Memorable Moments with and for Animals 2015

As the year comes to a close, a glance to the calendar is a lovely reminder of the many wonderful  animal encounters, endeavors and experiences in 2015. It was difficult to zone in on the things that were most significant to me this year. These are my stand outs for various reasons. 

1. Working with Harry the Gorilla at the Dublin Zoo: I was thrilled to begin consulting work with the incredible team of keepers at the Dublin Zoo. A favorite amongst the staff is Harry, a gentle giant with an unfortunate past prior to his arrival at Dublin Zoo. Thankfully now he lives in a luxurious habitat and is the silverback of a beautiful troop of western lowland gorillas that are thriving. Because of their deep affection for him, staff members were very sensitive to wanting training to be something based in positive reinforcement and something all the gorillas would truly enjoy.  As we were standing there discussing techniques Harry offered a behavior we liked. He opened his mouth. One of the keepers said “good” and offered a piece of fruit. Harry did it again. This repeated for quite some time. Within about 15 minutes Harry was presenting a beautiful open mouth behavior on cue! While capturing a behavior is not necessarily a big deal, it was for Harry and it was for this team. It was a breakthrough moment for everyone. Suddenly the door was open for so much more. In the next few weeks this team went on to train so many more behaviors. And nothing fills your heart with more joy than to get reports that say “Harry is a superstar. And he seems to really love it. And the training has improved our relationship.”  It may sound a bit trite, but I do think force free animal training is about changing lives for the better…both animal and human. Harry for me was one of the examples that will stick with me for a lifetime. Can’t wait to visit again in 2016 and see the progress this team has made with him and his troop.

2. Not Forcing the Bunny: Not too many people know this, but for several years I have been asked to bring my rabbit and guinea pigs on America’s Got Talent. Although I do post video clips of my pets online as a means to encourage people to engage in positive reinforcement training to connect with their animals, getting my animals on a talent show has not really been an objective of mine, so I have always declined. After three years of pressuring, I finally caved.  After lots of training to prepare my animals to perform under unusual conditions (new places, lights, 10,000 people, music, etc.) and driving 1800 miles to NYC in a snowstorm, the big day finally came.  The animals performed flawlessly during rehearsals even with the crowds, lights and music.  However when the cameras were rolling the bunny went on strike. Fortunately she was uber relaxed and even laid down on the table for a little siesta.  I set up my segment explaining I was a force free trainer and my animals were my pets, not seasoned stage performers. They may or may not do their behaviors and to me that was just fine, I wasn’t going to force them. The funniest bit came when the rabbit didn’t want to go back in her crate to leave and I wouldn’t force her.  The judges made a few jokes, Nick Cannon came out to “help", and of course eventually my rabbit did go in the crate voluntarily and the crowd cheered! It was actually delightfully funny and Howard Stern applauded my work and said he loved what I was doing. The producers told me they loved the segment, but it never aired on TV.  Who knows? Maybe the clip will make it to the internet one day. After filming I met some friends in a nearby restaurant and was rushed by some children who were at the taping. They had seen the rehearsal as well as the live taping and absolutely loved the animals and the message. That alone probably made the whole trip worth it. (This is a clip of my bunny preparing her routine for AGT)

3. Jack the Cockatoo and the Fear Free™ Movement: In the zoo community we often train animals to cooperate in medical care. One of my favorites is a cockatoo named Jack at one of the zoos at which I consult. He has been trained to accept oral medications without restraint, intramuscular injections without restraint, tactile, wing manipulation, get on a scale, etc. He is also trained to be comfortable having a towel wrapped around him for restraint if needed and has had blood drawn relatively stress free using this approach. Recently he did become ill and all his prior training absolutely made a huge difference. I watched him accept four injections, take sub cutaneous fluids and put his head into a mask for nebulization (for 15 minutes) all without restraint in a single day. I was told since my visit he has had to undergo more treatment for his condition and continues to cooperate. What a testament to the power of force free training. Jack also was not the perfect training candidate. He was an ex pet, donated to the zoo with behavior challenges at the time. He was also over 40 years old when we began training him.  Examples like Jack further support my belief that there is much we can do to reduce or eliminate stress when it comes to veterinary care. 

I have long been lecturing on ways to train companion parrots, small mammals and zoo animals to cooperate in medical care. I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of the Fear Free™ Veterinary Advisory Group organized by Dr Marty Becker. This team is working hard to make Fear Free™ Vet Exams the norm by educating veterinary professionals about strategies such as systematic desensitization, counter conditioning, antecedent arrangement, hospital design, pheromones, pre-visit sedation and more to reduce stress for companion animal care.  To learn more visit http://www.dvm360.com/fear-free-dvm360-leadership-challenge. Not only was watching Jack a memorable moment for me in 2015, but seeing Fear Free™ actually take hold and take off is a bit of a dream come true. Now instead of a few small voices talking here and there about this idea, there is a whole movement with lots of support behind it. Just think! It could one day be the norm for all pets to look forward to going to the veterinarian. (Here is a video of training a dog to accept injections without restraint from a 2015 visit with veterinary students from the University of Giessen in Germany)

4. Challenging the Industry- Continuing the Conversation on How We Create Motivation in Animal Training: This was an initiative I started in 2014 with a presentation called Weight Management in Animal Training: Pitfalls, Ethical Considerations and Alternative Options that I presented at a few conferences.  You can read the paper here or watch a video on the presentation here. Since then a lot has happened.  For one Eva Bertilsson and I co-hosted a very successful symposium in Sweden on the Ethics of Creating Motivation in Animal Training. What was clear is, this topic is hot! The Animal Behavior Management Alliance Conference (ABMA) immediately followed in Denmark and motivation was mentioned many times over in presentations. I was fortunate to present on Conscientiously Creating and Evaluating Motivation which I hear will soon be available for viewing via ABMA’s Collabornation site.  Getting people talking has been step one. And in my travels as I talk with others I often learn of new examples or new scientific information that confirms it is essential we explore this topic more.  This subject ranks for me because I find myself thinking about it or talking about it almost every day. It is a very deep, convoluted topic. And aspects of it can be very damaging to animal welfare.  I very much hope to be able to provide some good resources in the near future for those who are interested.  Stay tuned! (Here is a video clip of Kipling a Southern Ground Hornbill from Avian Behavior International. He is being trained using a progressive approach that allows healthy relationships with food and challenges traditional training techniques used for creating motivation. This clip is from my visit in December of 2015)

5. Teaching Through Technology: This has definitely been the year of the webinar for me. I made 10 new webinars!  (Which was no easy feat. lol) Most were for the companion parrot community on just about every parrot behavior problem you can think of. (However I also made some for the zoo community as well.) All can be scheduled to be presented live as a virtual presentation for a bird club, your business, veterinary clinic, special event, zoo staff, rescue volunteers, etc. Or you can watch a recorded version at anytime.  I am in love with these webinars because they are my most comprehensive resource. I was able to zone in on very specific topics and dive in deep. It is almost like having a private two hour consultation with me.  They were a lot of work, and definitely count as a big chunk of my 2015. My summer was all about making and presenting webinars. However I stand by them as one of the best resources out there for expert advice on parrot behavior problems. I also made a new website for my zoo consulting clients that is packed full of information and resources.  Regular zoo clients – be sure to contact me if you need access.

Other unforgettable moments: 

There were a lot of pretty darn spectacular moments it is pretty hard to narrow things down. Some other stand outs include working with veterinarians and veterinary students at the University of Giessen on training dogs for voluntary injections and a horse for a voluntary blood draw.  I also enjoyed some great brainstorming with this team on their projects and mine.  It was a thrill to play a very small part in helping the Dublin Zoo team train their elephant calves for medical behaviors. This zoo is leading the way on progressive elephant care and management. My heart swells with pride when I look at the overall progress of the team at the Santa Barbara Zoo. I have worked with them for a number of years now and am just amazed at how much they have progressed.  I especially enjoy the work they have done with their giraffes (including the fabulous hoof curl behavior!), big cats, and domestic animals to name just a few. I was extremely honored to have the opportunity to speak at the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference. And I never tire of the many hands on parrot training opportunities, this year in places such as Mexico, Sweden, France, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, Oregon, and Texas. Of course what makes all of it most memorable are the people and the animals. Hope to see you in 2016!

Barbara Heidenreich 

www.BarbarasFFAT.com http://www.barbarasffat.com/home.html

www.GoodBirdInc.com 

Copyright 2015 

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional animal trainer since 1990. Her company Barbara’s Force Free Animal Training (www.BarbarasFFAT.com) provides animal training DVDs, books, webinars and workshops. She has been a featured speaker in over twenty countries and has been published in nine languages. Barbara works with the companion animal community and also consults on animal training in zoos.

Overcoming Fear Responses. Two Tools Every Animal Trainer Needs

When it comes to animal training you often hear people sing the praises of positive reinforcement. Me too! I love it. But there are two other tools that I can’t live without, systematic desensitization and classical conditioning. Try saying those three times fast! They sound like a mouthful, but they really are very important tools, especially when it comes to introducing your pet to new things or new situations.

Systematic desensitization is exposing your animal to something in a gradual way without evoking a fear response. For example if I want my parrot to get used to a syringe that I would like to use to deliver oral medications, instead of just presenting it in front of his beak, I will have it far enough away that he can see it but shows very little response to it. What I would like to see is mild curiosity or indifference. What I definitely don’t want to see is any body language that indicates a fear response. If I see fear responses, that means I failed at my use of systematic desensitization.  If I use this approach correctly, over time I will be able to gradually bring the syringe closer to my bird and no fear response will be presented.

This same strategy can be used to introduce many different types of objects including stethoscopes, new toys, travel crates, even people. In some of my parrot training workshops I have had participants successfully wrap a towel around a parrot using this technique. It requires very slow movements and excellent observation of parrot body language.

Systematic desensitization becomes an even more powerful tool when paired with classical conditioning. This means at the same time I am gradually getting closer with this new object or experience, I am pairing it with something I know the animal likes, usually preferred food items. In other words new things are introduced at a pace the animal can handle and good things happen at the same time. This is a powerful way to help an animal accept new things. And it can happen quite fast. Using this approach I can usually get a syringe, stethoscope or towel very close to a parrot in just a few minutes. This allows me to then transition to using positive reinforcement training strategies in which the animal makes choices to engage with the object to earn desired goodies.

These two tools are great for training behaviors that facilitate medical care and they can also be used to help get your parrot engaged with new toys, new people or just about any new object or circumstance you think might be uncomfortable for your parrot.  Next time you see your parrot or any other pet in your household hesitate around a new object or circumstance, think about pulling these two important but often overlooked tools out of the tool box.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.BarbarasFFAT.com
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2015

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional animal trainer since 1990. Her company Barbara’s Force Free Animal Training (www.BarbarasFFAT.com) provides animal training DVDs, books, webinars and workshops. She has been a featured speaker in over twenty countries and has been published in nine languages. Barbara works with the companion animal community and also consults on animal training in zoos.

Lessons Learned from the Loss of a Trained Companion Animal

Are you one of those people deeply affected by another's suffering, especially if it is an animal?  Now imagine it is your companion animal. Add on to that, an animal that you have spent hours and hours building trust and training with positive reinforcement.  An animal with whom you have made such a deep connection and bond you feel there is a special understanding and communication between the two of you. Imagine if you couldn’t relieve that animal’s suffering? How deep is that pain?

This is the beauty and the tragedy of force free animal training.  On the one hand you create such a deep bond of trust, even friendship, that your emotional connection is almost indescribable. On the other hand when that animal is suffering or breathes his or her last breath the pain is that much deeper.

Not too long ago I lost one of my trained guinea pigs, Caledonia, to a tumor behind her heart. When I mentioned to someone that I cried for two days, it was clear they thought it was astonishing that anyone would feel such emotion for a rodent.

Caledonia (and Lucille) were only supposed to be temporary visitors at my house. I was going to film their training process and they were then supposed to become a part of an education program.  But after a few months of training them to do a number of behaviors, I found myself dreading the day I would have to give them up. Fortunately the new “owners to be” were understanding and accepted my offer to train two other girls for them. I promised not to get so attached. 

My two girls went on to learn a number of fun behaviors that I shared on YouTube. Their big hit was the clip of them playing basketball. I was quite proud when they were mentioned in Dr Marc Bekoff’s blog on the PsychologyToday website.  But mostly I hoped showing how intelligent these creatures are would inspire people to take a second look at their guinea pigs. Maybe they would be more inclined to provide enrichment and activities to keep them stimulated, maybe they would be a little more apt to invest in a nice habitat, and maybe they would even get their feet wet with some training.

When Cale didn’t run out for breakfast one morning I knew something was wrong. Based on her symptoms the vet thought the best course of action was to treat for a respitory infection. (We didn;t find out about the tumor until after she passed) This meant giving her oral medication with a syringe. This part was fairly easy. The hard part was that she wasn’t eating and had no appetite. This meant trying to get nourishment into her in the form of thick liquidy concoction designed for sick guinea pigs. This is what hurt the most for me. Several times a day I had to try to get her to eat the goo from a syringe. She wasn’t feeling well, and she didn’t want it.

I found a way to make handling low stress. I placed a soft fleece in front of her and covered it with a hiding place. She voluntarily moved to the fleece. (A sick guinea pig knows it is important to stay hidden.) I lifted the hiding place and replaced it with the flaps of the fleece. Tucked in cozy, it was easy to gently pick her up.

Offering the food proved to be harder. This is the part that broke my heart. While she needed the food to survive, delivering it was not pleasant to her. This meant my last interactions with her were the opposite of what she had known from me all her life. I always meant good things were about to happen. And now I was being associated with something she found unpleasant. I felt as if I betrayed her and her trust. And sadly she didn’t recover. I didn’t get the chance to make up for those last few days. Although my vet assured me it would have also lead to death had she not had the feedings, the experience still stings.

Like many of us who care deeply for animals, I am trying to mostly recall all the wonderful interactions I had with Caledonia. But this experience once again reminded how very important it is for us to train our companion animals to be comfortable with some very basic medical care. Fortunately Cale was a champ at getting on a scale, loading into a crate, being wrapped in a soft towel, and taking oral meds. Taking the food supplement was something we had never practiced, and maybe something to add to my list of behaviors to train. To make the vet visit less stressful, I brought familiar items from home, like the yoga mat upon which the girls practiced their trained behaviors. This was a familiar scent, texture and always had been associated with favorite foods and activities.  I also brought Cale’s guinea pig companion Lucille. Thankfully these things seemed to keep her relatively relaxed while at the veterinary hospital, despite not feeling well.

There is a new movement to help make vet exams fear free. I am proud to be a part of a group of professionals asked to facilitate this initiative.  Losing a companion animal is painful, knowing you could have done more to reduce stress to care for them when they were sick, can be even more heartbreaking.  I hope Caledonia’s story will inspire you to work on training behaviors that will make veterinary care for your animals stress free.  There is an animal you love that will one day appreciate it.

Barbara Heidenreich

www.BarbarasFFAT.com

www.GoodBirdInc.com

Copyright 2014

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional animal trainer since 1990. Her company Barbara’s Force Free Animal Training (www.BarbarasFFAT.com) provide animal training DVDs, books and workshops. She has been a featured speaker in over twenty countries and has been published in nine languages. Barbara also consults on animal training in zoos.