Single Day Course
Thursday 31st October 2024
10am to 5pm
This course is for anyone interested in taking their dog training knowledge and skills to the next level. An exclusive opportunity to join internationally renowned trainer Ken Ramirez for a very special 1 day course aimed at all trainers interested in the world of dog training, working dogs, scent detection, conservation and more!
Planned to be the most positive and inspiring of days, this is a rare an unique opportunity to learn in-person from a world renowned dog training and behaviour expert.
Venue:-
The Bowden Room
Staffordshire County Show Ground
Weston Road
Stafford
ST18 0BD
All refreshments and lunch provided
Ken Ramirez: Biography
Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice-President and Chief Training Officer at Karen Pryor Clicker Training where he helps to oversee the vision, development and implementation of training education programs for the organisation.
Previously, Ken served as EVP of animal care and animal training at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, where he developed and supervised animal care and animal health programs, staff training and development as well as public presentation programs for more than 32,000 animals. He worked at Shedd Aquarium for over 25 years and continues as a consultant to this day.
A nearly 50-year veteran of animal care and training, Ramirez is a biologist and animal behavior specialist who has overseen or consulted on training projects for many zoological organisations throughout the world. He began his training career working with guide dogs for the visually impaired and has maintained a close affiliation to pet training throughout his career. He hosted two successful seasons of the pet training television series
Talk to the Animals that compared pet training to the important work done with training and caring for animals in zoological facilities. He has also recently worked closely with several search and rescue dog organizations, service dog groups, as well as with bomb and narcotic dogs.
Ramirez has been active in several professional organizations, including the International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA), of which he is a past president. He taught a graduate course on animal training at Western Illinois University for 20 years. Ramirez has written for numerous scientific publications and authored countless popular articles. He authored the book
ANIMAL TRAINING: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement, published in 1999. His most recent book
The Eye of the Trainer: Animal Training, Transformation, and Trust, was published in 2020.
Your Course:-
Working Dog Trainers; The Challenges and Solutions
With nearly 50 years of practical training experience, for the last 30 years Ken has consulted with many working dog programs, and together we'll examine some of the key factors of that work.
- Perspectives on Scent Discrimination - Dogs are uniquely qualified and talented at using their noses.
- Ken will explore the training of scent discrimination in a variety of disciplines.
- He will examine the differences and evaluate the many techniques being used for training dogs to use their nose, taking what he calls “an outsiders look at the inner workings of scent discrimination training.”
- Ken began working as a consultant in a variety of scent discrimination programs nearly 30 years ago – precisely because he had little to no experience with scent training. He was asked to take a fresh look at scent discrimination programs with several search and rescue teams (including disaster, avalanche, and cadaver dogs), as well as several law enforcement programs (including explosive and narcotic detection dogs).
- This seminar will look at all of these types of scent detection work plus some of the newer uses in sport and competition.
- Ken will evaluate the many techniques advocated by the various scent discrimination disciplines and examine what the science indicates about each – ultimately looking for the most positive and effective of approaches.
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Generalization, Desensitization, and Impulse Control -
- There are many factors that contribute to success in professional training environments. However, in the working dog world, where practitioners possess skills in training specific behaviors such as explosive detection, search and rescue techniques, and guide dog skills, the primary challenge often lies in transferring those behaviors to real-world scenarios and effectively managing the distractions that occur in everyday life. In addressing this challenge, some trainers have historically relied on punishers to prevent animals from reacting to distractions and to help them stay focused on the task at hand.
- Nevertheless, professional trainers have increasingly recognized the negative consequences associated with the use of aversive tools. As they seek positive solutions,
- Ken has introduced the concept of better stimulus control through gradual exposure to unique and ever-changing environments. By implementing a structured desensitization program, Ken has successfully improved the effectiveness and reliability of working dogs worldwide.
- A similar approach has also been utilized to enhance husbandry training within the zoological community. Teaching animals to anticipate the unexpected and improving stimulus control through systematic desensitization can revolutionize day-to-day training in numerous professional contexts.
- Conservation Training – A unique and specialized approach to promoting conservation. Ken will explore his use of training and wild environments to promote conservation and suggest it as a great use of professional trainer’s skills.
This course is for anyone and everyone interested in taking their dog training knowledge and skills to the next level
A very rare and unique opportunity to learn in-person from a world leading expert
