How does one go from being a marine mammal trainer to an employee at the Wildlife World Zoo? Ask Dr. Grey Stafford.  The self-proclaimed animal lover and zoology expert went from a stint at the Sea World of Ohio to earning his doctoral degree to heading up terrestrial and avian species as the Curator of Education at the Wildlife World Zoo and then as Director of Animal Management for Dolphin Quest.  He found himself back at Wildlife World Zoo later as Director of Conservation.

Sounds like a handful of animals already, but Grey says they never lose their appeal and even has his own pets at home with his wife.  Paw-Talk had the chance to talk to Grey about his promising animal career, his guide to training animals with positive reinforcement ZOOmility, and his subsequent website iReinforce presenting powerful tales of training animals using this positive reinforcement method.

So go give your animal a pat on its back, then settle down for more key info about Grey.

Did you always love animals growing up? 

Yes.  Growing up in a large city neighborhood with no yard, my first pets were house cats.  I still recall the day back in grade school when our cat gave birth to so many kittens—such a powerful moment for a young kid.

Did you have a lot of pets when you were young? Do you have any now? 

I have had pets for as long as I can remember: cats, dogs, ferret, Spurred tortoise, even a duck while in college!  My wife and I have had at least one dog and usually 2 or 3 for the past 20 years.  Our small dog is an Italian Greyhound mini pin mix named Venti (he was the size of a Starbucks venti cup when we got him.)  Venti joins me each week during our local TV call in segments where we try to answer viewer pet training questions.  He’s also hung out backstage at the Ellen Show and even had his picture with Jay Leno.  Our GSD, Nia, is always ready to play and is a big sweetie.

What made you start your “zoology career” working as a marine mammal trainer?
 
Many years ago, my then future wife and I were watching a Killer whale night show while visiting Sea World of Ohio one summer after college.  As she tells it, my jaw was  on the floor for the entire time as a trainer, killer whale and a bottlenose dolphin  performed a water ballet together—it was amazing seeing predators and prey working  together out of fun and trust, not fear and force.  A few months later, that same trainer hired me!

What has been your experience with animal behavior and intelligence?

Even today, we aren’t all that great at defining, much less quantifying, human  intelligence.  So it is no surprise there are competing ideas about animal intelligence.   As I wrote in ZOOmility, we humans are often too quick to assign limits to animal  behavior and learning.  I still marvel at what animals can teach us about their mental  and physical capacities, if we just take the time to observe them.  Given all the  dramatic changes to our planet’s ecosystems, those animals that can use behavior to  adapt to sudden changes brought on by human activity, will be the ones to survive.   Surely, surviving in the 21st century is one measure of animal intelligence.

Are animals just as smart as humans? 

I’m not sure that’s a fair comparison.  After all, human knowledge and experience have created computers and enabled our species to land on and return from the moon.  So in terms of technical knowledge, no species can compare to human achievements.  Just as we don’t pit a 1st graders’ math skills against those of a college professor’s, I don’t think you can compare human achievements to those of even higher order animals.  However, I do think you can measure an animal’s ability to learn species-specific behaviors, solve problems, use tools etc.  Clearly, some species such as dogs, dolphins, chimps, elephants, parrots, ravens etc. have incredible problem-solving skills that are comparable to very young human children.  
 

Why do you believe so strongly in proactive aggression management and positive reinforcement for animals? 

A very wise curator once told my coworkers and me, “we don’t let animals in a training environment ‘work it out.’ ”  Because they will!  And, the manner in which animals work out their fear and/or frustration via aggression can have devastating, long-lasting, even life-threatening consequences to everyone in the group.  So everything we do as trainers in a group setting should be based on the exclusive use of only positive reinforcement in order to minimize aggression in all its forms.  The related concepts of desensitization, Least Reinforcing Scenario (LRS) and alternate response training are standard reinforcement-based tools that can help trainers teach animals to display greater trust and cooperation whether alone or in a group.
 
Aside from all the well documented, mal-adaptive side effects of using punishment, as a trainer, I think quality time with my animals is far too short to waste any of it trying to devise lasting ways to tell them “NO,” or “you got it wrong.”  Training should always be about telling animals “yes! That’s it! That’s what I want you to do.”  Positive reinforcement is the only way to do just that and build lasting trust.  

To me, there is little trainer skill involved in forcing an animal to do something out of fear or intimidation.  But, teach an animal to engage over and over again in a voluntary, complex behavior like giving blood, artificial insemination etc. through positive reinforcement? Now that takes real training skill.
 
How did you make the switch from marine mammals to the Wildlife World Zoo? 

After completing my graduate research on marmoset energy use, I was hired as education curator at Wildlife World Zoo in the West Valley of Phoenix, AZ.  Our staff was responsible for onsite and offsite educational animal shows, public feedings etc.  It was a great opportunity to take the operant conditioning skills I learned with marine mammals and apply them to herps, birds and terrestrial mammals.

Why is wildlife conservation so important? 

I cannot imagine a world without tigers, elephants, sharks, gorillas, and amphibians to name just a few, but that is our near future unless we humans get our act together.  Conservation is something we all can and should do, to whatever degree we are able.  However, our approach has got to be much more inclusive of every stakeholder than it has been so far.  To be successful, conservation efforts must also be economically viable at the local, regional, national and international levels.  To some that may seem objectionable, but the reality is there simply aren’t enough billionaires on the globe to save it.  Conservationists need to be more entrepreneurial.  For it is hard, and ultimately futile, to ask a poor community to preserve species and habitat for future generations when their children are starving and uneducated, today. 

Tell me about your website iReinforce and about ZOOmility.

ZOOmility was written to help trainers teach using only positive reinforcement.   Hopefully by reading some of my trainer mistakes readers will embrace the joy of training without using fear or force.  Along with some of my zookeeper tales, the book includes a series of behavior recipes to get people started. The second part of the book is a reminder to us all that no animal is a lost cause.

It was a thrill to have ZOOmility featured nationally on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last January.  More importantly, it has been an honor to have one of my role models, Jack Hanna, write the foreword.  My hope is that 5 or 10 years from now and beyond, trainers from all walks of life and experience levels still find it a useful read.

ZOOmility is featured on www.iReinforce.com as well as Amazon.  Readers can follow ZOOmility on Facebook, too.