What Goes Up

    Little Kitty loves to run and jump. She is quite the acrobat. One of her favorite activities is jumping up onto the tops of our cabinets. I wanted to photograph her but it is very hard to predict when she might decide to play. I needed to encourage her to jump more often.
    I used a training principle called reinforcement. This is the best way to train an animal to perform a trick. Professional trainers use reinforcement to teach animals as small as fish and as large as elephants.
    The first step was to choose a behavior Kitty already performed that I wanted to encourage. That was easy, I had already decided that I wanted her to jump on the cabinet.
    The second step was to select a treat that Little Kitty really loves. That was easy too. She loves any type of dairy product. So I bought the cubed cheese in a resealable bag.
    The third step was to wait for Little Kitty to perform her trick strictly of her own accord. As soon as she did I instantly produced the cheese. At first she thought the cheese was just a coincidence. It was interesting to watch the wheels turn in her little head. No matter how closely she followed me around the kitchen or how sweetly she meowed no cheese was produced. But as soon as she jumped on the cabinet cheese was offered. Suddenly she was in charge. She could make me give her cheese! In one week she had it down.
    All I had to do next was to set up my camera and allow her to see me getting out the cheese. She immediately began jumping up on the cabinet and looking toward me to see if I was noticing. It was a lot of fun.
    If you want to use reinforcement to increase the frequency of a behavior just make sure you pick a pleasant behavior. Rewarding your dog for "speaking" may seem like a good idea in the beginning until your dog begins barking incessantly for treats.
    Be creative. You can reward your dog for yawning, an unusual facial expression or a funny way he lays on his back. Anything he does somewhat regularly.
    I did not teach Kitty a verbal cue for her trick. If you would like to use a word as a cue you should wait until your pet is performing the trick every time you pick up the treat. Then you want to begin saying the word while the pet is doing the trick, not before he does it.
    If your pet doesn't seem to be getting the hang of things make sure you have a treat he loves and make sure you are rewarding him instantly when the behavior occurs.
    Two great books about animal training are "Clicking With Your Dog" by Tillman and "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Pryor.
     And remember, "What goes up, must come down."