Episode Details

This week we’re joined by Kiki Yablon, behavior analyst, dog trainer, KPA faculty member, and general bad a**. Kiki’s incredible skills of observation, communication, and implementation are honestly inspiring. 

If you’ve found yourself running around in circles trying to figure out how to apply the science to your training, felt your eyes glaze over at jargon, or broken down trying to work while your dog yells at you, we promise, Kiki’s teaching brings a beautiful, practical, and applicable simplicity to behavior change. Tune in to hear Emily and Kiki talk about some real nerdy stuff, how “outside” skills help you as a dog trainer, and so much more (we get a little windy in this one 😂) 

TLDL (too long, didn’t listen): 3 Key Takeaways 

1️⃣ Describe what you’re doing – Saying “I’m doing classical conditioning” leaves a lot open for interpretation. Instead, describe what you’re doing, and see how it opens you up to see other factors influencing your outcome. 

2️⃣DRO is time-based, not behavior-based – If you're reinforcing a specific alternative, that's DRA. DRO is about the absence of a behavior for a set interval.  

3️⃣ New behavior comes from old behavior – Learners don't start from scratch when something stops working. They pull from their history. A richer repertoire means more options before problem behaviors resurface. 

For the full episode show notes, including the resources mentioned in this episode, go here.

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