Any training process is not perfect. Owners, trainers, and learners will always make what many refer to as “mistakes.” Mistakes, as many people seem to define them, are small, or large instances in which we don’t measure up to a standard that we, or someone else, has set for us. In training, this could look like clicking at the wrong moment, not noticing a behavior attempt, or even not training at all. Whatever it is, mistakes are something we work to avoid. In other words, they are a punishment to us as owners and trainers, and thus, something we don’t want in training sessions.
So, what do we do about that? First, let me explain a principle by which many positive reinforcement trainers abide. Many positive reinforcement animal trainers and companies follow what is referred to as the LIMA principle. LIMA stands for Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive. In other words, as trainers, we strive to make the training experience as positive as possible. There will always be moments where something outside of our control happens that can be aversive to the learner, but within our control we strive to maintain the least intrusive and minimally aversive techniques and procedures. Second, when training, it is important that both the trainer and the learner remain below threshold. Threshold is the line that separates one’s ability to remain focused and calm and one’s tendency to get overly stimulated, fearful, or stressed out. In training, we want the learner to remain just below threshold. In other words, they are motivated to succeed, but they are still calm, happy, and able to concentrate and make decisions. Third, when using positive reinforcement, the learner doesn’t make mistakes! This is because when we use a marker and reward system, we know the animal is motivated and will repeat rewarded behavior. This means that the animal is performing behaviors that she thinks she should be doing. That means that we are the only ones that can make mistakes during training sessions. Knowing this allows us to focus on our behavior, which is much easier to control.
Now, let’s take what we have learned and apply this to our mistakes. But how? Think of it this way. If we, as owners and trainers, strive to keep ourselves and our learners below threshold by using the LIMA principle, mistakes will become less intrusive and minimally aversive. For example, if we go into training with an elaborate behavior in mind (such as a dog standing still while someone uses an electric razor on its fur) and we don’t break the behavior down and start with small approximations, we are setting ourselves, and the animal, up to be over threshold. However, when we take time to break the behavior down, then any mistakes we make will be small and easily fixed! On top of that, because we are using positive reinforcement and we know that reinforced behavior will be repeated, we know that the animal will do what they think they are supposed to be doing, thus, any mistakes were made by us, allowing us to easily fix them rather than worrying about whether or not the animal understands what is being taught.
Keep it Simple and Enjoy
To recap, keeping the animal and yourself under threshold by taking time to train in small approximations will minimize the effect, both behaviorally and emotionally, of mistakes that are made. But let’s take this one step further. What if, when you made a mistake you responded with fascination! When we break things into small achievable parts, any mistakes made are now easily fixed; we just need to make sure we catch them. But what do we do when we catch mistakes? We first must find out why they happened. This is where fascination comes into play! Take a moment to put all these pieces together. You have broken down the behavior into small parts, both you and the animal are below threshold and enjoying yourselves, then you make a small easily fixable mistake. Not so bad! Simply fix it and move on with training! Wow, that takes some pressure off your shoulders, doesn’t it! Now that the pressure is off, try this on for size. When we make the mistake and we lean in and look at it, we learn something! In addition, if we approach this learning process with a positive attitude, that learning is fun! This often creates fascination and joy! Not to mention the fun of seeing success once you have fixed the mistake! Mistakes are no longer mistakes; they are now opportunities!
An Example in a Story
One of my favorite stories to tell people about enjoying these “opportunities” took place recently when I was training a horse to touch a nose target. I would hold the target near the horse’s nose, and he would lean in to investigate and get a click and a treat for touching it. The funny thing was that when I began moving the target farther away, I noticed something odd. Every time the horse would move in to touch the target, he would stop with his nose consistently about an inch from the target. When I withheld the click as his cue to “try it again” he consistently stopped about an inch away from the target. At this point, I knew he thought he was doing it right, or else he wouldn’t be repeating the behavior. So, I asked for the behavior again and observed. I laughed out loud when I heard a small exhale from him. This was not a huff of frustration. This little huff was the behavior he thought I was teaching him. He thought I was clicking for him blowing air out his nose onto the target! If it were not for the fact that I had learned to see mistakes as opportunities, I might have gotten frustrated with the situation. But because I use the LIMA principle in training, kept everything below threshold for both of us by breaking the behavior down into small approximations, and I had learned to take mistakes as opportunities and simply fix them when I catch myself making them, I was able to enjoy that little learning moment! I simply corrected my clicking error and watched with joy as the horse nailed the targeting behavior from that point on!
When we choose to enjoy these “opportunities,” what we can accomplish is no longer limited by momentary roadblocks, and we open up a whole new world in training and in life! I encourage you to grasp these “opportunities” when they arise and allow yourself to be fascinated by yourself, your learner, and what you learn in that moment! Fascination is an amazing thing and a powerful learning tool! Enjoy!
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