Sunday, June 22, 2008
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A Blog designed for discussion of topics related to, but not limited to, Circus, Zoos, Animal Training, and Animal Welfare/Husbandry. Sometimes opening up the dialog is the best starting point of all. And if for nothing else when people who agree and don't agree, get together and start discussing it, it will open up a lot of peoples minds. Debate and discussion even amongst themselves opens a window where there wasn't one before.
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3 comments:
The pyramid is with rare exception one of the lamest behaviors in a cage act. Often referred to as a fill in trick, so I will used it to start. In a ES act the animals are "pushed/driven to the pyramid. In an AS act the animals are called/brought with a whip to the pyramid. Completely opposite of each other. Is that basically correct Steve? If so, why is the same behavior done completely opposite of each other? Which way is easier and why?
Wade
Wade - I have no idea why the same end result is achieved in different ways in different parts of the world. I guess that the pyramid should be called a "formation" rather than a "trick". In our country's Standards it comes under the title of "stationing"! Everybody has their own terminology for these things I guess. Very generally speaking, I regard "tricks" as activities, or behaviours, that animals do without much in the way of props. I know that you can pick holes in that definition - a cat rolling a globe, for example is certainly a trick and a lie down is more of a "formation" than a trick. My definition is still a work in progress so feel free to comment - anyone! Your "courbette" is defined as a "helluva trick" so there are grades of tricks!
In Australia the pyramid pedestals are set up in the centre of the ring and the cats are drawn to the first pedestal by using the body or the cane as a "target" as you referred to earlier. I usually continue drawing with the cane to place cats on the higher pyramid pedestals. Interestingly though, to get the cats off the pyramid and back to their side seats, more "pushing" than "drawing" is used over here.
Which way is easier? I've only used the one way [which in the absence of mentors was largely self taught] so I've got no idea.
Steve,
My standard is the difficulty of the behavior, and not the illusion of difficulty. There is the illusion that lions and tigers are mortal enemies, and thus a tiger/lion pyramid is more difficult then a lion or tiger pyramid. The illusion that a barrel or ball or wheel is difficult, when they are more common then say a hind leg walk. Any behavior that starts with the animal standing on or touching as a safe place to get away from the push is easier to train.
Animals tend to move fastest and with more ease when they are sent out of the cage or sent to their seats. The ease of the ES is that the animals are sent toward the exit door and then blocked which is why often a target such as floor plate for a sit up is needed, or a long piece of wood/pole for a lay down. As they are chased away they need to know where to go with a visual object. In the AS of bringing to you, the trainer is the target or visual aid.
In the ES the trainer is able to block with his presence the two directions that the animal most wants to go to, out and to their seats. In the AS lets use a lay down as an example there is nothing between the animals and their seats they can turn and go back at will. The same thing with the pyramid. You are also bringing them away from the exit which is the direction they most freely want to go, calling the off their seats as opposed to chasing them off. In the AS the standard means of training is a stick for meat in your left hand, and a whip in your right hand. The whip is used to reach them from a distance and bring them to you. I have never had two sticks in my hands, and have only seen two sticks used in the training of ES acts or a stick and a short whip. Why?
Wade
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