The ORCA Annual Seminar was AWESOME!

Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals -ORCA @ UNT... March 10th, 2012

This was a FANTASTIC seminar, as it is every year.  I haven't been to any training in couple of years, besides agility training.  This was a great refresher course for the basics of positive reinforcements. I got to see example after example how using this does nothing but enhance the animals lives.  For example, basic husbandry at a Zoo, how much easier it is that the tiger comes up to the cage and offers his tail for a blood sample!  Hander is outside, safe - animal is Willing to do this...it is nothing but a win/win! In the past, that would have probably required the tiger to be tranqualized just to get a simple blood sample.
Here, we have marine mamals keepers and Zoo keepers all over the world, using this technique to do difficult tasks with large (sometimes VERY large) animals... So why can't the dog world step in line?
Yes, we have come a long way - but we still have some many that think you need to use a shock collar, you need SMACK around the dog and show them who is dominate.
My Mantra:

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Could you see someone trying to show Shamu who is dominate...? Huh... wonder who would win that?
OK, enough of that subject....
I am kind of ranting here, but I have so much going through my mind. So many things I see I need to change up in my training, new things to look at and take into consideration... Wow... it was amazing!

Bob Bailey, Ken Rameriz, Steve White, Kay Lawerence and so many more - great animal behaviorist really reminded me why I do what I do.  Clicker training was so amazing to me at first, I had to learn everything about it and that in turn had me dive deep into animal behavior... I absolutely love what this has brought to my life!