Mangas Comics

The old adage “you can lead an animal to water, but you can’t make him drink” was definitely coined by someone who knew nothing about affection-based animal training. If that person had known about and had applied the principles of training animals based upon affection and relationship-building strategies, the phrase most probably would not even exist.

Let’s begin by exploring the basis of training exotic animals, which is called operant conditioning. This primary training strategy lays the foundation upon which the principles of affection-based training are built. Through operant conditioning, exotic animals learn from their own behaviors as they are relevant to the environments in which they exist. The probability that a specific animal behavior either increases or decreases is directly proportionate to the consequences the animal experiences. In other words, positive results produce positive behaviors in exotic animals, resulting in the increased chances that such behavior will be repeated.

It is amazing how similar affection-based training in exotic animals compares to the same techniques when applied to human beings. For instance, a child who brings home a fantastic report card simply because he chose to apply himself at school is likely to continue making high marks when he receives recognition and praise from his parents. If the same child’s parents pay no attention to his accomplishments at school, it is exceedingly likely that the child’s enthusiasm for a job well done will be significantly, if not completely diminished. The child’s attitude quickly changes to a “why bother?” mindset.

Exotic animals respond precisely the same way … no praise, no motivation to repeat the positive behavior. Without a favorable outcome, the animal is far less likely to duplicate the positive, desired behavior.

Acclimating Exotic Animals to New Environments

Building a strong relationship with an exotic animal should begin in the earliest possible stage of the animal’s life. Whether you have a young tiger cub, a newborn brown bear, a baby elephant or any other exotic animal, it is essential that the animal becomes acclimated and is comfortable with the human voice and the human touch. Begin with bottle-feeding and raise the animal as part of your family, much as you would a new baby. As the animal grows, so does the relationship, with the animal accepting you as a part of its tribe.

Again, this part of the exotic animal training experience is intriguingly like that of the human experience. Consider the situation in which a new employee comes on board as the result of her company’s being acquired by your company. If the new employee is treated with a “hands-off” attitude, it is highly probable that her potential for high performance on the job will never be realized. However, if she is warmly received, treated with respect and given credit for what she brings to the table, it is extremely likely that she will perform well in her new business environment and be a valued member of your team.

Positive Reinforcement in Training Exotic Animals

It is a given that exotic animals respond to experiences they perceive as physical. In other words, a tiger will perform as desired if it receives a positive response in the form of an experience it can feel, hear, see or taste. These forms of reinforcement are primary and tangible, providing the tiger with a stimulus, whether in the form of a rub down, voiced praise, food or even opportunities for mating.

A perfect and amazing example of how training exotic animals with positive reinforcement generates desired behavior can also be witnessed by observing the results in humans when they are likewise provided their respective stimuli. Think back to your younger days when you and your classmates each received a case of chocolates to sell in order to raise money for your school. What could possibly motivate kids to give up riding their bikes and playing ball after school to go door-to-door trying to sell candy? Simple, it was the promise of an ice-cream party for the class who sold the most.

Another technique for training exotic animals to exhibit and repeat positive behavior involves using conditioned reinforcement. This form of reinforcement is not routine or involuntary, but rather is learned. Your exotic animal will learn over a period of time and through repetition that if she performs the appropriate and desired behavior that she will earn a hearty “Good Girl” and a well-deserved back rug.

For an idea of how conditioned reinforcement works in training exotic animals, consider a truly exotic species we call the human teenager. He will most probably move slowly each morning the first week of his new summer job. However, once he earns his first paycheck, he is more likely than not to have a little spring in his step the second week. He has learned firsthand, and much to his delight, that going to work equals a paycheck, which is his stimulus. Likewise, if the top annual producer on your sales staff is recognized with an “all expenses paid” golf trip, it is a sure bet that he will be an amazing go-getter next year and put forth his best efforts towards achieving the same reward.

Regardless of the species of exotic animal with which you are working, a strategically devised training plan that incorporates elements of both primary reinforcement and conditional reinforcement ensures you the best possible outcome in achieving desired results with your animal. Relationships that are established and fostered early on in which the animal is nurtured intensely enable you to become the leader rather than trying to assume the role as master, which inevitably leads to frustration for both you and your animal.

Achieve amazing results in exotic animal training by putting relationship-building, affection-based training concepts to work for you today. This technique ensures optimum results every time. Both you and your exotic animal deserve the best possible opportunity for success, and hands-down, these principles of animal training are the stepping stones upon which you can achieve the success you each deserve.

(c) 2007, Dan Stockdale and Rick Kelly.

Stuffed animals are one of children’s most favorite toys. These fun animals are great to have around, and sometimes go everywhere with your youngster. Since these animals are around for almost every event, even they get dirty and will need an occasional bath.

So how do you keep stuffed animals clean? Well here are some tips to keep them clean and in great shape:

First and most importantly read the care instructions that come with the stuffed animal on their label. Also take note of all materials the stuffed animal is made with.

Retailers of stuffed animals never personally recommend washing stuffed animals in the washer or dryer. What is highly recommended is to spray on a mild all-purpose cleanser or simply use soap and sponge it clean with a little water. Then leave your stuffed animal in the sun to dry.

However, many parents really feel like they need to wash stuffed animals in a washing machine to make them completely clean. So here are more tips if you desire to do so:

First, make sure none of your stuffed animals have the following before putting it in the washing machine:

* If a stuffed animal has excelsior, styrene foam, or any other form of foam material, such as foam beads, they must not be washed in the machine.

* If a stuffed animal has joints, or cardboard or any other form of stiffeners, do not put into a machine or they can be destroyed.

* If a stuffed animal has a sound box, please do not put this into a machine or any other form of major water.

* If a stuffed animal is really large, very firm, or has a lot of stuffing please remove the stuffing by cutting a 5-6 inch area in the bottom of the animal. This is important because the stuffing will most likely shift and cause the animal to lose its shape. Plus washing this much stuffing will take a very, very long time to dry. After cleaning, sew up the area and make sure no stuffing will fall out.

After reading the above and your stuffed animal does not fit into the first three categories, you may wash your animal in a washing machine. Before putting a stuffed animal into a washing machine, please make sure there are no loose items, such as button noses or eyes. Please also check to make sure that there are no openings where stuffing can come out, if so please sew up these areas securely first.

Before putting the stuffed animal into a washing machine, find a big enough pillow (or a sheet for big stuffed animals) and fasten all ends with rubber bands, safety pins or string. Please make sure all ends are secure to protect the fur of the stuffed animal. Plus it will keep any loose stuffing inside the pillow or sheet in case any falls out and can be re-installed.

After placing the stuffed animal into the washing machine, please only set the most delicate cycle to be washed. Fabric softener can be added and will make a softer and fluffier stuffed animal. Please be careful when washing other items with the stuffed animal, that there are no items that may bleed onto the stuffed animal making it a different color in the end. Also, if your stuffed animal is wearing clothes, please remove them and wash separately. This is important because the color of the stuffed animal’s fur can sometimes bleed onto the clothes they are wearing.



Tips on How to Clean Stuffed Animals without Using a Washing Machine:

* A great way to keep those precious stuffed animals fresh is to give it a dry bath with baking soda. Just sprinkle the baking soda on the stuffed animal. After 20 minutes simply brush the baking soda off. You may also use baby powder. This process will get smells out and clean off any surface dirt.

* For stuffed animals that have been badly stained or soiled, use a soft scrub brush with an all purpose cleaner.

* For stuffed animals with plastic parts that have spots or stains, you can use rubbing alcohol to remove them.

* For stuffed animals that have dust mites you can do the following:

Place your stuffed animal in a plastic bag. Then place it in a freezer overnight. If you have a big stuffed animal or do not have room in the freezer, you can wait to place it outside on a very cold night. The temperature has to be below freezing. The next day, remove the stuffed animal and vacuum gently but thoroughly.



Tips on How to Dry a Stuffed Animal:

When you have washed your stuffed animal or somehow the stuffed animal has become very wet, please never use a clothes dryer. This can damage the fur of the animal and can sometimes never be repaired. Please don’t risk loosing your child’s favorite animal, instead do the following:

The safest way is to let the stuffed animal air dry. This could take up to several days. However, sometimes you need that stuffed animal dry as soon as possible. So you can use a hair dryer, but be careful to not get too close to the animal’s fur and dry on the coolest setting available.

When a small amount liquid has spilled on a stuffed animal simply shake off loose liquid. Then pat dry with a towel or sponge.

With the care provided above, your clean stuffed animals will provide you and your child many years of fun and happiness. Good luck!

If your child loves stuffed animals, they may also love to play fun, free, family friendly online animal games at www.PlushQuest.com.

Lego Batman

The wonderful world of Lego is something everybody has grown up with, including you no matter how much you try to deny it. After taking on Indiana Jones, the little yellow Lego guys are now having a go at playing the role of the caped crusader in Lego Batman.

Lego Indiana Jones, released quite recently, proved a surprising success and boasted addictive gameplay at times – and not just for kids, or younger gamers as I prefer to call them. The graphics were as cartoon-like as you could have expected given the setting of the Lego universe with touches that reflected the Indiana Jones franchise quite well. Because of this surprising success, Lego Batman had actually built up a somewhat bizarre level of anticipation within the gaming industry.

Unfortunately Lego Batman does not live up to the expectation, and takes the series back down a notch to being, once again, just a rushed attempt at what was potentially great game concept. But not everything is bad in Lego Batman.

The controls are incredibly basic which is not actually a bad thing, given the simplicity of the gameplay itself. You will find yourself playing as Batman, Robin or the bad guys and battling your way through huge numbers of enemies towards the end of levels – where if playing as a good guy, you will face a classic boss fight to complete the level and move on through the game.

Playing as the bad guys actually proves more enjoyable than playing as Batman or Robin. The main reason for this is the added variety it brings to the game in the form of the attacks you can use and the different level partitions that you will need to fight your way through. When playing as the bad guys though, be it the Penguin, Joker, Cat Woman or somebody else, you will not actually be fighting Batman or Robin at any point but instead will be faced with police officer which is a bit disappointing.

Lego Batman lacks a lot of the humor which made Lego Indiana Jones a success through the parodies of well-known scenes taken from the movies. If Lego Batman had followed that road too it may have been a more worthwhile game. Instead, Lego Batman has been developed with a focus on the classic comic books.

Considering the game is a Lego title, you would probably expect very little that would impress you in terms of the game’s graphics – and the game does not let you down on what you will be expecting, as the graphics are poor from the outset and remain so throughout the game.

Yes it’s easy to say hey, this is Lego, what do you expect? And despite it being Lego, my answer would be something along the lines of ‘a hell of a lot more!’. It is almost as if developers Travelers Tales have dismissed the need for good graphics because of the games target audience of youngsters, automatically assuming they will not mind, and they may be right – but in my opinion this is a touch disrespectful.

With all things considered Lego Batman is a poor attempt at an action adventure game, with constantly repetitive gameplay that you quickly become tired of. The terrible artificial intelligence that operates your so-called side kick throughout the game creates a lot of stress that you would not expect to get from a Lego game, particularly when you need their help solving the puzzles. It will drive you mad – and for that reason alone Lego Batman is not something I can recommend you to buy whatever your age.