A 4-Part PORTL Shaping Series · Wine Included 🍷
Sip n' Train
The Mechanics of Teaching
Four Saturday nights that quietly make you a dramatically better trainer. No dog in the room — just you, a partner, a glass of wine, and the science of teaching itself.
No guilt! Just fun!
Oct 3, 10, 17, 24 · 6:00–7:30pm · Carson City · Humans only
No dog in the room means you can't blame the dog.
When the learner's right there, it's easy to say, “he's stubborn” or “she's just not that smart.” Take the dog out — replace it with a simple shaping game — and the only variables left are yours: your timing, your criteria, your plan. That's where real training skill lives. And that's exactly what four nights of Sip n' Train will sharpen.
What's PORTL?
PORTL (Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab) is a tabletop shaping game. You and a partner take turns being teacher and learner, shaping simple behaviors with nothing but a marker and a reinforcer. It's playful, a little addictive, and it lets you feel exactly what your dog feels when you're clear — and when you're not. The same skillset the best trainers in the world drill. We just added wine. 🍷
The Four Nights
Part 1 — The Mechanics of Teaching · Oct 3
Marker timing, reinforcer delivery, and the mark-deliver-reset loop. The big idea the whole series rests on: your mechanics matter more than your learner's “intelligence.”
Part 2 — The Art of Shaping · Oct 10
Shaping plans, splitting vs. lumping, rate of reinforcement — plus the unforgettable “slot-machine teacher” exercise. Big idea: when the learner fails, the plan failed.
Part 3 — Cues & Stimulus Control · Oct 17
When and how to add a cue, cue transfer, and telling two behaviors apart. Big idea: a cue is earned, not announced.
Part 4 — Chains, Extinction & Bringing It Home · Oct 24
Behavior chains, back-chaining, and a live extinction burst everyone can feel — then we map every lesson back onto real dog training. Big idea: thin the rewards gradually, on purpose.
Reserve Your Spot
Prepay to lock your seat — capped at 10 people so it stays hands-on.
Full 4-Part Series ⭐
$100 · $80 CDH members · $50 pet pros
All four nights. Best value.
Single Session
$30 · $24 CDH members · $15 pet pros
Drop in for one night.
💡 CDH members & pet professionals (vets, groomers, trainers & more) — enter your code at checkout for member pricing. Bring a spouse or friend for the whole series for just +$50.
What People Are Saying 🌟
From our first Sip n' Train nights:
“Sip n' Train was such a fun and different night out. We learned how to communicate more clearly through PORTL, laughed through the mistakes, enjoyed some wine, and spent the evening with genuinely good people. It felt like a date night, a social event, and a learning experience all rolled into one.”
— Kathy L.
“Such a creative way to learn. Because the seminar was human-only, we could focus entirely on our own communication and timing without worrying about managing our dogs at the same time. There was a lot of laughter, great conversation, and plenty of moments where everything suddenly clicked.”
— Darcy T.
“The human-only format was brilliant. It gave us the chance to make mistakes, laugh at ourselves, and understand the mechanics of training before trying the skills with our dogs. PORTL made the entire process easy to see and understand.”
— Patty D.
“Great friends, good wine, lots of laughter, and practical skills we could actually take home and use. Sip n' Train felt more like a fun social night than a seminar, but we still walked away understanding communication and training much better.”
— Henry E.
“My partner and I came to Sip n' Train as a date night and ended up learning a surprising amount about how we communicate. It was relaxed, social, and interactive, with just the right combination of wine, laughter, and useful training concepts.”
— Sam O.
Good to Know
Do I need a dog? No — please don't bring one. Removing the dog is the whole point.
Do I need experience? None at all. Mixed-experience room; everyone levels up together.
Can I come to just one night? Yes — grab a Single Session. But the series builds week to week, so all four is the real magic.
Is there really wine? There is really wine. 🍷
Four nights. One very good decision.
Only 10 seats — prepay to claim yours.
