FEED YOUR MINDS

1. A clicker-savvy animal with which you have an existing strong relationship. The animal should have a diverse repertoire of already trained, fluent behaviors.
2. Computer or device with high-speed internet access and a modern web browser
3. Support for Adobe PDF documents
4. Clicker, treat bag, and high-quality training treats.
5. A variety of training toys your dog enjoys, such as tug and retrieve toys
6. Ability to record video on phone, camcorder, or digital camera (if you wish to post video for Ken’s review)

This course introduces the five major concepts, teaches the foundation skills needed for all concepts, and provides in-depth training protocols and practice for match to sample.

• Match to Sample: such as “go find me an object that looks like this one” or “go find the missing person or suspect who smells like this”
• Modifier Cues: such as right/left, large/small, over/under—words that modify nouns
• Adduction: combining two behaviors to create a new one spontaneously; a cue for adducting jump and spin, for example, becomes spinning while airborne
• Imitation or Mimicry: copy what I do or what another specific animal does
• Counting or Quantity Recognition: answer the question, “how many do you see?”

If you want to teach your animal concepts, elevate your training skills, and strengthen the relationship between you and your animal, this course is perfect for you! However, experience level also matters. This course is designed for experienced positive reinforcement trainers and clicker-savvy animals. The course assumes that the student has:

• A clicker trained animal
• A strong relationship with the animal
• A diverse repertoire of fluent behaviors already trained
• An animal that enjoys learning and eagerly participates in the training process

Full Course:

• Karen Pryor Academy (KPA)
  • CEUs: 5
• The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT)
  • CPDT-KA
    • KSA Knowledge: 5
• The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC):
  • CEUs 5

Audit:

• Karen Pryor Academy (KPA)
  • CEUs: 5
• The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT)
  • CEUs: 5
• The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC):
  • CEUs: 5

This course was written by Ken Ramirez, one of the foremost experts on, and practitioners of, animal training in the world today. He has taught more than 20,000 trainers and 500 individual animals of nearly 75 species throughout his career.

A 35+ year veteran of animal care and training, Ken is the Executive Vice-President and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). Previously, he served as the Executive Vice-President of Animal Care and Animal Training at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. There he developed and supervised animal care and animal health programs, staff training and development, and public-presentation programs for the entire animal collection of more than 32,000 animals. Ken worked at Shedd for nearly 26 years.

Ken is a past president of the International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA), has been a ClickerExpo faculty member since 2005, and teaches a graduate course at Western Illinois University.

Ken 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.

The course was reviewed and approved by Karen Pryor Clicker Training, and guaranteed to be developmentally appropriate, 100% force-free, and fun for all!