The sun came out in Oregon today for ClickerExpo—three intense days of learning about animal training in theory and practice. I knew I was in the right place when I saw at the hotel lobby entrance the large hamper full of towels for cleaning dog feet! The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel was infused with positive reinforcement from the conference opening remarks.
I started the morning with Oops! What to Do When Mistakes Happen, a Learning Session with Ken Ramirez. Ken focused on all the different options trainers have when animals don’t respond to a cue.
I appreciated the way he clearly deciphered the alphabet soup of jargon that is used to label different training methods, and dissected the challenges and consequences of using each method.
After a great lunch, I participated in a Lab led by Julie Shaw and Debbie Martin called Inside the Behavior Clinic. Three local dogs were used to demonstrate how dog owners are interviewed and behavior problems are assessed. I handled one of the dogs (belonging to a client), a young Labrador who was making his first visit to downtown Portland. The Lab was in one of the smaller conference rooms, and every effort was made to make the dogs comfortable and calm. The audience watched the presenters going through the process of gathering information, making observations, and analyzing the behavior of the three dogs. As the body language and reactions of each dog were observed, a picture was put together describing possible causes of the behavior in question. The audience was also invited to make observations, and could ask questions during the Lab. Although we had limited time with each dog, it was amazing how much could be learned by the critical analysis of body movement.
With a background in biology and teaching high school students, lifelong dog enthusiast Dawn Gilkison, KPA CTP, now provides in-home dog training services and seminars. Dawn's experience with a variety of canine sports and skills makes it easy for her to provide personalized training plans for dogs and families.
