Negative Reinforcement vs Positive Reinforcement

I've been reading a lot lately about negative reinforcement - this is a confusing term because the word "negative" actually means the removal of the stimulus that is causing some sort of pressure or coercion  ... usually pressure from the lead or bit or reins.  Removing this pressure is actually a positive thing!

So "negative" doesn't mean punishment, it means subtracting or removing the stimulus that the animal would prefer not to have.  Since I am doing ground work with my donkeys, I am thinking about this in terms of lead ropes attached to halters at the moment.  If and when I start ground driving, this will then apply to a bit and reins or long lines and IF I ever get a larger animal that I can ride, this would then be applicable to my legs and seat on the donkey as well as my hands on the reins and how that affects the bit.

Back to lead ropes and halters.  How is negative reinforcement applicable?  I am asking the donkey to walk beside me and ideally, I want no pulling, either forward or to the right, no crowding into me and no stalling.  But all of these are probably going to happen and how I use my hands on the lead to "correct"
or change the behaviour I don't want, is called negative reinforcement ... i.e. pressure and release of pressure.

Say the donkey starts pulling away from me to the right, maybe because there is green grass or another very good donkey reason!  I slide my left hand gently down the lead rope to the snap and ask for a softening or yielding of the donkey's head towards me.  I want to keep my hands soft, not tense, not jerky on the lead rope but the second the donkey complies, I want to release ALL the pressure on the rope.  If I was working in a round pen or on the property, I could even let go of the lead rope completely.

This is negative reinforcement - I am releasing (subtracting) all pressure and this is how the donkey learns what I want.  Because I am using clicker training,  I would add this in too - as soon as the donkey yields, I would click as I release all pressure on the lead and offer a treat - positive reinforcement.

Negative reinforcement actually occurs before the wanted behaviour - I use pressure to instruct the donkey as to what I want.  Then I take away the pressure when the donkey complies.  Many people stop there but all the animal has learned is to yield from pressure ... not a bad thing but there can be so much more!

Positive reinforcement occurs after the behaviour - I capture the exact moment of the behaviour I want with a click - a signal which marks the moment of the behaviour and I follow this with a reward.

Positive reinforcement really speeds up learning - the food reward given correctly, reinforces the action that I captured or marked with the click, builds a great relationship between handler and animal and keeps the animal feeling supported and positive.  Animals trained this way love the challenge and will offer behaviours they have learned to see if they can make you click them!

As long as we are working with leads, bits, reins, etc.  we are working with both negative and positive reinforcement (but not punishment!)

More slow feeder hay nets!

I'm really keen to be able to offer my donkeys more access to food but at the same time keep their weight down.  Sound like an oxymoron? I'm trying to get my head around this concept and have been reading a lot about slow feeders (see my other posts.)

The idea is that animals eat slower, imitating grazing to a point and this slows down digestion.
Hay also helps to keep them warm (by fermentation in the gut) and forage buffers gastric acid in the stomach which can cause ulcers.
 
I still offer some loose hay, especially for Deenah and I always feed loose hay if I think they are especially hungry, i.e. first thing in the morning.  I am watching to see if the hay nets are causing frustration and if/ when I see this, as they are still getting used to them, I offer some loose hay beside the net.  The donkeys now seem to enjoy the puzzle.

Having a whole bunch of slow feeder hay nets placed here and there, might just be a great thing! When I feed hay, I always have more piles than donkeys (this minimizes squabbling) so having more than 3 hay bags seems like a good idea.

I can pre-fill them and they are ready to go and if I'm not going to be home, I can know that the donkeys have something to nibble!

These new ones are small and I am using them as little stuffed pillows lying on the ground.  They are from N.A.G Bags - a BC company that makes many different sizes:  www.slowfeeders.com

Midnight Escapades!

Yesterday I had to leave home by 7:15 AM so I was out very early and in the pitch dark to feed the donkeys their breakfast. Imagine my shock and horror when I discovered that the barn and the paddock were empty!

Deenah always greets me in the morning with a soft "whicker,"  Siog sometimes gives a full throttle bray but yesterday the silence was deafening!  I turned on the outdoor lights and checked all the gates - they were closed.  So where on earth could the donkeys be?

Grabbing my flashlight, I started to search.  Black donkeys can literally disappear in the dark but luckily Deenah's colouring stands out and my beam caught an eye, then a donkey and there they all were, standing quietly OUTSIDE the gate in the grass!

I opened the paddock gate and they all walked in, glad to be in familiar territory.  But I was very worried!  How long had they been out, how much grass had they eaten, how the heck did they get out ... questions flooded my mind.

They all looked a bit glum but I offered some hay and they nibbled, although not with their usual gusto.
At least they weren't too stuffed to swallow.  The minis ate some soaked soy hulls with a bit of probiotics mixed in but Deenah turned her nose up at that.  I didn't dare give any supplements as my brain told me to keep it simple and help any ill effects of too much grass through with plain old hay and straw.

But, needing to be on that early morning ferry, I left a big note for my partner and drove away, my stomach in knots.

Further investigation showed that a gate had been left unlatched and although it was closed, the donkeys must have pushed it open, only to have it blow shut behind them in the wind.  We also discovered piles of manure, giving us clues to where they had gone and also proving it seems that they had been out for quite awhile!

There was a smorgasborg of edibles, both good and bad for them on that dark chilly night.  Thank goodness they faired well (smart donkeys that they are!) and stayed close to home .... gosh they could have gone anywhere!

I was so relieved that nobody colicked ... or ate anything poisonous (ragwort or Fall mushrooms!) ... or got tangled up in fencing, hoses, lumber or tools ... or stepped on a nail in our burn pile ... or left the property!!