GENUINE Choice in Animal Training can WORK!

I am pleased to announce that this course is now available in AnimalTrainingFundamentals.com! Members get immediate access as well as additional resources that support this content. Learn more about giving your animal genuine choice in your animal training. I provide 10 video examples featuring a wide variety of species to inspire you!😊
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[@cinnamon8884]

the question imho is, is it still +r if it involves coercion/aversive stimuli? from my experience i can say if possible it`s better to stay under treshhold and work with +r instead of using -r by removing the trigger and making the trainee constantly uneasy.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

Thank you for the comment. Unfortunately, this course is not about the details of applying a negative reinforcement procedure. This course is about providing genuine choice :) But to address your question, when negative reinforcement is maintaining an undesired response and the aim is to teach a new response maintained by that same reinforcer, I start under conditions in which the stimulus would not create undesired responses (for example, an "uneasy" response as you describe) This would mean I am reinforcing what I do not want if I did that. I start under conditions in which the animal can give the desired response, such as calm and relaxed, and remove the stimulus, so this is the reinforced response. There is no need to create distress :) Often, I see animals who are calmer with such a procedure than those who look conflicted trying to access food but are coerced due to R+ competing with R- with only one way to access the R+. This course explains more :) I also have a very detailed course with guided instruction on how (and when) to apply a R- procedure to optimize welfare in animaltrainingfundamentals.com

[@cinnamon8884]

@@BarbaraHeidenreich thanks for your answer! i think you partly misunderstood what i meant - i wasn`t talking about reinforcing undesired behavior but using -r to get the desired response. if there was no distress/unpleasant feeling it wouldn`t be -r. of course mixing +r and -r can be coercive, that`s why i think it`s better to stay under treshhold and only use +r if possible.

[@BarbaraHeidenreich]

@@cinnamon8884 Again, this course isn't about whether to use R+ or R-. That depends on what is maintaining the behavior. (The discussion on how and when to apply a R- procedure is better addressed in other courses I have and addresses the concerns mentioned.) I am a fan of R+. However, R+ can be coercive if the animal has only one way to access the desired outcome, and that is what is described as an apparent choice. This course helps explain how to give the animal genuine choice using any reinforcement. I hope that helps clarify. :)