Episode 373: A Clicker Expo Wrap Up Part 3 - Training Traps and a Backstage Pass

We recorded this conversation early in April 2026 right after the Clicker Expo.

In Part 1 the Clicker Expo served as a launching point for our conversation. We talked about Dr Susan Friedman’s presentation on Doing Compassion and my own talk on Thinking Fast, Making Quick Decisions.

My program included a discussion of the characteristics we see in skilled trainers. In part 1 I listed some of those characteristics.

Among other things skilled trainers able to be flexible as needed. They are able to make adjustments in what they are asking. And they are creative. They are able to find teaching strategies and appropriate training steps that suits their learner’s individual needs. For the full list refer back to Part 1.

These characteristics are not some special gifts that people are born with. We can think of them as a by-product that emerges as we gain experience training our animal learners. The point of my program is we can be more deliberate, less hit or miss, in the development of these traits. When we jump into this training, of course people are focused on what they will be teaching their horses. That’s only natural. But it isn’t just the horses who are learning new skills. In the Thinking Fast program, I turned the spotlight onto the handler. What are the lessons the handlers are learning as they introduce their horses to basic targeting and the other core lessons? The structure and focus of these lessons helps to develop advanced training skills.

In Part 2 we continued with the discussion of the Thinking Fast presentation. We talked about what advanced training means, especially for handlers, and how do we develop advanced training skills?

In Part 3 we begin with another of my Expo Talks, this one is on Training Traps. To introduce that topic I have to first define what I mean by broad and narrow end of the funnel thinking.

Defining terms to start out with is important. It means we are all on the same page, talking about the same thing. A good illustration of that is the discussion of starter button and constant on cues. I’m using definitions that for me go back to Karen Pryor’s book, “Lads Before the Wind”.

In this Episode I also share what happened in the Backstage Pass presentation where I was supposed to work with a dog. Find out how that turned out in this week’s episode.