Shedd Aquarium Professional Animal Training Seminar – August 2013
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| Myself and a young beluga whale! |
I was thrilled to get the chance to attend Ken Ramirez’s week long animal training seminar at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, it was a class I’ve been wanting to attend for years. Ken is an amazing trainer and teacher, his class was engaging, informative, and inspiring. I’ve been lucky in my life to be involved in many facets of animal training, from police K-9 work, search and rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, companion parrot care and rescue, and working with my own animals. I am committed to giving them the best possible care and enrichment and, for me, this class was a part of that continuing education and effort. I also had the incredible opportunity to get in the water with beluga whales which was a really life-changing experience for me. Belugas are awesome!
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| The belugas love Ken! | A penguin training for encounter programs. | A kiss from Ty the sea lion. |
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| Beluga headbump! | And a kiss! | Ken Ramirez with happy belugas. |
| Beluga Enrichment Session | Beluga Enrichment Session #2 |
| Beluga Enrichment Session #3 | Beluga Play Session |
| Beluga Play Session #2 | Dolphin Target Training |
| Dolphin Training at Shedd | Medical Behavior Training |
Despite being at the aquarium for a week, I barely saw any of the actual public spaces, so I look forward to visiting Shedd again with some time to look around!
Most of the seminar took place in private spaces so I wasn’t able to take photos of much of the class, but hopefully you can get some idea of the training sessions from my photos here! There was also work with rescued dogs, reptiles, birds, and other animals.
You can find out more information about the seminar at Shedd’s website: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/adults.html
You can also find more of Ken’s classes and lectures on his website: http://kenramireztraining.com/
I also have two books I recommend, if you are interested in positive reinforcement training:
Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement
