Workshop with Ken Ramirez: Concept Training, Communication & Advanced Animal Learning
📅 November 22–24, 2025 | 📍 Canine Education Academy, Robertson NSW

We are beyond excited to welcome Ken Ramirez back to Australia for a three-day workshop diving deep into the art and science of animal training.

Ken is known worldwide for his work in animal behaviour, communication, and conservation training. Across these three days, Ken will share his expertise through engaging lectures, video examples, and where possible, live demonstrations to show how these advanced concepts begin.

This workshop is designed for trainers, handlers, and behaviour nerds who want to expand their understanding of how animals think, how we can teach complex concepts ethically, and how to take our training beyond the basics.

Program Overview

Day 1 (Saturday 22 November 2025)

- Using Non-Food Reinforcers Effectively (Use a dog for demo purposes)

- Intro to Concept Training (Including Match-to-Sample)

- Modifier Cue Training

Day 2 (Sunday 23 November 2025)

- Teaching an Animal to Say “No” (A concept training and choice case study)

- Imitation (use a dog for demo purposes)

- Adduction (part 1)

Day 3 (Monday 24 November 2025)

- Adduction (part 2)

- Quantity Recognition

- Conservation Training

Topic Descriptions

Using Non-Food Reinforcers Effectively

Reinforcement is the key to successful training, as most trainers already know! However, there are many different reinforcement strategies and reinforcement options available to trainers: consistent schedules, intermittent schedules, life rewards, toys, play, food, treats, etc. The mythology around how various schedules of reinforcement work can mislead trainers into using a strategy inappropriately and lead to frustration for the animal and the trainer.
Many trainers fail to approach new reinforcement strategies systematically, which can be the reason why certain strategies seem to fail. This class will explore both the science behind these concepts and successful methods for implementing different types of reinforcement into a training program. We will also discuss techniques for evaluating whichever approach you choose.

Concept Training

This is a series of separate but connected topics on concept training that will be spread over this three day workshop. These topics are designed to challenge experienced trainers and animals that are looking for new ideas to stretch and expand their abilities.

This series of seminars will look at the foundational skills needed to teach various concepts to your animals, as well as examine the steps to train them and the possible challenges you might face.

Introduction to Concept Training
This is a good over view of basic foundational skills that every animal will need to be successful at conceptual learning. This will include one of the easiest of these concepts, Match-to-Sample.

Modifier Cues
Of all of the conceptual concepts that Ken teaches, this is one of the most useful. He will describe how he trains animals to truly understand the concept of a modifier so that they can be applied to any behavior. These include concepts like right and left, large and small, hard and soft, over and under, etc.

Imitation
This seminar will explore the concept of teaching an animal to imitate the behaviour exhibited by another animal. He will discuss the limitations and challenges he faced as he turned this project into a serious research project. How did that change the concept and impact the training? He will share all of the training steps involved as well as share the results of this interesting project. He will finish this topic by comparing his protocol to Claudia Fugazza’s popular Do As I Do protocol – the two protocols were developed independently of each other, yet their striking similarities.

Adduction
This is one of the most obscure of the concept topics Ken will discuss. It also is the oldest of the training concepts that he will share. Adduction is considered the process of combining previously learned cues into brand-new behaviours and teaching the animal how to interpret new combinations the first time they are presented.

Quantity Recognition
In Ken’s most recent concept training project, he demonstrated how to teach dogs to count! But what started as a basic conceptual project continued to get bigger and more complicated. Various scientists convinced Ken to take the project further and turn it into real research. Ken was blessed to have an

enthusiastic dog that seemed to enjoy the process of learning, so he continued the project to new levels. To the best of Ken’s knowledge, he has taken this project further than has been attempted with any dog previously. His research also revealed contradictions and controversy within the child cognitive psychological community.

These developments prompted additional questions about what the new information might indicate about a seldom-studied cognitive ability in dogs. In this Session, Ken will share the various phases of the project, including teaching the concept, the challenges of turning it into research, and how the project evolved over time. In addition, he will reveal some of the data from this project and discuss the implications as he compares that data with research performed with children.

Teaching an Animal to Say “No”

Positive reinforcement trainers try to create a safe and nurturing learning environment for animals. When done properly, this makes the learning process fun, and the animal will participate in sessions eagerly. It is common for trainers to point out that their animals have the choice to participate, and that the lack of the use of punishment creates a stress-free working environment. Ken believes these statements to be true when everything is done correctly.

Choice and control have been proven to be powerful reinforcers for most learners. Trainers in recent years have explored how to provide more options in their training.

Over the course of Ken’s career as a consultant and problem-solver, he has encountered situations where the relationship and trust between trainer and animal appears to have become strained for various reasons. In a few of the more extreme situations, Ken initiated a protocol in which the animal was taught how to indicate that it did not want to do a particular behaviour. In essence, this was teaching the animal to say “no!” In all four cases where this protocol was used, it resolved the problem behaviour and moved the animal and trainer back to a good working relationship.

In this Session, Ken will explore these case studies, describe the training process involved, and discuss the broader significance of this protocol. The Session will also compare and contrast the protocol to other types of training that are about teaching the concept of “no.” These other types of training will include intelligent disobedience work with guide dogs and “the all clear” signal in scent-detection work. These latter examples are very different protocols, and the differences will be discussed.
Ken will discuss the importance of collecting data when problem solving and he will conclude the Session with a broader discussion of whether his “say no” protocol should be implemented with all learners. It is a unique protocol that is not widely used in the training community. After Ken shares the details of this protocol and his opinions about its use, there will be some time to engage in a discussion with the attendees.

Conservation Training
The science and application of learning theory is growing in use and popularity. From training the household pet to caring for the largest exotic animal in the zoo, applied behaviour analysis has led to better behaved pets and improved animal care for animals all over the world. Creative trainers are always finding new ways to apply behavioural science; in the last several decades trainers have used advanced training skills to give back to nature and contribute to a wide range of conservation initiatives. Ken will share his training experiences with several unique conservation projects as well as those initiated by other skilled trainers. Conservation training is an exciting and expanding direction for experienced trainers to put their skills to use. Key applications include the expanded use of husbandry behaviours for conservation research, remote training projects, introduction of species to the wild, and other uses of behaviour knowledge to aid in managing and studying animals to contribute to conservation. These applications have been used in assisting with conservation efforts with condors, wolves, sea otters, dolphins, sea lions, polar bears, sea turtles, chimpanzees, elephants and many others. The use of remote training in these projects has great possibilities for application in the pet training world.

Whether you're working with dogs, wildlife, or other species, this workshop will leave you inspired, challenged, and better equipped to communicate clearly and ethically with the animals in your life.

🎓 Who is this for?

Dog trainers, behaviour consultants, animal professionals, zookeepers, and anyone interested in learning how animals think.
No prior experience in concept training is required—but an open mind and curiosity are essential!

🐾 Demonstrations
While many of the advanced behaviours will be presented via video, some live demonstrations with Dogs may be included to show the early stages of training.

Accommodation Options Include Camping and local accommodation in the Robertson Areas. We update this accommodation sheet routinely. Link to Accommodation Options

Contact the host of Ken Ramirez at Canine Ed November 2025