Webinar Registration Page

Access four webinar recordings - 2 by Steve and 2 by Kathy on the topics of cues and behavior chains. In addition there's a recording of a Q&A with both of them.

If you've previously registered for this webinar, please login to view it  

 This is a "pay what you can" webinar (click register link for price options). If you're not already a TAGteach member or have not yet had a free trial membership, you'll get 1 free month in the TAGteach Membership.

Join us for this incredible learning opportunity with two of the most gracious, kind and inspiring training and behavior experts that you'll ever have the good fortune to meet and learn from. This is a rare chance to meet and engage with both of these wonderful people AT THE SAME TIME  and to learn from them as they chat and answer your questions.

This is not a regular webinar! This is a 2 part offering: 

Firstly you'll get access to four webinar recordings - two by Steve and two by Kathy on the topics of cues and behavior chains. Scroll down for overviews of these webinars.

Secondly you'll be able to join us live  to hear Kathy and Steve chat about these topics and to ask your questions about the topics covered in the webinars.

BONUS! When you register for this webinar bundle you'll get the option to purchase the webinar, Backchaining: The Key to Exceptional Training - with Joan Orr for only $10.

If you've previously purchased 3 or 4 of these webinars in the past, you'll be offered a discount code. It will show up here on this page. You'll need to be logged in to see it. If the LOGIN option shows in the top menu bar, then you're not logged in. Click on LOGIN and then return to this page and refresh to see the code.

Imagine that your lucrative research grant was riding on whether you could get a dolphin to push a surfboard to a person on one trial and to swim under the hoop on her right on another trial? How would you design the signals you'd use to communicate these instructions to your learner? We'll discuss several cue tips that were crucial for the success of this historic project because they are relevant whenever we are requesting behavior from a learner of any species.

You'll learn to identify the five criteria for a strong cue and you'll learn how cues function as reinforcers in behavior chains.

Topics include:

- the difference between a command and a cue

- avoiding poisoned cues

- how to choose effective cues

- the five criteria for an effective cue

- how cues become conditioned reinforcers

- why cues are precious

A cue is a "go" signal that says "do this thing now and win!" It is a stimulus perceived by a person or animal that lets them know that reinforcement is available for doing the action that is associated with the cue. Cues become established through observation and repetition. For example a person opening the car door is a cue for the dog to jump in, or someone calling "dinner's ready" is a cue for the others to come to the table.

Animals and humans may respond to environmental “triggers” with emotionally-charged behaviors. For example, kids and dogs may respond to thunder by crying and hiding. Dogs may respond to the doorbell with barking and lunging. A child may respond to a parent saying "no" with hitting and yelling. With training, both humans and animals can often learn that these context changes are actually cues (i.e., reinforcement opportunities). This changes their attitude from upset to upbeat. This session will cover:

1) steps necessary to teach a learner to reinterpret upsetting context-changes as good news

2) how this is ideal for reactive dogs (as an example) who already notice stimuli around them

3) case studies illustrating the broad applicability of this procedure

Cues are precious and fundamental to all training. In this webinar you'll learn about the dreaded poisoned cue, how it can hurt your training and your relationship with your learner, and how to prevent and fix poisoned cues.


You'll learn...

- What poisoned cues are

- How they are created

- How they create an adverse feedback loop between learner and teacher

- How to identify your own poisoned cues that interfere with your training

- How to use TAGteach principles to detox both ends of the leash.


Note that Steve will use examples from dog training, but the principles apply regardless of the species of the learner.

How behavior chains are built, maintained, and dismantled . . . whether we like it or not.

Most behavior problems and performance failures are the result of chains, either unintended or faultily-constructed. In this presentation you'll learn how to build chains that last, fix wobbly ones, and dismantle the problematic chains that have crept into your and your learner's repertoires.

Whether you train animals or teach people, this knowledge about behavior chains is essential. Behavior always becomes part of a chain and your teaching will be enhanced by understanding how chains work and why.

CEUs are no longer offered for TAGteach webinars.

Kathy Sdao is an applied animal behaviorist. She has been a full-time animal trainer for more than thirty years, first with marine mammals and now with dogs and their people. At the University of Hawaii, she received a master’s degree as part of a research team which trained dolphins to solve complex cognitive puzzles. She was then hired by the United States Navy to train dolphins for open-ocean tasks. Next, Kathy worked as a marine-mammal trainer at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma Washington. After leaving the zoo world, Kathy and a colleague created Tacoma’s first dog-daycare facility where Kathy began teaching clicker-training classes. 

Since 1998, Kathy has owned Bright Spot Dog Training. Services include consulting with families about their challenging dogs, teaching private lessons, and mentoring professional trainers who want to maximize the power of positive-reinforcement training. Kathy is proud to be an original faculty member for Karen Pryor’s ClickerExpos and has taught at thirty-six of these popular conferences. Kathy also has traveled extensively across the United States, Canada and Europe, and to Australia, Israel, Japan and Mexico, educating students about the science of animal training. In 2012, she published her first book, Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace.

In his 40+ years of a K9-centered law enforcement career Steve White is the only person to have served as a handler, trainer, training-sergeant, and supervisor for the Seattle Police Canine Unit. Accredited as a Master Trainer in 1993 by the Washington State Police Canine Association, Steve is also a past Executive Board Member of that body. He served as Vice President of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, and is a consultant and instructor for the K9 Academy for Law Enforcement.

Steve has instructed at seminars and conferences in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. He has served as a primary instructor for Karen Pryor's ClickerExpo and the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. His articles have appeared in police K-9 and dog training publications in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Finland, and Japan.

Steve specializes in teaching law enforcement officers and others accustomed to using traditional training methods expand their repertoires to include positive reinforcement-based methods for behavior modification, tracking, and scent work. He provides consultation and training to K-9 units on administrative and legal issues, and has been recognized as an expert witness by Washington and Federal courts in Police K-9 and dog behavior matters.

Working with dedicated handlers, Steve and his team train some of the most effective urban tracking dogs in the world as well as detector dogs that reliably perform in the most demanding conditions. More than 10 years past retirement age Steve was still on the job because he just loves watching dogs "get it" . . . with their handlers not far behind.