Clicker training and the impact of learning a simple concept

from clickertraining.com:

"Clicker training" is an animal training method based on behavioral psychology that relies on marking desirable behavior and rewarding it.  Desirable behavior is usually marked by using a "clicker," a mechanical device that makes a short, distinct "click" sound which tells the animal exactly when they're doing the right thing. This clear form of communication, combined with positive reinforcement, is an effective, safe, and humane way to teach any animal any behavior that it is physically and mentally capable of doing. 
[...]
First widely used by dolphin trainers who needed a way to teach behavior without using physical force, operant conditioning (the scientific term for clicker training) can be and has been successfully employed with animals of all sizes and species, both domesticated and wild, young and old; all breeds of dogs and puppies, cats, birds, leopards, rats, rabbits, chinchillas, fish, and more.
[...]
The same principles have also been applied to training for athletes, dancers, skaters, and other people. Called “TAGteach,” this form of training uses a click as a marker signal to teach precise physical motions quickly, accurately, and positively.

 I have seen scads of videos on various streaming video sites demonstrating this technique, and it seems like a very humane method for teaching non-humans.  One of the things that I think gets lost in the shuffle of educating non-humans is the implications for learning one simple concept with many many uses. One of the best examples of this is how to operate a electrical switch.  There are videos that demonstrate this (most frequently with cats and dogs) and fail to fully extrapolate the potential for application here.  Like a button for calling 911...

This becomes very apparent when one googles "dog calls 911".  I would like to point out the number of times that this has occurred... How much would you like to wager that if every household dog knew how to perform this action there could be thousands more (human) lives saved every year by non-humans.  I would further wager that if you had a seizure and a non-human called 911, unlocked the front door and opened the door to get you the help you needed to survive... you would have a much harder time tolerating the abuse of non-humans or at very least of the same species that saved you.

Prairie Dogs Hack Baltimore Zoo

from schneier on security:

Fun story, with a lot of echoes of our own security problems:

It took just 10 minutes for a dozen prairie dogs to outwit the creators of the Maryland Zoo's new $500,000 habitat. Aircraft wire, poured concrete and slick plastic walls proved no match for the fast-footed rodents, the stars of a new exhibit that opens today.
As officials were promoting the return of the zoo's 28 prairie dogs -- their former digs had been out of sight in a closed section of the animal preserve for more than four years -- some of the critters found ways to jump, climb and get over the walls of their prairie paradise, a centerpiece exhibit just inside the zoo's main entrance.
[...]
But a few intrepid prairie dogs tried to find their way out, sending keepers scrambling to plug escape routes.
An hour later, just as zookeepers thought everything was under control, one rodent made it to the top of the wall. A dozen workers closed in. The prairie dog seemed to think better of it and jumped back into the enclosure.
"They find all the weak spots and exploit them," said Karl Kranz, the zoo's vice president for animal programs and chief operating officer.
[...]
Zoo staff members say the animals cannot burrow their way out because the former Kodiak bear environment is essentially a large concrete swimming bowl. The soil depth at Prairie Dog Town ranges from 6 feet to 8 feet.
"The dirt must be deeper than 36 inches in order for the prairie dogs to make their burrows under the frost line," Kranz said. "We took soil samples from the old exhibit so the soils could be matched exactly to what they were used to having."
After foiling the escape attempt, zoo workers adjusted wire fencing and installed more slippery plastic on the walls.

The language of prairie dogs

from wikipedia:

The Gunnison’s prairie dog communicates through forms of physical contact, such as cuddling and kissing, and through vocalization, such as a warning bark. Their vocal communication is the foundation to their survival and structure of their community. Their system of vocal communication is complex and may be one of the most advanced forms of communication of all natural animal languages.^[3] Con Slobodchikoff, a Northern Arizona University biology professor, has been a researching the behavior of prairie dogs for twenty years, and states that prairie dogs “have one of the most advanced forms of natural language known to science.”
The bark is a combination of one or two high-pitched audible syllables, with the second syllable lower and deeper.^[11] Prairie dogs have a unique sound to identify various predators.^[12] They also have different barks for a warning signal and an “all-clear” signal. Researchers and experts have been able to classify up to eleven of the distinct warning calls that the prairie dog uses to communicate.^[13] Also, females with offspring are more likely to give off a warning bark than males.
The warning signal is their primary source of survival because it alerts the other prairie dogs to nearby danger. The warning signal can last for up to thirty minutes and can be heard for nearly a mile away. As danger approaches closer, the intensity of the signal increases and ends after the prairie dog has entered into its safe haven.
Studies have also shown that prairie dogs can distinguish between the different colors of clothing that people wear, and between people expressing threatening and non-threatening behavior.

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