Sure, ClickerExpo is all about training. But plenty of people come who aren't trainers. Some of them have some other professional reason to come; they're veterinarians, or manufacturers, or journalists. Some people are just there because their Significant Other wanted to come; or, like one teenager I met last year, because they were brought along to babysit a litter of puppies in the hotel room.
And they have a terrific time! They stop me in the halls: "I had no idea this was going to be so fascinating!" "So enjoyable!" "Such a great experience!"
Why do these people, who may not even own a pet, have so much fun at ClickerExpo? It's not necessarily because they've suddenly become trainers-in-the-making (although that can happen too). Maybe it's because in spite of the crowds and the excitement, ClickerExpo has an unusually serene environment; there's something downright pleasurable about just walking around.
Take the dogs. Many outsiders comment that they've never seen so many calm dogs in one place before. There's no barking. Not only that, they begin to realize that there's no wild lunging dogs, no timid dogs, no dogs tangling their leashes around passers-by, sniffing every inch of the ground, or roughhousing uninvited with any dog within reach. But it's not just that the dogs are well-behaved; the dogs are...well, they seem happy. It's a different experience.
Then there are the people. Walking through the crowded halls, or in the restaurants or hotel gardens or elevators, you can't help but notice the general attitude: everyone else is having fun too. It's not like some events. You won't overhear putdowns, or bursts of snide laughter revealing someone's being made fun of, or angry complaints about the management or the program or what someone else did or didn't say or do.
There's a staff member in every room, and people on duty every minute, to make sure any problem that does come up is taken care of; so problems don't last. But it's more than that. The staff, the teachers, and many of the attendees are, after all, clicker trainers. They know how to get results without throwing their weight around. They are in the habit of reinforcing what they like and ignoring what they don't. They are partners with their animals, instead of boss and servant; and potential friends with everyone else, instead of potential fault-finders and enemies. Imagine. 450 people in one place who don't make a practice of getting what they want by making trouble.
Sometimes the most dramatic events at ClickerExpo are not the ones that occur on stage. And sometimes what's dramatic about them is that Nothing Happened. Here's an example. Last year I was going down a hotel corridor toward the hotel foyer, talking to master trainer Janece Rollet, as a plump older woman came through the lobby with a little white Maltese terrier straining on the leash out in front of her. A young woman with a large German shepherd mix at her side was coming through the lobby in the opposite direction. She saw the uncontrolled toy dog headed her way; spoke quietly to her big dog, moved a step to the side, and asked the dog to turn, sit, and look at her. The big dog focused on his owner, face relaxed and ears up. Meanwhile the Maltese fluffball went safely past, behind the bigger dog. Then the big dog got a click, and a treat. Janece put a hand on the shoulder of the owner of the Shepherd mix and said "Nicely done."
Many big dogs have a hard time resisting grabbing those little fluffballs: "Looks like a rabbit to me!" The owner of the Maltese might have been wise to keep the dog in her arms or on a short leash, around so many big dogs; even clicker trained dogs may not be perfect yet. But she didn't. Everyone's commitment to reinforcement showed, to me, in that moment: in the owner who deftly kept her strong young dog out of temptation's way, not with a yank on the collar or a rapid retreat or a harsh word, but with a trained, on-cue behavior, sitting with attention—and in the teacher who, just passing by in the hall, stopped and reinforced the owner at her moment of success.
Clicker training brings out the best in people, and of course, in their dogs. You've never seen so many breeds, not just so well behaved but lively, interacting, friendly, and ready to learn more. Thinking about a puppy? Ask people about their dogs, and most of all, about what clicker training can do to make a new addition to your household the pet you dream of having. Shop for all things doggish in the ClickerExpo store, enjoy film night, great meals, and roundtable lunchtime discussions, and watch clicker training in action, not just on stage but in the halls and on all sides.
And that teenager who was just there to babysit puppies? She went home to write her senior thesis on operant conditioning, plus an article for the school paper and an essay for her college application. She clicker trained her own dog, too, and is now in the school she was praying to get into, working toward a degree and a dedicated career in animal behavior.
So come and see what you find for yourself, at ClickerExpo. Enjoy not only the information, but the experience of being surrounded by beautiful dogs, gentle, kind teachers and trainers, and the company of a whole lot of animal lovers just like yourself. ClickerExpo is a true animal lover's holiday.
Karen Pryor is the founder and CEO of Karen Pryor Clicker Training and Karen Pryor Academy. She is the author of many books, including Don't Shoot the Dog and Reaching the Animal Mind. Learn more about Karen Pryor or read Karen's Letters online.
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