Imagine that you are an animal trainer. Pick an imaginary client that you are employed by (e.g., a pet owner, animal shelter, zoo, aquarium, wildlife sanctuary, etc.) You have been tasked with shaping a new behavior in an animal species of your choice. You are asked to create a shaping plan detailing your training goals.
Include the following details in your shaping plan.
Chosen Species (Species & Scientific Name)
Client
Target Behavior
Possible Rewards as Reinforcers
Address this question: How do you know if the rewards you’ve picked are acting as reinforcers?
Location(s) of Training Sessions
Video or Photo
Find either a video or photo of the animal doing your target behavior.
Remember, the video you find may use different training tools (e.g., luring instead of shaping) so your plan may differ from the video.
If you cannot locate media of your species engaging in the target behavior, find media of the species engaging in another form of training.
This is to give you an idea of the behavior of the species during training sessions (however, remember that individual animals will show differences as well!)
Or, you may choose to find a video of a different species engaging in the target behavior.
This is to give you an idea of the topography behavior, or what the behavior looks like.
Include a numbered list of each behavioral goal in your shaping plan.
Remember, with shaping you gradually increase the criteria for the delivery of the reward. You start out easy and get more complex as you go. Break your behavior down into discrete steps.
A simple example of the shaping steps is below. Your shaping plan should include at least 4 steps, but you may include more steps. Remember, it is better to break the behavior down into more steps to better plan for the training session.
Reflection
End with a reflection about what you learned from creating this shaping plan. Are there any additional considerations you thought of while writing your shaping plan? Have you ever trained this animal in reality or do you plan to train the behavior in the future? Have you ever used shaping to learn a new behavior yourself (e.g., slowly learned a new skill, like shaping up your golf swing). Please write at least 5 sentences to describe your experience.
Example of a shaping plan:
Species: Domestic Cat (Felis silvestris catus)
Client: Pet Owner
Target Behavior: Ring service bell with paw
Possible Reinforcers: Cooked chicken, soft treats, social praise
I know these rewards are serving as reinforcers if…
Training Location: In cat’s home
Video or Photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXDB-ipVmK4Links to an external site.
Shaping Steps:
Reinforce any time the cat is next to the bell.
Reinforce any time the cat touches any part of the bell with the paw.
Reinforce any time the cat touches the top of the bell with the paw.
Reinforce when the cat rings the bell with the paw.
Please note, this is a simple example! I encourage you to include more than 4 steps in your plan to make it as detailed as possible. Break down the behavior into small steps!
Reflection:
From this experience I learned that…..
Category: Animal training and care
Now that you have a better understanding of how animals learn, find a video of an animal learning a behavior. In your post, include a link to the video, the animal species in the video, the type of conditioning involved (Classical or Operant Conditioning), and how you know it is that type of conditioning. Be sure to find a video with captions if there is necessary audio in the video. Then share at least one new thing you learned this week about how animals learn. How will you apply this knowledge to your future career or for animal training?
Include at least one reference in APA 7 format at the end of your discussion.
Scenario: Imagine you are working as a caretaker who is responsible for the husbandry of a captive animal. You are tasked by your boss with completing an Enrichment Report that details the animal’s use of enrichment items. Ensure you review the “How to Format: Enrichment Report” page for details on how to properly format your report. Each of the 6 tasks from your boss contributes to a section of the report (i.e., Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References).
Task 1 (Introduction): To pick the species of focus for your Enrichment Report, remember back to the Week 3 Learning Materials. You chose to read one resource from an area of your interest (Wildlife Rehabilitation, Farm Animals, Wild Animals/Zoo, or Companion Animals /Laboratory).
Choose an animal species that falls under that area and list the animal and its scientific name (Genus species or Genus species subspecies) within your introduction. For example, if you read a Farm Animal article then you could choose the domestic chicken, with the scientific name of Gallus gallus domesticus.
In one paragraph, briefly describe the natural habitat of this animal and any other information that is relevant to your report (e.g., evolutionary history).
Task 2 (Methods): As the caretaker at your husbandry job your boss tasks you with determining the most-preferred option of enrichment for this animal species. In your methods section, name two options of enrichment items you choose to compare and list them as Enrichment Option 1 and Enrichment Option 2. Next, name one behavior for each option that is promoted with this form of enrichment and list it as Behavior 1 and Behavior 2. These are your behaviors of interest. End this section with photos of your animal engaging in both behaviors (you should have 2 photos, one for Behavior 1 and one for Behavior 2). See the How to Format: Enrichment Report page for examples. Not required- but if you choose, you may also include photos of your proposed enrichment items as a separate figure!
Task 3 (Results): You decide to set out each enrichment item and observe if the animal engages in the behavior of interest (i.e., interacts) with the item or not. You decide each enrichment will be set out for a total of 24 hours per item. A time point is recorded once every hour for 8 hours, 3 days in a row. You return every hour to determine if the animal interacted with the enrichment item or not. If the animal did interact with the enrichment item they were assigned a “1” for that session. If the animal did not interact with the enrichment item they were assigned a “0” for that session. The data you collected are presented below. Do not alter the data, use the data as it is provided.
Enrichment Option 1
Enrichment Option 2
Behavior 1
Behavior 2
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
Task 3 continued: As part of your job you are asked to calculate results for both behaviors. For the results of both Behavior 1 and Behavior 2, report the behavior frequency (# of times the behavior was observed overall) and the percentage of observation sessions in which the animal interacted with the item (frequency / # sessions * 100%). In the results section, list the frequency and percent session interaction for each of your two behavior options.
Task 4 (Results): Create a graph to show your boss. In your graph display 2 bars, one displaying the % session interaction for enrichment option 1 and the other displaying behavior % session interaction for enrichment option 2. Enrichment Items should be along the X axis and % time along the Y axis (out of 100%). Include a title for your graph, labels on the X & Y axis, and clearly indicate which bar refers to which enrichment item.
You may use Excel, Numbers, or an online chart making program. A free online program for creating a bar graph is located here Links to an external site.and directions for using this free program are below.
Click the “Bar Graph” tab. Write a graph title and fill in “Enrichment Item” for the horizontal label and “ % Session Interaction” for the vertical label.
For “Horiz. data type” chose “Data labels” and just put a blank space in the “Data label” line (you will be labeling your data in the step below).
Choose “2 bars” for the number of lines. For the “bar1 data value” write the result you got for behavior 1, and write “Enrichment 1” where it says Bar1 to identify the data. Repeat for bar2 including the result for the other enrichment item.
Save your graph to include in your assignment document
Task 5 (Discussion): If the animal’s most-preferred enrichment option is defined as the item they interact with the most frequently, which enrichment item do you propose as the best option to your boss and why? End the report to your boss by detailing in 1-2 paragraphs what physical, emotional, nutritional, and/or mental benefits the most-preferred enrichment item can provide for the animal. Describe why providing the preferred enrichment item is an essential part of the animal’s husbandry and welfare.
Task 6 (References): Include at least 3 relevant references in APA 7 style so that your boss can refer to these for future reading.
All animals’ health must be considered when choosing the right cleaning agent, but exotic animals are of particular concern. Choose any exotic species related to your field and final project that has not already been picked in a previous board post. (Be careful to be specific – do not pick a genus, pick a species or subspecies!)
For this discussion, identify a cleaning agent that is ideally suited for use in your selected species’ habitat.
As you search for a cleaning agent, consider the following:
What concerns would you have when deciding on a cleaning agent appropriate for this particular animal?
Are there any behavioral concerns you might look for to tip you off that the animal is being affected by the results of the cleaning agent?
Is your chosen cleaning agent a detergent, sanitizing agent, or disinfecting agentLinks to an external site.?
What is the cleaning agent’s recommended dilution rate and contact time for maximum effectiveness? Why is it important to follow those guidelines?
Are there any health concerns for this cleaning agent listed on its Safety Data SheetLinks to an external site.?
How does your selected species interact with common disinfected surfaces in its habitat space? (Consult the SDS sheet for potential interactions.)
Include at least one reference in APA 7 format at the end of your discussion.
All animals’ health must be considered when choosing the right cleaning agent, but exotic animals are of particular concern. Choose any exotic species related to your field and final project that has not already been picked in a previous board post. (Be careful to be specific – do not pick a genus, pick a species or subspecies!)
For this discussion, identify a cleaning agent that is ideally suited for use in your selected species’ habitat.
As you search for a cleaning agent, consider the following:
What concerns would you have when deciding on a cleaning agent appropriate for this particular animal?
Are there any behavioral concerns you might look for to tip you off that the animal is being affected by the results of the cleaning agent?
Is your chosen cleaning agent a detergent, sanitizing agent, or disinfecting agentLinks to an external site.?
What is the cleaning agent’s recommended dilution rate and contact time for maximum effectiveness? Why is it important to follow those guidelines?
Are there any health concerns for this cleaning agent listed on its Safety Data SheetLinks to an external site.?
How does your selected species interact with common disinfected surfaces in its habitat space? (Consult the SDS sheet for potential interactions.)
Include at least one reference in APA 7 format at the end of your discussion.