A long stint hunkered down at the computer meant a break from social media and a giant revamp of my online education program www.animaltrainingfundamentals.com ! But it also meant too much time away from animals. I am glad to be back in the field kicking it off with this gorgeous fella in the land of gators…Louisiana! Here is a tidbit about targeting…. a behavior we think of as basic, but in reality, it can be quite complex. We have to think about how we want the animal to engage with the target, how we will get the action started, what is an appropriate type of target to name just a few practical application factors. Notice how Two Spots, the alligator, has learned he just needs to orient towards the target as opposed to bite, which can easily get accidentally reinforced with crocodilians. This can be addressed with good timing of delivery of reinforcers and timing of removal of the target in the early stages. A bunch more coming soon on targeting. Stay tuned. #alligatortraining #gatortraining #targettraining #alligatortargeting #whitealligator #leucisticalligator https://www.instagram.com/p/BzvG3HLF2Qk/?igshid=1nryjsl8wz87c
