All of our marine mammals are trained using the technique of positive reinforcement reward system. This means that every time an animal performs a behaviour (we don't call them tricks) correctly the trainer blows a whistle (called the bridge), which is a signal to the animal that the behaviour has been performed correctly and a reward will follow. The reward can be food, a tongue tickle, a back scratch, a belly rub or playtime where large rings and balls are placed in the pool.

If the animal does not perform a behaviour properly, the trainer will not blow the whistle and will then repeat the hand cue to have the animal try again. If the behaviour is then performed correctly, the whistle is blown and a reward is given. In some cases the trainer may elect to cue a different behaviour rather than the one that the animal did not perform correctly and come and try it again later. An animal is never punished for missing a behaviour. If a behaviour is regularly missed, the trainer will go back and review how the behaviour was originally trained to see if something else can be done to make the animal perform the behaviour more easily.

Normally, an animal can perform basic behaviours after a few months of training. Complete show behaviours require about two years of training. The length of time for training depends on the type (or difficulty) of the behaviour being trained. Some animals, like people, learn more quickly than others.