for his Emmy-nominated television series ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan''.
*
Dave Salmoni
Dave Salmoni (born September 4, 1975) is a Canadian animal trainer, entertainer and television producer. He has his own production company, Triosphere, which is based in South Africa and specializes in wildlife films. Dave has dedicated his life ...
, animal trainer, entertainer, and producer.
*
Akbar the Great
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
, third ruler of the Mughal Dynasty in India, reputedly kept thousands of hunting cheetahs during his reign and trained many himself.
*
Dawn Brancheau
Dawn Therese Brancheau ( LoVerde, April 16, 1969 – February 24, 2010) was an American senior animal trainer at SeaWorld. She worked with orcas at SeaWorld Orlando for fifteen years, including a leading role in revamping the ''Shamu (SeaWo ...
, (1969–2010) a
Shamu
Shamu (unknown – August 16, 1971) was a captive orca that appeared in shows at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid/late 1960s. She was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female. She was caught in October 1965 and died in August 1971, aft ...
trainer at
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts Orla ...
. The film ''
Blackfish
Blackfish is a common name for the following species of fish, dolphins, and whales:
Fish
* Alaska blackfish, (''Dallia pectoralis''), an Esocidae from Alaska, Siberia and the Bering Sea islands
* Black fish (''Carassioides acuminatus'') a cyprin ...
'' focuses on orcas in captivity and specifically
Tilikum, an orca that has been involved in three deaths.
See also
*
Animals in sport
Animals in sport are a specific form of working animals. Many animals, at least in more commercial sports, are highly trained. Two of the most common animals in sport are horses and dogs.
Types of animal sporting events
There are many types o ...
*
Cat training
Cat training is the process of modifying a domestic cat's behavior for entertainment or companionship purposes. Training is commonly used to reduce unwanted or problematic behaviors in domestic cats, to enhance interactions between humans and pet ...
*
Circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
*
Falconry
Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...
Raptors (birds of prey) trained to hunt or pursue game.
*
Horse training
Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse ra ...
*
Lion taming
Lion taming is the taming and training of lions, either for protection or for use in entertainment, such as the circus. The term often applies to the taming and display of lions and other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, black panthe ...
*
Mahout
A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...
Elephant trainer
*
Military animal
Military animals are trained animals that are used in warfare and other combat related activities. As working animals, different military animals serve different functions. Horses, elephants, camels, and other animals have been used for both tran ...
**
Military dolphin
*
Obedience
*
Show (animal)
An animal show is a form of exhibition featuring the display or performance of one or more breeds of animal.USDA Animal Welfare Act, Licensing and Registration, APHIS USDA (retrieved 26 May 2012)
Purpose
An animal show can be for entertainment ...
*
Animals in professional wrestling
The usage of animals in professional wrestling has varied through the profession's history. Animals that have been used as opponents to humans in matches include bears, tigers, cheetahs and orangutans.
Species used as wrestlers
Bears
Bears hav ...
Related to animal behavior, psychology and training:
*
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.
...
— Founder of Behaviorism
*
Behaviorism
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent (behavioral psychology), antecedent stimuli in the environment, o ...
— Psychological theory under which operant conditioning falls, the effects of external events (stimuli) on behavior.
*
Cognitivism — Psychological theory antithetical to behaviorism, internal mental representations and operations affecting behavior.
*
Ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...
— Study of the natural behavior of animals.
*
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
— The development of discriminative stimuli (SDs)
*
Reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
*
Shaping (psychology)
Shaping is a conditioning paradigm used primarily in the experimental analysis of behavior. The method used is differential reinforcement of successive approximations. It was introduced by B. F. Skinner with pigeons and extended to dogs, dolphins ...
Notes
References
* Pryor, Karen. (1999). ''Don't Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training''. Bantam Books: New York, NY.
* McGreevy, P & Boakes, R.(Sydney: , 2011).
* Miltenberger, R. G. (2008). ''Behavior modification: Principles and procedures''. (4th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Further reading
* Nance, Susan. ''Entertaining Elephants: Animal Agency and the Business of the American Circus'' (Johns Hopkins University Press; 2013)
* Ramirez, K. (1999). ''Animal training: Successful animal management through positive reinforcement''. Shedd Aquarium: Chicago, IL.
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