At the time of his training for protected contact voluntary jugular venipuncture, Rockie had limited foundation or history of training. His previous caretakers shared that he was a gentle, healthy, 10-year-old castrated "green" animal who rarely ate by hand and did not have a repertoire of trained behaviors.
Fundamentals are the Building Blocks of Fun! – Fortifying Relationship Through Voluntary Venipuncture Training
Pre- and Post-Operative Care for Phacoemulsification Using Operant Conditioning with a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
From the inception of the raptor training program at Shedd, we decided that we would shape behavior the same way we did with other animals in our care, by conditioning a bridge and starting a solid reinforcement history that incorporated using reinforcement variety.