How clicker training works: Comparing Reinforcing, Marking, and Bridging Hypotheses

Feng, Lynna C.; Howell, Tiffani J.; Bennett, Pauleen

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2016.05.012

Cited by 37 publications

(43 citation statements)

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“…However, the beneficial effect of this predictor signal would be rather small if it were not performed well (precise timing) or if alternative methods were performed with high accuracy by professional dog trainers. In fact, the results of studies comparing different training methods have shown no advantage related to clicker use, as dogs trained with the clicker learned the new behavior as fast as dogs trained with a word as the secondary reinforcer, or with food alone (Chiandetti, Avella, Fongaro, & Cerri, 2016;Feng, Howell, & Bennett, 2016;Smith & Davis, 2008). Therefore, whether or not future researchers prefer to use a clicker is less important than having a straightforward training plan with clear performance criteria and without losing sight of the main objective, which is to keep the dog motivated and eager to learn.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Training pet dogs for eye-tracking and awake fMRI

et al. 2019

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In recent years, two well-developed methods of studying mental processes in humans have been successively applied to dogs. First, eye-tracking has been used to study visual cognition without distraction in unrestrained dogs. Second, noninvasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used for assessing the brain functions of dogs in vivo. Both methods, however, require dogs to sit, stand, or lie motionless while yet remaining attentive for several minutes, during which time their brain activity and eye movements are measured. Whereas eye-tracking in dogs is performed in a quiet and, apart from the experimental stimuli, nonstimulating and highly controlled environment, MRI scanning can only be performed in a very noisy and spatially restraining MRI scanner, in which dogs need to feel relaxed and stay motionless in order to study their brain and cognition with high precision. Here we describe in detail a training regime that is perfectly suited to train dogs in the required skills, with a high success probability and while keeping to the highest ethical standards of animal welfare-that is, without using aversive training methods or any other compromises to the dog's well-being for both methods. By reporting data from 41 dogs that successfully participated in eye-tracking training and 24 dogs IN fMRI training, we provide robust qualitative and quantitative evidence for the quality and efficiency of our training methods. By documenting and validating our training approach here, we aim to inspire others to use our methods to apply eye-tracking or fMRI for their investigations of canine behavior and cognition. Keywords Domestic dog. Eye-tracking. Functional magnetic resonance imaging. Positive reinforcement. Dog training After primates (see, e.g., Tomasello & Call, 1997), rodents (Pineno, 2010), corvids and parrots (ten Cate & Healy, 2017), and cetaceans (Mann, 2018), canines have become the main model system for the investigation of cognitive behavior in nonhuman animals (see, e.g., Katz & Huber, 2018; Miklósi, 2014). From a scientific point of view, dogs have become particularly attractive because of the interesting but yet not well understood interplay of long-term (canine

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Training pet dogs for eye-tracking and awake fMRI

et al. 2019

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“…A Google keyword search in August 2016 for the term "clicker training" yielded approximately 1.35 million hits, and Karen Pryor Clicker Training reported over 1400 clicker trainers attending dedicated ClickerExpo seminars in 2016 (Clayton 2016). Somewhat surprisingly, then, a review by Feng et al (2016) reported that "clicker training" itself is poorly defined and motivations underlying the use of clicker training have yet to be systematically investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…reinforcing behaviour that is performed at a distance). Immediate predictor signals, such as the click of a clicker, have therefore been proposed to mitigate the learning deficit that would normally follow such delays (as reviewed by Feng et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such studies have been conducted in the following companion animal species: horses (McCall and Burgin 2002;Williams et al 2004), dwarf goats (Langbein et al 2007), and dogs (Blandina n.d.;Chiandetti et al 2016;Smith and Davis 2008). As reviewed by Feng et al (2016), the findings are surprisingly inconclusive. While goats appeared to learn a shape discrimination task more quickly in a predictor signal treatment group as compared to a control group (Langbein et al 2007), none of the other studies found the predictor signal treatment condition to be more effective than the treatment used with the control group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparing trainers’ reports of clicker use to the use of clickers in applied research studies: methodological differences may explain conflicting results

2017

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Clicker training refers to an animal training technique, derived from laboratory-based studies of animal learning and behaviour, in which a reward-predicting signal is delivered immediately following performance of a desired behaviour, and is subsequently followed by a reward. While clicker training is popular amongst dog training practitioners, scientific evaluation in applied settings has been largely unsuccessful in replicating the benefits of reward-predicting signals seen in laboratory animal studies. Here we present an analysis of dog trainers’ advice and perceptions, conducted to better understand clicker training as it occurs in the dog training industry. Twenty-five sources (13 interviews with dog trainers, 5 websites, and 7 books) were analysed using a deductive content analysis procedure. We found that, for many sources, “clicker training” referred not only to the technique, but also to a philosophy of training that emphasises positive reinforcement and the deliberate application of Learning Theory principles. Many sources reported that clicker training was fun, for both dog and handler, but that it could be frustrating for handlers to learn and sometimes cumbersome to juggle the extra equipment. In addition, while most sources recommended clicker training particularly when training new behaviours, many stated that it was no longer needed once the dog had learned the desired behaviour. When comparing industry recommendations to methods used in applied studies, different criteria were used for predictor signal conditioning. Inadequate conditioning of the predictor signal in empirical evaluations could partly explain the lack of learning benefits in applied studies. While future research is needed to verify the practitioner beliefs in a wider population, these results provide an in-depth description of what clicker training is, at least for the sources analysed, and a potential starting point for understanding methodological factors that could contribute to previous studies’ failure to demonstrate the benefits purported to exist by industry practitioners.

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“…Otras líneas de investigación a desarrollar puede definirse bajo la identificación de nuevas señales (Feng, Howell, & Bennett, 2016) que se incorporen al estudio de la alimentación como parámetros de consideración para la modificación de conducta de rapaces en el entorno aeroportuario, por ejemplo utilizando pulsos acústicos sobre el rapaz de forma que por medio de su correcta modulación el rapaz pueda responder de una manera u otra.…”

Section: Futuros Trabajosunclassified

Optimización de procesos de gestión del conocimiento en el entorno de la seguridad y la defensa para el control de fauna aeroportuaria en instalaciones civiles y militares

González¹,

Luís²

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The bird strike damage on aircrafts is a widely studied matter with a high economic impact on stakeholders finances. Some authors estimate it in about USD1.2 Billion for nowadays commercial worldwide activity, and more than USD937 million in direct and other monetary losses per year just for the United States, as an example of civil aviation industry. The airport falconry is one of the most common technique to face this problem thanks to the raptors abilities to create a free wildlife area in the most sensitive airport locations through the fear on the wildlife of being seized. The way the falconers force the raptor to fly high enough is by the breeding process, in where a "Right Hunger" is modulated to aim the raptor to prey on the wildlife. But the main disadvantage up to nowadays in regard with this technique is that the right hunger concept does not belong to the ontological dominion of knowledge because it is more likely the know-how that any falconer needs to protect from a competitive environment. TESIS DOCTORAL "Optimización de procesos de gestión del conocimiento en el entorno de la seguridad y la defensa para el control de fauna aeroportuaria en instalaciones civiles y militares"

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How clicker training works: Comparing Reinforcing, Marking, and Bridging Hypotheses

Cited by 37 publications

References 40 publications

Training pet dogs for eye-tracking and awake fMRI

Training pet dogs for eye-tracking and awake fMRI

Comparing trainers’ reports of clicker use to the use of clickers in applied research studies: methodological differences may explain conflicting results

Optimización de procesos de gestión del conocimiento en el entorno de la seguridad y la defensa para el control de fauna aeroportuaria en instalaciones civiles y militares

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