SNAKE avoidance training

with ken ramirez

A KPA LIVE!™ Class featuring real-time training and coaching WITH Ken

Available to Watch On Demand

Life-saving skills for your dog!

Learn this important protocol from Ken in just six weeks, with real-time classes over Zoom and a robust, coordinated curriculum!

Enrollment Opens on June 14, 2023. Spots are Limited!

Fewer than 10 Engage spots remain! Excel enrollment is sold out.

Tuition: $5,300 (see course page for prices in other currency)

Sold out! Sign up below to get notified when a future class will be offered.

LEARN, PRACTICE, SHARE

LIVE learning brings concepts to life

  • LEARN

    Six weeks of training, a week-by-week curriculum integrated with four LIVE virtual classes with real-time coaching, interactive learning, and Q&A. Super educational, super fun.

  • PRACTICE

    The LIVE week-by-week curriculum integrates with, and prepares you for, the weekly LIVE class. New levels of advancement each week!

  • SHARE

    Ask questions and share insights, pics, and your training videos. Celebrate progress together!

Let's Begin This Fabulous Journey, Together

KPA Live Classes Drink with Your Dog with Amber Quann JourneyKPA-Live-Classes-Snake-Avoidance-Training-With-Ken-Ramirez Learning Journey Mobile
See What's Covered in Each unit

COMPARE STUDENT LEVELS

CHOOSE YOUR STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Enroll for the Engage or Excel student experience.

  • In the Engage experience, you receive the four LIVE classes over Zoom, the integrated weekly course curriculum with both video and detailed written exercises to train the Snake Avoidance protocol; the class discussion forum for comments, questions, and video sharing; access to the class recordings and curriculum for one year.
  • In the Excel experience, you get everything above plus you are one of eight students that Ken will personally coach week-by-week through the protocol. Support from Ken includes feedback on your video submissions, coaching, prioritized Q&A during each LIVE class, and a detailed written assessment of your progress. You might even earn a KPA SkillCheck designation in Snake Avoidance! Students based in the US will also receive the biological material to train the protocol.
Compare the differences below and choose the experience that works best for you!

Excel

SOLD OUT

$399

Only 8 spots

Engage

$199

limited enrollments

SOLD OUT

4 LIVE Classes over 5 weeks, 2-2.5 hours each, 8.5 hours total

LIVE Class

Real-time coaching during LIVE classes

full participation

observe only

Q&A during LIVE classes
Recordings available post-class

4-unit curriculum coordinated with LIVE class. Includes:

  • Weekly skill videos, webinar-style (pre-recorded)

Coordinated
Curriculum

  • Fun, weekly training exercises and training challenges (downloadable)
  • Written weekly feedback on practice training videos
Weekly training time recommended for exercises

1.5-2 hours weekly

1.5-2 hours weekly

Access to class discussion forum for sharing comments, questions, and videos
Share comments

Discussion
Forum

Ask the instructor written training questions

Share practice videos and receive Instructor feedback

Up to 5 minutes per unit and 20 minutes total

Observe instructor feedback on
student videos

Share practice training videos with
the class
Unlimited submissions
Unlimited submissions
Eligible for SkillCheck assessment

SkillCheck

Evaluation
from Ken Ramirez

Submit assessment video for up to 30 days
after the class ends

Eligible to earn SkillCheck designation in Snake Avoidance (must meet set criteria)

LIVE class recordings - 1 year

Post Course
Access

Unit video lectures - 1 year

Unit exercises and training challenges - 1 year

More

Course-completion certificate
CEU-eligible

Side by side comparison

CHOOSE YOUR STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Enroll for the Engage or Excel student experience.

  • In the Engage experience, you receive the four LIVE classes over Zoom; the integrated weekly course curriculum with both video and written exercises to train your dog; the class discussion forum for comments, questions, and video sharing; access to the class recordings and curriculum for one year.
  • In the Excel experience, you get everything above plus you are one of eight students that Amber will personally coach week-by-week through the class material. Support from Amber includes feedback on your video submissions, coaching, prioritized Q&A during each LIVE class, and a detailed written assessment of your progress.

Compare the differences below and choose the experience that works best for you!

LIVE Class

4 LIVE Classes over 4 weeks, 2-2.5 hours each, 8.5 hours total
Real-time coaching during LIVE classes (observe only)
Q&A during LIVE classes
Recordings available post-class

Coordinated Curriculum

4-unit curriculum coordinated with LIVE class. Includes:
  • Weekly skill videos, webinar-style, pre-recorded
  • Fun, weekly training exercises and training challenges (downloadable)
Weekly training time recommended for exercises (1.5-2 hours weekly)

Discussion Forum

Access to class discussion forum for sharing comments, questions, and videos
Share comments
Observe Amber's feedback on student videos
Share practice training videos with the class (Unlimited submissions)

SkillCheck

Eligible for SkillCheck assessment
Evaluation from Ken Ramirez
Submit assessment video for up to 30 days after the class ends
Eligible to earn SkillCheck designation in Snake Avoidance (must meet set criteria)

Post Course Access

LIVE class recordings - 1 year
Unit video lectures - 1 year
Unit exercises and training challenges - 1 year

More

Course-completion certificate
CEU-eligible

LIVE Class

4 LIVE Classes over 4 weeks, 2-2.5 hours each, 8.5 hours total
Real-time coaching during LIVE classes(full participation)
Q&A during LIVE classes
Recordings available post-class

Coordinated Curriculum

4-unit curriculum coordinated with LIVE class. Includes:
  • Weekly skill videos, webinar-style (pre-recorded)
  • Fun, weekly training exercises and training challenges (downloadable)
  • Written weekly feedback on practice training videos
Weekly training time recommended for exercises (1.5-2 hours weekly)

Discussion Forum

Access to class discussion forum for sharing comments, questions, and videos
Share comments
Ask Amber written training questions
Share practice videos and receive Amber's feedback (Up to 5 minutes per unit and 20 minutes total)

Observe Amber's feedback on
student videos

Share practice training videos with
the class (Unlimited submissions)

SkillCheck

Eligible for SkillCheck assessment
Unit exercises and training challenges - 1 year
Submit assessment video for up to 30 days after the class ends
Eligible to earn SkillCheck designation in Drink With Your Dog® (must meet set criteria)

Post Course Access

LIVE class recordings - 1 year
Unit video lectures - 1 year
Unit exercises and training challenges - 1 year

More

Course-completion certificate
CEU-eligible
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SHOW YOUR SKILLS
EARN YOUR DESIGNATION

SkillCheckTM assessment with Ken

Meet the criteria to earn the designation during the course or up to 30 days after the course ends

Snake biological shipped to you to help your training (USA)!

Available only to the Excel experience and included in tuition 

You earned your KPA SkillCheck: Snake Avoidance digital badge!

SkillCheckTM is a formalized KPA method for teachers to provide feedback to students on the skills taught in a specific course. SkillCheck criteria are developed for each KPA course or class.

In this course, SkillCheck is available only to students in the Excel experience. You will receive an easy-to-digest assessment of your skill progress on the Snake Avoidance protocol and, if you demonstrate proficiency, you will earn the SkillCheck designation for Snake Avoidance!

KPA Snake-Avoidance-Training-With-Ken-Ramirez-Learn-with-Ken-Photo

LEARN WITH ken ramirez

Ken Ramirez is Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer at Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). He oversees educational programming and teaches courses online at Karen Pryor Academy, in-person at ClickerExpo conferences, and at KPCT's National Training Center. Ken developed his protocol to successfully teach dogs to avoid snakes using 100% positive reinforcement training through research projects and live field application of the protocol across the world.

A trainer and consultant for nearly 50 years, Ken is highly active in animal conservation worldwide. Prior to joining KPCT, he served as Executive Vice President, Animal Care and Training, at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. Ken is the author of a seminal book on animal training. A selection of his lectures is available on streaming video.

Here's What You'll Be Learning UNIT by UNIT

1

Set the foundation

And we are off! Ken teaches you  the foundational behaviors that are essential to a fluent snake avoidance behavior.  You will also learn about the history of snake avoidance training and how this life-saving protocol was developed. 

The lecture, discussion, training plans and exercises in this unit help you build these two foundation behaviors,- target indication and recall. You will get started teaching a reliable target indicator and recall, and learn how to train these behaviors to fluency. The training plans and associated exercises in this unit  will organize and focus your training time and be your indispensable guide as we “meet” in the discussion forum and until we are together in the virtual classroom.

Follow the recommended training plan because Unit 2 builds on the skills in Unit 1! We can’t wait to see everyone’s training video links and comments posted to the class forum and Ken will provide feedback on the videos and answer the questions of Excel students. Everyone should follow along and learn!.

In our virtual classroom, our Excel students will demonstrate their foundational skills progress, get coaching from Ken, share their experience and ask questions about these early steps. We’ll talk about the links to the skills taught in our next unit as well (including generalizing, desensitization, and chaining).

Skill Bonus! Learn the steps for a reliable kennel behavior.  While this behavior is not required for most snake avoidance protocols, it will be shared for those who need it and the skill will be supported and integrated into the protocol in the subsequent units.

2

desensitization, generalization, and chaining

In Unit #2, Ken helps you build on the skills you established with your dog. The lecture, discussion, training plans and exercises in this unit help you advance the target and recall behaviors, as well as the optional kennel behavior. The training plans and associated exercises in this unit focus on teaching duration and distance to these behaviors. You will also begin generalizing these behaviors to new environments and desensitizing your dog to new distractions. 

Ken will also introduce students to the importance and techniques needed for creating a strong and reliable behavior chain, and how to determine which behaviors should be chained. You will begin chaining behaviors together during your hands-on practice with your dog in preparation for your second live class meeting.

In our virtual classroom, our Excel students will demonstrate their skills progress, get coaching from Ken, share their experience and ask questions about these early steps. We’ll talk about the links to the skills taught in our next unit as well (including adding cues). 

3

Adding audible, visual, and olfactory cues

In Unit #3, Ken guides you through adding cues to the behaviors you have been working on with your dog. Specifically, Ken teaches you how to incorporate audible, visual, and olfactory cues, as well as the intricacies of handling odor, so as to avoid contamination - which ensures that your dog learns cues reliably. You will continue building on your skills by getting your trained behavior chain under stimulus control. Ken will also share his personal tips for how and where to acquire biological materials.

In our virtual classroom, our Excel students will demonstrate their skills progress and demonstrate the process of putting their chains on cue, get coaching from Ken, share their experience and ask questions about these early steps. We’ll talk about the links to the skills taught in our next unit as well (including adding cues). We’ll talk about how to bring all of their training together to accomplish the final snake avoidance behavior with their dogs, and how to prepare for the live evaluation.

There will be a two-week break between the live class for Unit #3 and the live class for Unit #4. This additional time is provided for students to continue strengthening the skills they learned in the first 3 units.

4

The finale, fine tuning, maintenance, and more

There will be a two-week break between the live class for Unit #3 and the live class for Unit #4. This additional time is provided for students to continue strengthening the skills they learned in the first 3 units.

In Unit #4, Ken will share how to avoid common challenges encountered in snake avoidance training, as well as insights from previous snake avoidance projects. Get a behind-the-scenes look at intriguing case studies and learn from past failures and mistakes. This final unit will help you understand how to fine-tune your training plan so that you can help your dog maintain their snake avoidance skills.

In our final virtual classroom, our Excel students will demonstrate their skills progress, including the final behavior chain, and receive expert tips to prepare for their final evaluation. This is your last chance to get live coaching from Ken, share your experience and ask questions about these early steps.

Join the journey!

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