Animal Training

Why Train Animals?

Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) is well suited to enhance animal welfare. PRT, coupled with other elements of behavioral management, offers excellent tools for enhancing the overall wellbeing of animals and attending to their physical, behavioral and psychological needs.  With animal wellbeing at the heart of our animal training programs, daily care, veterinary needs, physical fitness, and other management and animal care objectives can be met.  Animal training methodologies and objectives must prioritize animal welfare along with enhancing the level of care provided to captive animals. 

With this mindset of prioritizing animal welfare and enhanced animal care and management through the application of positive reinforcement training methodologies, we recommend identifying objectives that:

• Facilitate daily care and husbandry

• Reduce fear or discomfort associated with routine and non-routine procedures by training animals to voluntarily participate in their own health care

• Promote species-appropriate behavioral repertoires including socialization, activity, foraging, and problem solving

• Achieve physical fitness goals such as muscle tone, balance, body condition, and locomotion patterns

• Build resilience and where necessary, help individuals overcome any past trauma so they may live a good life

• Augment and boost enrichment programming

• Create ethical animal-visitor interactions