Advance purchase only. No on-site purchase will be available.

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Level: All

Type: Session

Newcomer Orientation

08:00 AM 08:45 AM

This Session is STRONGLY recommended for first-time attendees. It will also be useful for Expo veterans who need a little refresher.

First time here? Welcome to ClickerExpo! Aaron Clayton will help you make the most of your experience in this Session designed specifically for newcomers to ClickerExpo. He will cover topics that include how to maximize your chances of winning the big daily raffle, navigating ClickerExpo with your dog, choosing courses and changing your schedule, and attending special events.

This practical but humorous 45-minute introduction to ClickerExpo is a "must" for those experiencing the magic of ClickerExpo for the first time. The Session is a wonderful refresher for Expo veterans, too!

Attend this Orientation and then follow up with the general Opening Session at 9:00am!

Course Type: General Session
Experience Level: All Levels

Speakers

Aaron Clayton

Kathy Sdao

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Level: Intermediate

Theme: Aggression & Behavior Management

Type: Session

The Anatomy of an Aggressive Dog-Training Plan

10:30 AM 12:30 PM

Now that you have decided to see clients whose dogs have aggression issues, what should be included in that type of lesson? Are you going to focus directly on the behavioral issue that the client is calling about or will you provide enough additional information to help the client stabilize this dog’s life? Will you give all of this information in one visit or will you spread it over the course of three? And how will you check up on the dog and client? Will you charge for this service? All of these questions will be answered in this Session.

When I treat dogs that have aggressive tendencies with both people and other dogs, I see the solution as a big puzzle where pieces such as dog parenting, diet, clicker training foundation behaviors, and management fit together perfectly. Although I am not going to teach the Click to Calm method per se, I am going to give you some training plans that have been used successfully to help treat dogs that have these issues.

In this Session, I will take you through my thought processes as I deal with aggressive dogs. We will walk along the continuum: everything from the first date of contact to the training session itself to the follow-up. Real-world, current case histories will be used as models to learn from.

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: Intermediate
Topic:Aggression & Behavior Management

Speakers

Emma Parsons

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Theme: Aggression & Behavior Management

Level: Advanced

Theme: Skill

Type: Session

Retrieve Reboot: Unfreeze Your Retrieve

02:00 PM 03:30 PM

Clicker training the retrieve is the way to go, of course, whether for business or leisure. But what about when things don’t go as planned? Sometimes, despite best efforts and intentions, the dog just doesn't follow the recipe! Why is it not working, and how can we fix it?

This Session will look at the common problems encountered training retrieve behaviors, such as:

Reluctant dogs—“I only open my mouth for food.”
Dogs that actually avoid the dumbbell—“Oh no… not that thing again!”
Overly enthusiastic dogs that chomp and chew—“OMG! DUMBBELL! GIMME!”
Dogs that play “keep away” with the retrieve item—“Mine! Mine! Mine!”

We will peel away the layers of this complex behavior chain, identify complicating factors, and diagnose weak links. We will also explore strategies to problem-solve even the most challenging retrievers!

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: Advanced
Topic: Skill

Speakers

Hannah Branigan

This Lab will focus on the tools needed for advanced conceptual learning. Because of the advanced nature of the task, participants will only be able to participate in the first steps of each exercise, which will set them up to continue the work and succeed when they return home. All exercises are basic, but are the essence to successful concept training.

Course type: Learning Lab
Experience level: Advanced
Topic: Skill

Speakers

Ken Ramirez

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BREAK

03:30 PM 04:00 PM

Use this time to stretch your legs, give your dog a stroll outside, or visit the ClickerExpo Store for a demonstration!

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Theme: Aggression & Behavior Management

Level: Foundation

Type: Session

Elimination Happens!

04:00 PM 04:45 PM

A top behavioral reason why dogs and cats are relinquished is inappropriate elimination. Pet owners do not care if Fido can do a 3-minute down stay on his bed as an adolescent if he is still urinating and defecating on their family room carpet. Acquire some quick tips for helping pet owners be successful with teaching appropriate elimination habits for dogs and cats. Find out what questions to ask to determine if the behavior is possibly related to a medical condition or lack of training, or due to stress or anxiety.

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: Foundation
Topic: Aggression & Behavior Management

Speakers

Debbie Martin

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Level: All

Type: Session

Lining up the "How", "What", and "Why" of Training

04:00 PM 05:45 PM

What do prices, your weight, and temperature all have in common?

They all go up and down. Why? Why shouldn’t weight go in and out like your waistband? What has hotter got to do with going up? Why is quantity linked with verticality? Why is your brain surprised by these questions? And what does all this have to do with clicker training? It turns out quite a lot.

The link between quantity and verticality is an example of a primary metaphor - meaning a connection that is made between two seemingly unrelated experiences. Our brains are designed to create these connections. They happen so early in life that they become automatic and largely unconscious. They influence both what we think and what we cannot think. Cognitive linguist, George Lakoff would say that these “primary metaphors create realities in our mind and we don’t even notice."

His exploration of metaphors helps us understand so much about our training - beginning with why we were attracted to clicker training in the first place. It explains the naysayers who are trying to convince us that we’ll “ruin our animal with all those treats.” Whether it’s with your dog in the local dog park, or your horse in the boarding barn, have you even wondered why so many people want to tell you how wrong you are to clicker train? Bring out your treat bag, and the sharks attack! Why? And what do you do about it? Can you reframe the conversation so you create a more productive outcome? How can you change the dynamic so you no longer have to wait until everyone else has left before you bring out your clicker and treats? How can have an internet conversation about your training choices without feeling as though the sharks are circling?

That’s just the beginning. When you first explored clicker training, did it feel like a homecoming? Did the how, what, and why of training all match up? Or did you feel as though you were being pulled in two different directions? You wanted to click and treat, but when your dog jumped up on you, or your horse crowded into your space, you still felt the urge to correct. What is the source of this ambivalence? Understanding the primary metaphors that influence your behavior means that you can be more aware, more deliberate in your training choices.

And why shouldn’t you correct that unwanted behavior? In clicker training we are urged to focus on what we WANT our learner TO DO - not the unwanted behavior? The cognitive linguists would tell us this is wise advice. Every time you focus on the unwanted behavior you strengthen it. You may be clicking your dog for four on the floor, or your horse for backing out of your space, but if your focus is still on stopping a behavior you don’t want, you may not be seeing the changes you hoped for. It can be very subtle, and it can feel as though you are a positive trainer, but those unconscious influencers may be inadvertently strengthening the very behavior you DON'T want.

Changing this dynamic begins with becoming aware of the metaphors that influence your behavior. What are the primary metaphors that form your core values? That’s what we’ll be exploring in this talk. It’s a fascinating exploration of language and the connections to training. Is this program for you? Let’s find out: Are you curious about why people behave the way they do? Do you have conversations with other people and wish they could go better? Do you want to be an even better trainer? Yes, yes, and yes! Then this program is definitely for you.

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: All Levels

Speakers

Alexandra Kurland

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Level: Intermediate

Theme: Skill

Type: Session

Collar Cues: Communicating through Touch

04:00 PM 05:45 PM

Collar cues are valuable communication and training tools that are applicable for any service-dog work or dog-sport training. Clicker training your dog how to move via directional collar cues opens a gateway to faster, more efficient training, and provides an additional communication tool when training new behaviors or improving existing behaviors. Training young puppies how to respond to collar cues can provide a powerful foundation skill that supports many other goals.

Join internationally renowned guide-dog trainer and multi-time world champion freestyler Michele Pouliot as she shows you how clicker trained collar cue behaviors can become powerfully positive training tools to add to your toolbox.

This Session is recommended for anyone starting to train a new puppy, training service dogs of any type, competing in canine sports, or simply desiring an easily managed dog on leash.

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: Intermediate and Above
Topic: Skill

Speakers

Michele Pouliot

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Level: Intermediate

Theme: Skill

Theme: Science

Type: Session

Ideas that Should Die: Outdated, Outmoded & Misunderstood Behavior Science

04:00 PM 04:45 PM

The inertia that results from so-called conventional wisdom about how behavior works is a big obstacle to the widespread adoption of positive reinforcement-based training. Discussions quickly devolve into rancorous debates based on little more than personal belief and political affiliations. One example is the intrinsic vs. extrinsic reinforcement debate. As a result of many myths and misunderstandings, learners fail to benefit from the wellspring of information that is the result of decades of application of the technology of behavior change known as applied behavior analysis (ABA). At the center of this problem is the deeply rooted belief that behavior exists inside individuals, independent of the conditions in which they behave. In this Session, common myths and misunderstandings will be discussed so that participants are better able to address them.

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: Intermediate
Topic: Skill, Science

Jesús Rosales-Ruiz, Ph.D

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Ticketed Meal

Networking Event: 70's Inspired

07:00 PM 09:00 PM

Fill your stomach and your personal organizer at the same time! You'll be exchanging ideas, contacts and more. Don't forget your business cards, and your love of DISCO!

Digital Polaroid Photo Booth, Entry to the Raffle for everyone who dresses up, and a mystery game!

Get your tickets now! Advance purchase only. No on-site purchase will be available.

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Ticketed Meal

Breakfast

07:00 AM 09:00 AM

Advance purchase only. No on-site purchase will be available.

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: All Levels
Topic: Teaching Others

Speakers

Theresa McKeon

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Level: All

Type: Session

Bravo Presents: How Food Affects Behavior

08:00 AM 09:00 AM

Bette Schubert is one of the founders of Bravo and a raw diet expert.

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Level: All

Theme: Skill

Theme: Competition

Type: Session

The Fab Five: Concepts That Will Make Your Training Rock!

09:00 AM 10:30 AM

Visiting from Sweden, Emelie and Eva bring a unique training style to ClickerExpo. As readers of their book, Agility Right from the Start, already know, the ideas these two trainers present transfer extremely well to training venues other than agility just as well. In this Session, Emelie and Eva will connect the dots for you, condensing their principles and procedures into “five favorites”—five concepts that will bring your training to new heights.

Are you curious about what “Good Agility Practices” look like when applied to obedience training? Can you see the similarities between heel-work and weave-pole exercises? And, what’s up with those spontaneous starts, anyway?
Everyone committed to reward-based training will enjoy learning from this Swedish duo. If you are looking for a competitive edge or simply for more joy and confidence in your training, this Session is for you!

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: All Levels
Topic: Skill, Competition

Speakers

Eva Bertilsson

Emelie Johnson Vegh

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Level: Foundation

Type: Session

What a Cue Can Do: Developing Cueing Skills

09:00 AM 10:30 AM

Effective cueing is essential for achieving reliable responses. The process of adding cues in clicker training is different than in other training methods. Getting behaviors on cue is often the most difficult concept for new clicker trainers to understand because the process is somewhat counterintuitive.

This Learning Session is about choosing and maintaining effective cues for operant behaviors as well as about understanding how cues are integral to more advanced training applications. Kathy Sdao will show you how to use cues to gain control of operant behaviors. You'll learn what a cue is—and isn't—and how cues differ from commands. We'll discuss how to choose cues to maximize clarity, how to transfer a known cue to a novel cue, and how cues function in behavior chains. You'll also learn how cues can be transferred and combined to produce complex and flexible behaviors, and how to avoid the “good enough” syndrome.

Course Type: Learning Session
Experience Level: Foundation

Speakers

Kathy Sdao

Emma Parsons

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Theme: Aggression & Behavior Management

Level: Advanced

Theme: Shelter & Rescue

Type: Lab

Theme: Skill

On Guard! Resource-Guarding Lab

09:00 AM 10:30 AM

Participant notes:
This Session/Lab will accommodate approximately 12 dog/handler teams. Teams should have advanced clicker training experience. Dogs must be comfortable working in close quarters with other working dogs. You may participate with your dog or you may attend as an observer. Observers should not bring their dogs to the Lab.

In this Learning Lab and Session combination, Lindsay will use the first 30 minutes as a learning session to explain her resource-guarding protocol. After that, she will show participants how to practice the steps to modify food-guarding, based on a statistically successful protocol that she developed. The protocol applies force-free, scientific principles of desensitization and counter-conditioning to modify a dog's existing negative association with food-bowl interference and removal.

Lab participants will develop their treatment skills by practicing the steps within the protocol, learning to assess behavioral criteria for progressing through the treatment plan, and troubleshooting complexities that may arise as dogs move through the protocol.

Course Type: Learning Session/Learning Lab
Experience Level: Advanced
Topic: Shelter & Rescue, Aggression & Behavior Management, Skill

Speakers

Lindsay Wood Brown

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BREAK

10:30 AM 11:00 AM

Use this time to stretch your legs, give your dog a stroll outside, or visit the ClickerExpo Store for a demonstration!

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Level: All

Theme: Teaching Others

Type: Session

What a Pithy: Making Classes Memorable

11:00 AM 12:30 PM

“Pithy” means “concisely cogent.” It describes an essential skill of the best training instructors. We work in challenging conditions: teaching two species simultaneously a series of precise physical skills, often in less-than-ideal environments. We must communicate unfamiliar concepts to our human students quickly. Explore creative ways to present this information concisely (i.e., in few words) and cogently (i.e., in a powerfully convincing way).

Summary of Presentation
Part of the job of a pet-dog instructor is to communicate basic learning principles—about reinforcement, timing, criteria, cues, generalization, and more—to novice students. But we are limited in the amount of verbal explanations we can provide. Extended lectures lead to bored and noisy dogs. If we challenge ourselves to be creative, we can devise teaching approaches that are brief, memorable, and effective. Metaphors, analogies, parables, and anecdotes can convey broad or advanced concepts meaningfully. Cartoons can also express ideas succinctly; just think how much impact a political cartoon can have.

This presentation will be an exercise in generative thinking. It will attempt to spark your own ingenuity and give you fresh ideas for classes that may have become stale after years of repetition. Come prepared to learn innovative instructional tools that can bring life to your teaching.
Learning objectives:

To learn to use language in creative ways to convey jargon and complex training concepts to students
To become familiar with several forms of narrative devices instructors can use to simplify and clarify their information

This Session will focus on:

Teaching as performance art
How to be “sticky”
Metaphors and analogies
Stories and parables
Perspective shifts
Humor
Avoiding clichés
A few examples of concepts we can use as practice

Participant notes:
We will have approximately 10 dog/handler teams. To participate, your dog should already be fluent at performing a simple targetingbehavior to an object or to someone’s fingertips or palm (i.e., be able to do at least 5 repetitions in 30 seconds of “touch nose or paw to target — hear click — eat treat — return immediately to touch target again”). Handlers should have basicclicker training mechanical skills (the treat follows the click, the click overlaps the desired behavior, etc.). You may participate with your dog or you may attend as an observer. To participate in any Lab, you are expected to attend the prerequisite Learning Session.

We will add a cue to a simple targeting behavior, and then begin the process of teaching the dogs to wait for that cue. We will add a different type of cue to a previously known behavior (e.g. physical for verbal) and, if time allows, may also spend time problem-solving individual cueing-related issues handlers may be having with their dogs.

Lab participants will get a chance to refine their understanding of how to add cues to newly shaped behaviors. Skills covered will be:

How to know when a behavior is ready for a cue
How to present cues cleanly and consistently, so what you are signaling makes sense to your animal
How observation and great timing help minimize cuing errors
How to respond if your animal makes a mistake
How to begin teaching your animal to wait for cues, without the use of extinction
How to replace ineffective or poisoned cues with new ones

Crossing Chasms: Understanding Trainer and Veterinary Perspectives on Animal Care

02:00 PM 03:45 PM

Trainers and veterinarians have so many things in common. They all:

Are passionate about animals
Have a desire to provide the animals they work with the best care possible
Work with individual clients
Are professionals with unique knowledge and skills

Despite these common goals, the tension and difficulties these professionals sometimes face when working together can create serious problems that get in the way of serving the clients and their animals successfully. In this Session, Debbie and Ken will share their experiences, each having worked extensively on both the training and veterinary sides of animal care. The goal is to share the unique perspectives of both professions and suggest steps that will aid in improved cooperation.
Debbie will focus on the medical model for behavior classification, the challenge of communication between professionals who are often the authority figures in their fields, the perspective of the trainer and the perspective of the veterinarian (common concerns each has about each other).
Ken will focus on a model that has been successful when veterinarians and trainers are working for the same organization, and how that model might transfer to those working with individual clients. He will also share his perspectives on communication challenges, individual perspectives, and solutions for working together.

Ken and Debbie will then open the Session to questions and discussion from attendees, looking for additional perspectives and questions that can help all of us move toward a more cohesive approach to accomplishing animal health care goals.

Course Type: Session
Experience Level: All levels
Topic:Veterinary

Speakers

Debbie Martin

Peggy Hogan

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BREAK

03:45 PM 04:15 PM

04:15 PM 05:45 PM

In 2010, Jen Digate adopted a traumatized, fifteen year old mustang. Tarot had been gathered from the wild as a mature stallion who had spent his entire life solely in the company of other horses. Each year of captivity, for six years, he went through one new home, until they too decided he was too difficult to handle. For his seventh home, he landed with Jen. Armed with the science of positive reinforcement, open expectations and a video camera, Jen began the slow and patient work of teaching Tarot humans could be reliable and training could be reinforcing. Watch video of Tarot from his first training sessions to his most recent and see how clicker training made a new life possible for him. The session will include detailed explanation of core training principles and a deep look into LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive) as both a philosophy AND a practice.

Speakers

Jen Digate

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Open Event

Book & Media Signing

06:00 PM 06:30 PM

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Ticketed Meal

Dinner and Panel Discussion

07:15 PM 09:30 PM

Room with a View: A Training Conversation

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Ticketed Meal

Breakfast

07:00 AM 09:00 AM

Advance purchase only. No on-site purchase will be available.

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Schedule

Registration

Welcome Reception, presented by Karen Pryor Academy

Store Open

Registration Open

Breakfast

Store Open

Newcomer Orientation

Opening Session: The X-perience Factor

BREAK

A Moment of Science: Clicker Training 101

The Anatomy of an Aggressive Dog-Training Plan

Dr. No: How Teaching an Animal to Say "No" Can be the Right Prescription

Let's Get Started! Introducing Your Horse to Clicker Training

Tricky Motivators

Play it Forward: Using Cues to Make Play Fun Again

Lunch and Round Table Discussion

KPA Lunch

Baby's First Steps: Foal-Raising

Building Behavior: Shape the Future

Retrieve Reboot: Unfreeze Your Retrieve

The Great Divide: Is it Operant or Classical?

Practice Makes Perfect - with Locum!

How to Get Started with Concept Training

BREAK

Elimination Happens!

Lining up the "How", "What", and "Why" of Training

Collar Cues: Communicating through Touch

Ideas that Should Die: Outdated, Outmoded & Misunderstood Behavior Science

If You Build It, They Will Come: Training a Reliable Recall

Building Behavior: Shape the Future - In Action

At Long Last! Creating Longer-Duration Behaviors

Poisoned Cues: Diagnosis, Analysis & Repair

Networking Event: 70's Inspired

Breakfast

Store Open

Registration Open

Teaching & Training at the Next Level: Karen Pryor Academy

Safety in Numbers: Working with Multiple Horses

Look Away from the Dog

Bravo Presents: How Food Affects Behavior

The Fab Five: Concepts That Will Make Your Training Rock!

What a Cue Can Do: Developing Cueing Skills

Full House? Working & Living with Multiple Animals

Riding with Clicker Training

At Long Last! Creating Longer-Duration Behaviors - In Action

On Guard! Resource-Guarding Lab

BREAK

What a Pithy: Making Classes Memorable

The Rat Is Never Wrong: Training with an Errorless Learning Mindset

Fail-Safe: Cracking the Code for Ultra Depend-Ability

Let’s Stay Together: Start Your Horses Under Saddle at Home

Love It! Effective Non-Food Reinforcement

What a Cue Can Do - In Action!

Lunch and Roundtable Discussions

Loopy Training

Crossing Chasms: Understanding Trainer and Veterinary Perspectives on Animal Care

Control is an Illusion: Stimulus Control without Frustration

From Fear to Near: Behaviors that Change Horse Husbandry - Part 1

Fail-Safe: Cracking the Code for Ultra Depend-Ability - In Action

Collar Cues - In Action!

Effective Affection: How to Get it Right

From Fear to Near: Behaviors that Change Horse Husbandry - Part 2

BREAK

Help Your Teacher Help You

Animals in Control: The Choice Is Theirs

We Just Have to Dish: Training, Science, and Nerdy Stuff with Kathy & Susan

Dr. Dolittle, I Presume

Game On! Train or Be Trained - Part 1

Healing a Wild Stallion

Book & Media Signing

Dinner and Panel Discussion

Breakfast

Store Open

Registration Open

Words Matter: The Impact of Language Choice

All Aboard! Trailer-Loading Made Easy

Wanted: Training Consultant (Those Good with Animals Need Not Apply!)

Train That Chain: Behavior Chains

High Precision, High Scores