Behind the Scenes

Do you like to watch?

 

Ever wonder what was going on “backstage”?

To learn from someone else’s training, it helps to understand what’s really going on in that session. The same is true when you’re trying to help someone with their own training. Identifying the principles and strategies involved is fundamental to understanding what is really happening in a session. How do you reach this understanding? How do you observe and what questions can you ask?

Hannah Branigan, Emelie Johnson Vegh, Eva Bertilsson, and Chirag Patel love nothing more than to watch each other train. But there is so much more going on than simple voyeurism.

Voyeurism + INSIGHT!

We put together this series of 4 live training events, to give ourselves a chance to explore the details of training and show the thought processes underlying our training choices (for good or bad!).

We live on different parts of the planet, so we’ve never really trained together in person. However, we do spend quite a lot of time discussing behavior and training!

We’re all genuinely curious about how to best observe and discuss how other trainers go about their training sessions. We want to dive into ways to observe, think, and talk about training.

What topics will we focus on?

Session 1: Focus and Motivation!
Session 2: Choice and Start Buttons
Session 3: Shaping and Splitting Criteria
Session 4: Cues, Stimulus Control, and Fading Prompts

During each event, we’ll attempt to articulate our training process and work our dogs (or other animals) live, in real-time – while you watch!

We’ll then go on to discuss the training. What was going on? What worked and what didn’t? Which details were critical, and which were irrelevant? What decisions were made, and why? There might even be flowcharts!

This is your Behind the Scenes ticket to some of the most twisted minds in the positive reinforcement training world.

Will we use our powers for good or evil? There is only one way to find out. Join us live and bring your own questions for discussion.

Let’s help each other learn and make the world a better place one training session at a time.

SNEAK PREVIEW!

How it works:

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You can sign up for the entire series (4 live events) or individual events ala carte. (Topics listed below.)

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After signing up, you’ll receive a link to the event page and our virtual classroom on Crowdcast.

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On the day of each live event, we’ll all hang out together for 2ish hours (plus intermission), watch each training session and analyze what happened, what decisions were made, and what principles were in play.

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We’ll talk about the concepts, explore examples, and answer your questions… basically, we’ll spend a couple hours geeking out about training!

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Each event will be recorded and you can watch it back anytime by going right back to the very same link.

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We will also share any notes generated as part of the analysis.

When are the events?

Monday, April 12 at 2 pm Eastern time (USA)

Focus & Motivation!

Monday, June 7 at 2 pm Eastern time (USA)

Choice & Start Button Behaviors

Monday, September 20 at 2 pm Eastern time (USA)

Shaping & Raising Criteria

Monday, December 6 at 2 pm Eastern time (USA)

Cues, Stimulus Control, & Fading Prompts

About the Trainers

Hannah Branigan

Hannah Branigan, the author of Awesome Obedience, is a self-proclaimed training nerd. With the belief that everyone (dogs and humans alike) learn best in an environment free of criticism, Hannah breaks down complex skills into bite-sized, accessible pieces, and develops practical techniques that leave her students with a sense of achievement and success.

She is on a mission to make training fun and enjoyable for dogs and their handlers, which means optimizing positive reinforcement techniques across species. She is fascinated by behavior and learning, and passionate about bringing innovative, science-based solutions to the dog/human learning space.

Hannah has a background in both human sports and biology. Now she applies that knowledge and experience to the world of animal training and canine competitive sports. She enjoys training and competing with her own dogs in a variety of sports. Her competition obedience DVDs, Obedience FUNdamentals and Beyond FUNdamentals, have received rave reviews from trainers all over the world, and her students have earned advanced titles and in multiple countries.

Hannah is the host of the popular dog training podcast, Drinking from the Toilet, which focuses on the (often inconvenient) intersection between positive reinforcement philosophy and reality. Her mentorship program, Zero to CD, gives trainers a complete, step-by-step blueprint for earning their first level obedience title with curated support along the way.

Chirag Patel

Chirag Patel entered the field professionally in 2004 and has since become a leading figure in the profession internationally. He consults on the behaviour management and training of all animals living under human care (including domestic and wild ones). He is highly sought after for work with high-profile private clients, organisations as well as teaching workshops and presenting at conferences. Chirag has been an expert on a number of TV shows including on BBC 1’s TV Series Nightmare Pets SOS and more recently 5 Stars’ Cats and Dogs at War has given TV interviews worldwide.

Chirag is passionate about the application of ethical behaviour change science to improve the life of animals living under human care by teaching animals to be active participants in their own daily and veterinary care in a low-stress manner. The goal is to empower all learners including the human ones.

Chirag earned his BSc(Hons) in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behaviour from the University of Lincoln, UK. He also holds an Advanced diploma in practical aspects of companion animal behaviour and training from the Centre of Applied Pet Ethology. In 2005, Chirag completed an internship in dog behaviour and training with a focus on aggressive behaviour under the mentorship of Jean Donaldson at the San Francisco SPCA and developed his understanding and skills in puppy training under the mentorship of Ian Dunbar PhD, BVetMed, MRCVS. Chirag has taken various classes and courses in Applied Behaviour Analysis and currently continues to do so in the fields of Applied Behaviour Analysis and Clinical Animal Behaviour.

Chirag is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers UK (00923) and has previously served on their committee. He has also been invited and accepted as a Certified Parrot Behaviour Consultant (CPBC), with the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants (IAABC). And is registered as an Accredited Animal Behaviourist with The Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC). He was invited to join the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), Animal Training Focus group as the scientific officer and external consultant in 2015, which he did until 2021.

Chirag’s currents and previous clients include A-List celebrities, other high profile clients and leading organisations such as Guides Dogs for the Blind Association UK, The Kong Company, various police dog units, humane societies, research facilities, zoos and aquariums.

Previously Chirag has worked for Dogs Trust as Assistant Head of Canine Training & Behaviour. Managed the Animal Behaviour Centre at Dr Roger Mugford’s Company of Animals in Chertsey, Surrey. He has also held a post at the University of Lincoln, as a research technician responsible for the training of Rats and Degus in a sponsored odour discrimination and Indiction project. In addition to this Chirag worked in veterinary practices part-time for over 6 years.

Chirag also has an internationally selling DVD called ‘From Brain to Bite: understanding, managing and modifying aggressive behaviour in dogs”. His YouTube Channel that has accumulated over a million views and provides free resources for pet owners and professionals, you can access this channel by clicking here.

Emelie Johnson Vegh

Emelie Johnson Vegh works in the collaboration Carpe Momentum together with Eva Bertilsson. Their goal is to help people acquire knowledge and skills in science-based, modern, humane, and empowering teaching strategies for the benefit of learners of all species. Within Carpe Momentum she teaches seminars on the general principles of behavior and learning, coaches trainers in the skill of creating great training sessions regardless of venue or species. Emelie has experience from a variety of venues and has competed in various dog sports with several dogs of various breeds. Currently, she’s working with her young Field Golden retriever Tessa, getting her ready for a number of different sports. Emelie also enjoys many different other sports and finding ways of breaking them down and teaching them to others, both adults and children. Her goal is to make learning accessible, interesting, and fun!

Set up for success, break the skill down and make sure to ensure R +, whether it has to do with teaching your dog to heel, yourself to get into a running regime or helping your child learn to structure their homework! Emelie studied to be a teacher in Swedish and English at Lund University, together with further studies of both linguistics and children’s literature. She writes fiction for adults and has published a series of children’s books with some focus on positive reinforcement training. She also works as a translator and editor, reveling in finding ways to tell stories and make information available to a great many people. Together with Eva, she published the book Agility Right From the Start (Sunshine Books, 2010). The book outlines the colleagues’ philosophy and structured approach to training, making it a worthy read not only for agility enthusiasts. Emelie has been part of the Clicker Expo faculty for many years, teaching together with Eva. “E&E” also introduced TAGteach to Scandinavia in 2005 and were the first European TAGteach faculty.

Eva Bertilsson

Eva Bertilsson works in the collaboration Carpe Momentum together with Emelie Johnson Vegh. Their goal is to help people acquire knowledge and skills in science-based, modern, humane, and empowering teaching strategies for the benefit of learners of all species. Within Carpe Momentum she teaches seminars on the general principles of behavior and learning, coaches trainers in the skill of creating great training sessions regardless of venue or species. Eva achieved her master’s degree in behavior analysis from Oslo Metropolitan University in 2016, and is a board member of the Swedish Association for Behavior Analysis. She is dedicated to connecting communities, teaching the principles of behavior analysis to animal trainers, and teaching animal training strategies to people working with humans. Previously a school teacher and an avid dog sports competitor, she is nowadays fully occupied with behavior consultations and a wide variety of educational endeavors.

Eva loves networking and connecting people and ideas; she is a FearFree(TM) speaker, she hosts events introducing international presenters to the Swedish audience, and she is the initiator and host of the Scandinavian CCC conference (where the three C:s stand for Choice, Control and Communication). Her latest joint venture has just launched: The international ABC247.wtf web shop, with products and online learning opportunities for behavior nerds. Together with Emelie, she published the book Agility Right From the Start (Sunshine Books, 2010). The book outlines the colleagues’ philosophy and structured approach to training, making it a worthy read not only for agility enthusiasts. Eva has been part of the Clicker Expo faculty for many years, teaching together with Emelie. “E&E” also introduced TAGteach to Scandinavia in 2005 and were the first European TAGteach faculty.

FAQ

What do I get?

  • Four exclusive live Behind the Scenes events (buy all four or a la carte).
  • During the live events, you’ll be able to ask questions.
  • All the Behind the Scenes events will be recorded and you’ll have access to the recordings as soon as the event is over.
  • Access to any whiteboard notes and flowcharts made before or during the event.
  • All Behind the Scenes attendees will be invited to join a Facebook group where they can continue their discussions

Will the events be recorded so I can watch them later?

Yes! The events will be recorded for you to view any time. You’ll also get access to the whiteboard notes we make during the training.

Can I purchase a recording after an event has taken place?

  • No, the events can only be purchased up to the day of the event.

What are the costs for this event series?

  • The package for the whole series of 4 events costs 500 USD
  • You can also purchase single events for 150 USD.