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A standardized symbol recognition training system for animals

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Samuel Bello

Samuel Bello Dec 14, 2022

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The main concept here is to have a standard training curriculum for all animals that are going to be allowed at public places. This will include teaching the animals where not to defecate, make noise, or show unnecessary aggression, etc.
One can train their pets using reinforcement methods that involve reward and punishment. Reward is a positive form of feedback that encourages a desired pattern while punishment is negative feedback that discourages an unwanted behavior or action. For example, you can give a dog a food treat when it poops at your preferred spot (reward) or you can yell at the dog when it poops on your door mat (assuming that is unpleasant to everyone). Yelling at the dog is a form of negative feed back. 
Animals that have been trained to recognize standard symbols will be able to tell where not to defecate, make noise or do any other 'unpleasant' things in some places just like humans can tell where not to make calls or drive fast when they see the relevant signs no matter their language.
The training system can be extended,  hopefully, even to wild animals so that animals conform more with human societies. People will definitely leave more room for animals if they do not dirty our favorite places,damage precious objects, or interrupt our activities. Moreso, if they were to become useful in a society, the rate of consumption of animals as food is likely to reduce.

animal welfare animals training

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Creative contributions

Using stimuli adapted for animals instead of symbols

Povilas S

Povilas S Dec 15, 2022

I think it would be difficult for animals to recognize visual symbols like road signs for humans. Instead, different intense stimuli like bright light of a particular color or blinking frequency, or specific sounds can be used. I think ultrasound signals would work well for dogs.

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Samuel Bello

Samuel Bello2 years ago

Good point. But it's not just dogs we'll be adapting  to the environment. So, what if we were to use some sort of a colour code system where the animals can recognise. For example if they see yellow then it means they should not make noise or show unnecessary agression and if the see purple it means they should not make noise and if there is a lot of white then it means they shouldn't defecate in that environment. What do you think?

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Povilas S

Povilas S2 years ago

Samuel Bello I think that each code system should be adapted to each different animal species. We can't have a universal one for all animals, they are just too different. But in cities, it's mostly just dogs walked by their owners, what else? Or wild animals accidentally roaming some suburbs as you mentioned. I remember in London foxes roam the city like stray cats, there are a lot of them, perhaps more in quiet areas further from the center, but still. There are also a lot of stray cats in some warmer climate countries. 
With pets (dogs basically) the situation would be easier since their owners can train them at home to recognize the symbols/stimuli and behave accordingly, but with stray or wild animals it's more complicated, we'd have to develop direct reward/punishment systems to train them without human intermediaries and with each animal species the system would have to be different, adapted to their behavior.

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Shubhankar Kulkarni

Shubhankar Kulkarni2 years ago

I have the same thought. Sound will be easier for the dogs to notice than visual signals. Also, visual signals sometimes disturb the view. To avoid playing the sound continuously, a detector at the entrance will detect a dog and the sound will be played.

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smells

Mikhail Korsanov

Mikhail Korsanov Jan 02, 2023

A smell should cause fear that there is some horror beast here - then they will not mark the territory.

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Add your creative contribution

General comments

ByDarko Savic

All-in-one home calisthenics training equipment

BySpook Louw

Pet identification QR markings

BySpook Louw

An app that matches walkers/runners with dogs that need to go for a walk

ByJESUS MELERO

Total ban on hunting and fishing wild animals

ByDarko Savic

Remotely operated traps built into park benches to catch and relocate stray dogs

BySpook Louw

Adoption Tinder

ByGompachiro yuuji

Instead of culling wildlife, send the excess animals to other countries

ByDarko Savic

Small training pods powered by human kinetic energy