Next for Tink is the “trick”
September 21, 2007 
Today in ABA lab, we all presented our videos of clicker training our rats. Tink did a great job yesterday and performed like a star! Next on our agenda is to continue classical conditioning pairing the food with the clicker and to begin operant conditioning using the clicker as a reinforcer to teach Tink a trick. I have decided to “try” to teach Tinkerbell to ring a bell. My idea is to suspend a bell from a string attached to a board over the aquarium and teach Tink to ring the bell operantly. When we get organized with the apparatus, I will write more about our beginning and our progress. Again, thank you to Charlene and Lauren, my lab partners, for helping me to upload Tink’s clicker training video. Go Teamwork! (Food weight – 20.8 grams - Body weight 199 grams)
I think Tink will do great with her bell!!! I would have never thought of something like that, I think it is a very fitting idea for Tink!!
Joni, that is a great idea for a trick for Tinkerbell and I don’t think it sounds too complicated. I am still not sure what I am going to train Lilly to do – maybe just stand on her hind legs against the side of the aquarium or something. Because she already does this occasionally, it would be easy to reinforce. I am still wearing the gloves to pick her up and handle her even though I’m not scared at all to pick her up anymore. I’m worried though if I begin to pick her up without the gloves she will become fearful and not recognize me because she has habituated to being handled by the gloves. Hope your weekend was great!!