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Tuesday, 1 May 2018

Clicker training coos

All the cows have to get a blood test done every year to comply with French regulations. The Jerseys are very good and easy, but the highlands, particularly Hainoa, are a little more difficult because she isn't keen on strangers (ie everyone but Doug and me).
I have started clicker training her to improve getting a head collar on. It has worked well and we have now progressed on to getting her used to lots of movement and activity around her. She is very good compared to many cows the vet sees apparently, but still we need her to be better.

This is the clicker in my hand. The idea is that you teach the animal that when you click they get a treat. That then allows you to pinpoint for them exactly the behaviour you want. So when she investigated and touched the rope with her nose I clicked and she got a treat until she learns to do that, then I progressed to putting her nose in to a loop etc until the head collar was on. You can google it...

As you can imagine, getting the rope over those horns is tricky without some cooperation from the cow.

'Where is my treat??'

Here it is - I sometimes think she is going to eat my whole hand in her enthusiasm

Peek-a-boo

Islay has had some sessions too, but she is a much calmer personality and not so suspicious of everything - though still not keen on vets violating her rear end.


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