Classical conditioning: Pairing something of little or no value with something of intrinstic value until an association is learned. This gives the thing of lower value, value. ie: a dog learns the crinkle of a bag (holds no inital value to most animals) preceeds the delivery of a meal. By direct association with an intrinsic reinforcer (the meal) the crinkle will elicit a behavioral response.

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As with any interpretation of animal body language it is important to take into context the surrounding environment and the individual animal’s training/behavior history when possible. Trainer Talk is a small-bite blog geared towards Caitlin’s Animal Training clientele to improve their knowledge of primarily dog training concepts and terminology they will hear throughout their personalized training sessions.