Animal Training Academy

High Quality Animal Training Content

Jean Donaldson LIVE Q&A

Jean is the founder and principal instructor of The Academy for Dog Trainers.  The Academy is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2019.  She is a four-time winner of The Dog Writers’ Association of America’s Maxwell Award.  In 2017, Jean was recruited to create Dog Training 101 for The Great Courses.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Jean founded the Montreal Flyball Association, and Renaissance Dog Training, the first positive reinforcement-based school, and counseling service in the province.  Her own dogs and dogs she has trained have earned numerous titles and wins in a variety of dog sports, including OTCh, TDX, HIT and FDCh.  While a student, she worked as an adoption counselor at the Montreal SPCA and later served on its Board of Directors.  Before founding The Academy, Jean did exclusively referral aggression cases for six years.  She lives in Oakland, California, with her dog, Brian, adopted in 2015.

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Pattern Games in Control Unleashed: The Power of the Pattern

Leslie McDevitt is a certified dog behavior consultant, internationally renowned speaker and author of three books, Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog, Control Unleashed: Puppy Program and one coming out for this winter US Time – Control Unleashed: Reactive to Relaxed.

Leslie’s writing has been translated into various languages including Russian, Czech, German, Norwegian and Swedish. She is on the 2019 Clicker Expo Faculty and will also be joining the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy Faculty.

Leslie has twenty years’ experience using clicker training to build confidence and help companion, working and performance dogs feel comfortable and happy with challenging environments. She also consults for the University of Pennsylvania Working Dog Centre where she works with dogs in training to be a K9 patrol, scent detection, and SAR dogs, again helping them learn to process the stimuli in challenging work environments so that they can focus on their job.

Leslie’s first and most influential teacher was Dr. Karen Overall, and she is strongly influenced by her concepts of biofeedback training and her Relaxation Protocol. In Leslie’s work, you can see the confluence of Dr. Overall’s relaxation protocol and using clicker training to create counter conditioning procedures with an operant base. Leslie says the thing that gets her most excited at the moment is using start button behaviors she borrowed from animal husbandry training in order to empower dogs to direct their own counter conditioning procedures.

CLICK HERE for a ATA podcast episode with Leslie

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Ken Ramirez LIVE Q&A

Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice-President and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training where he oversees the vision, development, and implementation of training education programs for the organization, including ClickerExpo, Karen Pryor Academy, and The Ranch. This allows Ken to help bring positive reinforcement training to all corners of the animal training world.

Previously, Ken served as the Executive Vice-President of animal care and animal training at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, where he developed and supervised animal care and animal health programs, staff training and development as well as public presentation programs for a collection of more than 32,000 animals. He worked at Shedd Aquarium for over 25 years.

A 40+ year veteran of animal care and training, Ramirez is a biologist and animal behaviorist who served nine years at Marineworld of Texas.  He also was a trainer and coordinator at Ocean Safari in South Padre Island, Texas, as well as acting as a consultant to many zoo and aquarium programs throughout the world.  He began his training career working with guide dogs for the visually impaired and has maintained a close affiliation to pet training throughout his career.  He hosted two successful seasons of the pet training television series Talk to the Animals that compared pet training to the important work done with training and caring for animals in zoological facilities.  He also works closely with several search and rescue dog organizations, service dog groups, as well as with bomb and narcotic dogs.

Since 2005, Ken has brought his experience as a trainer of many cognitive projects with marine mammals and primates to the dog arena.  Most notable has been his work with modifier cues, adduction, matching to sample, mimicry, and counting. The latter two projects: teaching dogs to mimic or imitate other dogs; and to learn the concept of counting are in the process of being prepared for scientific publication.  Both of these projects have documented cognitive abilities in dogs that have not been previously well reported or understood.

Ken has also pioneered groundbreaking conservation training projects with chimpanzees, polar bears, elephants, butterflies, and other animals. Conservation training applies behavior science in the field with free-ranging animals and uses remote training to facilitate learning to assist wildlife biologists in a wide range of projects.

Ramirez has been active in several professional organizations, including the International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA), of which he is a past president.  Ken has been actively involved in the creation of a certification process for animal trainers in zoological settings.

Ramirez has written for numerous scientific publications and authored countless popular articles.  He authored the book ANIMAL TRAINING: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement, published in 1999 and Better Together: The Collected Wisdom of Modern Dog Trainers, published in 2017.  Ken taught a graduate course on animal training at Western Illinois University for 20 years and currently offers several online courses through the Karen Pryor Academy. In 2017 Ken moved to Washington state where he created a series of immersive hands-on training courses at The Ranch, the Karen Pryor National Training Center.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Ken

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Carrie Kish: Antecedents, Function and Non-Food Reinforcers

Carrie Kish is an avid herpetologist, and animal trainer with a 15-year career in professional dog training, working primarily with dangerous dogs and dogs with fear and anxiety disorders. In 2012, while working for San Diego Zoo Global, Carrie founded Reptelligence with her co-worker and good friend Alex Konold, with the intention of exploring and showcasing the cognition abilities of reptiles and amphibians. Since that time, the Facebook page Reptelligence: Enrichment, Training, and Education has gained an international following including pet owners, veterinarians, zoo curators, professional animal keepers and trainers of all species. Carrie has worked closely with a variety of species from rhinos to roaches, parrots to porcupines, cheetahs to kestrels, and Tuataras to Tarantulas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Biola University and is working towards a Master’s degree in Ethology at the Ethology Institute, University of Cambridge.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Carrie Kish

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Animals in Control – Eva Bertilsson, Emelie Johnsnon Vegh & Peggy hogan

Our hope is that this 90-120 minute geek fest is really going to help clear up some of the confusion around topics such as start buttons, choice/control/communication, ABC contingencies & more…as well as help improve animal welfare, your relationships with your animals and reduce problem behaviors via 3 big takeaways;

1) Requests – How your animal can communicate to you what it wants
2) Choice – Teach your animal to make educated choices
3) Start Button Behavior – Have you animal direct the pace and progress of your interactions.

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Alexandra Kurland – Loopy training LIVE Q&A with slides & video

Alexandra Kurland is a graduate of Cornell University where she specialized in animal behavior.   She began teaching in the early 1980’s. Her area of particular interest is the development of a horse’s balance: physical and emotional.  Helping horses stay sound throughout a long lifetime is the goal.  The result is beautiful horses that feel like heaven to ride.

In 1998 Alexandra launched the rapidly growing field of clicker training for horses with the publication of her first book, Clicker Training for Your Horse.  Alexandra teaches clicker training geared to any horse need or sport—including developing a gentle and companionable riding horse, halter training foals, training advanced performance horses, and reforming difficult and unmanageable horses.  Alexandra travels widely, giving clicker training seminars and presenting at conferences in the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe.  She has written The Click That Teaches: A Step–By–Step Guide in Pictures and The Click That Teaches: Riding with the Clicker. She has also produced The Click That Teaches DVD lesson series, an on-line training course, and she is presently at work on new books and videos.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Alexandra Kurland

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Wouter Stellaard – The bridging stimulus: a crucial tool

wouterWouter Stellaard has been in the animal field for 28 years. His passion and career began in the Netherlands while working in a wildlife rehabilitation centre. He created his own animal ambulance while finishing his animal care studies. In the search for further education he came to the US where he graduated from the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College. After an internship he was hired at Natural Encounters Inc. As a senior trainer he helped create, set up, train, and present bird shows at zoos and aquariums across the country. As the Director of Behavioral Programs he consulted both nationally and internationally to create zoo wide animal training programs with keepers to grow their training and presentation skills.

Currently Wouter is the Animal Programs Training Director at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He is responsible for the training of staff and animals in a variety of areas with a variety of taxa. He and his team produce natural behavior mixed species shows, run an immersive close encounters guest area, as well as an African exhibit experience. The African exhibit focuses on life around an African watering hole featuring cheetah runs, bird flights, hoofstock, and a variety of mammal talks. Wouter’s passion is to teach people how to train animals using the science of behavior change and further the industry standards.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Wouter Stellaard

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Steve White – Reading dogs scenting behaviours

In his 43rd year of a K9-centered law enforcement career, Steve White is the only person to have served as a handler, trainer, training-sergeant, and supervisor for the Seattle Police Canine Unit. Accredited as a Master Trainer in 1993 by the Washington State Police Canine Association, Steve is also a past Executive Board Member of that body. He served as Vice President of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and is a consultant and instructor for the K9 Academy for Law Enforcement. Steve has instructed at seminars in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom. He has served as a primary instructor for Karen Pryor’s ClickerExpo and the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. His articles have appeared in police K-9 and dog training publications in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Finland, and Japan. He specializes in teaching behavior modification, tracking, and scent work through the use of positive reinforcement-based operant conditioning. He provides consultation and training to K-9 units on administrative and legal issues and has been recognized as an expert witness by Washington and Federal courts in Police K-9 and dog behavior matters.

CLICK HERE to listen to the Steve White podcast episode

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Niki Tudge – Founder & President The DogSmith, The Pet Professional Guild, DogNostics Career Center & President Doggone safe.

Niki was born and raised in England but now lives in Florida. Her background is in the corporate world and managing hotels which have seen her travel the world & work in places such as Nigeria and South Africa.

Whilst working in these roles Niki always found ways to help rehabilitate abandoned and abused animals and cooperated with organizations like fauna & flora international to protect endangered species from poaching and then helping those animals transition back into their natural habitat.

Though her work with African Native Animals was fulfilling Niki’s first love was always the family pet dog. And upon moving to the united states Niki started setting up projects to help spread the word about the benefits of force-free training, starting ventures such as the Dog Smith – a dog training and pet care business and DogNostics Career College – an online educational forum for pet industry professionals.

As choices of training methods increased, Niki found availability of quick-fix gimmicks popularized by TV grew and misleading ‘entertainment-based’ training techniques became generally accepted, Niki found that it was more and more confusing for the pet owner to understand and differentiate the true foundation and efficacy of dog training and pet care methods and philosophies available.

Because of this, Niki saw a need for a new member forum where pet professionals committed to force-free training methods could gather to support each other and provide a resource to the pet-owning public. The Pet Professional Guild (the Guild) is Niki’s answer to this need. The Guild is dedicated to servicing force-free Pet Professionals and the pet-owning public who want to be confident that the resources they choose to adhere to a consistent training and business philosophy and ethics.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Niki

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Sarah Owings – Teaching starts with brave learning

Sarah Owings is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner. She specializes in the practical application of behavioral principles to help transform the lives of fearful, shut down, and over-the-top dogs. As the owner of Bridges Dog Training, an international speaker, and a regular contributor to online training forums, she is known for her innovative approaches to tough behavior problems and her compassionate and insightful teaching. She has written for Clean Run Magazine on topics such as stimulus control, release cues, and toy-related cues, and serves as faculty at ClickerExpo, an instructor for Karen Pryor Academy, and an advisor to the Glendale Humane Society in Los Angeles. She is also an avid nose work competitor, currently competing at the Elite level with her dog, Tucker. She recently moved from Los Angeles to San Rafael, CA with her two dogs, two geriatric rabbits, and her husband Fred.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Sarah

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Grisha Stewart – BAT LIVE Q&A

Grisha Stewart, MA, CPDT-KA is an author, international speaker, and dog trainer who specializes in dog reactivity. She runs Empowered Animals, LLC, and the online Animal Building Blocks Academy from Deadwood, Oregon. She founded and ran Ahimsa Dog Training in Seattle for 13 years, earning many awards, including Best of Western Washington. “Ahimsa” is a Buddhist doctrine of nonviolence to all living things, which reflects Grisha’s focus on empowerment to promote the well being of dogs and their humans.

Her latest book, “Behavior Adjustment Training 2.0: New Practical Techniques for Fear, Frustration, and Aggression,” was published by Dogwise in early 2016. Her popular second book, “The Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual: A Practical, Force-Free Guide to Problem Solving & Manners,” was published in 2012 and updated in 2014. Her popular BAT 2.0 DVD series about empowered socialization and training, was released in 2014.

Grisha has a master’s degree in mathematics and graduate work in animal behavior. She is an enthusiastic and entertaining presenter who creates her seminars to accommodate a variety of learning styles.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Grisha Stewart

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TAG Teach with Theresa McKeon

After more than 30 years as a national level gymnastics coach, Theresa was determined to find a way to speed up skill acquisition for her athletes while simultaneously decreasing stress and fear in the learning environment. Her search for behaviourally sound techniques, clean instructions, and the proper timing of feedback and reinforcement, led to the development of the TAG teach methodology. The success of the methodology has been accepted by the wide range of applications embracing it. Theresa now consults and designs TAG teach programs in multiple fields including business management, industrial safety, medical and surgical training, sports coaching, even family communication. She is a sought-after speaker around the world including Europe, U.K., Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Theresa McKeon

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ATA Mindset videos and framework…

MINDSET VIDEO

☆ YOUR VIBE ATTRACTS YOUR TRIBE – The ATA mindset – recognized and generally accepted set of attitudes and related behaviors held by members of Animal Training Academy ☆

NOTE: This is a living & breathing document & will evolve over time & with experience.

* – Updated 24th October 2018 – *

(… Attitudes and related behaviours for ATA community areas …)

* 1) Respectful participation in the ATA community is a primary objective when engaging with other members.

Our mindset adopts this paraphrased quote from the book Crucial Conversations – “The only right I have to express my opinion is to be equally vigorous in encouraging others to share theirs” –

Follow this link to see what a conversation might look like with the above quote in mind (Premium members only) – ATA_mindset1

You can see the book Crucial Conversations in the ATA book Club. It’s a highly recommended read (Premium members only) – Crucial_Conversations

Here are some questions that might help you maintain trust, safety, politeness, humbleness and respect going into a challenging/crucial conversation (Premium members only) – ATA_mindset4

Here is a blog post about giving/receiving feedback (& self evaluation) >>> http://bit.ly/ATA_Feedback

* 2) The focus of our discussions in the ATA community areas connect with the reasons WHY Animal Training Academy and the ATA community areas exist.

The three ATA community areas are

1) The ATA-engage members only FaceBook page
2) The ATA members-only forums (Premium members only) – ATA_Forums
3) The ATA members only WhatsApp groups (no longer accessible to new members)

☆ WHY ATA exists = Improve the lives of animals and their human companions through ethical animal training and behavior management principles (with the main focus being on Applied Behavior Analysis).

☆ WHY the ATA community areas exist = Assist with the implementation of strategies to help support & encourage members with their animal training and behavior goals (with the main focus being on Applied Behavior Analysis).

☆ HOW ATA aims to achieve the above = Through dissemination of easily accessible knowledge shared by the worlds most proficient professionals – (with the main focus being on Applied Behavior Analysis).

☆ WHAT ATA does – Builds a tribe around knowledge to help develop trainers competencies, orientation & growth – (with the main focus being on Applied Behavior Analysis).

The WHAT is achieved through, podcasts, web-classes, blogs, and the ATA membership.

ATA COMMUNITY AREAS VIDEO

Our ethical approach is guided by Susan Friedman’s “Hierarchy of Behavior Change Procedures According to the Least Intrusive Alternative” illustration which can be found in the following article – ATA_mindset5

* 3) To help realize the above, ATA is supportive of all members integrating their learning here with a diverse scope of other learning opportunities.

Furthermore, the sincere endorsement or direct promotion of other learning opportunities – within the ATA community areas – is agreeable in relation to the WHY of the ATA community areas.

However, before suggesting other learning opportunities in the ATA community areas, it is required they are first shared with an admin for consideration. If sharing is supported, it is agreed that the words “Sharing with green-light from admin” be incorporated at the top of your offering.

To invite consideration from an admin – of other learning opportunities – please share your proposed offerings in this thread >>> (Premium members only) ATA-Learning-Opportunity

Sharing = posting and/or commenting.

Learning opportunities = Courses, groups, workshops, conferences, webinars, web-classes, clinics, memberships, blogs, non-peer reviewed written materials, YouTube videos, Vimeo videos, podcasts.

Pre-approved learning opportunities (do no require “first sharing with an admin for consideration”) = Anything from current tribe members and/or past podcast guests … and/or peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals.

…

Indispensable elements of Applied Behavior Analysis.

1) The focal point is the individual.

Follow this link to see what is meant by this (Premium members only) ATA_individual

2) Labels are unpacked.

Follow this link to learn more about labels (Premium members only) – ATA_labels

3) The unpacking of labels means we;

* Operationalise (observably define) what Behavior looks like.
* Describe the Antecedents for the observably described behavior/s.
* Describe the Consequences for the observably described behavior/s (examine the function of the behavior/s).
* Conduct our ABC’s

Follow this link to learn about ABC’s – ATA_mindset3

To learn more about ABA and how it relates to other levels of Analysis listen to this web-class replay with Dr. Susan Friedman (Premium members only) – ATA_mindset2

— — — — —

NOTE: if you are unsure about a contribution made within the community then please feel free to tag (and/or notify) Ryan Cartlidge for review.

Contribution = Post, comment, photo and/or video.

Additionally, as the writer of this “mindset” I (Ryan Cartlidge) acknowledge that the only right I have to express these ideas is that I am equally vigorous in encouraging you to offer your own.

I am always looking to improve and if you think we can improve what is written here please share your offerings.

Best Regards
Ryan Cartlidge
Animal Training Academy – Founder/Connector/Facilitator

P.s If you don’t think you fit into this mindset this is not a bad thing! There are plenty of groups on FB/online and maybe there is one that is more suited to helping you achieve your personal animal training & behavior goals!

We encourage you to be active in your search for your best personal fit

The vet-trainer connection with very special guest – Linda Ryan [LIVE web-class]

Linda Ryan Bio

Linda qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2002 from general practice. She then worked at 2 world-leading university referral hospitals, obtaining the Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Medical) in 2005; & in 2009, became a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Oncology, and a member of the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians.

As well as her specialist interest in oncology, Linda also has interests in analgesia, clinical nutrition, medical nursing, behavioral health & welfare, maintenance of optimum quality of life in chronically ill patients & clinical teaching.

Linda’s interest in training & behavior evolved over her nursing career as she became more aware of its importance to patient’s needs in their veterinary care. In 2012, Linda became a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behaviour, & she is now proud to be a faculty member at the Academy.

Linda has since gone on to further advance her training & education in animal training & behavior, & continue to study – having credentialed for the examination for the Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behavior in October; & she is about to embark on a top-up year for a degree in Animal Behaviour & Welfare this Autumn.

Linda owns & run Inspiring Pet Teaching, which is aimed at pet & owner training & education, as well as CPD provision – she frequently writes & present for the veterinary press & at CPD events for vets, vet nurses, training professionals & owners. Linda regularly collaborates to provide course content &/or teaching & reviewing for Karen Pryor Academy; International Cat Care, Fear Free; ONCOREepd; as well as many other continuing education providers, both locally, nationally, internationally, & online. The vet-trainer connections & patient-friendly veterinary practice is a passion which allows Linda to meld her veterinary nursing & behavior knowledge for the benefit of patients, staff & owners.

CLICK HERE to listen to a previous podcast interview with Linda Ryan

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Husbandry Opportunities are all around us with Laura Monaco Torelli

Web-class overview: Laura Monaco Torelli has been training along side of exotic species, dogs, horses, and birds since 1991. She serves as Karen Pryor Academy faculty and is a Certified Training Partner, Certified Professional Dog Trainer, and a Certified Parrot Behavior Consultant. She is committed to the most humane application of behavioral science to the challenges faced by companion animal owners.

Listen to a podcast episode with Laura and learn more about her work HERE.

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Dr. Susan Friedman LIVE Q&A #2 (Web-class replay)

Dr. Susan Friedman Bio

Dr. Susan Friedman is a retired psychology professor at Utah State University who has pioneered the application of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to captive and companion animals. ABA, with its roots in human learning, offers a scientifically sound teaching technology and ethical standard that can improve the lives of all learners. Students from 32 different countries have participated in Susan’s online courses, Living and Learning with Animals for Professionals. She has written chapters on learning and behavior for 3 veterinary texts and is a frequent contributor to popular magazines. Her articles appear around the world in 14 languages. Susan has presented seminars nationally and internationally for a wide variety of professional organizations such as the Association of Avian Veterinarians, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, Moorpark College Exotic Animal Training and Management program, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She has been nominated for the Media Award given by the International Association of Behavior Analysis for her efforts to disseminate to caregivers, veterinarians, animal trainers, and zookeepers the essential tools they need to empower and enrich the lives of the animals in their care. To help meet this goal, she welcomes downloading and disseminating everything on her www.behaviorworks.org website and welcomes people to visit her Facebook/behaviorworks page.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Susan & Ryan Cartlidge to learn more about them and their work.

CLICK HERE to watch the previous web-class/LIVE Q&A with Susan and Ryan Cartlidge from August 2017.

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Separation anxiety with Malena DeMartini

Malena DeMartini Bio

Malena DeMartini, CTC, CDBC, is renowned in the dog training world for her work on canine separation anxiety (SA) disorder. Her book, Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs, has helped countless numbers of dogs and her recent online course for guardians called Mission: POSSIBLE is now out.

In addition to writing and lecturing worldwide, Malena oversees a team of top SA trainers and runs an internationally accessible certification program for accomplished dog professionals looking to hone their skills. Malena is passionate about furthering education in this field through science-based methods and is in the process of collaborating on an intensive study with a leading University to help further advance the knowledge in the field.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast episode with Malena DeMartini

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Lesson 3 – The behaviour quadrant

In this lesson, we are going to go over the behavior quadrant. The point of this lesson is to help you understand how consequences influence the future frequency of a behavior. We are also going to go over the definition of the terms positive and negative and how they relate to the behavior quadrant.

  • Positive = Something is added to the environment after a behavior
  • Negative = Something is removed from the environment after a behavior

Watch the video.

International Animal Training Month – February 2018

5). Choice, Control & ABC contingencies with Eva Bertilsson (Sweden)

To celebrate international animal training month – 2018 we are going to focus on Sweden & learn about some amazing animal training projects from some amazing Swedish trainers. Consequently, we have released the following 5 items below for FREE over the month of February …

    1. Cooperative care/husbandry training with dogs example (CLICK HERE).
    2. Match to sample training (with Friken penguins ?!) (CLICK HERE)
    3. Cooperative care/husbandry training with Parrots. (CLICK HERE)
    4. Positive reinforcement horse riding (CLICK HERE) ?
    5. The importance of choice, control & ABC contingencies in our animal training.

Plus, we have already hosted two exclusive live sessions with prominent Swedish trainers/behavior experts for February 2018 (replays now available for Animal Training Academy members only):

* 12th Feb 2018 – Peter Giljam (from the Zoospensefull blog) ran a live web-class on Group training. In this web-class, Peter discussed the many approaches to training groups of animals, and how this can be achieved with the minimal number of people. Peter focused on the zoo environment, but the content is relevant for all species. ea.

* 19th Feb 2018 – Dr. Karolina Westlund, Associate Professor of Ethology – University of Stockholm; joined us In this web-class and presented a 30-45 min presentation followed by a live Q&A on animal emotions.

To watch the replays, register for your Animal Training Academy membership HERE.

Interview with Eva Bertilsson transcript.

Question: Please introduce yourself?

Hi, I’m Eva from Sweden, working with animal training and animal behavior. I think for my international friends, I meet them mostly at clicker expo, where I have been on the faculty for ten years. Originally dog trainer, but now working with all sorts of species.

Question: Could you please tell us about the Giraffe video and the importance of choice, control & ABC contingencies?

I love to see that so many people nowadays are passionate about giving their learners choice and control. The episode you’re talking about with the giraffe, I met him at a zoo, and he had a habit of coming over to people and saying, hi, by putting his head down. And we were guessing, is he doing this because he actually enjoys being petted because people would reach up and touch him? Or is he doing because he is interested in getting food?

I love that people are asking the question. And I really love that we have a systematic way of getting the answers. So, when we talk about choice and control, it’s all about our learners having experience with having the different ABC’s contingencies. So, we can test this, and that’s what I did with the giraffe. That’s what you’re seeing in the video, is me going through some phases of asking him, if you get the opportunity to know in advance that you’re gonna get a pat on the nose, will you go for it? If you in advance know that you’ll now have the opportunity to get just food without a touch, will you go for it?

So, the experiment we set up was basically just beginning with making sure he knew the indication behavior of touching something, and he had that in advance just for food. Then, we did set up, you see paper, you touch paper, you get food, just separately. Just doing that for like ten times in a row, making sure that he had experience with the contingency of you see paper, you touch it, you get food.

Now we put that away, and there’s a different stimulus, the plastic bottle. So, giving him some experience with when you touch the plastic bottle, you get a pat on the nose. And by making sure that he got those experiences, that he has actually had this set of when I do this in this context, this happens. When I do that in that context, that happens. That could give me some information already there, he would be waking away from the plastic, which was a pretty clear indication.

Then we also wanted to know, what if it’s just that you’re expecting food in this situation, and you don’t like being touched in a scenario where you’re really expecting food? Like you just had ten treats. So, we did the last part of it, where he gets to get food and touch for the plastic. So, the choice became between just food or touch and food. After he got a bit of experience with both of those, he would clearly choose the paper, and just avoid the touch.

So, that gave us some information, we didn’t have to guess. We could actually say that we tried that, we did the experiment. When we experimented with this, he clearly told us that, no, in those scenarios at least, just keep your hands off me. It’s all about putting together our ideas to do what’s best for our animals with some scientific thought and some doing experiments in our everyday work, I like that part.

Question: Can you please tell us about your experiences with ATA so far?

Well, thank you, Ryan. I have had the pleasure of the company of ATA, so it’s been a wonderful community, and I’m really happy to be a part of it. For me, it’s really been a way to meet new and old friends and continue to be inspired by the work that’s happening across the globe, which is fascinating. Really glad to be a part of it, and really recommend it to everybody else. And also, it’s made even me listen to podcasts regularly, which I actually otherwise don’t do, so now I do.

Want to learn from/with an international community of super cool and nerdy animal behavior & training geeks … And watch the LIVE web-class replays?
Then … Check out the link below to learn more about whats on offer … !

CLICK HERE to learn more about Animal Training membership

 

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International Animal Training Month – February 2018

4). Positive reinforcement horse riding with Angelica Hesselius (Sweden)

To celebrate international animal training month – 2018 we are going to focus on Sweden & learn about some amazing animal training projects from some amazing Swedish trainers. You will receive the following 5 items below for FREE over the month of February …

    1. Cooperative care/husbandry training with dogs example (CLICK HERE).
    2. Match to sample training (with Friken penguins ?!) (CLICK HERE)
    3. Cooperative care/husbandry training with Parrots. (CLICK HERE)
    4. Positive reinforcement horse riding ?
    5. The importance of choice and control in our animal training. (CLICK HERE)

Plus, we have already hosted two exclusive live sessions with prominent Swedish trainers/behavior experts (replays now available for Animal Training Academy members only):

* 12th Feb 2018 – Peter Giljam (from the Zoospensefull blog) ran a live web-class on Group training. In this web-class, Peter discussed the many approaches to training groups of animals, and how this can be achieved with the minimal number of people. Peter focused on the zoo environment, but the content is relevant for all species. ea.

* 19th Feb 2018 – Dr. Karolina Westlund, Associate Professor of Ethology – University of Stockholm; joined us In this web-class and presented a 30-45 min presentation followed by a live Q&A on animal emotions.

Interview with Angelica Hesselius transcript.

Question: Please introduce yourself?

I’m a horse trainer from Sweden and an overall animal lover. I run a small business training horses and humans, mostly focusing on balance, whether it’s emotional balance or physical balance. I’m also attending online education with some lovely people from connection training, which is basically all about reward based horse training and connecting with your horse on different levels.

Question: Tell us about your positive reinforcement horse riding?

I think it’s such a great way to give an animal a choice and to improve your relationship with your animal. Overall, I think reward based training is super to motivate both you and your horses. About the video, it’s my horse. We use targeting a lot to provide structure in our sessions and to give him a choice. And the targeting has been tremendously important for us. He also is standing on a mat, which is his start button for many behaviors. We have worked a lot on mounting with the mounting block. He is a crossover horse, and I’m a crossover trainer. We had had lots of history with the mountain block. This is something I could not have changed with a different way of working, I think.

Question: can you tell everyone about your experience with Animal Training Academy?

I think it’s a very welcome and supporting place. I love the different experience that you can get from many trainers that train different species of animals. I think it’s easy to get used to your own species and your own way of training. For me, it has brought in many great training ideas. I actually love both the forums and the web-classes have taught me a lot.

Want to learn from/with an international community of super cool and nerdy animal behavior & training geeks … And watch the LIVE web-class replays?
Then … Check out the link below to learn more about whats on offer … !

CLICK HERE to learn more about Animal Training membership

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International Animal Training Month – February 2018

3). Cooperative parrot care with Stephanie Edlund (Sweden)

To celebrate international animal training month – 2018 we are going to focus on Sweden & learn about some amazing animal training projects from some amazing Swedish trainers. You will receive the following 5 items below for FREE over the month of February …

  1. Cooperative care/husbandry training with dogs example (CLICK HERE).
  2. Match to sample training (with Friken penguins ?!) (CLICK HERE)
  3. Cooperative care/husbandry training with Parrots.
  4. Positive reinforcement horse riding (CLICK HERE) ?.
  5. The importance of choice and control in our animal training. (CLICK HERE)

Plus, we are hosting two exclusive live sessions with prominent Swedish trainers/behavior experts (for Animal Training Academy members only):

* (Replay now available in members area) – Peter Giljam (from the Zoospensefull blog) will be running a live web-class on Group training. We’ll discuss the many approaches to training groups of animals, and how this can be achieved with the minimal number of people. We’ll be focussing on the zoo environment, but this content will also be relevant for all species. The class starts at 8 am New Zealand time (click here to convert to your time zone). But if you can’t make it live, you can catch the recording in the member’s area.

* 19th Feb 2018 – Dr. Karolina Westlund, Associate Professor of Ethology – University of Stockholm will be joining us. In this live class will be doing a 30-45 min presentation followed by a live Q&A on animal emotions. This session will start at 8.30am New Zealand time (click here to convert to your time zone) and again, the recording will be available in the members’ area immediately afterward!

Interview with Stephanie transcript. (Scroll down for full 40min podcast interview)

Question: Please introduce yourself?

So, my name is Stephanie Edlund, I live in Sweden, obviously, and I am a certified parrot behavior consultant with the IAABC. I’m also the chairperson for the parrot division there. I’ve worked in zoos previously. I now work as a veterinary assistant at an exotics veterinary clinic. And I also run two companies called DjurSmart for those of you in Sweden, and Understanding Parrots, for those of you not in Sweden.

Question: Tell us about your cooperative parrot training?

Yeah, well, I mean husbandry training is definitely one of those topics that you can make as simple or as complex as you want to, basically. So I mean the gist of it is just regular target training with duration, well-generalized behaviors, and using a lot of counterconditioning and systematic desensitization. So if you’re good at those basics, then you can be great at husbandry training, which is awesome.

And then there’s all sort of intricacies of course, as reading body language and being able to know when to move on to the next steps and things like that that you have to practise to be really good at it, but in essence, if you can do a really well-generalised targeting behaviour, then you can do a lot of really cool husbandry training with that.

… it’s not something that only I can do or only really experienced trainers can do, so I think that everyone could learn how to do that, which is awesome.

Question: can you tell everyone about your experience with Animal Training Academy?

I enjoy every bit of it. I love the Facebook group … just waking up, seeing what everyone has posted in the forums, all their training endeavors, and some really cool questions that make you think about these things that you don’t think about enough. And I love watching the webinars. There’s just so many great things. I’m really glad I get to be a part of it. And of course the podcasts, those are like, oh, the best. So many good ones. So yeah.

Podcast interview with Stephanie

CLICK HERE for the full podcast write-up with Stephanie Edlund.

Want to learn from/with an international community of super cool and nerdy animal behavior & training geeks … And attend the next LIVE web-class ?
Then … Check out the link below to learn more about whats on offer … !

CLICK HERE to learn more about Animal Training membership

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International Animal Training Month – February 2018

2). Match to Sample training penguins with Anna Svensson (Swedish trainer)

Recipient of the IMATA (International marine animal trainers association) research advancement award in 2015.

To celebrate international animal training month – 2018 we are going to focus on Sweden & learn about some amazing animal training projects from some amazing Swedish trainers. You will receive the following 5 items below for FREE over the month of February …

  1. Cooperative care/husbandry training with dogs example (CLICK HERE).
  2. Match to sample training (with Friken penguins ?!)
  3. Cooperative care/husbandry training with Parrots (CLICK HERE).
  4. Positive reinforcement horse riding (Coming Soon) ?.
  5. The importance of choice and control in our animal training. (CLICK HERE)

VIDEO – One ?

? – Plus, we are hosting two exclusive live sessions with prominent Swedish trainers/behavior experts (for Animal Training Academy members only):

* 12th Feb 2018 – Peter Giljam (from the Zoospensefull blog) will be running a live web-class on Group training. We’ll discuss the many approaches to training groups of animals, and how this can be achieved with the minimal number of people. We’ll be focussing on the zoo environment, but this content will also be relevant for all species. The class starts at 8 am New Zealand time (click here to convert to your time zone). But if you can’t make it live, you can catch the recording in the member’s area.

* 19th Feb 2018 – Dr. Karolina Westlund, Associate Professor of Ethology – University of Stockholm will be joining us. We’re deciding between a live Q&A, or maybe a more focused discussion on animal emotions – I’m asking the Academy members for their input on this. This session will start at 8.30am New Zealand time (click here to convert to your time zone) and again, the recording will be available in the members’ area.

Interview with Anna (Scroll down for full video interview ?)

Question: Please introduce yourself?

My name is Anna Svenson and I’m a marine mammal trainer. I started my career in 2006 in New Zealand working for a few years in the marine mammal hospital and also show presentations there. And then I joined this interesting project in Dubai training Antarctic penguins for another four years, very interesting. And now, I’m currently working in Vietnam as a marine mammal trainer for a consultancy company called Wildlife In Focus.

Question: Can you tell us about the Match to Sample penguin training you were involved in?

Yeah, that was me and my colleague Paola Cuevas, we did this project together. I remember there was a guy in one of my encounters meeting the penguins and he asked me, “If the Penguins could see colors.” And I actually didn’t know… So, I said to him, “Hold on a minute … or a couple of months. I will find out for you and I will get back to you.” And then, we decided to team up and work and to see if they could do discrimination. We decided to do the simple discrimination training to start with and everything just developed from there, our ideas just came more and more. So, we started with the shapes and then we started with match to sample concept, ideas just keep growing and the penguins, they showed good results, positive results. So, we just kept going.

It was all ideas in the head, just brainstorming, what are they going to do? What material are we going to use? So, well, we just used a simple cut of a piece of paper laminated and let them target them and see if they can discriminate between them. They could. In the video, some of our faces are surprised because it’s catching the first moment when they actually get to discriminate between the colors, yeah, very interesting.

Question: Can you talk about your experience with Animal Training Academy?

I’ve only been a member for about two-three weeks, but I’m enjoying it so far. I have been able to look up a little bit, I can see a lot of people being connected and I think it’s very important that we all share our experience like this and it’s going to be the best for the animals in our care. And I’m looking forward to seeing many more web classes, very interesting how we can all discuss certain subjects.

VIDEO: Ryan Cartlidge of Animal Training Academy talks with Anna Svensson

VIDEO – Two ?

Can’t wait until the web-classes to learn from/with an international community of super cool and nerdy animal behavior & training geeks … ?
Then … Check out the link below to learn more about whats on offer … !

CLICK HERE to learn more about Animal Training membership

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International Animal Training Month – February 2018

1). Cooperative care/husbandry dog training with Josefin Linderström (Sweden)

To celebrate international animal training month – 2018 we are going to take you on a visit to Sweden & learn about some amazing animal training projects from some amazing Swedish trainers. You will receive the following 5 items below for FREE over the month of February …

  1. Cooperative care/husbandry training with dogs example.
  2. Match to sample training {with Friken penguins ?!}
  3. Cooperative care/husbandry training with Parrots (CLICK HERE).
  4. Positive reinforcement horse riding (CLICK HERE) ?.
  5. The importance of choice and control in our animal training. (CLICK HERE).

VIDEO – One

Additionally, we are going to be joined LIVE on FaceBook by two well know Swedish trainers/behavior experts. AND you will be offered an opportunity to attend these live sessions by registering for your Animal Training Academy membership … the two LIVE events are;

  • 12th Feb 2018 8 am New Zealand time. Peter Giljam (from the Zoospensfull blog) speaking on Group training. (CLICK HERE to convert to your time zone) – In this live web-class, we are going to look at numerous ways we can train groups of animals. There will be a significant focus on the zoo environment (although the content will be relevant for all species) and how we can do this with the minimal amount of people.
  • 19th Feb 2018 8:30 am New Zealand time. DR. Karolina Westlund will be joining us. (CLICK HERE to convert to your time zone). – Stay tuned for more information about the exact layout of the class. We could do a LIVE Q&A where you can ask any questions you wish OR we might do a more focused discussion. Probable topic – Discussion on animal emotions.

Interview with Josefin (Scroll down for video interview)

Question: Please introduce yourself?

Yeah, you know my name already, Josefin Linderstrom, I am 25 years old. I started training my family dog when I was about 13, and we did agility together. And that’s sort of when I started with shaping and learned about that. And I’ve been doing it ever since with dogs. Lately started with horses and bunnies as well, but I need to do more with them because there are only 24 hours in a day. But dogs are definitely sort of the main thing that I am doing.

Question: Can you tell us about the importance of cooperative care training?

I think it’s super important to not just think of getting things done. I want to really consider what the experience is for the animal as well. And the whole thing about cooperative care is … It’s like something that some of us nerds are really into right now. It’s like a trending topic on different forums, and in the animal training academy, and so on. But I think we need to try and reach more people with it. Like regular pet owners, because it’s not very difficult to do. I was surprised that when I started, I was really surprised at how easy it was to apply. And I think it’s definitely something that pet owners can apply. So, I think for 2018, I will be doing a lot of retraining and filming and just trying to put it out there.

Question: Can you talk about your experience with Animal Training Academy?

Sure. I joined last fall, and it’s been really inspirational and really given me sort of a boost. It’s so awesome to have this community and super cool to be part of this little nerd club, where you can sort of speak really … Because I can’t really … with people I know, there’s no way to have a conversation about this stuff without having to explain everything from the beginning. So, it’s really nice to have this little base where you can just be you. You don’t have to be a nerd to be a member. I think that’s really cool as well. It’s not like it’s unavailable if you’re not super nerdy, but it’s nice that there are other nerds. It makes me feel a little bit less alone in the world.

VIDEO: Ryan Cartlidge of Animal Training Academy talks with Josefin Linderström

VIDEO – Two

Can’t wait until the web-classes to learn from/with an international community of super cool and nerdy animal behavior & training geeks … ?
Then … Check out the link below to learn more about whats on offer … !

CLICK HERE to learn more about Animal Training membership

International Animal Training Month

February is international animal training month at ATA and this year we are going to celebrate the amazing animal trainers and behavior experts that reside in Sweden.

Jackpots

In all my research there existed a lot of uncertainty about whether or not jackpots are actually doing what we think they’re doing. But before we can continue on with this conversation we have to ensure we are talking about the same thing and define what A jackpot is.

Firstly it’s important to understand that this stuff is not in the scientific literature. It’s a word that’s being created by trainers, by people that work with animals and so there is a big variation in definitions. And I’m not here myself to that that the definition I’m sharing is or this is not the definition you wish to use. Your definition is as valid as mine because if the term doesn’t actually exist in the literature then we’re free to say what we want. Additionally, I don’t have the data to say yay or nay Jackpots work or don’t work and If you do then I’d really like to see it. So what I will offer is kind of a great starting point, a great guide for us moving forward in this blog post.

For me, a Jackpot is when we offer a magnitude reinforcer. And even that needs definition. What are we offering? A larger size reinforcer? A longer duration reinforcer? Is it a longer pet for our dog? A longer praise? Are we offering more pieces? One piece then another then another then another in succession? Or one lump bigger piece, or a pile of bigger pieces, what is that magnitude reinforce? Because I think what ever that magnitude reinforcer is, is potentially going to have a different influence on your animal’s behavior. We have to also remember that each animal is an individual and you might find that you do it one way with one animal and then do it the same way with a different individual and get a different result. The end goal is of course that we want to see an increase in the frequency of the behavior we offer that magnitude after. So it has to be contingent on that behavior and it has to be unexpected, I would say. It has to be rare and rarity and unexpectedness go hand in hand really because if it’s not rare then it potentially might be expected. And the end goal is we want the animal to repeat that behavior.

Let’s continue this discussion about what we mean when we say definitions and let me just remind you that this stuff is not in the scientific literature. It’s a word that’s being created by trainers, by people that work with animals and so there is a big variation in definitions and no one in this web class prior the videos I share myself are saying that this is or this is not the definition. Your definition is as valid as mine because I mean who am I to argue. I don’t have the data to say yay or nay. If you do then I’d really like to see it. So that is kind of a great starting point, a great guide for us moving forward int his web class.

Let’s hear what someone else has to say about it. So let’s go to, we’ll just jump to the slide presentation so you guys can see where we’re at. Let’s hear from Dr. Susan Friedman about her input on [inaudible 00:02:25]. Next we’re going to hear from Chirag Patel and he’s gonna give us a little bit of a definition of … that he hears other people say and he sees in his articulation of it that is not one he personally gives. It’s one that he hears frequently and we’ll just play that video for you now and then we’ll discuss this a little bit more, this definition … potential definition is how I describe it. The written content …

People might have different definition of jackpots and people might swear that jackpots 100% work. Some people might be dubious and I’m sure want more information or think that there’s a bunch of variables that need to be considered with each situation and each unique animal. I think everyone thinks that actually that’s just a universal thought. Just because we might have different definition or just because we might have different anecdotal experiences or understanding of the literature doesn’t make anyone a crappy trainer. It just means we have different definitions of that word. To start any conversation, I encourage you to do this as you move forward, engaging online with myself and with other people and other communities. Is to make sure you’re always adding that definition, and so people know what you’re talking about. If you’re not adding it, then at least you’re asking it from others.

So we offer this magnitude reinforcer higher than required or wasn’t expected. That if you offer magnitude reinforcer, if you offer an increase in the amount of reinforcement then that animal’s going to understand this is Ryan’s definition of what is rationally need to be happening in these situations. Animals meant to understand, oh, that higher level response. That higher level performance was the thing that got me more food. Therefore, I’m gonna repeat that behaviour again in the future. A potential con is that you blow a bit of your food. You blow some of your pouch. And therefore you decrease the repetition.

Now, in this web class moving forward I don’t want to talk too much about the pros and cons of this because I was wondering as I was creating this web class how I can make this different for you, the Animal Training Academy member. What’s already available online because you can go … we linked to a couple of articles about this in the animal training academy engaged Facebook page by Ken Ramirez, by Karen Prior. There was an article in there where Jose Gomez, Pete Giljum, Sarah Stremming, so there was quite a few. Francis King talks about jackpots here in [inaudible 00:06:14]. So you have Ken Scott, some really great input on there. You might have read that article that we linked to and the Animal Training Academy engaged Facebook group just reading Carolyn’s comment here as well-

Contra Freeloading @ Phoenix zoo – Special guest Hilda Tresz (Web-Class replay)

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.

Click here to LOGIN to view this content

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Zoo time management – Special guest Margaret Rousser (Web-class replay)

Cleaning and training/enrichment matrix examples mentioned in the web-class

Web-class audio (includes Q&A)

CLICK HERE to download the audio

 

Don’t let this happen to YOU …

Are you compromising your values … ?

For us working with the most positive and less intrusive animal training methodology there does, unfortunately, exist pressure sometimes to use more aversive techniques. The conversations and/or situations we sometimes find ourselves in have the potential to confuse … as others try to convince us to do things we know are not right. To add to this we risk damaging relationships with our friend’s families and colleagues as we resist the pressure to use aversive techniques with the animals in our care…

Consequently, we have to make sure we place ourselves around a supportive network & community as sometimes these pressures can get the better of us! … Listen to the following podcast hack/audio snippet from my episode with Louise Ginman as she shares her experience in this area.

CLICK HERE for the full podcast episode with Louise Ginman

It can be scary sometimes though to do what you know is right. For ATA member Kelli Inglis she got to the point in her Zoo job where enough was enough and after listening to a podcast episode from Animal Training Academy (where I spoke to  Hillary Hankey)… Kelli made the decision to leave.

PODCAST HACK/SNIPPET FROM THE HILLARY HANKEY EPISODE

CLICK HERE for the full podcast episode with Hillary Hankey

INTERVIEW WILL KELLI INGLIS

Q; So basically, you listened to the podcast with Hilary Hankey and then decided the following day to hand your resignation in at your zoo job?

That was exactly what happened. I’d been very unhappy in my job for a while, to a point in which my mental health was being severely affected, there were so many reasons to my unhappiness and so many times I said I wanted to leave but I never really tried to look for another job. Then I listened to the podcast and wrote my resignation letter that night.

Q: What about listening to this podcast helped you to come to that decision?

In her podcast, Hilary says “I got pushed away from my beginnings as a trainer when I started to work for these bigger organisations, and it was really cool getting to work new birds and better birds and all kinds of different animals, which should be every trainer’s dream, but it just wasn’t enough. I had very little ability to explore new ideas and couldn’t push the boundaries as a trainer, which was exactly the way that I started and I felt like I was having to make personal sacrifices for my values and ethics and it really challenged my beliefs.” For me this really hit home, this was really how I was feeling, she put everything I was thinking into words and it was a huge wake-up call. My first few zoos jobs were in small family run zoos, where you really felt like a part of the family and could really push yourself to learn. I learned how to train using positive reinforcement and was loving life. I got offered a job in a big name zoo with a great reputation and I thought “wow what a great opportunity, there’s loads of new species to work with and I can really push myself to learn more”. That is not what happened, I just felt like one of the many minions that were there to get a job done

Q: Was this a question of your values and ethics being compromised if you were to stay in the situation you were in, was it a feeling of something missing or was it something else?

It was all of it. My values and ethics were definitely being compromised, I was working to a standard that I really didn’t feel was good enough and I didn’t feel like I was pushing any boundaries or progressing my skills at all. I felt like I was just drifting along, doing my job without really experiencing it anymore. I lost all motivation to do anything as I constantly felt like I was hitting a brick wall every which way I turned.

Q: Where do you think you would be today if you hadn’t found Animal Training Academy and listened to this podcast with Hilary…?

I would probably still be in the same zoo, browsing the internet for other jobs but not really knowing what to do. I thank Ryan and ATA so much for everything I have learned and everything I have managed to achieve due to the amazing support.

Make sure you find your TRIBE!

If you want to ensure that you are consistently surrounded by the support, inspiration, and community that you need to succeed with your training then an ATA membership is just what you need… listen to what others are saying … (this is a Screenshot from Facebook earlier this month when I asked some members permission to share some of their videos publicly!)

Make sure you find your TRIBE!

Watch the video below to listen to what Bonnie Wilkins from Kiwi Birdlife Park in Queenstown New Zealand has to say about her experiences …

CLICK HERE for your exclusive $1 ATA trial membership and make sure you get the inspiration, motivation, and support you need moving forward with all your personal animal training journey! 

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Behavior explained – Ethical animal training fundamentals

Three part video series (Scroll down to start watching)

  • Are you stuck as to how to manage your animals undesirable behaviors?
  • Do you sometimes feel lost as to why your animals do what they do or why what you’re doing is not working?
  • Do you ever get frustrated at your animal’s behavior?
  • Do you want to learn about the most positive and less intrusive ways of training your animals and help provide them the highest possible welfare?

If you answer to YES to any of these questions then these videos are for you!

This three-part video series lays the foundational building blocks for everything that we do, aiming to explain how all behavior works with all species. Therefore this information is SUPER crucial for everyone to learn before managing animals behavior.

In the words of past podcast guest, Louise Ginman “Punishment starts where knowledge ends” … and Lisa Longo “we have to teach ourselves before we teach our animals” … This is why I have decided to provide this information for FREE & may it consequently be spread it as far and as wide as possible!

  • VIDEO ONE – The behavior Quadrant

This video is an excerpt from a live members only web-class conducted on 16th April 2017

  • VIDEO TWO – Punishment Defined

CLICK HERE to access a PDF version of the behavior quadrant 

  •  VIDEO THREE – The ABC’s of behavior 

This video is an excerpt from a live members only web-class conducted on 16th April 2017

If you liked these videos, you will love the ATA membership… Just imagine having the answers to all your animal behavior and training questions at your fingertips whenever you need them!

CLICK HERE NOW to gain access to your $1 Ten day membership trial – valid until Midday Fri 27th Oct NZ time! 

BONUS LEARNING – 4 Detrimental side effects of using punishment.

To help build upon your understanding of the detrimental side effects of punishment that were mentioned in VIDEO TWO I invite you to additionally learn from the wonderful Wouter Stellaard of Columbus Zoo in a podcast episode I had the pleasure of recording with him (listen at 31:52). Below I will include;

  • An embedded podcast player so if desired you can listen to the episode without leaving this page (listen at 31:50).
  • A link to the podcast writeup.
  • The specific audio snippet/podcast hack where Wouter talks about this (3:31 mins long)

CLICK HERE to go to see the full Wouter Stellaard Podcast episode & write-up

PODCAST HACK – below is the specific segment where Wouter talks about punishment (3:31 minutes long)

If you liked these videos, you will love the ATA membership… Just imagine having the answers to all your animal behavior and training questions at your fingertips whenever you need them!

CLICK HERE NOW to gain access to your $1 Ten day membership trial – valid until Midday Fri 27th Oct NZ time! 

 

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Top 10 ATA FB shared members training videos 2017

FOREWORD

Within the Animal Training Academy (ATA) community, you never know what each day is going to bring. As the founder of ATA, I have the pleasure of witnessing the successes, support, and motivation that the community provides for both myself, other members and the wider community. Well done ATA members you are sensational and should be SUPER proud!

Ryan Cartlidge, ATA founder/director

  • TEN – Pets @ the table

If you live with a cat of ever have it’s possible you have experienced one that climbs all over the dinner table at undesirable times and jumps on the kitchen bench! In this video from Ayoe Hoff in the UK she beautifully uses station training to teach table manners with her two cats Elvis and Rylee.

Foundational behaviors to the rescue once again…

Or if you have a friend of the feathered variety maybe you will enjoy how ATA member Julian Novoa and Rasta the Alexandrian parrot from Melbourne Australia (at the end of the video) manage dinner time together.

  • NINE – Targeting by various ATA members

This was a video prepared to advertise an ATA members only LIVE web-class on target training.  The video showcases the universality of target training performed by ATA members. Targeting has so many different applications and can be used in so many different situations to achieve so many different goals!

The sky is the limit!

  • EIGHT – Jojo the Semi-Blind Ringtail possum

You would have seen Jojo featured in the previous video, this it the extended video from Shalon Mead of Melbourne Australia. I wanted to share it again because it requires special accolades as Jojo is actually partially blind. Jojo is a rehabilitated Ringtail possum from Australia and due to her injury, the decision was made not to release her back into the wild.

Vanilla essence was used on the end of this target stick to add an extra piece of information into Jojo’s environment helping her understand what was required and where to stick her nose! This was also eventually used to ask her to voluntarily come out of her nest box and also to be weighed. Can you see her using her nose?

  • SEVEN – Empowerment training 

What earns the click?

The criterion is pretty simple really just do something novel. This great training is done by ATA member Rose-Marie Helle and her Nordic Spitz Hund Flickan in Denmark. Rose reported after starting this training watching Flickan’s confident soar in new settings and surroundings! … An important traiing goal for us all to consider!

  • SIX – See-saw horsey

To build on the above video and showcase some of the great confidence building training done by ATA members check out Carola Schlanhof and the beautiful Lele the horse practicing their balance on these saw saws in Austria.

  • FIVE – Tortise Step-ups

How do you move a baby tortoise from location A to location B? Get it to step onto your hand of course!

Watch Linda Brodzik and Dewberry the tortoise (living in Nebraska, USA) in this beautiful demonstration of Choice. A choice is offered to Dewberry by asking if he/she (sex is still undetermined) is ready to be moved around by getting him to climb onto Linda’s hand. SO COOL!

  • FOUR – Chicken target

This video was the first time trainer Kim Archer, from Brooklands Zoo in New Zealand had target trained an animal from scratch. This video was shared on FB to demonstrate Kim’s awesomeness and the wonderful progress she had made with Snow (Van Gough) the Chicken.

  • THREE – Group training

In this video, Veronica Gordon from Halls Gap Zoo Australia shows the value in color and shapes to help us train more then one animal at a time… Check out the amazing training she does with these three beautiful Meerkats

  • TWO – Alpaca Weighing

How do you weigh an Alpaca… with some stationing and targeting obviously?

Just ask Jo Beattie! Here you can watch the sensational work she has done with Ricotta the Alpaca at Brooklands Zoo in New Zealand. GOLD STARS all around for you  Jo ! Wonderful training 🙂

  • ONE – R+ Horseback riding

In an animal training genre steeped in tradition, it’s so beautiful to see the application of our science used with such Beauty! Well done Angelica Hesselius for this wonderful piece of training. This is SO GREAT … below you will watch the edit of one of Angelica’s video’s used to  welcome her into the ATA community via FB ?

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