In this 2024 reflection, I walk you through my top 10 animal training moments and—more importantly—the lessons that changed how I think and how I train. A big theme is the continued growth of the Constructional Approach (including the 50th anniversary of Israel Goldiamond’s 1974 paper) and how much more I’m seeing trainers embrace practical, welfare-forward applications. I also highlight how “Degrees of Freedom,” genuine choice, and assent have become major conversation points at conferences and in real training plans—and why these terms are related, but not the same. I share specific projects and interventions that show what this looks like in practice: donkeys and a cow learning to station peacefully instead of competing around food; a lemur calmly participating in routine birth control injections (and how slowing down and relocating the needle can matter); gorillas learning to be comfortable with doors closing; and a bear who shifted from stress responses around people in a back area to relaxed participation so we could plan new medical care. I also show a camel’s scale-training fear response and how changing strategy (instead of building a ramp) created fast progress—while still respecting reinforcement history. My takeaway for 2025 is simple: every day is a training session. When behavior breaks down, I look for what’s being reinforced, what degrees of freedom exist, and how to build a clearer, more compassionate path to success.