“I came to this workshop series because I am a huge behavior nerd and the chicken workshops are the stuff of legend. They are totally unique in their approach to consider all aspects of behavior and focus on mechanical precision and observation skills in a way that I had never really understood before this experience.”
“I’m from Sweden. The chicken workshops brought me all the way to Mobile, Alabama. They are nowhere else in the world. So, I think it was the piece that was missing cause you can get the theory at universities but you cannot het the practical skills. And this is the university of getting that. ”
“Self Awareness is important”
“This workshop really meant a lot to me, especially because I’ve known Kirsten since the beginning of my animal training journey. Not only did it show me the importance of self awareness and body language, but how a simple change in your own behavior can increase your training skills ten fold. It completely changed the way I approach training in shelter animals and my own. I’m so grateful that I was given the opportunity to be in the class and look forward to learning more in the future.”
“Perfect for dog trainers”
“The chicken workshop is amazing! It challenges your skills as a trainer, and the chickens teach you all about precision. Kirsten made the hands-off learning interesting and engaging as well! I’m currently working on reading the books she mentioned during the hands-off sessions. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who works with dogs, not just trainers! I could not stop talking about everything I learned when I went home at the end of each day. I would love to attend another in the future.””
“I’m a confident trainer now”
“I truly learned a lot from Kirsten’s Operant Conditioning Workshop. I took the first class – Discrimination. I’m a beginner dog trainer and had no experience with chickens at all. I learned how important the timing of the mark and reward is to get an accurate behavior from my animal. I learned to have confidence in myself and my skills as a trainer. I highly recommend that if anyone is interested in becoming an animal trainer, they take this class.”
“Stay Calm”
“What I got from the workshop: Plan…Think…Do To increase timing skills, it is super important to video. Emphasis on breaking tasks down to small bits. Always reward the click; but if you are making mistakes, take the animal away and practice your timing before starting again. If you get confused or things are not going as you planned, it is ok to stop and regroup. Training is not personal – stay calm.”
Empowering the next Generation
I met Claudia in 2015 while working on a puppy project at the Animal Rescue Foundation. She was still in high school and doing care shifts at ARF where she would feed, exercise, and help with training the animals.
I am incredibly proud of Claudia, who now works at our city animal shelter. She was the first recipient of a scholarship to My Chicken Workshops. She exemplifies the next generation of animal trainers. She is incredibly smart, dedicated, and hard-working.
Claudia is a doer with some of the best reflexes I’ve ever seen. She went through the workshops, learned the principles, and honed her mechanical skills. She also had the opportunity to meet Dr. Bailey, which was a real thrill for her.
As a professional animal trainer, I am most passionate about keeping the Breland’s and Bailey’s work alive. Helping people makes the long hours behind the scenes worth it. The workshops are life-changing. Making a difference and empowering young talent like Claudia makes me feel I have contributed.