Animal Training

Animal Training (from the French dresser, "to train"), the training of animals. The distinction between training and proper education is often seen in that a trained animal does not understand the meaning of its actions. Training is as old as humanity, but only in the present time has the study of conditioned reflexes shed bright light on the essence of training. However, much here is extremely peculiar: primarily because the animal must be trained "in freedom" and sometimes with very diverse and complex actions. Training is usually conducted with a certain anthropomorphic approach. But it proceeds more successfully when account is taken of the animal's experiences, especially its emotions. Engels says: "All forms of rational activity are common to us and animals: induction, deduction, hence also abstraction (the generic concept of quadrupeds and bipeds), analysis of unknown objects (already the cracking of a nut is the beginning of analysis), synthesis (in the case of animal tricks) and as a combination of both - experiment (in the case of new obstacles and unfamiliar positions)." Training has been used since time immemorial for various purposes with domestic animals (horses, oxen, donkeys, camels, dogs) and wild animals (monkeys, bears, falcons, eagles, cormorants, cheetahs, parrots, and various songbirds). Training for circus and exhibition purposes is particularly diverse; there is hardly a single land animal that has not been subjected to training. Not all animals are equally amenable to training, although any animal that takes food from hands can be trained. Trained movements may be either similar to the animal's natural movements or foreign to it. Training is conducted either on the basis of painful stimuli (the "mechanical training" of Durov) or on the basis of pleasant experiences of the animal during training (Durov's "free training," or "non-mechanical"). Training begins with domestication-taming, domesticating the animal, but in such a way that the animal would always feel the authority of the trainer, submit to his persistent will, and be "disarmed." Domestication aims to eliminate all those inhibitions of the animal's actions that are caused by the approach of an unfamiliar subject. It is achieved best by first feeding the animal from a vessel, then from the trainer's hands, then playing with it, and by caressing. Disarmament comes gradually if the trainer remembers the law of "approach-withdrawal" - the animal is afraid if one fearlessly, slowly approaches it, especially - fixing its eyes with a gaze, and never leaves it in fright. The animal must see the trainer's actions expressing an unyielding, systematic, calm will. This replaces with abundance the stands used by the reflexologist physiologist. From what has been said, it is clear that the treatment of the animal should be loving, calm, and at the same time authoritative; the animal should be neither too satiated nor too hungry. As in the development of conditioned reflexes, the basis of the work is the binding, superimposing of a certain irritation of the animal on a certain "unconditioned reflex," instinct, or emotion, in which first there should be irritation, and only after a delay of 5-30 seconds is the unconditioned reflex (e.g., feeding) put into operation according to the scheme: if by R we denote irritation, the reflex-feeding-by E, its manifestation-by D, then first they take (in sequence) R, E, D. After a series of repetitions R is combined with D, and the effect RD is obtained: e.g., on the word "bark" the dog, without feeding, barks. Horses are also taught the word "whoa," according to the same scheme, but not by feeding, but by a whip. Reinforcement by feeding (Durov's "taste-sensation"), caressing, or at the word "whoa" by a light whip from time to time is necessary so that what has been learned does not fade away, although in animals trained skills often persist for years. The irritation R sometimes has a peculiar character. For example, the task is given: to teach a chicken to play a zither. It is convenient to choose the maternal instinct as the emotion, and the zither as the irritation. To a hen leading chicks, a diagonally placed zither is presented, on which grain is sprinkled under the strings. The chicken makes its usual scratching movements for food on the zither and soon, seeing the zither R, plays on it already without food. The scheme here is more complex: if the maternal instinct M, the food reflex P, playing on the strings D, then at first it is all R, M, P, D, and then, when the chicken learns, it "plays" even without chicks and grain, and there is only R, D, which is what is needed. Inhibition of reflexes also plays an important role in training: at a certain moment of the reflex caused by irritation, a new, sufficiently strong stimulus is put into action; feeding is particularly strong. Example - it is necessary to teach a dog to blow: at a certain moment of barking it is given feeding - the bark shortens, gradually the short bark is translated into a blowing movement. Much is achieved by using natural or accidental useful movements for the trainer, fixing them with "taste-sensation" - feeding. Thus are developed the perfect stance of a setter dog or such strange movements as the sea lion's circus applause. It is very important for the trainer to create a certain contact between a person and a "domesticated" and disarmed animal, similar to the "rapport" between a hypnotist and the hypnotized; straining his will, the trainer makes no superfluous movements, and sometimes apparently really acts on the animal by hypnotic suggestion. Particularly harmful is the disruption of the trainer's work by unskillful methods; this is easily obtained in painful training, causing nervous trauma in the animal. Training has great practical importance in military affairs (finding the wounded, carrying cartridges, guard duty in the chain, etc.), in criminal investigation, in hunting, in the circus. Training has enormous significance for the study of animal psychology - "zoopsychology," and therefore also for psychology. In Moscow there exists a "Practical Laboratory of Zoopsychology" ("V. L. Durov's Corner"), publishing its "Works."