Constructional Approach to Animal Welfare and Training

How can we teach our dogs to have mutually enjoyable leisure walks? How can we apply Constructional Approach to achieve our goals on a walk? These are big questions we have been asking ourselves since 2020. In this episode, we will update you on the leash-walking procedure that has been successful with our dog, Chuu, and the dogs of the CAAWT Members. We will walk you through the procedure while navigating five critical features of the Constructional Approach and our journey of refining and applying the procedure. The Constructional Leash Walking procedure is intended to give the dogs what they are after, minimize contact with extinction, and be an easy procedure to apply during the walk. We also discuss the importance of assessment to determine if this is the right procedure. We hope you enjoy it! Below is the link we mentioned during the episode: ⭐️Join CAAWT Membership and Attend FREE Membership Conference! Hang out and geek out on the Constructional Approach and its applications and implications of working with animals and humans with amazing speakers. Learn more and register: https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership 💡Come and learn the science of behavior in the group class series: https://www.caawt.com/online-group-class Support the show

We are back to podcasting!! In this episode, we share our recent work with one of the shelter dogs - Barry! Barry, a 9-month-old, 100-pound puppy, was jumping and mouthing all over us to an extreme level. And he needed help to learn how to interact with people to obtain what he wanted, which was attention and interaction from people. You will hear how we applied Interaction Guidelines to effectively teach him how to ask for and receive affection from us. We hope you enjoy listening to Barry's shelter story as much as we enjoyed talking about it💕 Below is the link we mentioned during the episode: 🌼 Registration for video-on-demand of the CAAWT conference 2022! *The special discount applies to anyone who works or volunteers at an animal shelter, a veterinary clinic, zoo, or aquarium or is currently a university student or CAAWT Premium member. Register now: https://www.caawt.com/2022-conference 🌼The upcoming series of group classes will be announced on our website: https://www.caawt.com 🌼Join the CAAWT Membership: https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership 🌼 Bailey Interview: https://www.caawt.com/the-bailey-interviews Support the show

In this episode, we share Sammy's journey of finding his forever home. Sammy was a dog that loved people. However, he was engaging in behaviors that prevented him from getting adopted. He would excessively jump inside his enclosure and when interacting with people. But all he wanted was affection from people. So, we used Constructional Affection to teach him how to ask for and receive affection from people and engage in desirable behaviors when greeting new people! On 5/22, a sweet family welcomed him to their family. We hope you enjoy this episode! Below is the link we mentioned during the episode: 🌼 CAAWT conference 2022! Register for an Early-Bird ($150) or a special discount (ONLY $90!!) for the entire 6-days live conference! The special discount is available for anyone who works or volunteers at an animal shelter, a veterinary clinic, zoo, aquarium, or is currently a university student or CAAWT Premium member. Get it now and register at: https://www.caawt.com/2022-conference Support the show

In this episode, we explore the application of Constructional Affection to other species, such as equines, tortoises, birds, etc! To get us started, Sean and Maasa are discussing the conjugate reinforcement schedule and several questions to consider: When is it ideal to use Constructional Affection? How can we program our affection as a reinforcer? How can we set up the environment to ask the animal whether affection is working as a reinforcer? What are the desirable behaviors we want to shape through affection with equines that leads to mutually enjoyable relationships? We also share Interaction Guidelines with equines and safety protocols! We hope this episode can bring some conversation as to the development and application of Constructional Affection with other species. Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: 🌼 CAAWT conference 2022! Get the Early-Bird registration or 50% off (ONLY 90.00!!) for the entire 6-days online conference at: https://www.caawt.com/2022-conference *Early-Bird registration is available until 5/31/22! 🐶 Join us at the CAAWT Membership! https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership *You can do a trial of the CAAWT Membership for 14 days for only $1! Support the show

We have been going to our local animal shelter and working with their dogs for a while now! So, we wanted to share stories of three dogs that we got to work with: Ryder, Carmel, and Shelby. You will hear how the Constructional Approach helped them learn desirable behaviors to ask for and receive our interaction and affection, which is critical for finding their forever homes! Watch the first session with Carmel *We will soon be publishing Carmal's follow-up video and Ryder's video on CAAWT YouTube Channel! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: ❤️Constructional Affection group class. A 4-week group class starting on 4/16! Learn more and register: https://www.caawt.com/constructional-affection 🌼 CAAWT conference 2022! Learn more and register! https://www.caawt.com/2022-conference 🐶 Join us at the CAAWT Membership! https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership *You can do a trial of the CAAWT Membership for 14 days for only $1! Support the show

In part 2 of our interview with Dr. Susan Friedman, we have a thought-provoking discussion about the contributions, similarities, and differences the Constructional Approach has with other approaches to training and other behavior analytic approaches. Please enjoy as we explore this approach from its philosophic implication to its influence on real-world procedures! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: 🌼 CAAWT conference 2022! Save the date on July 25th to 30th! https://www.caawt.com/2022-conference 🌱 Enhancing Efficiency - Measurement, Data Collection, and Beyond! https://www.caawt.com/measurement-data-collection-and-beyond *When we open the registration for the Constructional Affection group class, we will put the link below! CAAWT Member premium will get 50% discount on the group class fee! 🐶 Join us at the CAAWT Membership! https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership *You can do a trial of the CAAWT Membership for 14 days for only $1! 🌟 ABAI Conference in Boston in May, 2022! https://www.abainternational.org/events/annual-2022.aspx Support the show

Happy New Year, everyone! We are kicking off our first episode of 2022 with an interview with Dr. Susan Friedman! In this first part of two episodes, Dr. Friedman describes her passion for behavior analysis, the contingencies that motivate people to continue learning and growing in this field, and the importance of adopting this animal training philosophy. Please enjoy this amazing interview with one of the pioneers of applications of Applied Behavior Analysis! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: 📚 CAAWT Book Club - We will be reading the book, Nonlinear Contingency Analysis: Going Beyond Cognition and Behavior in Clinical Practice, by Dr. T.V. Joe Layng, Dr. Paul Thomas Andronis, R Trent Codd III, Awab Abdel-Jalil! We hope to see you there! https://www.caawt.com/caawt-book-club 🌼 CAAWT conference 2022! Save the date on July 25th to 30th! https://www.caawt.com/2022-conference 🐶 Join us at the CAAWT Membership! https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership *You can do a trial of the CAAWT Membership for 14 days for only $1! 🌟 ABAI Conference in Boston in May 2022! https://www.abainternational.org/events/annual-2022.aspx Support the show

2021 is almost ending, and 2022 is at the corner! We are sure that you are starting to set goals and things you want to do in 2022! In this episode, we reflected on the goals we set for 2021, what we did to achieve our goals, and we also talked about our goals for 2022! We are looking forward to continuing learning and exploring the Constructional Approach and meeting our goals together in 2022! Thank you for listening to the CAAWT podcast for two years! We wish you happy holidays and hope you all have an amazing new year with your lovely animal companions! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: 🌼 CAAWT conference 2022! Save the date from July 25th to 30th!: https://www.caawt.com/2022-conference 🐶 Register and learn more about the CAAWT Membership: https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership *You can do a trial of the CAAWT Membership for 14 days for only $1! 🌱 Lili Chin's beautiful notes and illustration on what she learned in our Introduction to the Science of Behavior (Part 1) group class: https://www.doggiedrawings.net/post/b-f-x-under-c Support the show

The Constructional Questionnaire (Goldiamond, 1974) is a powerful tool that can help guide our consulting and help achieve our client's meaningful goals that will sustain themselves easily in our absence. In this episode, Stuart Hoffman shares his learning journey of understanding the Constructional Approach, his first experience using the questionnaire, and its impact on the dog and their family. We hope you enjoy this wonderful interview! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: 🐶 Register and learn more about the CAAWT Membership: https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership *You can do a trial of the CAAWT Membership for 14 days for only $1! 🌱 Israel Goldiamond's 1974 Constructional Paper - "Toward a Constructional Approach to Social Problems: Ethical and Constitutional issues Raised by Applied Behavior Analysis" The section that we specifically mentioned during the podcast is from pages 121 to 122, where Dr. Goldiamond compared Constructional and Pathological approaches. You can download the paper from the link below: https://link.springer.com/article/10.5210/bsi.v11i2.92 🌱The Degrees of Freedom paper - "Expanding the Behavior-Analytic Meanings of "Freedom": the Contributions of Israel Goldiamond" by Ramon Cardinali de Fernandes and Alexandre Dittrich You can download the paper from the link below: https://link.springer.com/article/10.5210/bsi.v27i0.8248?fbclid=IwAR1Ci5MF4SYVdyAcYLzie8kTDIFo4vU-VQnaj3xEt5fSCz2XUWxnlkayDeM If you have any questions, please let us know😊 Support the show

Join us for another fun and inspiring conversation with Chase Owens! Chase and Sean talked about how we can be constructional and practical for helping shelter dogs get adopted and stay adopted. Their conversation highlights the importance of how we choose a specific procedure and set our training goals. In the case of helping shelter dogs, the dogs need to learn desirable human-animal interactions that will help the dogs get adopted and stay adopted. Chase describes how Constructional Affection is an ideal procedure to help achieve this goal. Please enjoy! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: 🐶Register and learn more about the benefits of the CAAWT Membership: https://www.caawt.com/caawt-membership *You can try the CAAWT Membership for 14 days for only &1! 👨🏼‍🏫 Register and learn more about the group class - Introduction to the Science of Behavior (Part 1) starting on November 16th: https://www.caawt.com/introduction-to-science-of-behavior-1 🌼 Follow us on Social Media to get updates on our future events: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CAAWT Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/npo_caawt/ Support the show

Join us for a fun and inspiring conversation with Chase Owens. Chase and Sean talked about their experience developing the procedure of Constructional Affection with the dogs they worked with in animal shelters! They shared many stories and discussed how the idea of using affection came about and how they systematized the use of affection to teach the dogs easier-to-do, less costly, and "desirable" behaviors in an errorless manner. By teaching those "desirable" behaviors, the dogs can get adopted, stay adopted, and help create mutually enjoyable relationships with their new family. You will not hear their behind-the-stage stories anywhere but here!! We recommend listening to this episode with the Interaction Guidelines Poster! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: 🐶 Interaction Guidelines Poster Download the poster from here: https://www.caawt.com/interaction-guidelines-poster 👨🏼‍🏫 Register Sean's presentation on Constructional Affection at Behavior Vets Webinar on October 2nd: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/constructional-affection-building-constructional-solutions-tickets-167958868497?fbclid=IwAR0avZfbw-n0W3rqZGddtyT9SNZai3MU71VGk8Spp_S4r6JNLdHI0T1DKKU 📚Chase Owen's Constructional Affection Thesis: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc984128/m2/1/high_res_d/OWENS-THESIS-2017.pdf 🌼 Follow us on Social Media to get our fun future events Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CAAWT Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/npo_caawt/ Support the show

In part 2 of our interview with Barbara Heidenreich, she discusses challenges, and their solutions, to applying the Constructional Aggression Treatment with various exotic animals in zoological settings. Through sharing some amazing stories, she explains the importance of why our training procedures need to be functional. Please enjoy this wonderful episode! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: https://animaltrainingfundamentals.com/Maasa123/Monthlyhttps://www.caawt.com/introduction-to-science-of-behavior-1https://www.caawt.com/2021conferenceSupport the show

In this episode of part 1 of 2, Barbara Heidenreich shares her journey of becoming an animal training consultant, her introduction to the Constructional Approach, and the benefits of this approach in helping animals and the staff in a zoological setting. She also shared creative applications of the Constructional Aggression Treatment with exotic species! We hope you enjoy this amazing interview! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: https://animaltrainingfundamentals.com/Maasa123/Monthly https://www.caawt.com/2021conference Support the show

"It is not contingency, but it is contingencies. It is plural!" - Dr. Israel Goldiamond This episode will start with what we mean by "contingency" and introduce two sets of analysis: linear and nonlinear analyses. We will go beyond looking at a single contingency and begin discussing how multiple contingencies are interacting to influence behavior. When we look at behavior nonlinearly, we can make sense of why our animal companions do a specific behavior instead of other behaviors, understand their desires, and use this information to design our program that will open up their degrees of freedom. Please enjoy! Below are the links we mentioned during the episode: https://www.caawt.com/2021conference : https://www.routledge.com/Nonlinear-Contingency-Analysis-Going-Beyond-Cognition-and-Behavior-in-Clinical/Layng-Andronis-III-Abdel-Jalil/p/book/9780367689506https://www.caawt.com/constructional-affection-group-class Support the show

It has been seven months since we shared our life with Chuu. Since then, we have accomplished quite a bit, so we want to share our progress with Chuu, mainly focusing on the separation anxiety problem discussed in episodes 7 and 10. In this episode, we talk about the application of Affection Loop to solve separation anxiety. You will hear how we can start our journey from removing our hands from Chuu when being pet for one second to leaving Chuu home alone for 6 hours. We hope this information is helpful and assist those of you who have similar challenges with your animal companions. We are looking forward to welcoming you at the 2nd Annual CAAWT Conference this July! To register for the 2nd Annual CAAWT Conference or to learn more about the conference, please visit this link: https://www.caawt.com/2021conference You can support the show and receive exclusive contents at: https://www.patreon.com/CAAWT Support the show

In our everyday life, we collect data on the things that are important to us, such as health, finances, or education. This practice also applies to our animal training to solve problems. Rather than relying on our gut feeling, we can take data and assess the situation to help us understand what is going on and decide what to do next. In this episode, we share our stories and discuss easy methods of conducting assessments and collecting data. Please enjoy! Below is the links we mentioned during the episode: https://www.caawt.com/2021conferencehttps://fb.me/e/527G8oPduhttps://cheerful-maker-6964.ck.page/products/caawt-webinar-lectures-on-demand Support the show

Join us with Carol Novello from Mutual Rescue. During this interview, Carol shares her work of raising awareness of how rescuing animals can help people and animals, partnering with animal shelters and communities, and the relationship between human services and animal welfare. Please enjoy! Below are the links we mentioned in the episode: Mutual Rescue: https://mutualrescue.org Enjoy the Mutual Rescue Film "Eric and Peety": https://youtu.be/Rm0qYRWQpZI CAAWT Webinar Lectures Video on Demand (Available until the end of April!): https://cheerful-maker-6964.ck.page/products/caawt-webinar-lectures-on-demand CAAWT Website: https://www.caawt.com CAAWT Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CAAWT Support the show

Join us in this episode as we introduce you to Morgan Katz! Morgan is the Director of Behavior Services for multiple animal shelters in the Boston area, and one of the presenters at our upcoming webinar at the end of March. In our interview, Morgan shares where her passion for helping animals comes from, her journey learning about various techniques used in animal training, and how her history shapes the way she helps the animals and their new families in her shelters. Please enjoy this interview and visit our website http://www.caawt.com/webinar for more information on Morgan and our upcoming webinar: Anything is Pawsible - Constructional Solutions to In-home and Shelter Needs. Here are the links that we mentioned in the episode: CAAWT website: https://www.caawt.com CAAWT Podcast Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/CAAWT GoFundMe page (Bailey Interviews): https://www.gofundme.com/f/converting-the-interviews-of-our-great-giants CAAWT YouTube Channel (where you can find and enjoy the Bailey Interviews): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGpU8MbP7_6vafXFExQkAw Support the show

Happy New Year from CAAWT Podcast! Here is the first episode of 2021! In this episode, we reflected on the big topics we covered in 2020 and passionately talked about our vision for 2021. We share our vision of exploring animal welfare issues from the perspective of the constructional approach in a much larger and broader context, collaborating with experts from different fields, and exchanging information to improve animal welfare. We will further engage with our audience this year through webinars, an annual conference, group classes, and community forums! Here are the links that we mentioned in the episode: CAAWT website: https://www.caawt.com CAAWT Podcast Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/CAAWT GoFundMe page (Bailey Interviews): https://www.gofundme.com/f/converting-the-interviews-of-our-great-giants CAAWT YouTube Channel (where you can find and enjoy the Bailey Interviews): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGpU8MbP7_6vafXFExQkAw Support the show

Join us as we explore a critical concept in Constructional Affection - Conjugate Reinforcement. Our discussion focuses on what conjugate reinforcement is, how and why we use this delivery of reinforcement during Interaction Guidelines. Please enjoy this episode and visit our Patreon page for bonus material that takes a deeper dive into the research behind Conjugate Reinforcement. Thank you so much for listening to our show for a whole year! We will see you in 2021! Happy Holidays! Here are the links that we mentioned in the episode: CAAWT Podcast Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/CAAWT GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/converting-the-interviews-of-our-great-giants CAAWT YouTube Channel (where you can find and enjoy the Bailey Interviews): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGpU8MbP7_6vafXFExQkAw Support the show