Training at the Taronga Zoo

On a recent trip to Australia, I had the privilege of taking part in a “behind the scenes” tour of Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. Trainers for various animals introduced us to their charges, and patiently explained how the animals had been trained for various husbandry tasks, and in some cases, tricks. We even had the chance to get up close and personal with a few of the residents.

The very first animal we were introduced to was tiny, but made a huge impact; an adorable koala bear. Now, despite their teddy-bear looks, koalas are normally anything but cuddly. But this 8-month-old, who had never grown bigger than a breadbox, was a special case. One of the zookeepers took her home each night; they even shared a bed! I was lucky enough to get cuddly koala kisses, something I won’t soon forget.

Two otherwise lovely sun bears had a personal hygiene problem—dental plaque. Previously, the bears had to be anesthetized so a tartar scraping could be done. But thanks to the fantastic trainers at Taronga, the bears now actually open their mouths, place them gently around the bars of the cage, and hold the position long enough for the trainers to use a spinning-head toothbrush! It really was impressive. Another bear, a giant Kodiak, had been taught to present nails through the bars and hold still so the trainers could clip them. Photos of both are attached (along with the koala, since I couldn’t resist). And for good measure, there’s a photo of a lion taking meat gently from the fingers of a trainer—now that was literally a breath-taking moment—and a seal holding its mouth open for inspection.

Seeing what the zoo trainers had accomplished made me think about dog owners who complain that we can’t get dogs to behave or perform certain behaviors. Just this morning, I was working with a favorite client. This mother and daughter have a beagle who had previously bitten a few people, some in the face. (I’m happy to say the beagle’s attitude has changed a lot, and he’s even asking for tummyrubs now, which he never would have done before.) One of the things they thought Lucky couldn’t be stopped from doing was darting through the front door as soon as it was opened. Because Lucky’s potty spot was the front lawn, this particular piece of bad behavior was rehearsed at least a few times daily. They showed me how once the door was opened, Lucky would dart out as long as the flexi-leash allowed, then immerse himself in the smorgasbord of scent that is heaven to a hound. There was no way, they assured me, that Lucky could control himself long enough to sit still with the door opened even a crack. Well, it took less than five minutes for Lucky to get the message that if his butt wasn’t on the floor and didn’t stay there until he was released, the door just wasn’t going to open. And he did wait, door wide open, until released.

The good behavior Lucky achieved can easily be accomplished by any good trainer, so long as the owners are willing to practice with their dogs. The old adage “don’t complain, train!” is true. Very few behaviors are impossible to train, so long as you learn the techniques and put in the practice time. If you don’t believe it, just ask the bears!