Getting to the Yes - Training #5

When working with our learners, we must recognize the distinction between asking our animals to behave vs. asking our animals to stay still while we behave. An example of this is a voluntary blood draw behavior. For this procedure, a lion behaves by walking into a crate, turning around, and presenting its tail. At this point, we turn the training on its head and ask the lion to stay still while we behave by touching its tail, applying pressure, and inserting a needle for a blood draw. When we behave by moving an aversive stimulus like a needle, blood pressure cuff, or hoof trimming tools towards an animal, we need a keen eye to spot the behaviors that signal their discomfort- and know what to do when we see those behaviors. This presentation will talk through how to meet an animal where they’re at in their shaping plan, as well as how to use the various tools in our toolbox (i.e. stimulus-stimulus pairing, ready signals, tells, providing more control) to create a dialogue between each of the session’s participants and turn a “no” into a “yes”.