Pigeons At Work
Using random rewards to train
your pet
MetPet.com Staff Writer
This is a really instructive anecdote that we heard long
ago. We don't know from where it came from but we're making good use of it.
A pigeon is taught to press a button in order to get a treat.
This is very simple. Press this button and a peanut rolls down a chute and
into his dish. Pigeon eats the peanut and gets the idea. Every time he
presses the button, he expects and receives a peanut.
After awhile, the pigeon gets a
little bored with this predictable routine. He will keep pressing the
button periodically but with waning enthusiasm. He's also getting a little
stuffed on peanuts.
The situation is then changed slightly. He gets a
peanut only every other time. He presses the button once and he doesn't get a
peanut. He presses it again and he gets the peanut. He's both
annoyed and interested by this new wrinkle and gets to work with a bit more
enthusiasm. Finally, this routine also becomes
rather boring as does all other predictable combinations of buttons and peanuts.
What is really interesting is what
happens when the situation becomes random. Press a button and a peanut may
or may not come out. Maybe the pigeon gets a peanut on the 3rd press
and then the 6th or maybe not. The pigeon can no longer predict what
will happen. He now presses the button repeatedly without getting bored.
In fact, this situation could make him rather agitated and it's not recommended.
Can this relate to training your pet? This is one way
to wean him off of treats as rewards. In the beginning, you can give him a treat
each and every time he does what you want. Then you can make it every other time and
so on. Finally, you can give him a treat randomly although you always give him
lavish praise.
Eventually, you can lose the treats altogether but still
maintain his interest. He will be motivated to pay attention on the off chance that
he will get a treat. Otherwise, he may simply refuse to do things without treats.
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