Clicker Training for Clever Cats E-Book

Martina Braun

• Herausgeber: Cadmos Publishing
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Seitenzahl: 100

Beschreibung

Wrong! There is a method of learning which no mammal is impervious to - not even the cat. It is called 'classical conditioning', and is used in a very specific way as part of clicker training. Every click results in something positive for the cat: a treat, a cuddle, a favourite game. And because cats are intelligent, they quickly understand what kind of behaviour gets them a 'click' and a reward, and they will experiment in order to find out what else might work. This manual gives you the knowledge and the chance to explore a new world together with your cat.

Leseprobe

Copyright © 2005/2007 by Cadmos Verlag GmbH, Brunsbek, Germany

Copyright of this edition © 2009 by Cadmos Books, Great Britain

Design and Layout: Ravenstein + Partner, Verden

Translation: Andrea Höfling

Editorial of this edition: Christopher Long, Dr. Sarah Binns

Photos: Urs Preisig

All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-85788-632-3

www.cadmos.co.uk

Datenkonvertierung eBook:

Kreutzfeldt digital, Hamburg

www.kreutzfeldt.de

Satzweiss.com Print Web Software GmbH, Saarbrücken

www.satzweiss.com

8Introduction

11How does the cat get to know the clicker?

12Timing

13Classical conditioning

14The clicker works for all cats

18Does it have to be a clicker?

The first steps: of firming and naming

19spontaneous behaviour

19‘Sit!’

21‘Roll!’

22‘Lie down!’

24Changing locations

25Operant conditioning

26The shaping of behaviour

26‘Stay!’

28Speedy execution

28Grooming and other inconveniences

30Avoiding mistakes creeping in

33‘Come home!’

34The handshake and household chores

37Playing rough and ‘without claws’

38Developing chains of behaviour

43‘Fetch!’

44Developing of behaviour sequences

46The rewards

47Targeting

52Going for walks together

53Problems with fear

54Fear of strangers

56Fear of objects

56Fear of being touched

57Cancelling

61Moving away from the reward, in order to get a reward

Aggressive behaviour towards humans,

64dogs and other cats

73Scratching the furniture

74Special questions

74Clicker training involving several cats

75Clicker training without a clicker

75Problems with the litter tray

77At a glance: What is being trained and how?

80Further reading

The fact of having picked up this book suggests that you are an open-minded person who is willing to experiment. Regardless of all the scepticism regarding the training of cats, you have let yourself in for the adventure of getting to know what working with a clicker is like, and entering a closer relationship with your cat at the same time. I can assure you of this: you will not regret it. The clicker is more than a learning aid; it is a tool which enables us humans to enter into a multi-layered, completely new kind of communication with our cats. Maybe you will employ the clicker in order to teach your cat things that you find desirable for your life together, or perhaps you want your cat to ‘unlearn’ some unpleasant habits, or just want to use the clicker for fun and entertainment: the possibilities are endless!

Left: Pretending to be a dangerous tiger – Mowgli does this to perfection by following the target stick with his paws.

Right: Getting there is not that difficult at all! With the aid of the target stick, even the slightest indication of spontaneous behaviour is affirmed.

I’m very pleased to be able to guide you across the tip of an iceberg, to be able to show you its hills and hollows, nooks and crannies. It is up to you how deep you want to delve to discover what else is slumbering under the surface. There need be no limits to your imagination. I promise not to bore you with theory for too long, but please allow me just one remark regarding the term ‘upbringing’. To me, ‘upbringing’ implies hard work: it requires effort to ‘bring someone up’. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It is exactly for this reason that, in my view, the word is not appropriate. You will find that with a clicker, no effort is required to teach your cat ‘sit’ or ‘go into the cat basket’. The animal acts on his own accord. All you need is patience in order to allow the cat to try out for himself what is desired and what isn’t, a keen eye for the cat’s reactions and the behaviour he is offering to you, and the understanding that there are a few differences between the training of cats and the training of dogs.

Dealing with a dog you can say: ‘Right Bonzo, I have a bit of time to spare, let’s do some clicker exercises.’ With a cat, the cat will say: ‘Well, my dear tin-opener, I think I can spare you a little time now. You may get the clicker out for me.’

There is a learning method that no mammal – not even humans! – can ignore: classical conditioning. It is the basis for clicker training, and the way it works is in fact incredibly simple. Take the following example: imagine you have been out on a very hot day. You are sweating, completely over-heated and you have an incredible thirst. Just as you walk through the front door you hear someone in the kitchen opening a bottle of pop with a refreshing fizz! I can vividly picture your eager anticipation of a large, thirst-quenching gulp as you rush into the kitchen. Why? Because you know the noise that a bottle of pop makes when it’s being opened, and in your mind this is ‘conditioned’ with the terms: ‘drink – cool – refreshing – thirst-quenching’. Had you never heard this fizzing sound before, it would have no meaning for you. Or in other words, the fizzing noise of the bottle of pop would be a neutral stimulus for you.

With this process in mind, we are ready to begin classically conditioning our cat – to use the expert expression. If you make a click in front of your cat at home, using a clicker from the pet shop, this will be a neutral sound for the cat without any relevance or meaning. In order for the click (the neutral stimulus) to assume a meaning for the cat, and to become the subject of positive associations for him, we have only to observe one small basic rule: timing!

Timing

The cat gets a treat immediately after the click. The ‘immediately after’ is the most important part of the whole affair. The treat must not be given at exactly the same time as the clicking sound, because then no association would take place. The cat will only concentrate on the treat, and the clicking sound will make no impact. If, on the other hand, the period of time elapsing between the clicking sound and the giving of the treat is too long, you will also fail to achieve a conditioning effect, because the animal cannot make a connection between the click and the treat.

Ideally, there should be a time span of between one fifth of a second and half a second maximum between the click and the treat.

The reward for good work can consist of a cuddle or a loving nose-butt as well.

So you take the new clicker in your hand, put a few treats easy to reach nearby, and call your cat towards you. Only click once each time, and give him the treat within half a second. Repeat this a few times. And whether you believe it, or not, you are well on your way to classically conditioning your cat! It is possible that the cat will just run away after a few treats. That doesn’t matter at all! Remember, for each training session:

•   To click once at the correct time is better and more valuable than 20 clicks at the wrong time!

This is the correct sequence:

•   A click followed by a reward within half a second at the most.

Repeat this initial exercise two to three times a day for a maximum of two to five minutes on each occasion. Within a short period of time you will notice that your cat has made a connection between the click and the treat. The more frequently you click at the start, the stronger the cat will be conditioned to believe that the click will be followed by something positive. We will talk later about the reasons why you should not use the clicker to coax or call your cat to come towards you. But in order to make this first success more apparent to you, you can carry out the following test, but please only do it this once! After two days’ initial work with the clicker, and while your cat is nearby and awake, just click on the clicker once. You will find that your cute little kitty will come eagerly running towards you in anticipation of a treat. Congratulations! You have already taken the most important step!

Classical conditioning

You have just grasped the principle behind one of the most important commonly effective learning methods, whose discovery we owe to the Russian scientist Ivan Petrovitsch Pavlov (1849–1936); this is classical conditioning, the basic characteristics of which can be summed up as follows:

With the use of correct timing, the animal cannot evade the effects of conditioning, because the reaction that follows is not guided or affected by the individual’s own free will, but rather it is subject to physiological processes. This means that the animal cannot influence this process by its behaviour.

This way an originally neutral stimulus (the click) becomes associated with a positive stimulus (food/play/cuddle), and takes on the same meaning.

An example of this process is that every cat who loves his moist food will react to the noise that’s made by opening the aluminium tray or tin. Unintentionally, a classical conditioning has already taken place here. The ‘natural reward’ – in this case the food – is called the ‘primary reinforcer’. The sound of the tin being opened is called the ‘secondary reinforcer’. That’s why in the context of working with a clicker we talk about the deployment of a ‘secondary reinforcer’. The anticipation of food or treats is reinforced or, in other words, announced by the clicker.

Left: Next to the treat this is one of the nicest affirmations.

Right: Playing as a reward! With the speedy ‘Cat-dancer’.

The clicker works for all cats

Deaf, blind, fat, thin, fussy eaters, young or old, indoor or outdoor cats – clicker training works for every cat. I can well imagine that some readers will be tempted to put the book to one side now, saying: ‘My cat wouldn’t lift a finger for a treat.’ Please continue reading all the same! Because the primary reinforcer which we need in order to subsequently reinforce it with the clicker doesn’t necessarily have to be food-related. It could be anything which represents a genuine, direct reward for the cat. It could just as easily consist of a playing session with the cat’s favourite toy, but also a cuddle and tender words for the little moggy, ever in need of love and attention. What’s important here is this: make the beloved toy disappear afterwards, so it doesn’t lose its charm. And precede every cuddling session with a small clicker exercise to make it clear to the cat that the cuddle is a reward.

Left: Isn’t this a lot of fun!

Right: Of course, at the end of the game the cat has to win!

To keep things simple in this context I will just talk about treats or rewards. But even if you have a cat who prefers to be rewarded with food, there may sometimes be situations where a rumbustious playing session would represent the bigger reward. Whatever emphasises the effect of the clicker, whatever the cat likes best at this point in time, is suitable as a primary reinforcer.

Now there will be those amongst you who will voice concerns regarding kitty’s potential weight gain from all those tasty treats, as a result of working with the clicker.

‘Lift the right paw’

‘Lift the left paw’

‘Gimme five’ Anima is the ‘paw specialist’, and is losing 40 grams per week due to the various exercises. By doing this she has lost a half a kilogram already.