Building social skills through target stick training
In 2019 ICofA visited the farm Guat leb'n to see how they train their animals with positive reinforcement.
We want to shear 3 videos form this visit.
Have you tried out target stick training with one of your farm animals?
Teaching pigs a trick like targeting — where they not only learn to touch their noses to the target stick, but also to follow it, has many benefits.
The training can help pigs be more focused and confident. It can teach them important life skills and It’s a good relationship building tool that builds trust between a pig and trainer.
Targeting can also help to alleviate behavioral issues by channeling the pigs’ energy, teaching them boundaries and providing them with enrichment and mental stimulation.
What is normal pig behavior and is OK to do with another pig (such as posturing and challenging for dominance) is not OK to do with humans. Additionally, humans often tend to unintentionally reinforce undesirable behaviors in pigs and allow them to escalate to the point where those behaviors become problematic.
As far as pig enrichment activities go, targeting is brilliantly simple. All it requires is a pig, a target stick (an inexpensive piece of equipment that can be made at home), some basic training knowledge and some tasty treats.
Most important of all, it’s great fun for the pigs <3