Santa Barbara usually ranks in the top three or four in the country for variety. This will be our 17th year participating in the count. When I first started handling elephants, I learned by watching and following individuals who were more experienced. This inconsistency and lack of standardization, was often frustrating. Unfortunately, I realized that I was not alone.
Many handlers can demonstrate to others how they train.
I began questioning what really allows us to shape and modify another animal's behavior. To answer these questions, Army advised me to place more emphasis on learning standard animal behavior modification terminology and ideologies. By standard, I mean terminology and ideologies that apply to all animals, including birds and marine mammals. I took the advice and began researching animal behavior modification terminology as it applies to all animals. Through this research I have gained a better understanding of animal conditioning.