1. Stimulus control Cueing, Poisoned Cues and Faulty Cues
Thanks to Karen Pryor for the slide info!!!!!

2. Cueing Basics A cue is like a green light
Tells the animal that it has an opportunity to earn reinforcement
by performing the behavior that is associated with the cue.
There are five criteria for an effective cue. The cue should be: 1. Easy to give consistently 2. Easily perceived by the animal 3. Not confused with praise or other meanings 4. Distinct from other cues the animal already knows 5. Easy to transfer to others

3. Cueing Basics: A fluent cue response is:
Precise: animal performs the behavior exactly as you had envisioned
Performed with low latency
Performed with optimal speed
Shows resistant to distraction
Performed at any distance from the handler
Performed for the duration required by the handler

4. Cueing Basics A cue is properly trained when Criteria for fluency are:
it meets the conditions for fluency, and
when the criteria for stimulus control are met.
Criteria for fluency are:
The animal performs the behavior when it perceives the cue.
The animal no longer offers the behavior in the absence of the cue.
The animal does not perform the behavior in response to some other cue.
The animal does not perform some other behavior when it perceives he cue.

5. Most Common Cueing Problems
Poisoned cues—cues that have a negative connotation or negative emotions for the learner
Faulty cues—cues that are not clear to the learner, the trainer, or both

6. Poisoned Cues
Poisoned Cue = cue that has negative connotations or negative emotions associated with it for the learner.
A cue can become poisoned when it is enforced or taught with force or punishment (even inadvertently),
resulting in an animal that feels conflict or fear when it perceives the cue.
Poisoned cues = useless as tools for operant conditioning because they have no positive reinforcement value

7. Conditioned Positive Cues
Conditioned Positive Cue = cue taught with positive reinforcement
The basis for success and reliability when teaching and working with complex behavior chains.
An example of how a Positive Cue can become Poisoned:
green light to a driver is good news—”yes you can go now.”
Over thousands of repetitions drivers feel happy to see the light change to green.
A certainty develops: You CAN proceed through a green light.
Foot moves to the gas pedal automatically as we see the light turn green.
What happens if another driver runs a red light and we are injured as we are responding to the green light cue?
Taints or poisons the cue
Will be hesitant, anxious, uncertain

8. Poisoned cues and dogs
Animals show same ambivalence to a cue that has been poisoned.
Cue is no longer guarantee of good things to come.
In fact, may result in adverse consequence.
uncertainty causes emotional distress
Result: Deterioration in performance.
Common myth among dog trainers:
once a dog “knows” a behavior and for some reason does not respond as instructed, the dog should be corrected.
Problem: It taints or poisons the cue!!!!!!

9. Caution: Don’t poison your cue!
Trainers error:
Believe that at some point dog has learned it well enough that it should Just do it.
Decide to punish noncompliance.
Actions will likely create a poisoned cue, and the dog will lose at least some of its faith in the cue
Many people believe that they must tell the dog when it has done wrong,
Believe that dog will actually learn faster if It has a clear choice:
Comply and get a cookie,
Disobey and get a verbal or physical reprimand
But actually poisons the cue!

10. Data to support this position
Dr. Jesus Rosales-Ruiz of the University of North Texas and his graduate students have been conducting experiments to determine just how cues actually work.
According to the work of Dr. Rosales-Ruiz:
even a small (seemingly inoffensive) physical correction can become associated with a positively trained cue
can cause emotional distress in a dog
Result: Deterioration in performance of a previously fluent cue

11. Murrey and Rosales-Ruiz:
Condition #1: train a clean cue — “Ven”
Condition #2: train a poisoned cue — “Punir”
Over the course of 17 sessions:
both cues were trained to 100% accuracy with shaping and positive reinforcement.
Then the “punir” cue was poisoned.

12. Training and then poisoning
Two cues, “ven” and “punir,”
Both cues meant the same thing: come to the square on the floor ¡n front of the handler.
Both cues were trained to fluency with shaping and positive reinforcement.
All training sessions were conducted ¡n the same room, with the same dog, and with the same trainer.
Then, “poisoned” the “punir” cue.
Dog received a gentle tug on its leash if it failed to comply within 2 seconds of perceiving the cue.
Note that the dog still received a click and treat when It arrived in the proper location
ABA design:
17 sessions of baseline
12 sessions:
Ven: C/T
Punir: Tug if not react within 2 seconds of cue; C/T if did
50 sessions: C/T

13. Phase II
Determine the reinforcing ability of the two cues by using them to try to capture and shape new behaviors.
a cue can be used as a reinforcer to shape new behavior.
“ven” and “punir” were used instead of a click to mark the new goal behaviors
Condition Goal Behavior Dog Approximates Goal Behavior
Yes No Ven Touch briefcase
in right comer Dog gets C/T Nothing happens
Punir Touch trash can in left comer Dog gets C/T Dog gets tug and C/T

14. Results:
Significant differences in the speed and accuracy of the target touch
Dogs in Ven condition are faster and more accurate
Dogs in punir condition are slower and show shyness
Significant difference in the attitude of the dog even though there is no more tugging.
Dog in tug condition shows conflict
Dogs in ven condition rapidly approach new task
Dogs in punir condition are slow and hesitant

15. Signs of a Poisoned Cue
Obviously, impossible to know what our animals are thinking, BUT IS possible to observe their behavior.
Signs that an animal is working under a poisoned cue are obvious:
SluggIsh response
Lack of response
Default to a favored behavior (often “sit” or “down”)
Looking for an escape
Displacement behaviors (licking, sniffing, head down)
Submissive behavior
Anxious facial expression

16. What is your dog learning?
Sit taught with C/T and correction:
Sit now means maybe a good thing
And maybe a bad thing.
Even if the dog responds correctly, he is
Sit taught with C/TResult:
Sit means always a good thing
If the dog fails, nothing happens.
The cue become carries important information,
Serves as a powerful (secondary) reinforcer

17. Causes of a Poisoned Cue
According to Dr. Rosales-Ruiz, trainers can poison cues in the following three ways:
Add aversive stimulation to a positive reinforcement program.
Teach with aversive stimulation for errors, and positive reinforcement for correct behavior.
Elicit behavior with aversive stimulation, and capture it with positive reinforcement (e.g., tying a ribbon to a cat’s tail to elicit a spin behavior).

18. Causes of a Poisoned Cue
Takes very little to poison a cue.
Even a very gentle tug on the leash repeated in association with the cue is enough to cause a change ¡n the emotional state of the dog.
This ¡s true even if the cue has been trained with positive reinforcement.
Common circumstances that lead to poisoned cues:.
Shelter dogs with poor training histories
A well-trained dog forced to comply in a stressful situation (at a field trial for example)
Painful or uncomfortable veterinary or grooming procedures become associated with the cue

19. Causes of Poisoned Cues
Sometimes a cue can be poisoned through no fault of the trainer.
E.g., car backfiring at the same time as the dog is picking up a dropped object could poison the “pick it up” cue for a noise-phobic dog.
Threats from other dogs can poison cues for sensitive dogs in multi-dog settings.

20. Durability of a Poisoned Cue
Poisoned cues can retain an element of ambiguity for the animal for a long time
In Rosales-Ruiz research, the “punir” cue
elicited emotional responses and was ineffective as a positive reinforcer,
This true even though the “correction” associated with the cue was used for only a few sessions
Dog had received much more positive reinforcement than correction in association with the cue.

21. Cures and Preventions Can be very easy to get rid of poisoned cues:
simply reshape the behavior and then add a new cue.
With a clicker savvy dog this can happen in a matter of minutes.
Changing the cue is essential,
the poisoned cue will always have some negative emotions attached to it.
Shelter dogs often come with a lot of baggage left over from poor, abusive,or confusing training.
Giving the dog a new name and retraining basic behaviors from scratch, with new cues ,may be just what the dog needs to become a confident and well-mannered canine

22. Cures and Preventions
Can prevent cues from being poisoned in the first place:
set up training situations to give the animal the best chance to succeed without adverse consequences or associations.
For instance, training your dog in a small area (e.g., inside your house, In a puppy pen), where It Is safe for your dog to be off-leash, allows you to build a strong history of reinforcement before adding more freedom and distractions.
Working off-leash eliminates the possibility that an inadvertent leash correction could occur during the early training

23. Cures and Preventions
One area in which many trainers unwittingly put the poisoned cue phenomenon to use:
the dog’s name.
Use a nickname or pet name when they are happy with the dog Use a more formal name when the dog is in trouble!
Some people do this with their children as well.
Though it’s often unintentional on the trainer’s part, it is actually a good way to avoid poisoning the dog’s name.

24. Faulty Cues
Faulty cues = cues that are not clear to the trainer and/or the learner.
Commonly, cues become faulty when:
Unintentional extraneous elements (movements, sounds, etc.) have become part of the animal’s perception of the cue.
A trainer makes a cue different (louder, bigger gestures), and these extraneous elements become part of the trainer’s perception of the cue, but are confusing the animal.

25. Unintentional Cue
A very common unintentional cue: Hand signal that tells the animal “food Is coming!”.
Cue develops from the trainer’s unconscious habit of reaching for the food before clicking.
Not only does this create a faulty cue, but the movement of the hand can actually supersede the click and weaken its power.
This ¡s also a surefire way to teach your dog to be a dedicated hand or treat pouch watcher!

26. Unintentional Cue
Trainers will often unconsciously speak more loudly or give more expansive hand gestures if the animal does not respond to the cue.
Repeating the cue: dog learns “say it three times before I comply!”
Saying the cue louder: dog learns “say it really loud before I comply”
These extra aspects can become part of the cue from the trainer’s perspective,
BUT: are irrelevant or, even worse, confusing to the animal.

27. Prevent and Solve Faulty Cues
Practice good clicker mechanics.
When using prompts and lures to jump-start a new behavior, fade them as quickly as possible.
Minimize cues when possible—”smalIer” cues are easier to give consistently.
Identify and “clean up” any cues that contain extraneous elements.

28. Chains and Cues A chain is a group of cues that lead to a reinforcer
E.g.: Sit-Down-roll over-sit-up
Each cue in the chain:
Serves as a REINFORCER for the previous response
Serves as a CUE for the next behavior
E.g.: Down reinforces sit and asks dog to down; roll over reinforces down and asks dog to roll over…..

29. Timing in Chains is IMPORTANT
Give the cue as animal BEGINS behavior
E.g., as dog sits, cue “Down”
If you wait until the end of the behavior, dog will have a pause as he waits for the next cue
Must give the dog enough time to DO the next behavior
Most problems with chains involve poor cue timing!

30. Problems Chains! Problem: The Animal Anticipates the Cue:
After a few repetitions, an animal may anticipate the next cue and act before the cue is given.
Common problem.
Because the trainer sees the desired behavior, he or she doesn’t realize that there is a cueing problem that will eventually jeopardize the chain.
Without a cue reinforcing behavior #2, the behavior will begin to shorten and then to blend with behavior #3, and eventually will be lost from the chain.

31. Animal Anticipates the Cue: The FIX
Always practice portions or subunits (2 to 4 behaviors) within a chain much more often than the whole chain.
Make sure EACH behavior in a chain is fluent by practicing them individually as needed.

32. Animal Anticipates the Cue: The FIX
When having a problem: Take three behaviors out of the chain:
the one giving trouble,
the one BEFORE it, a
the one AFTER it.
Cue #1, cue #2 while #1 is going on, C/T.
Then do the same with #2
and #3,
then with all three.
If a behavior has completely broken down,
reshape the behavior
bring it under stimulus control with a new verbal cue or hand signal.
Even in chains cues can become faulty and poisoned.

33. An Example: Navigating an A Frame
Teaching a dog to navigate agility equipment is often done by leading, luring, targeting, or shaping the dog through the process.
For example: A-frame
A low version is used to start.
The dog is shaped to go
near it,
touch it,
go part way up,
then a little farther,
until he goes all the way over.
If the dog jumps off partway, the trainer starts again.
In this process there is a lot of reinforcement for the going up part, but not much for the going down part—which in actuality is the part we want to strengthen.

34. So: ReTeach it! The Solution: Starting on the downward side
Better yet: taking the frame apart and working just on touching the contact zone and coming off, would be a way to teach the last part of the chain first.
Add more boards
then increasing the angle while
working on increasing the number of steps before the contact zone
This would allow you to work backward while gradually adding difficulty.
At this point the dog would be walking up the down side, turning and coming down.
learn the going up part last and
would know just what to do after coming over the top because
he would have been reinforced so many times for executing this part correctly.

35. Hazards of Praise and Clicks During the Chain
Many people don’t realize that if you interrupt a well- established chain with a conditioned reinforcer that is not a cue (a click, or cheers and applause, for example), the animal will
expect and be looking for a primary reinforcer—the treat, game, or other desired event usually received at the completion of the chain.
An animal doing a chain in performance or competition may continue the chain once, without flaw, despite your cheers
BUT: even a few such interruptions may cause inexplicable breakdowns in future performances

36. Hazards of Praise and Clicks During the Chain
If you really want to cheer, click, and show your joy for a particularly fine episode in the chain,
you must be ready to back up that communication or click with a reinforcer (treat or game).
Can continue the rest of the performance as a second chain
In general, best to let your cues keep the chain linked, and save your cheering or praise for the end of the chain.

37. Superstitious Chains
Superstitious chains = strings of behaviors that the animal believes are linked and lead to reinforcement
In actuality there is no contingency between the behaviors and the reinforcement
In some cases these superstitious behaviors are true chains,
Behaviors are linked by stimuli the animal perceives as cues.
chain will quickly break down.

38. Superstitious Chains
For example, a dog that hears the back door opening, sees a toy and grabs it, and runs to the door
developed a chain that ¡s held together by environmental cues:
door opening is the cue for grab the toy,
toy is the cue for run to the door.
The chain is then reinforced by attention and a tossed toy from the person entering.
Solution: If the toy Is not available or In sight when the dog hears the door opening, this superstitious chain will quickly break down.

39. Superstitious Chains
Sometimes strings of behaviors that develop are simply a pattern or series of behaviors that the animal has strung together.
To the animal, they are essentially one behavior.
For example, the dog that runs to the door at the sound of the doorbell, then spins and jumps
The dog thinks his behavior of running/spinning/jumping is what makes the door open (the reinforcement),
in fact the door opening ¡s not contingent on the dog’s behavior at all.

40. Superstitious Chains: Examples
Dog jumps on people and then sits in hopes of attention or reinforcement.
Dog hears doorbell, runs to door, spins, barks, and then the door opens.
Cat meows, goes to person, goes to food bowl, meows, and repeats until food is delivered.

41. Take Home Message: Your Tag points:
USE CLEAN cues.
BE consistent with your cues
USE positive Reinforcement
Watch our for hidden cues
Reshape and retrain right away
Break up your chain if it breaks down
Practice its components
Carefully rebuild