Ask Permission – Kayce Cover

Head a bit down and to the right, soft focus. She is a bit focused on me – I probably moved taking the photo. The eyes should be soft and focussed inward, or on the middle distance. Ask permission. This is one of the most important things that we can do as trainers. It protects the animal from trauma. It protects us from trauma and getting bitten. It’s so simple. It honors and respects the animal and their sovereignty. I tell you, there is no downside to it that I can think of. It is one of the most important things we can do to work safely with animals. So easy. So here it is. It has four steps. First state what you want. For example, I want to touch your head. Okay. Or I’m going to bandage your paw, or I’m going to push on your nose. Then count to three. I might say, “Tell me when you’re ready.” That helps me remember to give the animal to the count of three. Why? Because he needs to process what I said. Unlike the bridge, which is a signal that’s conditioned and easily, instantly recognized, words change each time you talk to the animal, so the animals have to take the time and effort to process them. So give them some time. Then I look for the “ready” or “permission” position. Then I start to execute what I said I wanted to do. So if I said, “I want to touch your head,” 1, 2, 3, and then I reach out to do it — streaming the Intermediate Bridge, as I progress. When I arrive at the head, I give a Terminal Bridge and name the destination, such as “Good, that’s your head.” Okay. You could say, “That’s your head. Good.” Or, “That’s your head. X.” I can use any bridge the animal knows. Permission position You might wonder what the permission position is. The permission position is defined by three things. The first thing is, the animal will start to look inward. He’ll get a soft focus look into the middle distance, kind of like this. He’ll get quiet and still. And their head goes usually slightly down and to the right. We are talking subtle. I don’t know why it goes to the right, and it may not always, but most of the time it does. So I want to repeat that. There are three things to look for in the permission position. soft focus looking inward in the middle distance quiet, still body posture head slightly down and a bit to the right So once I see all this, I start to execute. Good, good. That’s your head. Okay? So the whole thing from the beginning will be something like this. “Can I touch your head? One, two, three.” Good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good. “That’s your head. Thank you.” I often say thank you. You know, respect just shows in

the way you address the animals. Some trainers are really worried about being seen as authority figures. You know what? You don’t have to be, because I’m an exotic animal trainer. I’ve trained elephants, I’ve trained lions, tigers, bears, all of it. Over 129 species the last time I counted. And the fact is, you cannot dominate anything — no matter, even if it’s small — if you dominate it, you can traumatize it, it can drop dead on the spot. That is not good training. So just don’t worry about it. Just have integrity, demand respect, be respectful, give the animal plenty of information. Give them time to process what you said. Respect them. Now, what happens if the animal doesn’t give you permission? What happens if you say you’re going to do that and the dog glares at you, or darts away? Don’t do it. Life is short. If he’s not going to give you permission, he’s being honest. So rethink what you’re doing. You either need to change something — you know, maybe the dog needs to be sedated, or you need to work with the owner, or you need to get two snare poles or something. But you need to get safe. And there are all kinds of things that we can do to gently persuade the dog that they do want to help us. But until we do, don’t push it. Let me know if you try this, or if you already do it. Tell me how you came up with this. All right, take care, and we’ll see you next time. Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Search this Site Search for: Cart Search Syn Alia Search for: Explore our Blog Explore our Blog Select Category About SATS animal right animal welfare animal rights and animal welfare Animal well being and welfare Announcements and NEWS!! Blog Communication Emergency preparedness Event Health Husbandry Kayce’s Chronicles Legislation thinking Training Training training Member Login Log in Entries feed Comments feed WordPress.org Events July 2026 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 « Jun Aug »