Name: Are Cats As Easy to Train as Dogs?
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Using a training method called "operant conditioning," or clicker training, this traveling troupe of cats have learned an impressive array of tricks.

Are Cats As Easy to Train as Dogs?

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Through a training method called "operant conditioning," or clicker training, this traveling troupe of cats has learned an impressive array of tricks.

Nature

Are Cats As Easy to Train as Dogs?Published: March 2, 2020Onscreen: Just because cats aren't as cooperative as dogs, doesn't mean they aren't as smart or trainable. You just have to make it worth their while. Narrator: Meet Samantha Martin.Samantha Martin: This is Meowy Manor.Narrator: Samantha is the manager of a travelling troupe, or, more accurately, “pride,” of performing cats.Martin: Most of the training happens in here.Cats are brilliant. People really underestimate the brilliance of a cat. By training them, they get to use their brain. They have to figure out what it is that I want from them.Narrator: To train her cats, Samantha uses a method called “operant conditioning,” also known as clicker training.Martin: This is the target stick. So, he was trained to jump up to wherever I pointed the target stick. And once he had all four paws up on the barrel, I just click and treat. The clicker acts as a bridge or a marker, to let the cat know that they’ve just done a behavior that is going to give them a reward.Got it, got it.Once the behavior is learned, I no longer need the target stick or the clicker, just the prop itself. And they know what to do with the prop. So, that’s the finished trick.Narrator: The question is, are the cats training to please their owner, or are they just there for the food.Wailani Sung: If you want to train a cat, the great big motivator is going to be food. Food is a primary reinforcer. It’s something that they can’t live without, so most cats can be trained to work for that food.Narrator: Compared to dogs, there hasn’t been much research into cat cognition and intelligence, but cats are clearly clever, when they choose to be.The Acro-Cats play to full houses as they tour the U.S.A., audiences crammed with envious cat owners wondering why their pet won’t do this.Experience and hard work says reward with food, and you might have a little more luck.

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Are Cats As Easy to Train as Dogs?

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