HAWS Alumni Reunion with Lad Lake

The second semester of HAWS PETS program for the Lad Lake students (a school geared towards at-risk boys) has gone very well.  Many of the boys this semester are returning from the first semester session.

Back in October the boys had several opportunities to learn about puppy development and play with some of HAWS adoptable puppies. One litter in particular was a favorite.  It consisted of 7 white and tan roly poly little pups that all had  "Jack" in their name in some form or another.

One of the puppies returned for a visit recently with his new owner.  Jack Dempsey has been re-dubbed Leo and at 6 months of age is much bigger than the last time the boys met him when he was a mere 8 weeks.   One of the kids knew who he was immediately -- without being told that this was a puppy he'd met once before.  And the boys were delighted to see Leo and have an opportunity to get to know him again. 

Leo's visit allowed the boys to not only meet up with an old friend, but also to use their training experience.  Leo's mom wanted him to learn to greet people politely, instead of jumping as many adolescent dogs do.  Additionally she wanted him to get a little more confidence as Leo is currently going through a developmental fear period. 

The boys have worked with many adoptable dogs here at HAWS while enrolled in the program and it was great for them to be able to see what happens after the dog is adopted.  The value of their work has been reinforced because the boys saw that what they do at HAWS makes a difference, and that the dogs go on to have wonderful homes with really great owners. 

Lad Lake and Tink

The Lad Lake program has started up again.  This semester we have a great group of 6 boys who are enthusiastic and fast learners. 

One of the dogs assigned to one of the groups is Tink -- a very small Chihuahau.  The boys learned very quickly that training an adult small dog can be a challange.   Many times they are difficult to lure into a down position, and in Tink's case, she was also difficult to lure into a sit. 

Quite by accident the boys discovered that she does a beautiful play bow, and they spent most of their training session with her on Wednesday perfecting this trick.  Within no time Tink was not only bowing reliably, but holding it for over a minute at a time while the boys reinforced her with tiny Chihuahua sized treats. 

It was fantastic that the boys went from frustration to pride at what they were able to train this little girl to do.   I'm sure it will make them look forward to future sessions of dog training at HAWS.

Bucky Buckerman

The other day I was showing my Lad Lake students a PowerPoint on animal emotions and I started out talking about humane emotions and facial expressions. I showed the Dr. Paul Ekman photos depicting universal facial expressins for different emotons.

As I started to move on to talk about animal emotions one of the boys raised his hand and with a big smile asked; "Can we call the one on the bottom in the middle 'Bucky Buckerman'?"

I attempted to use his inappropriate attempt at humor to instill some empathy. "That's not very nice to make fun of his appearance," I said. "He can't help how he looks."

"Yes he can," the boy replied, "he can get braces."

"Maybe he can't afford braces, or maybe there's another reason he can't get them," I said.

At that point one of the other boys asked when these photos were taken, and I said I thought maybe the late 60s or early 70s. "Oh, no. You're right," he said. "Back then they couldn't have afforded it."

I'm not sure if they got the message I was trying to send, but I was amused.

PETS Project Graduation

Back in December I posted about the difficulties I was having with my current semester of Lad Lake students. The PETS program is designed to have boys from the school for at-risk kids learn about and train shelter dogs with the goal of instilling empathy, teamwork, patience and inspire them to be interested in learning.

The first semester of the school year just ended and I'm pleased at how things really turned around for the program. The boys became very excited to work with the dogs and train them to do new things, and I saw many of the boys become more respectful both towards myself and the other students, and they were enthusiastic about the learning portion of the program.

The last day of the semester the boys gave me notes they'd put together thanking me for allowing them to particpate in the program. One of the boys was grateful that he'd learned about puppy mills and promised never to get a dog from one. One complimented me on being a great trainer and teacher. Another drew pictures of myself and my dog. Getting thanks from the kids I work with really makes my job worthwhile, and I always hope that I've made an impact even in a small way on their lives.

One of the gifts I give to the boys on completion of the semester is a video that I put together from footage shot over the course of the semester of their work with the dogs. The latest video is below.

Lad Lake this Semester

This semester's PETS program with Lad Lake (a program for at-risk teen aged boys) has been one of the most difficult so far since I started working with them in 2009. This year there were changes mid-semester in the enrollment -- two of the boys left the program and two were added. Changes like this always leave the group disjointed and makes it difficult for the boys to get into a rhythm of working together as a team.

Additionally, this particular group didn't seem as motivated to train the dogs and seemed to want to goof around quite a bit. Susan (Lad Lake Instructor) and I tried several different things, but both of us were getting frustrated on the lack of progress we were seeing over-all and weren't quite sure how to get the boys excited about working with the dogs.

It was an unmotivated dog that gave me the key. Yogi was a really sweet dog, but not very bright and not motivated to do more than sit. The boys were getting frustrated working with him, and I knew I had to do something to get Yogi interested in working.

I showed the boys how to click and treat for any interaction with a cardboard box -- an exercise coined by clicker training guru Karen Pryor as "101 Things to do with a Box". It's sometimes a great exercise for unmotivated dogs since they don't have to learn anything specific and are rewarded for anything they do that has to do with the box. Yogi really liked this exercise, and as it turned out, so did the boys.

Yogi was adopted, so this week the boys worked with a different dog. They asked if they could use some of the large plastic playground equipment HAWS uses for dog training classes. They had a lot of fun luring Roxie up onto the pieces, and asking her to sit and down.

And then a most amazing thing happened. The boys started to become motivated to try different things, and best of all were working as a team. The video below is of Alex struggling to get Roxie to rollover, while Chauncey does a great job coaching him through it.

Moments where students have a break-through and show visible signs of progress make my job very rewarding and keep me motivated. I hope the boys feel the same way.

Captivity vs. Freedom

When Lad Lake met for the first time I explained to the boys what HAWS is all about and gave them a tour. One of the special treats they were able to see was the marmoset we had had surrendered. Jerry wasn't available for adoption --he was being housed in a back room that was off limits to the public while we tried to figure out what exactly we were going to do with him.

As the boys were looking at Jerry I explained that I didn't think it was right to keep wild animals as pets. I explained that in the wild marmosets would be able to roam for miles and live in the rainforest in large groups. Kept as pets we can't even begin to replicate that natural habitat, and since they are wild animals being kept in captivity their natural behaviors can't possibly be fulfilled which means that they most likely aren't happy being kept as pets.

The boys, captivated by how cool Jerry was, didn't buy into it. One asked why it was ok for zoos to keep monkeys. I explained that zoos have larger enclosures than what a person keeping a pet monkey would be able to provide, and additionally had full-time staff to ensure that not only were the animals cared for appropriately, but that zoo staff spent a good amount of time providing environmental enrichment opportunities to ensure the animals had the mental and physical stimulation they needed to be happy.

The boys still weren't convinced. And when they heard that captive animals tend to live longer than wild animals they jumped on that as an excuse to keep wild animals as a pet.

"Wouldn't it be better for them to live as a pet and live longer?", one of them asked.

I asked the boys if they'd rather live for 70 years in a jail cell or for 30 years in freedom. They seemed to get it.

TAGteach and Lad Lake

Recently I read an article on the website of animal trainer/behaviorist Karen Pryor entitled "Yes, But Does This Work with Kids? How TAGteach Made a Difference at School and Home". TAGteach is something I've been familiar with for quite some time, but this article summed up quite nicely the concept and how it can be applied as a tool for children.

TAGteach is basically clicker training for people. It allows the teacher to break down the whatever is being taught into small steps with each step being reinforced -- just like it would be with animals. The difference is that with people the teacher can articulate to the student specifically what the steps are.

I just started a new semester with my Lad Lake program in which at-risk boys come to HAWS twice a week to do training with shelter dogs. One of the problems I've run into with my previous Lad Lake attendees is that they want to skip steps in the training process. For example -- instead of building on a duration stay and setting the dog up to be successful, they always want to move away from the dog right away. Many of these kids lack patience and self control, and it's more difficult for me to get them to move a bit more slowing in their training steps than it is with the students I work with in my family manners classes.

I've decided to use TAGteach concepts to help the boys define specific steps in training the dogs to do behaviors -- recently I sat down a wrote out the stepts for sit, down, leave it and stay and put together a demonstration video to show them.

Today was the first day that the boys worked with shelter dogs -- we worked on sit and down. And I found that the steps I wrote out served as a good reminder for myself when coaching them so that I could help them help their dogs be successful.

This is Why I Do It

I just received a card with thanks from the Lad Lake boys who participated in last semester's PETS program. It was really a great start to a Monday, and I wanted to share it. I've removed the names signed at the end.

Khris
Thank you for everything you did for us and the dogs. I learned a lot about dogs. Plus I’m not as scary of dogs. I love pit bulls and any dogs that look mean and strong. Your teaching was good – when I could not do something you were there to help me. Thanks for the time you did with us. You were one of the best teachers. Thanks for everything, so Yea Thanks,
Bye Bye
Bark Bark

---

When I came in I had no idea what to do but I met Naya and got to work. I didn’t do the best at first but I got a hang of it and I had some real fun times. I learned a lot of new stuff and what to do and what not to do.
Thank You

---

The dogs were a great time. You taught us to know if it is friendly or mean. I had a great time. I hope you had a great time too. Thank you. Even though I did not work with Naya, she is so nice. I hope Mystic and Belle have a good time.

---

I liked the dogs a lot. I want to go again. I liked training the dogs how to sit and shake and roll over. And I loved Jenna and working with her. I like Mystic, and he was my favorite dog. I also really working with Tommy. I hope I can come again and work with Jenna, I want her to be a bomb dog and get adopted.

I love you. Good bye,

---

Thank you Khris for all the hard work you’ve done for us! I appreciate that you would go out of your way to teach us how to train dogs. We had lots of fun and I hope you did too!

I liked to hang out with Naya and Mystic. I think those two dogs are very special and they have a lot of potential. I think they both are good dogs. I hope Naya is having a good time, just like Mystic.

You are a good inspiration, and you encourage me to not buy from puppy mills, and to believe that I can take care of pets just like you do. I hope you and Mystic and Belle have a wonderful day.

Your friend,

---

Khris, I thank you for letting me work with the best dog trainer. I thank you for letting me work with Naya. I loved Naya.

I wish I could have Naya.

Love,

PETS Graduation

First semester of Lad Lake has come to an end, and so the boys that were participating in the PETS (Positive Empathy Training for Success) program graduated.

I am very proud at the end of each semester of how far the students have come. Not only have their training skills improved, but they have achieved personal growth as well.

One of the boys who tended to get frustrated and shut down in the beginning learned to become more patient and adapt if things didn't go the way he thought he should. Another went from being bossy with the other boys to becoming a true team member who could express himself without belittling. A third boy who used to run away from school when his emotions got the better of him, learned to control himself so that he could attend the program at HAWS.

Each semester I make a video for the boys comprised of the video and photos that were taken during their time here and add music. Because it's a gift for pre-teen and teenage boys, the music I use is for them. The boys get the video, as well as files containing photos and unedited video and a certificate of completion.

The video embedded here is an edited version of what I made for the boys.

Motivation Impacts Learning

One of the interesting things about the fact that I'm both a dog trainer and a humane educator is how many times things that apply to dogs is also relevant when trying to teach people.

My Lad Lake program this semester has been more challenging than the previous 2 semesters. For one thing the students are younger. Last school year the kids ranged in age from 13 to 18 years of age, while this semester I'm working with kids between the ages of 11 and 14. Also -- with the exception of one, this particular group of students really don't have a background with dogs. They don't have dogs, don't have a passion for dogs, and most have cats at home and are very much cat lovers.

I've struggled with getting the current group of boys motivated to work with HAWS dogs, and show the enthusiasm for training and canine behavior that the other two groups had. And I've had to apply a principle that dog trainers use all the time -- if the dog isn't learning and doesn't appear to be motivated try something else.

My original format consisted of a 20 minute PowerPoint with the remainder of the hour having the boys split up into two groups -- each working with their own designated adoptable dog. A few weeks I knew I was in trouble when I heard a couple of the boys complain that they were bored and didn't want to work with dogs. Part of it was frustration, and part of it was just that the program as it was set up was not working.

So I've changed a few things. I had them doing a competition to see who could get the most sits out of Mystic in a minutes time. I won at 25 sits - while each of the boys was able to do only 9 or 10 sits. And I used that as an opportunity to show the boys how to keep the dog engaged in training by holding his attention. Then they worked with their dogs and did the sit competition again, and really seemed enthusiastic about interacting with the dogs.

Another thing I did was to put together a case history for a dog named Jenna. Jenna is at HAWS, but currently isn't adoptable because she needs some training before she'll be ready for adoption. She is a very young dog who gets mouthy when she's frustrated or overly excited. HAWS Mod Squad -- a group of dedicated volunteers who have been trained to do behavior modification with HAWS shelter dogs, has been working with Jenna, but I also wanted to get the boys involved in her training.

I video taped her behavior and did a case history presentation. Then I asked the boys to brainstorm with me and talk about what her behavior problems were. I was amazed that all the boys were raising their hands and participating -- normally only one of the boys is eager to participate. And even better they made very valid contributions as to what her inappropriate behaviors were.

Then I asked them what we could do with training to improve her behavior. And again I was floored at the wonderful suggestions each of them came up with. They suggested that we train her to sit when people approach, work with her to be calm when petted, and teach her to be calm when her harness is being put on or taken off -- among other things.

The last few weeks we've still had a PowerPoint presentation, but then as a group we work with Jenna on those items for 10 or 15 minutes, and then they work in the two groups with their own dogs. And this seems to have made a huge difference in their attitudes towards the program. Not only are they seeing a tremendous difference in Jenna's behavior, but they are much more interested in working with the other dogs as well. And I even caught them working as a team and complimenting one another.

Patience is a Virtue

I think more than anything else in my life, working with dogs has had the biggest impact on my capacity to be patient. Dogs really can humble you -- once you think you have them figured out, they throw you a curve ball.

And I haven't learned to just be patient when working with dogs -- patience has permeated other aspects of my life. I've learned to empathize when dog owners are experiencing behavior problems, and when they're struggling to teach their own dog something new. I've also learned to be more patient in the non-doggy aspects of day to day living.

The current semester of PETS (Positive Empathy Training for Success) program I'm doing with Lad Lake -- a school for at-risk kids, has been underway for a month now. This is the third semester I've done this program, and this is the youngest group of kids that have participated. They range in age from 11 to 14 years of age.

PETS involves 20 minutes of PowerPoints on training, behavior and other dog related topics, and the last part of the hour has the kids working with shelter dogs. I've had to be more patient with this group of kids because they are younger, and so it's a bit more difficult for them to understand some of the concepts in the presentations. I've had to learn to go a bit slower with them, and to review concepts and terms as we go.

Some of the kids are students at Lad Lake precisely because they lack self control and don't have much in the way of patience. This is very evident with one of the PETS participants in particular. He is an extremely bright kid who loves to participate in discussion. He has very good problem solving ability. But he's a bit bossy with the other boys and interrupts when someone else is talking. He has so much promise if he can just learn some patience.

That's what the PETS program is all about. We still have 3 months to go in this semester, and I hope working with HAWS dogs can make a difference for him.

New Semester, New Start

With the new school year I start my semester-long project with a group of boys from Lad Lake -- a non-profit organization that provides services to at-risk youth. Twice a week five boys from their Day Education Program come to HAWS to learn about dog behavior, training and other topics and actually do some hands on work with our adoptable dogs.

The goal is that they will develop empathy for others, learn patience, and get motivated for academics back at school.

The boys had their first two visits to HAWS this week. The Monday their visit consisted of an orientation to HAWS. They also got to meet Niya -- one of HAWS adoptables.

On Wednesday they watched a PowerPoint presentation on clicker training, had an opportunity to practice their clicker timing with an exercise, and were able to clicker train Mystic to put his toys away.

This is a trick I've worked with Mystic on a few times, but never seem to find the time to actually take it to the next level. The completed trick consists of dog toys scattered around the room -- the dog picks up each toy one at a time and deposits it into a box. By Wednesday's session with Lad Lake I had Mystic to the point where he could pick up a toy a few feet from the box and drop it in most of the time.

At Wednesday's session I warmed Mystic up by familiarizing him with a new box and getting him somewhat consistent with picking up a toy I'd dropped on the floor and putting it into a cardboard box. Then each boy took his turn with the clicker while I gave suggestions as far as when they should click.

The boys did great, however Mystic had a very difficult time when I placed two toys on the floor. He loves carrying around multiple soft toys in his mouth at the same time (his record is 5 at once!) and he just didn't have it in him to drop one toy and leave it behind before he picked up the second. With a little brainstorming the boys and I decided that once he had deposited one toy I would throw a second toy away from the box. This seemed to work better for him.

The Lad Lake boys may be very new at this, but they have excellent timing, and seemed to understand at one point that Mystic wasn't misbehaving, but was a little stressed out. I think this is going to be a wonderful semester.

Endings and Beginnings

I can't believe that the school year is almost over (already finished for some schools)!

I just graduated another group of boys from Lad Lake through our Positive Empathy Training Program. Each week 6 boys came to HAWS on Monday and Wednesdays to learn about a dog related topic and train HAWS adoptable dogs.

What was really interesting about working with the boys is that they would sometimes appear to be bored and not really paying attention, and then later they'd say something that told me they really were listening to what I had to say. It was very gratifying to hear them tell each other to ease up on a dog that was stressed, and point out all the stress signals the dog was displaying.

I will miss these young men, and hope nothing but the best for their futures. I look forward to working with a new group of Lad Lake boys next fall.

In the meantime I'm getting ready for another summer of our Kids 'N Critters Day Camp. With our building expansion we now have much more space and are actually going to be running two different camps concurrently. I'm looking forward to some of the new activities I've added to the schedule -- such as clicker training cats and dogs in their cages. It's another way for the kids to be hands on with the animals -- something both parents and campers have been asking about.

Keep an eye out for future blogs about camp -- especially the new specialty camp I'm calling "Camp Gone to the Dogs".

Another Rascal Post

One of the things that amazed me the most about Rascal is his work with my students from Lad Lake. The Lad Lake boys have been working twice a week training dogs at HAWS since first semester started in September. They had been working with Rascal almost from the beginning.

HAWS has a copy of the DVD "Take a Bow Wow Wow" and "Bow Wow Take 2" that one of it's producer's, Virginia Broitman donated to HAWS for use in our work with at-risk kids. The boys watched the videos and used a lot of it when they were teaching Rascal his various tricks such as spin, take a bow and rollover. One day they asked if they could teach Rascal to open and close cabinet doors. I was suprised that they wanted to teach something somewhat compicated, but we set about doing it.

At the time the boys started this project they had been working with Rascal for quite some time. Rascal was clicker-wise, and the boys fairly experienced in their training skills. I still didn't anticipate how quickly Rascal learned how to open and close cabinet doors. Even better was the teamwork that the boys displayed as they worked through this training problem.

Luckily I got it on video -- enjoy!

Rascal Went Home!

Something I hear on a regular basis from people who don't work at HAWS is "I could never work in a shelter". While it can be sad and heartbreaking to deal with the issues we see daily in an animal shelter, seeing animals go to new homes with good families makes it all worth our while. Earlier this week our entire staff was overjoyed when Rascal finally went home after living here for 5 months.

Rascal was brought to HAWS on August 5, 2009 because his owners couldn't have him at their new place. As a Pit Bull his breed automatically made him a difficult placement. Not only are people leery about adopting them due to their bad reputations, HAWS also has additional restrictions on them. Many insurance companies will not provide home owners or renters insurance to families with pits as pets, and so one of our requirements is proof of insurance. We also do a little more scrutiny on potential adopters since we want to make sure our adopted dogs actually end up as beloved members of the family -- rather then fighting other dogs.

Unfortunately Pit Bulls get a bad rap. Yes -- they are large powerful dogs, but then so are Labrador Retrievers and Malamutes. Yes, they can cause damage when they bite, but then so can Border Collies and Dalmatians. Pit Bulls are one of the breeds that lead the lists for bite statistics, but those statistics are misleading.

Are Pit Bulls more dangerous because they make the list, or do they make the list because there are many more of them in the USA than there are, as an example, Old English Sheepdogs? It's difficult to know. The AKC lists the top 10 breeds in the USA each year, but Pit Bulls are not an AKC breed and so wouldn't be listed since they can't be registered. As a matter of fact, Pit Bulls aren't really a breed, but more of a type and include the American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers and their mixes.

One of HAWS functions is as a bite case facility -- we quarantine animals who have bitten a human breaking skin to ensure that the animal does not have rabies. Many times we have at least one or more dogs in our kennels with "bite case" signs on their cages. Very rarely are those bite case dogs Pit Bulls (we see many other breeds such as German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels, Jack Russel Terriers, Border Collies, Poodles, etc). On the other hand it's not uncommon for anywhere from 25%-50% of our adoptable dogs to be Pit Bulls or mixes thereof.

Pit Bulls were bred to be tough dogs who could physically with stand the damage incurred by fighting other dogs. But they were also bred to be extremely tolerant of human interaction -- with aggression towards humans being bred out of them. Historically Pit Bulls have been highlighted in a positive manner. Sergeant Stubby is the most decorated dog in US military history for his work in WWI. Petey in the Little Rascals movie was a Pit Bull, as was Tige from the Buster Brown advertisements. Helen Keller had a Pit Bull as a pet, and Laura Ingalls Wilder's dog, Jack the brindle Bulldog is believed to have been a Pit Bull.

Pit Bulls are not a breed for everyone. They do have strong powerful jaws and they physically are strong animals. They should be well socialized as puppies, and go through training so that they have good manners. HAWS only places dogs we feel will be safe members of the community -- and that includes Pit Bulls who go through the same behavior evaluation that our other adoptable dogs go through.

Luckily Rascal passed our behavior evaluation. Boys from our Lad Lake program worked with him twice a week to instill some training and help him with his mental exercise. And our wonderful dog walkers made sure that he got out every day, sometimes three times a day, for exercise and attention. We would have preferred that Rascal find a home in less time than five months. However he is a great dog and we're happy we could give him a chance. We wish Rascal and his new family many years of love and happiness.

Lad Lake and Rascal

The boys from Lad Lake are doing wonderfully in our program. All the boys have started to really become good dog handlers and are developing training skills. But even more important -- and a key part to this program, I've seen a lot of growth from all the boys. Kevin is learning how to pay attention, Keanu is gaining confidence, Michael is getting over his disgust over putting treats in the dogs mouth and is better at following directions, Andrew is learning to be a team player, and Mike is developing some skills in coaching the other boys.

We've seen some of the dogs get adopted, however Mike and Michael have had an opportunity to work with one of the dogs for two months now. While that's a good thing for the boys since they've developed a bond for Rascal and have been able to teach him some amazing things, it's not so great for poor Rascal who's left homeless. While he's very handsome, his size and breed (pit bull possibly mixed with American Bulldog) make him a difficult placement

I credit this program for helping to provide Rascal with the mental enrichment he so desperately needs to make his days here good ones. And hopefully the video of Mike working with him that I just posted on his PetFinder posting helps to get him a home. And just how cute is that bow at the end -- the boys are so pleased with it!

HAWS and Lad Lake

I mentioned in a previous post that I was doing a program with Lad Lake -- a non-profit organization that provides services for at-risk kids.

Other shelters have worked with at-risk kids having them do dog training at their facility. Positive reinforcement training animals can teach the trainers patience, good communication skills and instill empathy. That makes dog training the perfect activity to do with kids who may need help in these areas.

This semester I'm working with 5 boys who range in age from 12 to 18 years. So far I have enjoyed working with them immensely. They are polite, follow directions well, and really seem to be enjoying the experience.

In addition to the dog training, I am also doing a 15 to 20 minute presentation each time they visit on a dog related topic. While I know much of this information already, it's been fun researching the material and putting together the slide presentations. My hope is that the boys will understand that learning can be fun and that it can be applied to something they're doing in the real world.

The top photo is of Michael with one of our adoptable 8 week-old Lab mix puppies. And to the right is Mike training 1-year old easily excited Mia to sit and calm down.

Whatever Happened to Little Albert?

I'm doing a semester-long project with a group of boys from Lad Lake -- a non-profit organization that provides services to at-risk youth. Twice a week five boys from their Day Education Program come to HAWS to learn about dog behavior, training and other topics and actually do some hands on work with our adoptable dogs.

Part of the program involves a 15 or 20 minute presentation - a different topic each visit. Currently I'm working on a presentation on Classical Conditioning. Classical Conditioning involves a stimulus of an involuntary behavior with an stimulus that wouldn't normally cause that involuntary behavior. An example would be if a dog is terrified of loud noises. Initially he's afraid during storms when he hears thunder, but after a while becomes afraid when he sees lightning, because lightning predicts thunder.

While surfing the web and doing my research I came across the story of "Little Albert". If you took Psychology 101 you might remember this experiment done by John B. Watson in 1920. Watson wanted to show that humans are a product of their environment, NOT of their genetics.

It truly was a horrible experiment -- and it shows how little scientists back then cared for their subjects, and how poor ethical standards were at the time. His experiment consisted of exposing a 9 month old child named Albert to a variety of animals, towards which the child was not fearful. Watson then exposed the child to a white rat, and paired it with a loud clanging noise. Albert WAS afraid of the noise. After a while Albert became afraid of the rat, even when the noise wasn't present. Furthermore, he generalized it to ALL furry animals.

Unfortunately for Albert, he was removed from the study before Watson could attempt reverse his fear by counter-conditioning. There isn't any record of Albert after this, so for all we know the poor guy spent the rest of his life terrified of animals. Fortunately we've come a long way since 1920 -- scientists would never be allowed to perform an experiment such as this on a child today.

I was aware of this experiment before today. What I didn't know, was that Watson filmed it and it can actually be seen on YouTube.