KenRamirez

Seminar

ANIMAL TRAINING & BEHAVIOR

through Positive Reinforcement

further challenging and advanced issues

with Ken Ramirez

07. - 09. DECEMBER 2007

at Munich / Germany

3 days Seminar learning, watching, asking Ken Ramirez.

A valuable chance to enhance your knowledge about operant conditioning, training situations and problem solving with positive reinforcement.

Written by an attendee :

"Ken Ramirez is a terrific teacher. His allover knowledge about animal training and behavior is significant. When I attended a seminar with him I felt inspired by his teaching abilities, in fact he used positive reinforcement with us attendees as well. The seminar was packed with interesting themes and profound knowledge. Although there was a lot of stuff to absorb, it was at no point boring. Ken got never tired to answer questions, even in breaks he answerded willingly all questions asked. His seminars are mind expanding, exciting and even funny. His amount of stories and experience about his life and training occurrences with animals, mixed with video sequenzes, which illustrate the themes of his seminar very well, makes attendence just plain fun."

The seminar will be held theoretical. There are no life sessions with dogs planned.

Class Outline ( hand out ):

DAY 1 – BASIC TRAINING PRINCIPLES ( start 9 o´clock )

I. Class Overview

II. Before Training Begins

A. History of Animal Training

B. Why Training is Important

1. Training = Teaching

2. Cornerstones of Animal Care

3. Primary Reasons for Training

4. Secondary Reasons for Training

C. General Animal Care

1.  Species (Breed) natural history

2.  Individual animal history

3.  Diet and Nutrition

4.  Environment

5.  Record keeping

D. Interaction and Trust

III. Basic Operant Conditioning

A. Terminology

B. The Basic Science

1. Operant vs. Classical Conditioning

2. Laws of Learning

3. ABCs (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence)

C. Reinforcement

1. Reinforce vs. Reward

2. Positive Reinforcement

3. Marker Signals

D. Shaping

1. Successive Approximations

2. Shaping techniques

3. Pryor’s 10 Laws of Shaping

E. Stimulus Control (Cueing)

1. Discriminative Stimulus (SD)

2. Fading

3. Pryor’s rules of stimulus control

4. Fluency vs. latency

5. Superstitious behavior

F. Dealing with Incorrect Responses

1. Ignore the unwanted behavior (LRS)

2. Time-outs

3. Deprivation is not the answer

4. Aversive techniques (negative reinforcement & punishment)

5.  Redirection

G.  Training and Shaping Plans

IV.  Non-Formal Interactions

A.  Active vs. Passive Training

B.  Technique vs. Instinct

C.  Developing Relationships

D.  Ethograms

V.  Cooperative Training (Husbandry)

A.  Cooperative Behavior

B.  Desensitization

1.  Habituation (Passive)

2.  Counter-conditioning (Active)

3.  Generalization vs. discrimination

C. General Animal Care Principles

1. Husbandry – the four cornerstones of animal care

2.  The veterinarian’s role – communication

3.  The Dozen most common medical training mistakes

D. Basic training techniques

1. Solid basics

2.General body exams – finding the right position

3. Blood sampling/injections and invasive procedures

4. Working around the mouth and head

5. Removal from the environment

6. Other husbandry

DAY 2 – ADVANCED TRAINING CONCEPTS

I. Advanced Techniques & Concepts

A. Defining an advanced concept

B.  Black & white – areas of gray

C.  Secondary reinforcers

1. Definitions

2. Teaching secondaries

3. Premack principle

D. Advanced notes on reinforcement

E. Schedules of Reinforcement

F. Punishment, negative reinforcers & aversive stimulus

1. Definitions

2. Real world use of these concepts

3. Rules for using punishers

4. Public’s perception

G. Conditioned punishers

1. Delta

2. “No” signals (NRM)

H. Recall signals

I.   Chained behaviors

J.   Other advanced concepts

1. Continue signals

2. Combination behaviors

3. End of session signals

II. Aggression

A. A natural phenomenon

B. Looking at it from operant perspective

C. General rules about Aggression

D. Rules on reducing aggression

E.  Dangerous situations

F.  Intervention

G.  Putting aggression on cue

III.       Problem Solving

A. Planning

I. Class Overview
II. Before Training Begins	A. History of Animal Training
	B. Why Training is Important
		1. Training = Teaching
		2. Cornerstones of Animal Care
		3. Primary Reasons for Training
		4. Secondary Reasons for Training
	C. General Animal Care
		1. Species (Breed) natural history
		2. Individual animal history
		3. Diet and Nutrition
		4. Environment
		5. Record keeping
	D. Interaction and Trust
III. Basic Operant Conditioning
	A. Terminology
	B. The Basic Science
		1. Operant vs. Classical Conditioning
		2. Laws of Learning
		3. ABCs (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence)
	C. Reinforcement
		1. Reinforce vs. Reward
		2. Positive Reinforcement
		3. Marker Signals
	D. Shaping
		1. Successive Approximations
		2. Shaping techniques
		3. Pryor’s 10 Laws of Shaping
	E. Stimulus Control (Cueing)
		1. Discriminative Stimulus (SD)
		2. Fading
		3. Pryor’s rules of stimulus control
		4. Fluency vs. latency
		5. Superstitious behavior
	F. Dealing with Incorrect Responses
		1. Ignore the unwanted behavior (LRS)
		2. Time-outs
		3. Deprivation is not the answer
		4. Aversive techniques (negative reinforcement & punishment)
		5. Redirection
	G. Training and Shaping Plans
IV. Non-Formal Interactions
	A. Active vs. Passive Training
	B. Technique vs. Instinct
	C. Developing Relationships
	D. Ethograms
V. Cooperative Training (Husbandry)
	A. Cooperative Behavior
	B. Desensitization
		1. Habituation (Passive)
		2. Counter-conditioning (Active)
		3. Generalization vs. discrimination
	C. General Animal Care Principles
		1. Husbandry – the four cornerstones of animal care
		2. The veterinarian’s role – communication
		3. The Dozen most common medical training mistakes
	D. Basic training techniques
		1. Solid basics
		2.General body exams – finding the right position
		3. Blood sampling/injections and invasive procedures
		4. Working around the mouth and head
		5. Removal from the environment
		6. Other husbandry

I. Advanced Techniques & Concepts
	A. Defining an advanced concept
	B. Black & white – areas of gray
	C. Secondary reinforcers
		1. Definitions
		2. Teaching secondaries
		3. Premack principle
	D. Advanced notes on reinforcement
	E. Schedules of Reinforcement
	F. Punishment, negative reinforcers & aversive stimulus
		1. Definitions
		2. Real world use of these concepts
		3. Rules for using punishers
		4. Public’s perception
	G. Conditioned punishers
		1. Delta
		2. “No” signals (NRM)
	H. Recall signals
	I. Chained behaviors
	J. Other advanced concepts
		1. Continue signals
		2. Combination behaviors
		3. End of session signals
II. Aggression
	A. A natural phenomenon
	B. Looking at it from operant perspective
	C. General rules about Aggression
	D. Rules on reducing aggression
	E. Dangerous situations
	F. Intervention
	G. Putting aggression on cue
III. Problem Solving
	A. Planning