National Zookeeper Week with Ken Ramirez and Eye of the Trainer (Zoonotable S2E37)

National Zookeeper Week is here! On this special episode of Zoo-notable, I sit down with Ken Ramirez, animal trainer extraordinaire, Vice President of Karen Pryor Clicker Training, and author of The Eye of the Trainer. We discuss training animal trainers, meeting people (and animals) where they are, how punishment works and doesn't work, and not jumping to conclusions, among many other topics covered in The Eye of the Trainer. From the book description on Karen Pryor Clicker Training site: "In The Eye of the Trainer, Ken Ramirez brings to life the power of positive reinforcement training to build trust and transform lives. Ken is one of the most creative, cogent, and effective animal trainers in the world. His positive reinforcement training principles and practices are studied, replicated, and applied in settings as diverse as conservation efforts with elephants on the African plains, canine search and rescue in Texas, oil-disaster recovery for sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, butterfly training in England, and animal shelters in Chicago. In this inspiring, heartwarming, and hopeful series of essays chronicling his 40+ years of global exploration and observation, Ken shares not only the intriguing personalities of the animals that shaped his life, but how their unique challenges influenced his training choices, philosophy, and worldview. A must-read for anyone who lives with, studies, or works with animals, Ken’s training wisdom, principled guidance, and practical advice call us to see the world through his eyes. Ken’s world is one where great training transforms the shy animal into the confident one, the aggressive into the calm, and the mistrustful into the trustful—and even the unsupportive boss into an ally. See the world better. See it differently. See it through The Eye of the Trainer." Want more goodness from Ken and Karen Pryor? Join Ken on The Ranch to take your training skills to the next level, get certified, or join hundreds of other positive reinforcement trainers at the Karen Pryor ClickerExpo. Learn more at ClickerTraining.com Grab a copy of The Eye of the Trainer online, or at your local bookstore. And ask your library to get a copy for distribution. Want more ZooFit and Zoo-notable goodness? Join the ZooFit Pride on Patreon and get access to bonus material, excerpts from my new book, and opportunities to connect with me and other ZooFitters. And join me all week long on our blog at ZooFit.net for National Zookeeper Week celebratory blog posts.