Animal Training

Applications of behavioral training to laboratory animals

How many of us have had this experience? We go to a conference, we read an article, we watch a video. We understand operant conditioning. We grasp the concepts behind clicker training, target training, and how we are supposed to...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: All/General, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Shyan-Norwalt, M. 2021. Applications of behavioral training to laboratory animals. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 13-15.

The basics: Getting started with animal training in LAS

Professional animal trainer now Animal Health Technician explains various animal training terms and concepts.

Year Published: 2021Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Buehler, A. 2021. The basics: Getting started with animal training in LAS. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 17-19.

Cooperative pig training that literally saves your back

This article describes the successful training of a pig to wear a jacket.

Year Published: 2021Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Combs, S. R., Lambert, K. 2021. Cooperative pig training that literally saves your back. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 42-45.

Normal and abnormal parrot behavior

Behavior and behavior-associated issues are an important part of psittacine medicine. However, many veterinarians have an approach to parrots from the basics of handling and restraint to their assessment of behavioral issues (e.g., feather plucking), that fails to take into...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Animal Training, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Parrot

Citation: Speer, B. 2014. Normal and abnormal parrot behavior. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 23(3), 230-233.

Using preferred fluids and different reward schedules to motivate rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in cognitive tasks

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) used in behavioural neuroscience are often required to complete cognitively complex tasks, for which a high level of motivation is essential. To induce motivation, researchers may implement fluid-restriction protocols, whereby freely available water is limited, such...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Gray, H., Thiele, A., Rowe, C. 2019. Using preferred fluids and different reward schedules to motivate rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in cognitive tasks. Laboratory Animals 53(4), 372–382.

Nutrient intake, feeding patterns, and abnormal behavior of growing bulls fed different concentrate levels and a single fiber source (corn stover silage)

Twenty-eight bulls weighing 227 ± 6.8 (SD) kg were randomly assigned to four concentrate levels (1-1.5 kg [low level of concentrate {LC}], 1.5-2 kg [medium level of concentrate], 2-2.5 kg [high level of concentrate {HC}], and 2.5-3 kg [highest level...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: ur Rahman, M. A., Xia, C., Ji, L. et al. 2019. Nutrient intake, feeding patterns, and abnormal behavior of growing bulls fed different concentrate levels and a single fiber source (corn stover silage). Journal of Veterinary Behavior 33, 46-53.

Body language: Its importance for communication with horses

Body language is important for communication between individuals. Body language is based on the fact that the thought of performing a known action, alone, will activate the motor neurons used for the action, resulting in a slight contraction of the...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Animal Training, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Ladewig, J. 2019. Body language: Its importance for communication with horses. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29, 108-110.

Clicker training in horses; the importance of the time between click and reward

Timing of reward is very important when training horses. Incorrect timing can lead to confusion and deleterious behaviors and learning will be impaired. Clicker training can be used as an important tool in training. However, the optimal timing between the...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Huisman, I., Van Iwaarden, S., Hughes, E. et al. 2019. Clicker training in horses; the importance of the time between click and reward. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29, 148. (13th International Society of Equitation Science (ISES) Conference Abstract)

Body language: its importance for communication with horses

Body language is important for communication between individuals. Body language is based on the fact that the thought, alone of performing a known action will activate the motor neurons used for the action, resulting in a slight contraction of the...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Animal Training, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Ladewig, J. 2019. Body language: its importance for communication with horses. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 29, 147-148. (13th International Society of Equitation Science (ISES) Conference Abstract)

Wistar rats do not show preference for either of two commonly used nutritionally sound food rewards in a T-maze

Food rewards are commonly used as positive reinforcement in rodent behavioral experiments. Bioserv dustless precision pellets and Noyes formula P precision pellets are both used for this purpose in behavioral experiments in multiple laboratories, as they are nutritionally consistent with...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Animal Training, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Leenaars, C. H. C., Pels, E. G. M., Joosten, R. N. J. M. A. et al. 2019. Wistar rats do not show preference for either of two commonly used nutritionally sound food rewards in a T-maze. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 31, 22-27.