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Over the past couple of years, I have participated in five Operant
Conditioning workshops offered by Bob and Marian Bailey. I decided to
participate in the workshops because I thought that training chickens would
be a good challenge and would help me be a better dog trainer. I was right.
Through the Bailey workshops, I have learned more about operant conditioning
and dog training than from any other seminar, lecture or workshop I've
attended over the past 16 years!
Many trainers have said that "timing is everything." Working
with the
chickens not only proves that statement to be true but it also helps you improve both your mechanical and observational skills so that you can
actually shape behavior in the birds by offering clicks and reinforcements
at the right time for learning to occur.
Chickens are fast movers and fast learners and, unlike dogs, they don't
respond to touch (petting) or voice (praise) - two tools upon which dog
trainers often rely for developing behaviors and teaching commands in their dogs. With the
chickens, all you have to work with is your knowledge of learning theory and operant
conditioning, a hungry chicken, the chicken's feed, and your own skill at delivering correctly timed clicks and
treats. |
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Another reason I like the chicken training workshops has to do with the
lectures that are given about learning theory and the methodology of operant
conditioning. It's wonderful to be exposed to graduate and PhD level
information and then see immediately how it works with the chickens. Being
able to apply what you're learning at that moment helps the lessons become
learned even better.
Finally, I enjoy the workshops because it gives me a chance to meet animal
trainers from all over the world, and it's great fun to share this common
bond and interest with new people and make new friends and learn what they
have to share.
Ultimately, I decided that I if could train a chicken, I could train a dog
and I wanted to prove that I was a good trainer by working with a different
species. By attending the Bailey Operant Conditioning Workshops, I have accomplished this and a whole lot
more!
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