Sven Learns to Recycle
Posted at 5:01 pm March 23, 2007 by Maureen O. DuryeePart #1
I suppose I took on this training project for the challenge and, of course, for the end result: a very cute show segment with the powerful message, ” Recycling is so easy even a dog can do it!” Watching a beautiful, happy, blonde golden retriever trot out on stage during a show at the Hunte Amphitheater at the San Diego Zoo and clean up his immediate environment by recycling paper, plastic, and aluminum into a recycling bin brings down the house every time! I had no idea that Sven Olof would take his job so seriously, but he does and the audience loves him for it.
Sven is a soft-mouthed dog. His breed is known for its ability to delicately hold items carried in the mouth, ensuring the object being carried doesn’t get damaged. To start his new training, I found an item that Sven was willing to hold in his mouth: an empty cardboard paper towel tube. I placed a short wide gray tub between us, reached over the tub, and offered the cardboard tube to him. Sometimes he would take the tube and instantly drop it into the tub. I would bridge (we use a clicker bridge) and reinforce with dog treats. I learned that when I increased the excitement in my voice with praise, he became more enthusiastic: he was teaching me something, too! I would hug him and clap and ALWAYS end the session on a successful drop.
We had many short sessions each day, so he had loads of opportunities to hear me cheer for him. I wanted him to accept the tube with his mouth and drop it into the tub right away. Sven and I would work the drop 5 or 6 times in a session, and we would have 2 or 3 sessions in a day. The next stage: pairing a verbal command with the dropping of the tube. I began to gently hold his mouth closed and as I let go, I would pair the action with the word ” inside.” The tube would drop inside the tub. This was the same behavior but with the verbal cue added. I slowly increased the amount of time I held his mouth closed before I said the word ” inside.” Eventually I didn’t need to hold his mouth closed at all, and he would hold the cardboard tube in his mouth until I said ” inside.” He loved hearing the excitement in my voice, and he started to bark at me during the day if I had missed any of our sessions. I started these sessions in a quiet place so he wouldn’t get distracted, our locker room. Then I moved to the actual show stage. By the end of a month, Sven was accepting the paper towel holder in his mouth and dropping it into a gray tub placed between us on the show stage.
Maureen O. Duryee is an animal trainer at the San Diego Zoo’s Hunte Amphitheater.
Look for Maureen’s next blog, Sven’s Training Continues.
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March 26th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Maureen – great story, fantastic idea. Since dogs are happiest when they are challenged, and mentally active, it is great to teach them to recycle. Besides when they are on walks along roadsides that may contain litter, it is an excellent opportunity for them to do something fun and helpful. They often can get into ” tight” spots, under or behind bushes, that humans can’t reach. So they are having great enrichment, and doing a great public service at the same time.
I will have to see if I can get one of my three dogs to learn a similar trick. I haven’t mastered clicker training yet. I would be happy if they learned to drop their soft toys in the box I have for them. Kind of indoor ” recycling.”