Ari and Chris steal a bit of time out of a busy day to chat with NEI's Steve Martin to follow up on last week's episode and talk about the practical, observable, and trainable behaviors that we see great trainers do. Focusing both on skills people can build in themselves and help build in others, the trio talks about meeting people where they're at, the importance of having a solid plan (that can change at any time based on feedback from your animal's behavior ), being an "actively adjusting" trainer, understanding that an animal saying "no" is a call to action to forge a path to "yes," letting your ego stay in the car, and the crucial role of flexibility.

Also, stay tuned for the WILD origin story of one of NEI's most well-known show bits: the dollar bill routine. Do your best to not throw up!

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at [email protected]!

References from the episode:

"The Top 10 Behaviors of Expert Animal Trainers" by Steve Martin (Paper | Webinar)