Trust, consistency, and creativity integrated with a strong background of animal behavior theory lay the foundation for this successful relationship.
The Dolphin Quest theory enables and empowers marine mammal specialists to become critical thinkers and problem solvers all the while maintaining an environment of trust for all its animals. While it is a great privilege to work and establish a trusting relationship with the animals, it is also understood and taken as a great responsibility.
Working with animals is a very rewarding experience. The principles and philosophies we follow and practices we employ set a high standard of care that sets trends for not only the field of marine animal training but all animal handling disciplines.
What is training?
Training = Teaching. We teach our animals so they fully understand their environment and, consequently, understand what we are asking.
Why do we train our animals?
- Physical Exercise – daily exercise
- Mental Stimulation – problem solving
- Cooperative Behavior – conditioned behaviors for maintenance and daily care of our animals
- Education and Entertainment – leads to conservation efforts by the pubic
- Scientific Study – provides more information on how to better care for our animals
- Human/Animal Partnership – working together towards a common goal that is mutually beneficial
Dolphin Quest believes that effective animal management applies training principles to provide a dynamic social and learning environment inclusive of training and maintaining behavior for routine veterinary examinations.
What does training accomplish?
- Increases animal agility and wellness
- Increases the physical and mental productivity for the animal
- Increases the longevity of species under human care
- Role modeling humane training practices – marine mammal training continually raises the bar for all animal training and wellness practices
- Improves human and animal safety
- Maximizes the efficiency of animal handlers
