Hurricane – aftermath
It was fierce and beautiful. The driving rain made vision impossible, and the trees waved like cheerleaders. So, we stayed inside. We got to stay home together and rest and had virtually no damage or even inconvenience. I flew home, from doing seminars in upstate New York, in this small window of opportunity between Newark airport being closed for thunderstorms, and all local airports being closed for hurricane. We hit some turbulence and our pilot expertly found smooth air. This morning we took the dogs to the beach. There was not even much washed up on the beach. Although I am close to the water, we are 15 feet above sea level and this area has no history of flooding. So, I feel charmed.
Hurricane!
Hurricane Irene is here, in Norfolk, Virginia – and we are planning on doing just fine, thank you!
This is probably my tenth hurricane and I keep most essentials stockpiled. This one caught me the day upon my return home from a seminar tour. I was lucky to get home. In fact, if I had tried to leave any earlier it would have been useless because the Newark airport was closed due to thunder storms. Airports were closing again soon after my return, so I managed to luck out with a window of opportunity to come home.
All the dogs are snug, along with cats and parrot. I have checked with my neighbors and they are fine. We have lots of water stored and the electricity went out but is already on again. I tried to get gas this morning but all places were closed and suddenly the winds really picked up and it was as if I were in a carwash – visibility was not good. The hurricane is definitely here – at least the upper edge is here. So, I made it home again to find the power off. When it came on again, I found that the hurricane is not a “high category one – low category two” with gusts maybe up to 75 but sustained winds 40-55 mph. So, we are getting a day off to experience the power of nature and to spend some quality family time.
Meanwhile I am sick and tired of news that is not news and refuse to listen to tv news that hypes everything and makes it sound like our lives are so incredibly dire and difficult. We need to think for ourselves and take care of one another as we take care of ourselves and we have a good chance of being just fine, thank you.
Stay safe and most importantly, stay sane. Working thoughtfully, together, we can bring our communities through this and our many other challenges. Good luck.
New internship program! If you have a deep interest in developing your animal related skills, there are new opportunities coming. Anyone can apply to be an intern, and we set up an agreement that suits the interns needs and goals and mine. There is a work split with some time spent on work that is solely of benefit to the intern, some time spent on work that is solely of benefit to me, and most of the time is spent in activities that are mutually beneficial.
Is this for you? It may be, if you are a self-starter, highly motivated person who knows what you want and needs help acquiring skills and abilities important to your plans. You don’t need to be a training expert – those are skills you can gain here.
In fact, skills not related to animal training are often very helpful: videography, editing, organization, marketing, animal care, and many other things can be very valuable to me and to the other interns.
What will you learn? You will study and apply animal training and management skills: shaping, bridging, targeting, analyses of behaviors, problem solving, terminology, moving animals, being safe with animals, and more. You will study self-mastery – a critical accomplishment for any serious trainer.
Your work will be guided by the certification process, and your work here can lead you to gain a number of professional certifications.
For more information, EMAIL KAYCE NOW!
Kayce just returned from presenting a talk at the Animal Behavior, Intelligence and Welfare Symposium, at Utrecht, Netherlands, Nove 20, 2010, with five other speakers: Jan van Hoof, eminent ethologist, Jan Hooijmeijer, avian veterinarian, Valerie Jonckheer-Sheehy, the coordinator of Utrecht University Behavioral Clinic, Jane Goodall, primatologist, and Irene Pepperberg, parrot cognition researcher. For details click
Here is a review from the team of Tina and Chandi, stars of Britain’s Got Talent and way beyond, and winners of 4 Crufts titles, 3 in one year:
“I had the honour of seeing this material a few days ago and I would just like to urge anyone that hasn’t tried out the ideas/methods of communication Kayce talks about to please consider exploring them. For Chandi and I, it is wonderful, and having built up Chandi’s ‘vocabulary’ even more over the last few months, Chandi is now answering questions by indicating ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I could write an essay on how wonderful it is to engage with my precious dog on another level, but I will restrain myself, for now at least.
The booklet truly does highlight all the pitfalls for us humans – I think I fell into pretty much every one of them, and I thank Chandi for her endless patience with me while I figured out what she had already figured out.By working with Chandi in this way, she now experiences more freedom than ever before as I look to her to make decisions, and after some initial uncertainty on her part at being asked for her input, Chandi is now very much enjoying the process!
Just one word of caution though – if you don’t want to know the answer, don’t ask your animal the question…
The booklet as you would expect, is well written, easy to understand and is packed with valuable information on how to get started on this new adventure with your animal friend. I would highly recommend it!
Tina and Chandi.”
Click here to Tina and Chandi website to see how they use SATS
Thank you Tina and Chandi! to order ‘TALK to me!:
Click here to GO NOW!
What is SATS? Short for Syn Alia Training Systems, this is an incredibly fair, fast, efficient and fun way to teach others. It’s both a method of teaching and training that brings fast, harmonious cooperation between us and others AND it’s a philosophy that grants all animals respect, responsibility, and rational communication and teaching. We are developing effective tools to tap into the intellect of our animal companions with amazing and satisfying results.
This is what being with animals is all about. If you are frustrated by being told that your animal can not understand, when clearly he does, you will love this system.
UPDATE: TINA AND CHANDI made it to the top in Britain’s Got Talent, being the penultimate winners! They are now appearing all over the UK and will soon have a new DVD out. See the philosophy of the Syn Alia Training Systems in action. Would you like this relationship? Then start to build it. More info on Tina & Chandi, Click here to GO NOW!
Here is another great example of “bridging the gap”, between human and animal: Litten goes to the vet:
Littens story in Norwegian: http://hundetreningifokus.blogspot.com/2009/09/sats-litten-hos-veterinren.html
NEWS!
SATS at AOC Terra Vocational School in the Netherlands Click here to GO NOW! .
Listen to the podcast of Kayce Cover talking about communication with animals, on “PetPeeves, Pet Life Radio”. Check this out! Click here to GO NOW! .
THEN… email Kayce for more information about “For Animals”, dedicated to keeping animals harmoniously in our lives! MAIL KAYCE NOW!
SuperSmart! (Article on 2-Way Communication, in Hondenleven by Judith Lissenberg, Dutch) (for more information about the publication, please click here.)
VIDEO:
Can a horse identify objects by name?
Can a horse sort items by class? Here a horse is asked to choose if an item goes into a red bucket, because it is a food, or if it should go into a white bucket, because it is a tool. See what you think. Below, see a horse sort the items as foods versus tools.
SATS Bridge and Target Demo of the TB, IB and Targetting, with Sue Ketland and Accomplices.
Shown are: “Name and Explain,” use of TB to mark end of behavior, use of IB to track progress of behavior and help the dog to see and correct his error, on his own.
Indentification and Gypsy Pony – This pony shows he can identify two objects and some body parts. He steps into the choice for the coin.
Tristan visits Cornell Vet School
Tristan went to Cornell to get blood drawn and although the needle went correctly into his vein, and blood started to flow down the cannula, it never made it to the tube. In his fear, Tristan shut down his peripheral circulation and stopped all blood flow. When Kayce visited Cornell on August 27th, a second attempt was successful, using the new SATS technique for vets and animal health care professionals. See it here (edited from 8 minutes).
Curious? Explore the website! For FREE Start-up Directions, email Kayce at kc@synalia.com, with “SATS Start Up” in the subject line.
Sample of SATS, on Video:
See Star, a dog on death row at the Wood Green Animal Shelters, defy expectations and cooperate safely with his vaccines. Star was a great dog who was vicious during medical treatment. For this reason, he was slated for euthanasia – staff had tried everything they knew to turn him around, for over 8 months. Through SATS and the work of Liz Marshall, Carer at WGAS, Star found a new lease on life, a new home, and helped bring Kayce Cover together with Wood Green.
The attractiveness of the IB . Not just the trained horse, but ALL the horses come running, just on the IB.
This is not how we recommend calling, or recalling, an animal. That would show a cue (2-finger target), followed by a series of IBs, terminating with an “X!”.
You’ll see the horse looking (has seen me). I call out some IBs and a bit of praise (good girl). She comes running without further encouragement. Some assume, because SATS trained animals are often quiet and focussed when learning, that they will not show speed and enthusiasm when working. This video gives another picture.
Here is what some colleagues are saying as they use SATS and its tools:
Thanks to my esteemed colleagues for giving attribution. It’s a special thrill to see other respected trainers, profiting from my contributions, and letting others know. It makes my day! Kayce Cover