Last week, Princess Fi-B had her very first day of Shaping! It was an exciting day for both myself and my partner, EP. Our goal was for Fi-B to form an association between the bar and the presentation of food. Our training plan for the day was to reinforce Fi-B each time she was on the right side of the operant box near the food hopper. We also reinforced her when she reared up above the bar.
Fortunately, she remembered her magazine training and responded to the sound of the hopper delivering food. This training session began at 3:35 pm. Although there were many periods of grooming and sniffing and exploring, she still continued to respond to the sound of the hopper. Within a few short minutes of being in the box, she learned that rearing up over the lever equaled a reward. Additionally, she recognized that being around the lever equaled a reward. EP and I had a proud parent moment when she found the lever! We were so ecstatic because she pressed the lever 8 consecutive times within less than 30 seconds. Here, she was associating pushing the lever with a reinforcement. At the end of the 30 minute training session, Fi-B had pushed the bar 47 times for 66 total rewards. I could not be more pleased with her progress!
For our next training session, we will continue shaping Fi-B by strengthening the association between the bar and the delivery of food.
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