Animals, Start Your Engines: Where to Start Your Training with Any Animal

Ken Ramirez

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: Foundation
Topic: Other Species, Skill, Veterinary

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately six (6) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. Animals participating as part of an Animal/Handler Spotlight Team should eat readily from handler.

Attendees who are not part of an  Spotlight Team can still participate alongside the teams with their own animals from home, but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That's fine, too!

Description: Whether you are working with a dog or a cat, a horse or a goat, a tiger or an eagle, training has to begin somewhere. But where? What do great training session starts have in common, regardless of the species? What skills should you master to get started training? What should you teach your animal first? Get ready to discuss answers to these questions and to put those answers into practice in this unique hands-on working Lab.

Let Ken show you how to get a trainer and animal off to a successful start together, through the exercises and steps he uses—and that you can use, too. Then, you and your animal, no matter the species, will have the opportunity to practice many of these very same exercises. This Learning Lab will cover, and provide opportunities to practice, both core trainer skills that are needed before you work with any species and skills to teach your animal (skills like stationing, targeting, capturing, and more). The goal is to set a strong foundation for a positive reinforcement program.

Six (6) participants may sign up to receive live feedback from Ken during practice times. Everyone else in attendance can practice right from home with their own animals—or just watch others, listen to the lively narrated feedback, learn, and ask questions during Q&A. Join Ken to learn how to help animals start their learning engines!

Please note: This course was presented at ClickerExpo LIVE 2021; the course content will be similar, but the training is LIVE so the experience will be unique and you’ll likely learn something new!

Building Behavior: Shape the Future

Laura VanArendonk Baugh

Course Type: Dem-OH!
Skill Level: Foundation
Topic: Other Species, Shelter & Rescue Work, Skill, Teaching Others

Description: Some of the most common questions about clicker training are about obtaining new, desirable behavior to mark and reinforce. Luring, modeling, capturing, and prompting can take you only so far, and shaping seems like such a complex challenge. But it doesn't have to be.

This Dem-OH! Session is all about shaping—splitting a behavior into many tiny steps and progressing smoothly through a training plan to a goal behavior. With shaping, animals discover their own creativity, power, and desire to work with a trainer, and trainers can teach behaviors too complex for luring. Shaping is fun for both trainer and learner. It builds a strong relationship but it requires awareness and comprehension of the game by the animal and both conceptual and mechanical fluency in the trainer. This Session will discuss how to get started and solutions to common pitfalls. You will see live shaping (and troubleshooting that process!) of a husbandry behavior (teeth-cleaning with a dog) and fun behaviors with other species. There will be time for Q&A, too.

Please note: This course was presented at ClickerExpo LIVE 2021; the course content will be similar, but the training is LIVE so the experience will be unique and you’ll likely learn something new!

Clever Hans was Right - The Art of Adding and Clarifying Cues

Sarah Owings

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: Foundation
Topic: Skill

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately three (3) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams should have two to three simple behaviors on cue. If dogs already have a nose target to an object behavior, that will help us jump ahead to the cueing part.

To participate, you will need the following items: a plastic water bottle as a target; a clicker; treats; a pen and paper.

Attendees who are not part of an Animal/Handler Spotlight Team can still participate alongside the teams with their own animals from home, but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That’s fine, too!

Description: In Part 1, we will conduct a series of tests that ask animals the question: do training cues like ""sit"" or ""down"" really mean what we think they mean? We will discuss ways to clarify cue confusion, how to teach an animal to pay attention to only a narrow set of stimuli when needed, and why it may sometimes be perfectly fine to use the body language and contextual cues animals often find much more relevant anyway.

In Part 2, we will go through the steps of adding a formal training cue to a simple targeting behavior and discuss how to teach animals to wait for that cue without the use of extinction.

This Learning Lab will include time for Q&A.

Please note: This course was presented at ClickerExpo LIVE 2021; the course content will be similar, but the training is LIVE so the experience will be unique and you’ll likely learn something new!

Let’s Talk Basic Tools for Advanced Trainers

Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., Hannah Branigan, Alexandra Kurland, Michele Pouliot, Ken Ramirez, and Kathy Sdao

Course Type: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Other Species, Science, Skill, Teaching Others

Description: Join a discussion with moderator Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. and panelists Hannah Branigan, Alexandra Kurland, Michele Pouliot, Ken Ramirez, and Kathy Sdao on how they view basic tools differently now that they are experienced trainers. Are you looking for lively discussion, unique perspectives, and the expertise of some of the most innovative “advanced” trainers? Let’s Talk!

After a long day of learning, sharing knowledge and insight, and troubleshooting training challenges, meet peers who are from your area or have similar interests, and more through The Connection Section. Attendees will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of breakout rooms to dive into more detail about topics of mutual interest. Each room will be limited in capacity to allow for meaningful conversations. 

During registration, sign up for the Social Event on either of the two evenings; The Connection Section is a free event, but preregistration is required since spots are limited!

Upset to Upbeat

Kathy Sdao

Course Type: Dem-OH!
Skill Level: Intermediate
Topic: Aggression & Behavior Management, Science, Shelter & Rescue, Skill

Description: Your “reactive” dog already notices the myriad of sights, sounds, and tactile stimuli around him. He may respond to some (often referred to as “triggers”) with emotionally-charged behaviors indicating fear or anger (e.g., barking and lunging, fleeing). Rather than hoping that your dog will eventually learn to ignore these triggers, can we instead use his sensitivity as a key component in our training? Might we teach him to recognize these specific context changes as reinforcement opportunities, thereby shifting his attitude from upset to upbeat? In this Dem-OH!, we will detail the training steps necessary to teach your dog to reinterpret triggers as cues (i.e., good news). Join Kathy as she helps demonstrate the steps that can help your dog transition from upset to upbeat.

Train that Chain: Behavior Chains - LIVE!

Laura VanArendonk Baugh

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: Foundation
Topic: Competition, Science, Skill

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately three (3) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. Spotlight teams will need to have at least 5 behaviors on cue. Behaviors should be relatively quick ("sit" better than "go collect those 20 sheep from way over there") and fluent. A variety of cue types (verbal, visual, tactile, etc.) are welcome but not required.

Attendees who are not part of an Animal/Handler Spotlight Team can still participate alongside the teams with their own animals from home, but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That's fine, too!

Description: Behavior chains are incredibly powerful tools that allow for complex tasks and flexible solutions. They can also be magnets for superstitious trainer behaviors and confusion. Laura VanArendonk Baugh likes to remind her learners that chains don't have to be as complex as we often make them! If you have fluent behaviors and stimulus control, you have a chain! Let's take that challenge. In this Lab, we'll collect individual behaviors and assemble them into a chain. We'll cover how to assess if behaviors are ready for chaining, experiment with order (and what we need to know about cueing and chain order), and best practices for putting together fixed-order or variable chains.

Please note: This course was originally presented at an in-person ClickerExpo and has been reimagined and reinvented for the LIVE environment.

Safe and Skilled: Behaviors That Diffuse Dangerous Situations - LIVE!

Emma Parsons

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Aggression & Behavior Management, Skill

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately five (5) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. Spotlight Teams should be comfortable using the clicker and have a solid understanding of how behavior is built. Teams will need a ""boundary"" line of some kind, such as a ruler, jump bar, or light-colored leash.

Attendees who are not part of an Animal/Handler Spotlight Team can still participate from home with their own animals, alongside the teams but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That's fine, too!

Description: The right behavior can stop a reactive or aggressive episode in its tracks! It can prevent an episode from happening, or it can shorten the duration of an event. In this Learning Lab, you will learn how to teach your dogs these essential behaviors, discuss how to use them more effectively, and learn how selecting the proper cues will also solidify the reliability of the behaviors. Behaviors include: Get Behind, Back-Up Sit, Recall with Back-Up, and Back-Up with Down.

Although we will have five dog/handler teams performing live, you can work alongside with your dog at home! This Learning Lab will allow participants to practice the safety behaviors individually. Some will be building the behaviors from scratch while others will be integrating several behaviors to create a compound cue.

Please note: This course was originally presented at an in-person ClickerExpo and has been reimagined and reinvented for the LIVE environment.

PORTL In Action: Designing (and Adjusting!) Successful Shaping Plans

Mary Hunter

Course Type: Dem-OH!
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Skill, Teaching Others

Description:  Sharpen up your skills in creating, implementing, and adjusting shaping plans. This Dem-OH! Session will introduce you to one tool that can improve your shaping skills. PORTL (the Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab) is a table-top game played with a collection of small objects and a clicker. In this action-packed Dem-OH! Session, you’ll watch several live PORTL games. Mary and her team will show you how they take a complex behavior, design a shaping plan, teach the behavior, and make adjustments while teaching based on the learner’s behavior. You will see how PORTL is an excellent playground for practicing your shaping skills and learn ideas and strategies that will help you improve your own shaping plans, in PORTL or with your animal learners.

The 3D Dog: Exploring Body Language for Clarity and Understanding

Terrie Hayward

Course Type: Dem-OH!
Skill Level: Foundation
Topic: Skill, Teaching Others

Description: In this Dem-OH!, we’ll take a look at how to zero in on and appropriately interpret body language for an improved exchange of information. We will also look at how to continue to improve non-auditory communication skills by narrowing down exchanges to the smallest movements and changes. We will strive to decipher and decode dog dialects!

Training X-Factors: Understanding Extraordinary Variables that Affect Animal Learning

Tim Sullivan

Course Type: Dem-OH!
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Other Species, Science, Skill, Teaching Others

Description: You’re a clicker trainer… congratulations! You’ve discovered the incredible power of positive reinforcement training to change behavior ethically and strengthen the relationship between you and your animals. Beyond the science of behavior change, there are a variety of circumstances and variables that can affect the results of your efforts significantly. Trainers who are aware of these “X-factors,” and who can adjust accordingly, can enhance the learning process.
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This presentation will address several X-factors, including resilience-building, managing self-fulfilling prophecies, and structuring training for lifelong learning. The presentation is meant to expand a trainer’s awareness of learning-enhancers that can benefit participants of any skill and experience level. The presentation will also include live training demonstrations with the zoo’s exotic animal ambassadors and plenty of time for question and answers.

Let’s Talk Other Species, II

Ken Ramirez, Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., Alexandra Kurland, Melissa Millett, Laura Monaco Torelli, Tim Sullivan

Course Type: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Other Species, Science, Skill

Description: Join this discussion about working with other (non-canine) species with moderator Ken Ramirez and panelists Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., Alexandra Kurland, Melissa Millett, Laura Monaco Torelli, and Tim Sullivan. Are you looking for lively discussion, unique perspectives, and the expertise of some of the best trainers of other species? Let’s Talk!

Proof It or Lose it: Building Resilient Behaviors From Home (or Anywhere!)

Hannah Branigan

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: Advanced
Topic: Competition, Skill

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately four (4) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. The dog should be able to fluently offer a station behavior (mat, platform, or crate) and have a repertoire of at least three or more strong, on-cue, trained behaviors to work with. The behaviors can be very simple (i.e., sit, targeting) or specific to a sport or other application (i.e., heeling, retrieve). You should also have access to several novel and everyday objects (i.e., a trash can, kite, stuffed animal, kitchen stool) and two more safe working surfaces (i.e., carpet, yoga mat, unfolded cardboard box).

Attendees who are not part of an Animal/Handler Spotlight Team can still participate from home with their own animals, alongside the teams but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That's fine, too!

Description:It’s a common problem that the circumstances in which you train most of your behaviors are not the circumstances in which you need those behaviors to be performed. The more you train the same behaviors the same way in the same environment, the harder it is to perform those behaviors in new (and often harder and more important) situations. Whether you train for performance in the ring or in the vet’s office, your end goal is to build solid behaviors that you can count on when you need them most.

In this Learning Lab, we will explore ideas for building robust, reliable behaviors when it’s not easy to leave home. We’ll discuss when and how to add distractions without increasing the error rate and without putting precious behaviors at risk. We’ll also focus on specific, practical steps you can take in everyday training to teach resilient behaviors for the long run. Finally, we’ll discuss how best to maximize training opportunities away from home when you are able to take your sessions on the road.

After a long day of learning, sharing knowledge and insight, troubleshooting training challenges, meet peers who are from your area or have similar interests, and more through The Connection Section. Attendees will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of breakout rooms to dive into more detail about topics of mutual interest. Each room will be limited in capacity to allow for meaningful conversations. 

During registration, sign up for the Social Event on either of the two evenings; The Connection Section is a free event, but preregistration is required since spots are limited!

Innovation Through Collaboration: What’s New at the Zoo 2—Rhino & Gators!

Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D.

Course Type: Dem-OH!
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Aggression & Behavior Management, Health & Wellness, Other Species, Science, Skill, Teaching Others, Veterinary

Description: Helen Keller said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." These wise words reflect our experience collaborating at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to improve animal welfare through innovative training programs. In this Session, Animal Behavior Programs Manager Rick Hester and applied behavior analyst Susan G. Friedman, Ph. D. invite you to observe their live behavior consultations with zookeepers teaching a rhino and a “congregation” of alligators to participate in husbandry and medical care.

Tricks Are Not Just for Kids!

Melissa Millett

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Skill, Teaching Others

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately four (4) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. To participate, you will need the following items: two wooden planks (a smaller one approximately 12” x 12” and a longer one approximately 1 ft. x 2.5 ft.) and an actual skateboard (longer dogs do well with a longboard).

Attendees who are not part of an Animal/Handler Spotlight Team can still participate from home with their own animals, alongside the teams but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That's fine, too!

Description: Tricks are a wonderful relationship-building activity. They require minimal space and can be customized to your dog’s specific skillset or personality. Plus, tricks are FUN for all!

There are many benefits from teaching tricks. With tricks, you are challenging your training skills with complex behaviors, providing enrichment for your dog in a small space (living room), and developing a stronger positive association for working with the handler by focusing on behaviors that are purely for fun! As a bonus, group trick classes are beneficial for nervous dogs, offering fast-paced activity in a confined and specific space with minimal movement and an atmosphere of joy.

In this Learning Lab Melissa Millett, founder of the Ultimutts, has chosen tricks that are fun to master with your own dog and great options to offer clients in a class environment. Other tricks will be used as examples in discussions of the underlying principles of learning.

Problem Solved, II

Theresa McKeon & Chirag Patel

Course Type: Dem-OH!
Skill Level: All Levels
Topic: Skill

Description: Have you heard the John Lennon quote “There are no problems, only solutions?” It may be true, but those solutions can be elusive. Beginner or expert, we've all had training challenges that left us stymied and thought, “It would be great to get another perspective on this problem.” Well, here is your chance!

Chirag and Theresa will collect a list of “training problems” from attendees and offer fresh perspectives, new strategies, and solutions. Whether the challenge is with training the animal or teaching the human, you can bring your list to this Dem-OH! Session. Let’s see if we can get that problem solved!

Bait and Switch 2.0: Advanced Luring Skills Expanded

Michele Pouliot

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: Intermediate
Topics: Competition, Other Species, Shelter & Rescue, Skill, Teaching Others, Veterinary

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately three (3) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams should have a solid foundation in clicker training skills, including an understanding of the click/treat relationship and shaping via clicker training. Teams should have numerous rewards available of a size and consistency that can be managed easily in one hand (e.g., able to hold 5 to 10 rewards in one hand without spilling during training, dispensing one at a time).

Attendees who are not part of an Animal/Handler Spotlight Team can still participate from home with their own animals, alongside the teams but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That's fine, too!

Description: The use of luring in clicker training has long been a controversial topic, with positions even including the extreme statement that “using lures is not clicker training.” Many clicker trainers believe lures are problematic, claiming that lures become required cues for response and that they distract learners from an awareness of their behavior. Other clicker trainers claim that lures allow them to prompt desired behavior quickly, making the training process much faster. This Learning Lab will demonstrate that both opinions can be accurate. The focus will be on the effective use of lures in a positive reinforcement program, in harmony with clicker training, avoiding problems that hinder training progress.

This Lab will also focus on advanced luring handling skills for the trainer. Did you think that luring a dog into a behavior is a simple process? Just hold food near the dog’s nose and the dog will follow it, right? Advanced luring skills offer the handler the ability to move specific body parts in precise directions. The ability to isolate movement to specific parts of the learners’ body is beneficial for training a variety of positions and behaviors.

Training sessions should use strategically applied lures to initiate desired behavior. As the training progresses, lures are thoughtfully omitted as visual cues evolve that prompt the behavior. As lures disappear, effective timing of the click will continue the behavior-training progress.

Please note: This course was presented at ClickerExpo LIVE 2021; the course content will be similar, but the training is LIVE so the experience will be unique and you’ll likely learn something new!

Love it! Effective Non-Food Reinforcement

Ken Ramirez

Course Type: Learning Lab
Skill Level: Intermediate
Topic: Competition, Science, Shelter & Rescue, Skill

Spotlight Spot Prerequisites: We will have approximately six (6) Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams. Handlers must be experienced learners. Dogs should be clicker-savvy, have a robust behavioral repertoire, and regularly and effectively use toys or play as a reinforcer. Dogs should have a good stationing or other default behavior. They should also have fluent behaviors that can be done easily while working in front of their handlers, such as targeting, sit, down, spin, paw, and bark. Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams will need at least five of these behaviors to be trained fluently. The animal should also eat readily.

Attendees who are not part of the Animal/Handler Spotlight Team can still participate alongside the teams with their own animals from home, but without faculty feedback. Prefer to sit back and observe? That's fine, too!

Description: The effective use of non-food reinforcers is a critical skill that all trainers will likely use or need at some point in their training careers. Non-food reinforcers are extremely useful, but they require both an understanding of their role in training and a well-thought-out training approach.

This Learning Lab focuses on how novel stimuli like clapping and verbal praise become reinforcers. Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams will have the opportunity to start training novel stimuli as reinforcers and gain valuable insight from Ken about how to maintain the strength of these unique reinforcers. Observers and Animal/Handler Spotlight Teams will all gain valuable tips and strategies for making non-food reinforcers more effective. The Lab will include some example demonstrations, including a step-by-step demonstration of how to teach new reinforcers to an animal, and time for Q&A.

Please note: This course was presented at ClickerExpo LIVE 2021; the course content will be similar, but the training is LIVE so the experience will be unique and you’ll likely learn something new!

Closing Session: Recognizing the Power of Remote Training

Ken Ramirez

Description: In 2020, we all found ourselves shifting to virtual workplaces and increasing the number of training sessions and consults that we handled remotely. These changes raised questions about the differences between remote training and virtual training. While many trainers use the terms interchangeably, remote training originally referred to training in which the learner does not associate or perceive the consequences as coming from the trainer. This strategy is used to enhance enrichment, to work on separation anxiety, and to handle innovative conservation training projects. Ken will discuss this creative training approach and share examples of its use, including rescued sea otters in Alaska, enrichment in the zoo, and an update on Ken’s elephant-migration conservation project in Africa. This discussion of remote training promises to be an inspirational way to wrap up ClickerExpo LIVE.