NOTE: It is with a heavy heart that we share news of Hilda Tresz’s passing in April 2019 whilst doing her incredible work in Nepal. This piece of content is a tribute to the world changing effort Hilda put into everything she did! Here at Animal Training Academy we will work tirelessly to play our part in continuing Hilda’s mission in improving animal welfare everywhere.

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HILDA TRESZ – Phoenix Zoo

Hilda was born and raised in Budapest until 1989 when she moved to the United States. She began working as a Zoo keeper immediately after graduating from high school and over the last 28 years she has honed her skills as a caregiver, enrichment specialist, trainer, educator, and behavioral manager of a huge array of species with an additional special focus on chimpanzee’s. On top of this Hilda additionally holds a triple major degree in Biology, geography and education. She uses her education and experience to help change the lives of animals, the people that work with them and the organisations that house them. As mentioned Her current role is the behavioral enrichment and international animal welfare coordinator at the Phoenix zoo as well as being a mentor for the Jane Goodall institute. She’s worked with numerous international zoos in India, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, China and other countries and is especially skilled in helping these organisations create productive, healthy, mentally stimulating conditions for their animals with little to no funding. Internationally Hilda’s policy is to leave no chimp isolated, no elephant chained or no tiger malnourished she embraces those who may not know and teaches them they are the voices for those that cannot speak, the the guardians for those that cannot step away and the saviours for those who cannot save themselves.

CLICK HERE for some powerpoint presentations on various enrichment topics from the chimpanzoo website

CLICK HERE for an article about contra freeloading at the Phoenix zoo

CLICK HERE for the AAA zoo article mentioned in the podcast

“A week to change” staring Hilda Tresz

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CLICK HERE for a TON of extra resources about Hilda and her work (Links, videos and Pictures).

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NOTE: This podcast was recorded in December of 2016. Consequently when myself and Anaka say “next year” we are referring to 2017.

CLICK HERE for the podcast outline

CLICK HERE to be taken to the ABMA (Animal Behavior Management Alliance) website – mentioned in the podcast.

Anaka Nazareth – Manger of Animal Training at Maymont.

Anaka Nazareth has always been passionate about animals, but it was not until she entered the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College that she discovered her ideal career. Having a fair amount of experience working with animals, but little to no experience training them, Anaka was immediately captivated by the science behind and application of positive reinforcement training, and she became dedicated to using this type of training to enhance the welfare of animals.

Upon graduating from Moorpark, Anaka took a position at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California where she worked predominantly with California sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, and Asian small-clawed otters. From there she travelled to Austria where she worked at the Animal Training Center (ATC) with a variety of animals ranging from marmosets and wallabies to horses and dogs. Training animals for wildlife education shows and teaching people about training through Chicken Camps were just a few of the opportunities that Anaka had while working at the ATC.

Anaka then returned to school to obtain a Master’s degree in Animal Behavior and Conservation from Hunter College in New York City. During this time she was involved in multiple research projects studying wild dolphins, both in The Bahamas and in France, but her interest in animal training never lessened and positive reinforcement training became the focus of her Master’s thesis.

All of this education and experience led Anaka to her current position as the Manager of Animal Training at Maymont, a zoological facility in Richmond, Virginia. In this role, Anaka has the opportunity to facilitate the design and implementation of training programs for a wide range of animals, including black bears, bison, screech owls, and aquatic turtles, along with many others.

Whether Anaka is studying or working, she strives to stay current in the animal training field and frequently attends conferences and workshops, such as the Animal Behavior Management Alliance annual conference, Karen Pryor’s ClickerExpo, and Steve Martin and Dr. Susan Friedman’s Contemporary Animal Training and Management workshop.

Podcast outline.

00:00 Introductions

02:45 Ryan Tells us about where her first started learning about and using positive reinforcement animal training.

08:27 Ryan shares a great story about what he learned from training storm the Australian Fur seal at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia.

12:27 Ryan shares his thoughts on the importance of writing good training plans.

13:47 Ryan shares a great story about the importance of reaching out to others, especially when training a new behavior or species.

15:43 Ryan talks about the importance of have a good understanding of the behavior quadrant.

17:51 Ryan shares his experience training animals for film and his strategy for maintaining reinforcement over long durations/periods of time.

22:31 Ryan talks about training detection dogs.

27:50 Ryan shares thoughts from his experience in how scent work has assisted in decreasing undesirable behaviors with some dogs and the importance of a holistic approach when managing animal behavior.

31:10 In this part of the podcast Ryan talks about his experience on the Australian TV show catalyst where he participated in a 2-part episode all about the science of modern dog training [scroll to the bottom of the page to see the TV show]

35:21 Ryan Shares an important lesson he learned whilst training a dog to accept tactile interactions from strangers.

38:48 Ryan talks about the importance of understanding your animal’s individual preference for different reinforcers and coins the phrase “what does your animal go nuts for?”

40:27 Ryan shares his vision for the future and what he would like to see happen in the animal training world in the next 5-10 years.

43:06 Conclusions

CLICK HERE to be taken to Ryan’s website to learn more about him, his animals and his services.

RYAN TATE – PROFESSIONAL ANIMAL TRAINER

Ryan Tate is a professional animal trainer. He is a qualified Marine Biologist, Zookeeper, Dog Trainer and Trainer and Assessor.

Ryan runs his own business TATE Animal Training Enterprises which specialises in detector dog services, animals for the media, zoo consultations and pet training and classes. Ryan also works for TAFE NSW teaching Zoo-keeping and dog training courses.

After working full time as a Marine Mammal keeper for 13 years and holding the role as supervisor of Marine Mammals at Taronga Zoo for 5 years, Ryan decided to become a casual zookeeper and shifted his focus to his own business. Ryan’s CV also includes working in Antarctica as a guest lecturer on board vessels, appearing on ABCs catalyst program as an animal behaviour consultant, radio guest speaking on 2UE and numerous live presentations with his family of animals.

Ryan has 5 dogs (a Shepherd X, Shetland Sheepdog, Australian Shepherd, Springer Spaniel and a Belgian Malinois) all of whom are trained and actively working in detection from Narcotics and Invasive pest species to Truffles and Native Animals. The most impressive animal in the family is a Pigeon by the name of Alfred who is trained for free flight demonstrations and media work and seems to have complete control over all the dogs.

Ryan has worked with and trained Leopard Seals, Fur seals, Sea lions, Penguins, Native Animals, Cats, Hooved Stock, all sorts of flighted birds and many, many dogs.

RYAN’S APPEARANCE ON THE TV SHOW CATALYST

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Podcast outline.

00:00 Introductions

3:58 Sarah shares her experience from attending the Shape of enrichment workshops held at Wellington Zoo in 2014 and about the process of enrichment she learned about there.

9:37 Sarah talks about the importance of goal setting when coming up with new enrichment ideas.

13:15 Sarah and I discuss a specific example, using all the information she has talked about up until this point with a serval at the Wellington Zoo wildlife hospital (The Nest – Te kohanga).

16:43 Sarah talks about how to measure if your new enrichment has been successful with not in relation to your goal.

19:29 Sarah and I talk about the importance of safety when implementing new enrichment items with your animals for the first time.

22:42 Sarah shares some great stories from her experiences and some important lessons that she learned along the way.

26:12 We discuss Sarah’s vision for the future and what she would like to see happen in the next 5-10 years with regards to enrichment.

Sarah Van Herpt (Wellington Zoo).

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Sarah is a life-long learner, and has a few different degrees under her belt! Sarah studied as an undergraduate at Massey University, New Zealand (BSc, Ecology and Zoology) as well as completing a Masters degree (MSc, Conservation Biology) from the same university. During her studies it really hit home that her passion was animal behaviour. Sarah Master’s looked at how we can combine behaviour with conservation outcomes, looking at the native New Zealand kokako song and how it changes in the presence of multiple dialects, or languages.

After Sarah completed her studies she was lucky enough to get a job at Wellington Zoo, where she has been for the past 7 years. Although Sarah considers herself a “bird-nerd” at heart, she has looked after many different species including primates, birds, reptiles, invertebrates, small carnivores and hoof-stock. Sarah also did a 2.5-year stint as a vet nurse after training and obtaining a certificate in Veterinary Nursing whilst working as a zoo keeper at Wellington Zoo.

Throughout Sarah’s time as a keeper she has become really interested in enrichment. Sarah has run enrichment projects and committees throughout Wellington Zoo, and in 2014 teamed up with the Australasian society of zoo keeping to bring the shape of enrichment workshops to New Zealand. These workshops had Valerie Hare, one of the co-founders of Shape come and personally deliver the workshops at Wellington Zoo. In 2015 Sarah was awarded a Shape of Enrichment grant to talk at the 15^th International Conference on Environmental Enrichment in Beijing, China.

CLICK HERE for the shape of enrichment website..

CLICK HERE for the shape or enrichment planning chart that  Sarah discusses

CLICK HERE for the exotic & domestic animal enrichment FB page

Podcast outline

0:00 Introduction

2:54 Louise talks about where she first learned about positive reinforcement animal training and some of the first animals she ever trained using it.

6:13 Louise & I discuss the importance of learning about the science of animal behavior.

9:44 Louise talks about her book “The art of introducing dogs” … what inspired it and how you can get your hand on a copy.

13:58 Louise shares information about the APDT, her role as the president of the Australian committee and, how you can join and what the benefits are.

20:18 Louise shares her experience as unit supervisor of Carnivores at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

27:38 Louise shares a story about the importance of never compromising on your beliefs.

31:14 Louise talks about the importance of relationships when managing your animals behavior.

32:55 Louise shares her thoughts on the name of this podcast episode “punishment starts where knowledge ends.”

35:24 Louise shares her vision for the future and what she would like to see happen in the animal training world in the next 5-10 years.

LOUISE GINMAN

Louise Ginman PCT-A is a Delta Accredited and Professional Canine Trainer – Accredited Dog Behavioural Trainer who runs a dog training business ‘Positive Dogs’ in Sydney, Australia. She has served on APDT Australia committee since 2008 and been President since 2012. Louise also serves on the PPG Australia committee.

Louise Ginman PCT-A is a Delta Accredited and Professional Canine Trainer – Accredited Dog Behavioural Trainer who runs a dog training business ‘Positive Dogs’ in Sydney, Australia. She has served on APDT Australia committee since 2008 and been President since 2012. Louise also serves on the PPG Australia committee.

Louise has several qualifications including a Bachelor of Science Degree and Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services. Louise has over 26 years’ experience with both domestic and exotic species in both a training and husbandry/management capacity. Louise worked as a veterinary nurse, dog and cat groomer and animal attendant in a busy and large practice in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney for several years before moving to Taronga Zoo in 1994 to work on the Carnivore Unit where she is the Unit Supervisor. Her role is varied and covers duties such as carnivore husbandry and management, animal training and enrichment, diets and nutrition, staff training and supervision, media work, conference presentations and other forms of public speaking, research, education and conservation work.

Louise’s involvement with dogs and dog behavior spans over 26 years. She currently is the guardian of a Shetland Sheepdog and Siberian Husky and competes at both agility, Rally-O and obedience. Louise is the author of ‘The art of introducing dogs. A guide to conducting dog to dog introductions’ (Balboa Press, 2013). Dogs have always been Louise’s passion and she continues today to educate people about living in harmony with their dog through her writing and pet dog training courses.

Relevant links …

CLICK HERE for the APDT Australia Website.

CLICK HERE to check out Louise’s book “The art of introducing dogs” on Amazon.

CLICK HERE for Louise’s – positive dogs – website.

In this podcast episode we talk to Sarah Van Herpt from Wellington Zoo. This is part one of what will be a two-part episode where we cover a large range of information regarding Sarah’s experience in implementing and managing enrichment programs as a zoo keeper, wildlife nurse and pet owner.

Podcast outline.

00:00 Introductions

3:50 Sarah shares a definition of enrichment.

8:48 Sarah and I discuss what part animal training plays in enrichment …

12:00 We talk about the importance of using enrichment with your pets at home.

13:30 Here Sarah discusses how we can potentially use enrichment to redirect some of the behaviors we label as undesirable with our pets.

17:28 We talk about the importance of enrichment in a zoological setting.

19:35 We talk about the importance of enrichment in vet clinics and wildlife hospitals.

23:20 Sarah shares stories about her recent trip to China where she attended the 15th International environmental enrichment conference.

Sarah Van Herpt (Wellington Zoo).

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Sarah is a life-long learner, and has a few different degrees under her belt! Sarah studied as an undergraduate at Massey University, New Zealand (BSc, Ecology and Zoology) as well as completing a Masters degree (MSc, Conservation Biology) from the same university. During her studies it really hit home that her passion was animal behaviour. Sarah Master’s looked at how we can combine behaviour with conservation outcomes, looking at the native New Zealand kokako song and how it changes in the presence of multiple dialects, or languages.

After Sarah completed her studies she was lucky enough to get a job at Wellington Zoo, where she has been for the past 7 years. Although Sarah considers herself a “bird-nerd” at heart, she has looked after many different species including primates, birds, reptiles, invertebrates, small carnivores and hoof-stock. Sarah also did a 2.5-year stint as a vet nurse after training and obtaining a certificate in Veterinary Nursing whilst working as a zoo keeper at Wellington Zoo.

Throughout Sarah’s time as a keeper she has become really interested in enrichment. Sarah has run enrichment projects and committees throughout Wellington Zoo, and in 2014 teamed up with the Australasian society of zoo keeping to bring the shape of enrichment workshops to New Zealand. These workshops had Valerie Hare, one of the co-founders of Shape come and personally deliver the workshops at Wellington Zoo. In 2015 Sarah was awarded a Shape of Enrichment grant to talk at the 15^th International Conference on Environmental Enrichment in Beijing, China.

CLICK HERE to see a video with some enrichment given to one of the sun bears at Wellington Zoo

CLICK HERE to see some Kune Kune pig enrichment at Wellington Zoo

CLICK HERE to see the five enrichment categories Sarah discusses from the shape or enrichment website.

In this episode we catch up with past podcast participant Mikolaj Zybala (Miko) from Poland and discuss shaping behavior. (CLICK HERE to listen to the previous episode featuring Miko). Also see below for podcast outline, a video talking about how to write shaping plans, and a bio of Miko. Enjoy 🙂

Podcast outline.

• 0:00 Introduction.
• 2:47 Updates from Miko as to what he’s been up to in the last 6 months.
• 6:44 Definition of shaping.
• 8:42 Discussion about splitting behavior up rather than lumping it together.
• 12:20 Why we are all expert shapers of behavior.
• 14:07 Miko shares a story of shaping a seal to turn in a circle.
• 18:50 We talk about some of the benefits of writing out shaping plans.
• 22:25 Some examples of fun shaping games you can play.
• 28:20 How to write your own shaping plans.
• 31:20 Miko shares one last story about shaping behavior
• 34:22 Conclusions.

Shaping behavior (Mikolaj Zybala)

Mikolaj Zybala Msc, marine biologist, animal trainer, educator. Specializes in marine mammals’ biology, ethology and husbandry with particular focus on phocid seals. Passionate marine mammal keeper & trainer and advocate for using positive reinforcement methods in animal care. Attendee to multiple seminars and workshops on animal husbandry, a 2012 DUML & Oak Foundation Global Fellow.
Professionally, marine mammal keeper & trainer since 2006, in academic and private facilities and in zoos. Experienced in rehabilitation and in monitoring of wild population of phocid seals. Keen to promote improving animals’ life under human care through positive reinforcement animal training in zoos and in private homes. Eager and devoted to ignite passion and fascination towards the marvel of marine ecosystems in everyone.

Thanks for listening to this podcast about shaping behavior. If you like this podcast, please leave a comment below. In fact, if you didn’t like it I would still love to hear from you, leave a comment below. Good luck with all your training endeavors whether you’re doing animal training in zoos or something else, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

[VIDEO] – Writing good shaping plans [splitting behavior up]

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This is part two of 2-part series with Nic Bishop, manager of Nature theater, Zoos SA [Adelaide, Australia]. CLICK HERE to listen to part one. Nic is a master story teller and shares many valuable tales full of superb learning opportunities. Here is what we cover in part two …

Podcast outline.

2:14 – Nic shares a story of an encounter with a Bull elephant at Samburu National reserve in Kenya.

6:40 Nic tells us his thoughts on the importance of evolutionary heritage when thinking about our animals behavior.

8:13 At this stage of the podcast we head back to Samburu National reserve and Nic shares an amazing story of watching a Cheetah hunt a young gazelle.

10:38 Nic shares a delightful tale of watching two Rainbow lorikeets and some neat learned behaviors at a Cafe in Sydney.

12:23 Nic tells of an encounter with a black falcon and its fresh kill on a lonely country road.

14:00 Nic shares information about a joint venture he has started up with a good friend of his called behaviortects.

19:24 Nic share his thoughts and feelings about what he would like to see happen with Positive reinforcement animal training in the next 5-10 years.

NIC BISHOP

Nic is a Humanimal fascinated with learning, behaviour and the art of storytelling. He has worked in the zoo world for the past 20 years in Australia and overseas, with a keen focus on birds and free flight presentations. These have blended with his background as an actor/singer to see him working internationally in the field of Nature Theatre in free flight shows in Australia, the Middle East and the USA. His local career history includes stints at Zoos South Australia, Taronga Conservation Society and Alice Springs Desert Park, as well as establishing a learning group called Behaviourtects. Other pursuits include natural history illustration, cartooning and story telling as an actor/singer in the Adelaide theatre scene. He is currently the Manager of Nature Theatre at Zoos SA.

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CLICK HERE to book your free 20 minute video call consultation as mentioned in the podcast.

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In this podcast episode we jump into the Animal Training Academy trenches and talk to a member who has been involved in a VIP mentor program for the past 5 months. Julian has a companion Alexandrine parrot called Rasta and since joining Animal Training Academy has been on an odyssey of learning and growth. Julian shares his experiences in this podcast episode and talks about some of the biggest things he has learned along the way.

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PODCAST OUTLINE

2:18 Introduction to Julian an how Rasta the Alexandrian Parrot came to be in his life

3:18 The importance of doing your research and putting careful consideration into a decision to welcome a companion parrot into your family/life.

6:54 What challenges Julian was initially facing as a pet parrot owner and what solutions had presented themselves to Julian before he finally stumbled across Animal Training Academy

9:36 Julian Shares some of the most eye opening experiences that he has had since starting to learn about positive reinforcement animal training and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

11:37 Julian uses his experiences to relate to people who might be thinking that positive reinforcement won’t work for them.

12:59  Julian talks about his experiences and the value that he has found in filming his training and watching it back.

15:04 Final words from Julian

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[VIDEO] – RASTA TRAINING

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CLICK HERE to book your free 20 minute video call consultation as mentioned in the podcast.

In this 2-part podcast series, we talk to Nic Bishop, manager of Nature theater at Zoos SA, (Adelaide Australia). Nic is a master story teller and shares many valuable tales full of superb learning opportunities. In the next two fantastic podcast episodes here are some of the topics we will cover …

PART 1

• Where Nic first learned about and starting using positive reinforcement animal training.
• His experience working with Spix’s Macaws at Al Wabra Wildlife preservation trust.
• Observations and insights from watching human-animal interactions at places such as agricultural shows.
• Tales of Willy Wagtails and Whistling kites from Alice Springs Desert park.

PART 2 (Click here for part. 2)

• An experience with a wild bull elephant in Kenya
• What we can learn from observing animals “in the wild”
• Nic expands on behaviortects, which is a joint venture he has set up with a good friend of his to help educate and inspire others on positive reinforcement animal training.
• Nic’s thoughts and feelings about what he would like to see happen in the next 5-10 years with positive reinforcement animal training.

NIC BISHOP

Nic is a Humanimal fascinated with learning, behavior and the art of storytelling. He has worked in the zoo world for the past 20 years in Australia and overseas, with a keen focus on birds and free flight presentations. These have blended with his background as an actor/singer to see him working internationally in the field of Nature Theatre in free flight shows in Australia, the Middle East, and the USA. His local career history includes stints at Zoos South Australia, Taronga Conservation Society, and Alice Springs Desert Park, as well as establishing a learning group called Behaviourtects. Other pursuits include natural history illustration and cartooning and storytelling as an actor/singer in the Adelaide theater scene. He is currently the Manager of Nature Theatre at Zoos SA.

In this podcast episode we talk to Karen Drummond from New Zealand about her Truffle hunting experiences. Truffles are the most valuable fungus in the world … so having a dog that sniffs it out is not too bad. In fact, European white truffles can sell for as much as $3600 a pound making it one of the most expensive foods in the world! Karen shares her stories from working with three different dogs, Ollie (Sydney Silkie x Maltese), Indigo (Cocker Spaniel) and Haggis (Springer Spaniel). We also briefly touch on her experience using TAG teaching and hear about how she used this novel training technique to learn archery. Enjoy 🙂

KAREN DRUMMOND

Karen is the founder of the New Zealand based dog training venture called learning about dogs. Learning about dogs started all the way back in 2003 and has been growing ever since. Karen started of doing occasional training classes and importing educational and training resource to New Zealand. Over time this has grown in scope with Karen now being instrumental in organising educational seminars in New Zealand, bringing over international key note speakers with the likes of Dr. Susan Friedman, Teresa Mckenon, Dr. Sophia Yin and Grisha Stewart to name a few. In 2011 Karen started training her first dog to truffle hunt and found something that she is deeply passionate about. To quote Karen directly from her LinkedIn page …

“A great experience when working a truffle dog through the truffière (truffle farm). Watching my dogs individually carrying out scent work around each tree searching for the scent which will give them their reward is like poetry in motion.”

CLICK HERE for Animal Training Academy’s Free online course mentioned in the podcast.

CLICK HERE for the next FREE set of Animal Training Academy web-classes mentioned in the podcast.

CLICK HERE to be taken to the TAG teaching website mentioned in this podcast.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Truffle Dog Company who Karen works for.

EARLY SCENT TRAINING (FOZZIE LEARNING THE SCENT OF A STOAT)

Will positive reinforcement work for you? The answer is a resounding YES of course it will! One mission of Animal Training Academy is to show that Applied behavior analysis (ABA) and positive reinforcement works for all animals in all situations – for Zookeepers, pet owners, vets, vet nurses and anyone that works with animals. The same techniques are also being practiced all over the world by a large amount of different animal training professionals. In this podcast we head to France and talk to Lisa Longo from Animal Académie about her experiences and the use of positive reinforcement in France.

CLICK HERE for Animal Training Academies next FREE set of Web-classes 

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 LISA LONGO – ANIMAL ACADEMIE

Lisa is an animal behavior specialist and founder of the French based animal training venture Animal Académie. Lisa started her animal training odyssey by attending numerous conferences which lead to her partaking in some of the industry’s leading opportunities. Lisa has completed her LLA or living and learning with animals’ certification with Dr Susan Friedman and partook in the contemporary animal training and experience seminars and workshops with Steve Martin and his company Natural Encounters in Orlando Florida. Lisa is also a member of IAATE (the international association of avian trainers and educators). Lisa had an amazing opportunity to work in the parrot show at one of the largest zoos in France – Zoo d’amneville. In this role she got an opportunity to work with and pass on her knowledge about the benefits of using positive reinforcement to her colleagues. Lisa’s passion has always been to help pets flourish with their human companions which is why she started Animal Académie. In this role she visits people’s homes to help them form cooperative relationships with their pets. Lisa’s particular passion for working with Parrots led her to publish a book in June of this year titled “The pet parrot’s guide” which covers a wide range of information for both novices and more experienced people to once again learn how to live cooperatively with their animals. Lisa currently shares her home with a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, a red Lored Amazon parrot, a Blue and Gold Macaw and a Gottingen Pig.

CLICK HERE to visits the Animal Académie website

CLICK HERE to see Lisa’s book on Amazon

In this episode I talk to Chris Jenkins, the COO of Steve Martin’s Natural Encounters (NEI). I had so much fun recording this podcast and as a bird nerd myself was very envious of the AMAZING work the company is doing with free flight Macaws. Here is a list of some of the really cool things we discuss;

• Reinforcing a hawk with Moss!
• Some of the most impressive training of flocks of free flight Macaws on the planet.
• Positive reinforcement and interpersonal relationships.
• The Exotic Animal Training and Management program at Moorpark college.
• And plenty more…

FREE FLIGHT MACAWS – CHRIS JENKINS

Chris Jenkins’ work with animals began with a summer job at Sea-world in San Diego, California. After obtaining a degree in Psychology from UC Davis, Chris volunteered at the Sacramento Zoo until he decided to pursue a career working with animals full time. In 2002, Chris was accepted into the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College. Upon graduation, he worked as a wildlife educator at inner city schools in Los Angeles. Chris has worked for Natural Encounters (NEI) since 2005, and is currently the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). In addition to overseeing the company’s shows at a major animal theme park in Central Florida, Chris is also a training workshop instructor and spends time traveling to other animals facilities as an NEI training and show development consultant. Chris is an IATCB (International Avian Trainers Certification Board) certified professional bird trainer and member of AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums), ABMA (The Animal Behavior Management Alliance) and IAATE (The International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators).

Links mentioned in this episode;

CLICK HERE to check out the natural encounters website.

In this podcast episode we talk with Jose Gomes – founder of TRAIN ME PLEASE. Enjoy the podcast recording below, read a little bit about Jose and make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page where you can watch two of Jose’s YouTube videos featuring him working with both cats and dogs.

JOSE GOMES – TRAIN ME PLEASE

Jose is a Portuguese animal trainer who has been training different animal species professionally since 2009. At the moment he works as a Zookeeper, as a puppy instructor and as a pet dog trainer. On a regular basis he has the opportunity to work with a variety of species. Between 2009 and 2012 Jose worked as a marine mammal trainer, where he had the opportunity to interact daily with seals, sea-lions, dolphins and a manatee. He is an advocate of humane animal training methods and works diligently on spreading the word that intimidation and physical punishment is not needed or recommended when training and changing the behaviour of animals.

Jose has an Honors and a Masters Degree in the Marine Biology field, both concluded at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) – Porto University in Portugal. In 2013 he obtained a Fulbright scholarship and completed a second Masters in Experimental Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi – USA. In the past Jose has been a member of the International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA), he is currently a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Australia and he is a Canine Behavior Consultant certified by the Animal Behavior Consultants of South Africa (ABC of SA).

Jose is the creator of the YouTube channel and Facebook page “Train Me Please”, where he offers free video tutorials on how to train different animal species according to the most updated training techniques, with the ultimate goal of improving the relationship between animals and the people that are responsible for them. Jose has lived in Portugal, USA, South Africa and has recently relocated to Ivanhoe (Melbourne – Australia), where he lives with his fiance Jessica. They have recently adopted two cats and they are well known on YouTube and other social networks.

CLICK HERE to be taken to the TRAIN ME PLEASE website

CLICK HERE for the TRAIN ME PLEASE Facebook page.

CLICK HERE for the TRAIN ME PLEASE YouTube channel

In this podcast we are introduced to one of Animal Training Academies’ members Johnny May and we discuss fish training (target training a white sturgeon). White sturgeon are a large species of fish that can grow up to 20 feet or 6 meters in length. What I really like about this week’s training tidbit is that is that is provides a nice example of the universality of the application of positive reinforcement animal training.

All animals are constantly moving towards the things they want and away from the things they don’t. White sturgeon and other fish species are no different. If we pair their desirable behavior with positive reinforcement – then as with all animals – fish will learn to repeat those behaviors in the future. As Johnny describes well in this podcast episode the techniques he used to train his white sturgeon are the same techniques that we use at home with our pets, or with our zoo animals. Johnny facilitated the white sturgeons learning by using successive approximations or baby steps. He then trained the animal to voluntarily swim over a Stretcher. He utilized target training to achieve this (See video below). This is obviously good for the animal welfare, empowering for Johnny and his team, beneficial for the aquarium and great for visitor engagement. Well done Johnny!

FISH TRAINING – JOHNNY MAY.

Johnny began his career working at his local zoo in 2008 as a seasonal keeper.  From there he worked, interned, and volunteered at a number of zoos, sanctuaries, veterinary clinics, aquariums, and wildlife rehabilitation centers. In 2013 he graduated for Mississippi State University with a degree in Animal and Dairy Science with a concentration in Veterinary Science.  He is currently working towards the completion of a Master of Business Administration at the University of Memphis and has recently accepted a position at a public aquarium currently under construction in the United States.

During his time at one of the zoo hospitals he was volunteering at, he witnessed the benefits of training animals to voluntarily participate in their own routine health exams.  It was these experiences that inspired him to attempt training what some might consider non-traditional species.

In this podcast episode I re-connect with Debbie Marrin, Director of training and behavioral husbandry at San Francisco Zoo, California, USA. You can learn more about Debbie in a previous podcast episode we did together by clicking HERE. In this episode we discuss some important elements involved in writing animal training plans. We cover 5 main areas, these are as follows (See below podcast);

THE FIVE ELEMENTS ARE;

1. Learning about your animal including;
   1. Natural history.
   2. Individuality/personality.
   3. Reinforcers/likes.
   4. Punishers/dislikes.
   5. Behavioral repertoire.
2. Environmental arrangement/Feng Shui including;
   1. Safety.
   2. Resources.
   3. Trainers.
   4. Physical environment.
3. Setting goals and prioritizing.
4. Writing shaping plans including;
   1. Successive approximations.
   2. Flexibility.
5. Getting input from other trainers and organizations.

Animal training plans can be highly beneficial when training any animal. Ideally they are prepared prior to the commencement of your training. In this podcast episode we discuss their value. For example, Debbie identifies how they can assist in problem prevention and alleviating frustration. An example Debbie gives is investing time in training a zoo animal to voluntarily participate in a medical procedure. Let’s say that after a month or two you get to the end of your training and realize that you hadn’t thought about specific aspects. You might for example get to the day of the procedure without realizing the vet needs the animal trained to participate at 10am not 4pm as you have practiced. This time change might affect the animal’s cooperation. What if you didn’t train the animal to accept a substance that needs to be applied to the skin during an ultrasound exam? Or maybe the animal needs to hold still for 5- 10 minutes as opposed to the 30 seconds you trained? Practicing all of the details of any behavior will set you and your animals up for success. Additionally, animal training plans help prioritize your goals and can be extremely beneficial when working in a team that collectively manage animal behavior.

To learn more about how to write good shaping plans for new behaviors CLICK HERE for a free lesson on the subject.

EXAMPLES OF ANIMAL TRAINING PLANS FROM SAN FRANCISCO ZOO

• Training Plan Approval Form
• Snow leopard subcutaneous fluids training plan
• Minnie ultrasound
• Hand injection lion
• Maggie hand injection 2 people

This podcast is part two of a conversation I had with Bianca Papadopolus, Senior Primate keeper from Melbourne Zoo Australia. You can listen to part one by clicking HERE.Bianca has been working in the zoo industry and training animals for over ten years. Last year in 2015 she traveled to the US and visited numerous industry leading organisations and attended various workshops led by some of the biggest names in the field. In the first half of the podcast we discuss training animals to participate in voluntary health procedures and training groups of animals. In part two we talk about some future trends in animal training including

• Exploring how long standing animal keepers have changed their mind set on animal training and adapted their keeping style to facilitate daily training sessions.
• Observing how research study training is conducted in conjunction with zookeepers and research scientists.
• Discussing how animal training is an aspect of behavior science and is consequently constantly evolving. We discuss new advances in the science behind the training.

CLICK HERE to view/read Bianca’s ISS institute fellowship report

Positive reinforcement trends – with humans as well.

In this episode we talk about how positive reinforcement training works with all species of animals. As human beings we are not excluded. Like all animals we are constantly moving towards the things we want and away from the things we don’t.

Positive reinforcement trends – scientific research in zoos.

One thing that really stuck out for me in this podcast is when Bianca talks about some of the research that is going on in Zoos. Specifically when she talks about zoos measuring cortisol levels in the animals poo. One of my favourite sayings is by management Guru Peter Drucker who said “If you can’t measure it then you can’t manage it.” Having new scientific information available to support best practice is so important.

Positive reinforcement trends – Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

The great work being done by Dr Susan Friedman is really contributing to our animal training knowledge. Dr Friedman originally implemented ABA with people but has now brought this information across to the animal trianing world. This had helped provide clear guidelines moving forward regarding the application of the most positive and less intrusive animal training techniques. You can view Dr Freidmans’ website HERE

A list of youtube channels for the facilities Bianca mentions

• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
• Shedd Aquarium
• Denver Zoo
• Brookfield Zoo

TRAINING GROUPS OF ANIMALS – BIANCA PAPADOPOULOS (Part 1/2)

In this two part podcast episode we talk about a number of different animal traning topics with Bianca Papadopulos. (You can learn/read more about Bianca below). In part one we discuss vouluntary health training programs and training groups of animals. Enjoy.

CLICK HERE to view/read Bianca’s ISS institute fellowship report

TRAINING GROUPS OF ANIMALS – BIANA PAPADOPOULOS

Bianca is a senior zookeeper at Melbourne Zoo, Australia and currently works with primates including Western Lowland Gorillas, Orangutans, Baboons, Mandrills, Gibbons and several other small primate species. Bianca has worked in the zoo industry for just over 10 years now.

Bianca has always had a passion for animals and it was a dream of hers to become an animal trainer since she was a little girl. During her later years of high school, she began volunteering at Melbourne Zoo. After completing her high school certificate in 2005, she landed her dream job as a zookeeper at Melbourne Zoo working with Asian Elephants, Australian and Sub-Antartic Fur Seals and a range of different bird species. Bianca spent a year in that position before spending the next year working as a marine mammal trainer at Dolphin Marine Magic in Coffs Harbour, Australia and UnderWater World on the Sunshine Coast, Australia working with bottlenose dolphins, seals, sea lions and Asian small-clawed otters.

In 2007, Bianca was employed as a marine mammal trainer at Sea World, Australia. Bianca spent the next 4 years there working with Californian Sea Lions, Australian Seal Lions, New Zealand Fur Seals, Harbour Seals, Inshore and Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins, Little, Gentoo and King Penguins.

In 2011, Bianca returned to Melbourne Zoo for a position within the Primate Precinct and currently oversees all animal training programs on the precinct. Over the past 10 years, Bianca has been fortunate to volunteer at SeaWorld San Diego, Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program and at Cuc Phuong Endangered Primate Rescue Centre.

During Bianca’s career, she developed a passion for animal training within a captive zoo setting. Over this time she has been able to work with many skilful trainers and develop a set of skills in the animal training field.

In 2015, Bianca was successful in a applying for a fellowship program through the International Specialised Skills Institute (ISS) which saw Bianca attend several animal training workshops/seminars in the USA and she was able to visit a number of facilities. Bianca now wants to disseminate that knowledge and show just how powerful positive reinforcement training really is.

TRAINING GROUPS OF ANIMALS – VIDEOS

CLICK HERE to see the Frans De Wall video about Fairness with Capuchin monkeys that Bianca talks about in the podcast.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT HORSE TRAINING.

This week I’m really excited this to to be talking about EPR (Equine Positive Reinforcement horse training). I’m excited because, it’s a nice demonstration of the universality of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and positive reinforcement. The principles of ABA and the application of the science of positive reinforcement work with all species and in all situations. Traditional horse training relies heavily on the use of aversives. Kate Southcombe and her business EPR provides a positive un-intrusive alternative to traditional horse training methodology. Kate is a huge advocate for providing Science that demonstrates the benefits of using Positive Reinforcement with Horses and has recently completed a Masters Degree on this topic. Read more about Kate below, listen to the podcast and watch the neat little video on target training/worming.

Kate Southcombe – EPR training, (Equine positive reinforcement training).

Kate Southcombe (a.k.a Kate Winchester), is a NZ registered psychologist, qualified teacher, and freelance writer.  She has two online businesses EPR (Equine Positive Reinforcement) Training and New Way Coaching. EPR Training provides education to the equine industry on application of behavioral science to horse training; offering presentations and clinics as well as online material.  Additionally, Kate and two fellow ABA graduates saw a need for parents and teachers to have access to information on ABA and evidence-based practices and started New Way Coaching an online company.   New Way Coaching is being developed currently and will provide online material to parents and teachers in the form of blogs, forums and video material based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis.

CLICK HERE to be taken to the EPR training website.

CLICK HERE to be taken to the EPR Facebook page.

Positive reinforcement horse training – Target training/worming.

In this podcast I have the pleasure of talking to the Director of Training and Behavioral Husbandry from San Francisco Zoo in California. Some of the great topics we cover in this podcast episode on animal training and enrichment are;

• How to get started with your career as an animal trainer.
• How animal training can help with conservation in the wild.
• How to work with an “unmotivated animal.”
• The huge benefits of using positive reinforcement as a behavior change tool.
• The importance of empowerment, trust, partnerships, and Feng Shui (Environmental arrangement) when training your animals.
• How to develop positive partnerships and relationships with your animals.
• The importance of developing a deep understanding of behavior and knowing your individual animal.
• Plus much more great information about animal training and enrichment.

DEBBIE MARRIN PROFILE (Animal Training and Enrichment).

Like other people highlighted on this website Debbie Marrin is very passionate about providing optimal animal care, and practicing positive training techniques that benefit the animals she works with. Debbie has worked with animals professionally for over 40 years.  During that time Debbie has held many different job titles and worked with numerous species of marine, exotic, wild, and domestic animals. Her training style has always been based on positive reinforcement training. Debbie is grateful that throughout her career she has had the opportunity to be mentored by many highly successful trainers whose words of wisdom and lessons have stayed with her throughout her career.

Debbie began her career at Lion Country Safari in Southern California working with exotic animals and then attended and graduated from the Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) Program at Moorpark College.

After graduating EATM Debbie spent the next 27 years specializing in marine mammal training at Marine World Africa USA.  Debbie also started training animals for shows and non-invasive research projects. In the mid-1980s she was given the opportunity to start the dolphin husbandry training program, and later the walrus husbandry program. Debbie also supervised the killer whale husbandry program for several years. Husbandry and research training had become her unplanned specialty.

In 2008 Debbie started work at the San Francisco Zoo as a Carnivore Keeper, then Assistant Curator and currently she holds the position of Director of Training and Behavioral Husbandry. Her current goals are to teach and mentor other trainers and to continue to advance animal training and enrichment practices for all animals.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW TO SEE BOONE AND HIS FOOBLER (ANIMAL TRAINING AND ENRICHMENT BONUS)

CLICK HERE to view the Training Plan for Boone and his Foobler

Welcome to another Training Tidbits podcast episode with myself and Dr Kat from Creative Animal Solutions. This podcast episode answers some questions that have recently been asked by members of the Academy. We have done our best to provide our own personal input to the questions and we hope that you find the podcast interesting and useful. If you would like more details and/or have other questions. Please don’t hesitate to let us know. You can do so by leaving your comments at the bottom of this page.

NOTE: We are working very hard to improve audio quality. This is very important to us and we apologize in advance for some background noise in this recording.

ANIMAL TRAINING QUESTIONS

• How can I work with animals that are easily distracted? (CLICK HERE to see a video on this subject).
• How to maintain behavior once trained? (CLICK HERE for our other podcast on Reinforcement)
• How can training help with plucking and self mutilation?
• How can I work in a space where not everyone is involved in the training in an equal capacity?

Overall there seemed to be a few re-occurring themes with regards to the answers to these animal training questions. The first one is the benefit of a good understanding of how reinforcement works and consequently to always be seeking opportunities to build upon your animal behavior knowledge. If you want to learn more and you haven’t already done so then you can sign up for Animal Training Academy’s free online course by CLICKING HERE. Also have a look at the Clicker Training Fundamentals course material (CLICK HERE), and for more information on upcoming live events (webinars) CLICK HERE. The second big take away message from these animal training questions is that all animals are individuals. There are many possible factors influencing their behavior and we really have to put a microscope over individual circumstances to effectively be able to influence their behavior.

Thanks for tuning in. Good luck with all your training endeavors and we will see you again soon.

This is the first of a number of episodes where we are going to put the spotlight on Animal Trainers from around the world. This Episode focuses mainly on Animal Training in Zoos as I talk to Mikolaj Zybala from Poland. You can learn more about Mikolaj in the text at the bottom of this page.

Over time I’m going to be inviting trainers on the show from various countries. These trainers are members of animal training academy and work with training animals in their respective countries. The idea behind the series is to give you the listener a window into the world of animal training in various locations. My feeling is that in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US, countries where I’ve worked anyway, we’re all kind of heavily influenced by the big players in the industry which is generally speaking a good thing and were all very exposed to positive reinforcement and high animal welfare. However there are countries where this exposure might be relatively new and the uptake is consequently not as far along. So we’re going to be talking to practitioners of positive reinforcement in lots of different countries and trying to get a little bit of a window into their world and maybe some of the challenges they have faced as well as the triumphs they have achieved.

I also want to use this podcast to really help us feel like we’re part of a global community of positive reinforcement practitioners and help connect people from different regions, even if that connection simply means listening to this podcast. Also I want to use these podcasts to get people thinking about things they haven’t thought about before and to reflect on the differences that exist for us and our animals around the world. Enjoy this podcast about animal training in zoos.

Animal Training in Zoos (Mikolaj Zybala)

Mikolaj Zybala Msc, marine biologist, animal trainer, educator. Specializes in marine mammals’ biology, ethology and husbandry with particular focus on phocid seals. Passionate marine mammal keeper & trainer and advocate for using positive reinforcement methods in animal care. Attendee to multiple seminars and workshops on animal husbandry, a 2012 DUML & Oak Foundation Global Fellow.
Professionally, marine mammal keeper & trainer since 2006, in academic and private facilities and in zoos. Experienced in rehabilitation and in monitoring of wild population of phocid seals. Keen to promote improving animals’ life under human care through positive reinforcement animal training in zoos and in private homes. Eager and devoted to ignite passion and fascination towards the marvel of marine ecosystems in everyone.
Privately, loves swimming and looking up to the stars.

Thanks for listening to this podcast about animal training in zoos. If you like this podcast please leave a comment below. In fact if you didn’t like it I would still love to hear from you, leave a comment below. Good luck with all your training endeavors whether your doing animal training in zoos or something else, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

In this podcast we will be discussing punishment. Certainly “reinforcement” is essential for learning in our day to day lives, BUT our survival and well being also depend on our learning to NOT do things that have in the past been threatening.

As we now know, behaviour is a function of its consequences. Reinforcement strengthens the behaviour it follows.

Scientifically, Punishment is the procedure of providing consequences that Reduce the strength and /or frequency of the behaviour it follows.

To be effective, punishment should be contingent on the target behaviour..and the interval between the behaviour and the punishing consequence should be short. Science also has shown the intensity of the punishing stimulus is directly proportional to the reduction in the target behaviour.

Punishment podcast

In this Podcast we provide a brief overview of the scientific definition of punishment, but also the potential problems when using it to modify behaviour.

Ryan and Dr Kat also discuss alternatives to using punishment, involving functional non aversive procedures (antecedent manipulation, extinction, differential reinforcement) to shape desirable behaviour.

The science of behaviour can show us that punishment works and can be used effectively, and also that sometimes punishment can alleviate suffering of the individual involved. Ethically however, good trainers should question its regular use –  particularly when it comes to using positive punishment , and keep in mind the significant negative fallout when positive punishment is used or misused.

Knowing that there are positive and efficient alternative procedures…we as trainers/ teachers of other beings should always aim to employ them first to influence behaviour. Our aim should be to enhance and strengthen our relationships with all our learners. How animals feel…matters.

Author of written content: Dr Kat Gregory.

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In this podcast episode Ryan read from a article from Dr Susan Friedman.It’s highly recommended that you check this article and all of Dr Friedman’s work. The article is called “What’s wrong with this picture? Effectiveness is not enough” To access the article click on the article title.

This episode is part one, of a three part series with Dr Kat Gregory (from Creative Animal solutions),and myself Ryan Cartlidge, from Animal Training Academy.The topics for this series will focus on specific consequences of behavior. In part one we are discussing the topic of Reinforcement. Part two will be a discussion on Punishment. And in part three we are going to invite a special guest onto the show and discuss Negative Reinforcement.

We realize that Reinforcement is a really big topic. However, Dr Kat and I decided to tackle it anyway. There were many different areas that we could have discussed. We could have talked all day. In the end though we had to chose a few. Here’s what we ended up covering.

• Definition of reinforcement.
• Primary and secondary reinforcers.
• Proper application of reinforcement.
• Timing.
• Shaping behaviour.
• Training chains.
• Pre-mack.
• The Matching law.

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Reinforcement definition.

• Reinforcement is something that immediately follows behavior and serves to maintain and/or increase the frequency/strength of that behaviour in the future.
• There are two types; Negative and positive.
  • Positive refers to something being added to the environment.
  • Negative refers to something being removed.
• Primary reinforcers are stimuli that are generally universal to all animals, such as’
  • Food
  • Shelter
  • Warmth
  • Reproduction opportunities
  • Water
  • Play
• Secondary reinforcers are previously neutral stimuli that have been continuously paired with a primary reinforcer (or other already established reinforcer) and take on the value of that reinforcer.
  • Examples are clickers with our animals, or money with people.

Reinforcement – Extra learning opportunities.

Below are some links to videos from Animal Training Academy that were mentioned in the podcast.

To see the video describing when to use a clicker click HERE.

To see the video about splitting not lumping, click HERE.

To see the video about training a chain click HERE.

There is a lot of information available on Achieving Animal Training Success.

Consequently there is a large range of topics for you to learn about. For example, what type of Animal do you want to train? Are you a pet owner? A vet? A zookeeper?  Do you want to train your dog to walk on a lead? Your bird in a free flight bird show? Or your clients cat to allow you to easily trim it’s nails? It can be a little bit overwhelming.

An Important Thing, Everyone Should Know About Animal Training Success.

On this podcast I join forces with Dr Kat Gregory. Dr Kat is the founder of Creative Animal Solutions. She is based in Melbourne Australia.

Kat is an Animal Behaviourist and Veterinarian. She possesses a wealth of knowledge about achieving Animal Training Success. Kat works with pet owners, captive wildlife and the Humans that care for them. Kat promotes positive reinforcement training. She has a huge passion for improving the welfare of all Animals. Proper training techniques are fundamental for developing trust between humans and Animals. Kat additionally works with other vets. Together with wildlife staff and vets she has trained medical behaviours with Zoo Animals. The training of behaviours like this, empowers both animal and Hum-animals alike. Kat is also passionate about conservation. Her experience working with captive wildlife also includes working with Wild Animal shows. She has done this work both in Australia and Internationally. Live animal shows are an important conduit for conservation messages.

In this Episode Dr Kat and I discuss a really important element to achieving Animal Training Success. This is something that Everyone should know. Click on the link above to listen to the podcast.

Please leave comments below. Tell us what you think is important to achieving Animal Training Success? Tell is if you liked the podcast. (Tell us if you didn’t like the podcast). Most importantly though, tell us what we can do for you. Leave a comment telling us what you want to learn about and we will make a podcast on that subject. We are here to serve you.

Check out Dr Kat’s Facebook page Creative Animal Solutions. Also check out Dr Kat’s website HERE. And see the baby Dingo Dr Kat talked about in the podcast by clicking HERE.

Click here for Ryan’s Story about the first animal he ever trained.