Sniffy the virtual rat vs. Rat the live rat

Training with Sniffy was an invaluable experience. I was able to learn about magazine training multiple times (as I restarted the program), shaping, and different reinforcement schedules. Similarities abounded but so too did differences. The major thing that stood out to me was the difference in timing between Sniffy and Rat.

Magazine training with Sniffy was painfully long, almost to the point of discouraging any hope of rapid progress. Maybe it was because of the expectations that Sniffy instilled, but magazine training with Rat was comparatively simple. It took almost no time at all, and within a few minutes (as opposed to nearly a hour), Rat was magazined trained.

Shaping was also comparatively simple, to a degree that is. Unlike Sniffy, who roamed all throughout the box and who would go back to the magazine to receive reinforcement when the "click" was heard, Rat stayed right by the one wall. She never wondered much at all, and it was easy to have to go to the bar. Unlike Sniffy, I never had to reinforce rearing behavior. With Rat, I would reinforce her when she was in the vicinity of the bar, then when she was at the bar, then when she sniffed the bar, when she touched the bar, when she had one paw on the bar, and two paws. It was an absolute breeze. Now here is when the major difference comes up: Rat WOULD NOT press the bar! She pressed it a few times by accident, but I couldn't get her to press the thing enough to elicit an association! It was simply painful watching her because I didn't want to extinct the behavior of being near or on the bar. Eventually Rat picked it up and quickly progressed.

The rate of progression for Rat was great, and I was constantly rewarded whenever she would press the bar or improve on her previous training session. Although she was quick to learn and quick to progress her learning, she was not even on the same planet as Sniffy. Within a few days of training, Sniffy was able to press the bar 50 times (nearly all in a row) with not noticeable PRP. I thought this was a little unrealistic, but if magazine training took a long time, maybe Rat would be even quicker, right? Totally wrong. Although Rat did max out the program at FR20, she was barely half way to FR50, like Sniffy.

I think Sniffy was an extremely helpful tool. But it was just that: a tool. Sniffy definitely was not an adequate replacement for an actual rat, and there were things built into the program that were completely unrealistic. That being said, I am extremely glad I was able to experiment with Sniffy before training a live rat.