Pavlov's Goldfish

Growing up, my mom ruled the roost. Everyone followed her rules. That included the pets. I grew up with the unspoken knowledge that all animals can be trained. I was witness to the dog only defecating along the fence line in our backyard. The cat only bringing mice to the side door. The dog was allowed upstairs in the bedrooms but not the cat. The cat was allowed in the basement in the rec room but not the dog. There was NO rebellion in the Neunder house (at least, not from the pets).

From an early age I was given the care of the pets as one of my jobs, with the understanding that we all would follow the house rules, of course. This was the beginning of my love of behavior.

When I moved to Virginia, I worked at a summer pool teaching swim lessons, water aerobics, coaching the swim team and guarding. I spent many hours a day in the guard room where we had a fish tank. It was filled with 5 goldfish and one grey goldfish. The gray fish, named Fred, harassed the goldfish; he would chase them around the tank and keep them away from the food when they were all fed. This upset many of the kids who came to watch the feeding and see the fish. So, I decided to teach Fred to stop his shenanigans. Every time Fred would chase the goldfish when I was around, I would put my hand in the tank, catch him, kiss him on the "lips" and say, "Now Fred, stop that. Leave the other fish alone."

This delighted the kids. Eventually, Fred recognized me and would swim to the other side of the tank if I came close to the tank. I didn't even have to put my hand in the tank. This, of course is only using negative reinforcement; this isn't recommended for training anymore. 

But Fred was only the beginning...