Stars of the show
Another opening, another show…and what a good show it has become! We know and expect that our contributors are all leaders in their fields, sharing cutting-edge new information with us every year. But hey, as performers, too, they just get better and better.
We on the ClickerExpo faculty spend a lot of time in each other’s sessions, partly because we learn so much from each other, and partly because it’s just plain fun.
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from ClickerExpo Portland
This year Alexandra Kurland wowed everyone with the clarity of her “loopy training”—keeping up the flow of the training, vital with horses and just as important, the dog trainers realized, with dogs. Kay Laurence was back, from England, with glittering wit and equally glittering training concepts and demos, to the joy of her many fans.
New speaker Julie Shaw, from the Animal Behavior Clinic at a leading midwest veterinary university's veterinary school, talked with style and warmth about building bridges between training and the veterinary world. Tia Guest, program director for Karen Pryor Academy, introduced us to new ways to teach beginners to clicker train quickly and with joy.
Eva Bertilsson and Emelie Johnson Vegh were as surprising and amusing on stage as they are in the pages of their new book Agility Right from the Start. I stopped by just in time to catch Emelie, wearing furry white ears, playing the dog to Eva’s quick demo of using the clicker to train agility skills in dog and handler both. Attendees wrote rave reviews for both of them.
More, more, more
The speakers change, the information is always new, and usually there are five things going on at once. The biggest complaint from first-timers is that they can’t see everything they wanted, because so many things happen at the same time.
Couldn’t the best speakers give their talks twice?
Well, they’re all “Best Speakers.” That’s what keeps people coming back over and over—to catch speakers they missed last year, or to take in this year’s brand-new speakers and topics. I learned in Portland last month that at least one attendee has been to every single ClickerExpo so far.
(Hey. So have I. And I’ve loved every minute.)
We’re also asked:
When are you bringing ClickerExpo to MY hometown?
We try to go to different parts of the country every year. Where we end up depends on finding hotels that are nice enough, big enough, friendly to the idea of having 100 or more dogs around, and available on the dates we need. We’re working on next year now. We will announce ClickerExpo 2011 locations and dates soon. Meanwhile, friend us on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.
Happy clicking!
Karen Pryor
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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