Buzz
Col. Konrad Most, a trailblazer in modern animal training, started training service dogs during his time with the Royal Prussian Police in 1906. His influential book, Training Dogs, detailed core principles of operant conditioning—such as reinforcement, extinction, and shaping—which B.F. Skinner later brought to prominence. If Most were alive today, he might find amusement in the Canis Film Festival, showcasing videos of pet owners using operant conditioning to teach their dogs. He would likely appreciate how his methods have expanded to train various animals, from chickens and llamas to even fish.
The Rise of Animal Training in Commerce
In 1943, Marian and Keller Breland, former students of Skinner, established Animal Behavior Enterprises in Minnesota.
(As noted by a commenter on Matt Soniak’s recent piece about the CIA’s scheme to use cats as spies, Marian Breland’s life could easily fill an entire article.)
At ABE, the Brelands specialized in training a wide variety of animals for roles in television, movies, circuses, theme parks, and zoos. They championed the use of positive reinforcement over punishment, setting a new standard in animal training. By 1947, chickens trained by ABE were promoting farm feeds, and the Brelands published a comprehensive guide on behavioral analysis for fellow trainers. Keller Breland passed away in 1965, the same year Bob Bailey, former Director of Training in the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program, joined ABE. Marian later married Bob, becoming Marian Breland Bailey in 1976, and together they launched Bailey & Bailey Operant Conditioning Workshops two decades later.
Today, operant conditioning is widely used to train a diverse range of animals.
Chickens
In 1975, Terry and Bill Ryan established Legacy Canine Behavior & Training. By the 1980s, they were hosting canine training camps in Washington, which quickly gained popularity. To make their methods more accessible, they introduced operant conditioning principles using rats in Skinner boxes, emphasizing the precise timing of rewards to shape behavior.
In the early 1990s, Terry Ryan collaborated with Kang Shallenberger, a retired dolphin trainer with 25 years of experience at Hawaii’s Sea Life Park, to use chickens as training models. Shallenberger explained to the Lewiston Morning Tribune in 1993 that chickens require meticulous step-by-step training, unlike dogs where shortcuts might be tempting. This method, pioneered by the Brelands decades earlier, gained traction as an effective way for dog owners to refine their training skills.
Chicken training camps and workshops are now a global phenomenon. Bob Bailey, a frequent guest at Legacy camps, conducted chicken training seminars until he retired in 2008. Through basic clicker training, chickens can master tasks like playing Tic-Tac-Toe and completing obstacle courses.
Fish For $29.99, the R2 Fish School provides everything you need to teach your fish tricks like shooting hoops, limbo dancing, playing fetch, and scoring goals. The kit uses positive reinforcement to debunk the myth that fish have only 3-second memories. The website claims fish can navigate mazes, distinguish colors, recognize music, and even tell time. Albert Einstein, a goldfish and R2 Fish School graduate, holds the Guinness World Record for the most tricks performed by a fish. Graduates of the program receive a diploma.
Cats The Karen Pryor Clicker Training website offers a cat training kit designed to teach your feline to come when called, play gently, and perform adorable tricks. Clicker training, popularized by Pryor during her career as a dolphin trainer, can even be used to toilet train cats. Pryor founded the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior in 2007.
Alpacas and Llamas Cathy Spalding, as stated on her website, has worked with llamas and alpacas since 1985. She has hosted the Llama and Alpaca Symposium in Kansas City and written Llama Talk, a behavioral guide used by institutions like Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Spalding offers training clinics and private sessions, making her blog the go-to resource for teaching llamas to jump through hoops or ring bells.
Pigs
Priscilla Valentine asserts that her Potbellied Pig Behavior and Training Manual is the sole book entirely focused on pig behavior and training, and her claim holds weight. Valentine’s pigs have showcased their talents at state fairs and events nationwide, earning accolades like the Potbellied Pig Trick Champion title. Alongside her husband Steve, Priscilla trains these intelligent animals, a passion sparked by a rubber pig toy she received at age 3.
The Valentines’ renowned pig, Nellie, rose to fame in 1991 after featuring in “Jurassic Pork,” a video that won them $10,000 on America’s Funniest Home Videos. Their training manual offers solutions for common pig behaviors like rooting and nipping, along with a 10-step guide to curb aggression in domestic pigs.
