Join Carol Byrnes CPDT-KA author of "The What is My Dog Saying" PowerPoint CD series.
Carol will be sharing her extensive knowledge of dog behavior.
Carol will discuss and share with us critical information about how are dogs communicate so as professionals we understand more about "what our dog is saying"!
Learning Objectives
About Carol Byrnes
Carol is a CPDT-KA, NADOI Certified and a Charter Member of the Pet Professional Guild. Carol owns and operates Diamonds In The RUFF with her business partner and husband Dana Byrnes. Carol is a well known and highly respected dog trainer both with her clients and amongst industry professionals.
CEUs
IAABC, CCPDT, KPA 1 CEU
CEUs: IAABC 1.5, KPA 1.5, PPAB 1.5
Join Jennifer for this webinar and learn about the CARE protocol for analyzing and modifying reactive dog behavior. As prework for this webinar please visit the website and review the protocol. Click here
Jennifer will present a simple overview of the 12 steps that comprise the CARE Protocol, touching upon each sub-topic in succession. This will include everything from diagnosis of the type of dog reactivity, how to eliminate common mistakes, the importance of DRIs, and generalizing context, through enrichment for positive brain chemistry.
About The Presenter
Jen Titus is a lifelong animal lover, and has owned and trained dogs for many years. A former teacher, she is a skilled behaviorist and adept at communicating with both human and ca
nine clients. Jen is a caring, fun-loving and positive per
son. Jen holds a Masters Degree in education. She continues to further her education in dog training at the elite and internationally renowned Accademy For Dog Trainers. Additionally, Jen keeps current with the latest training and behavioral knowledge through extensive reading, watching videos, and attending webinars, classes and live seminars.
CEUs: PPAB 1, IAABC 1, CPDT 1, KPA 1
Join Jane Ehrlich for this 60 minute webinar on Feline House Soiling Problems. House soiling is the key issue responsible for cats being re-homed or placed in shelters. It is also one of the most common problems facing behavior consultants.
When cats urinate in inappropriate places we are left to ask, why does this happen and what can we do to change this problematic behavior?
Jane will address each of these key reasons. This webinar will be interactive and attendees will be asked to submit questions prior to the live session during the registration process.
This webinar has been set up to answer specific questions regarding this one topic and the key reasons this behavior may be happening
Jane now owns and operates Cattitude Feline Behavior in Arizona. Jane is Associate Certified with the IAABC.
Jane has over 27 years as a trained feline behaviorist who understands and works with a cat’s psychology and personalities. For twenty years Jane was a volunteer clinical assistant and feline behavior advisor at the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in London. Jane studied under Dr. Michael W. Fox, internationally known veterinarian, bioethicist, and pioneering canine &feline behaviorist. As a cat behaviorist Jane helps owners worldwide by in-home consultation & telephone consultations.
Presented by Maureen Backman
CEUs: PPAB 1.5, IAABC 1.5, CPDT 1.5, KPA 1.5
The most recent definition of Motivational Interviewing is
“a collaborative, person centered form of guiding to elicit and strengthen motivation for change”
As dog trainers, we need competence not only in the field of dog behavior change, but also human behavior change. Motivational Interviewing is an evidence-based set of techniques to facilitate compliance and behavior change in clients. Designed for brief interventions and applied over a wide range of disciplines from health care to smoking cessation, Motivating Interviews can help trainers resolve more behavior cases and create more effective consultations with their clients.
Maureen Backman, MS, CTC, graduated with honors from Jean Donaldson’s prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers, and has a graduate degree in rehabilitation psychology. After working in San Francisco as a social worker, she combined her lifelong love of dogs and her strengths in counseling and coaching to forge a career as a dog trainer.
Maureen’s particular strength is combining her knowledge of counseling and coaching along with her studies in positive reinforcement training techniques to help humans understand how to communicate and work with their dogs. She is strongly committed to using only humane, positive training methods that are based on animal learning science, and frequently consults with her colleagues at the Academy to further her knowledge in training methods and best practices.
In addition to her master’s degree, Maureen is a member of the Pet Professional Guild and the Association for Pet Dog Trainers. She is one of the founders of Dog Connect SF, a positive reinforcement training blog and social network (which just won the Bay Woof 2013 Beast of the Bay Award for best dog social networking site!). She is the founder of The Muzzle Up! Project, aimed at erasing stigma and spreading education related to dogs wearing muzzles. She also leads the volunteer training team Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco.
Join Lisa & Brad Waggoner from Cold Nose College for this 90 minute educational webinar on how to teach a Rocket Recall.
Presented by Patience Fisher
CEU: PPAB 1, PPG 1, IAABC 1, KPA 1
This cursory course on the house cat will touch on all things a cat owner should know in order to prevent unwanted behaviors in their house cat. A brief overview of ethology, domestication, socialization, and communication will lay the foundation for how to set up your house and interact with your cat.
The unique needs of a house cat will be detailed including placement and use of the litter box and scratching posts/pads, play time, feeding, vertical space, privacy, consistency, establishing a good relationship, and desensitizing the cat to carriers, claw trimming, and pills. The importance of observing behavior to catch medical problems will be explained, as well as the importance of not letting bad habits continue without seeking professional help.
Patience Fisher owns Walk, Play, Learn!, a Pittsburgh-based pet service. Started in 2012 as a pet sitting and dog walking service, she is now offering cat behavior consultations. Patience volunteered at shelters for four years, helping with cat adoptions and specializing in fostering cats with behavioral problems.
Patience holds a BS Biology from Lehigh University. She is a Certified Veterinary Assistant through AAHA/Cedar Valley College. Recently she received a Diploma of Feline Science Behavior Science and Technology from the Companion Animal Science Institute.
Patience is also a freelance editor, specializing in life science manuscripts, especially those concerning animals. Prior to that she was an environmental analyst for 14 years, preparing environmental documents for certification of highway and public utility projects.
PCT-A
Yvette is a member of the PPG and is a Professional Canine Trainer - Accredited through the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. Yvette is also a multiple DWAA award nominee, pet columnist for the Toronto Star and she owns and operates Awesome Dogs in Dorchester, Ontario. Her business specializes in training and problem solving for the companion dog.
Yvette has worked with various Humane Societies and rescue organizations including ARF Ontario. Yvette shares her life with two dogs, Kip the rescue dog who serves as her primary decoy dog and Karma her Border collie. Karma is Yvette’s community canine and visits schools for dog bite prevention education and student stress relief programs.
CEU's
PPAB 1.5, IAABC 1.5, CPDT 1.5, KPA 1.5
presented by Melissa McCue-McGrath
PPAB 1, IAABC 1, CPDT 1, KPA 1
Why do puppies need to have such a long series of vaccines? Owners have difficulty understanding the ins and outs of the puppy (and kitten) vaccine series, and may ask you to explain exactly WHY they can't consider their new pet fully immunized after the first set of shots. Does this have to do with the number of shots or with the timing of the shots? What is so special about 16-18 weeks of age that animals can now start going out in public more? In this webinar, Dr. Jessica Hekman will explain the biology behind the developing immune system and the reason for the complex timing of puppy vaccines. Beginning with the basics of how the mammalian immune system works and how vaccines provide protection from infectious disease, she will explain how the immature immune system differs biologically from the adult immune system. She will describe the reasoning behind giving puppies a series of shots, so that you can better explain the process to owners. She will conclude with a few practical suggestions for balancing the need to socialize young animals with the need to protect them from infectious disease.
Why do puppies need to have such a long series of vaccines? Owners have difficulty understanding the ins and outs of the puppy (and kitten) vaccine series, and may ask you to explain exactly WHY they can't consider their new pet fully immunized after the first set of shots. Does this have to do with the number of shots or with the timing of the shots? What is so special about 16-18 weeks of age that animals can now start going out in public more?
In this webinar, Dr. Jessica Hekman will explain the biology behind the developing immune system and the reason for the complex timing of puppy vaccines. Beginning with the basics of how the mammalian immune system works and how vaccines provide protection from infectious disease, she will explain how the immature immune system differs biologically from the adult immune system. She will describe the reasoning behind giving puppies a series of shots, so that you can better explain the process to owners. She will conclude with a few practical suggestions for balancing the need to socialize young animals with the need to protect them from infectious disease.
Learning Objectives summarize how vaccines provide protection from infectious disease explain how the immature (puppy/kitten) immune system differs biologically from the adult immune system explain why puppy shots are not effective long term when given before 16-18 weeks of age explain why we give puppies repeated vaccinations between the ages of 6-18 weeks even though we do not expect these vaccinations to be effective long term describe a practical approach to balancing the conflicting needs of socialization and reduced exposure to infectious disease during ages 6-18 weeks
Dr. Jessica Hekman
Jessica is a veterinarian currently pursuing a PhD in genetics. After eleven years working as a computer programmer, she decided to go back to school to research the causes of behavior problems in dogs. She received her veterinary degree from the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts, where she also received a Master's degree for her work on stress behaviors in hospitalized dogs. After graduation, she completed a year-long internship specializing in shelter medicine at the University of Florida Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program. She is now enrolled in a PhD program in genetics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her lab studies a group of foxes (often known as the "Siberian silver foxes") which have been bred over many generations to be friendly to humans. Her ultimate goal is to find genetic causes of fearfulness in dogs, to work with behaviorally challenged shelter dogs, and to help people better understand the science behind dog behavior.
As trainers, are our expectations too high? Is it possible that we have become so involved in honing our training skills that we might not notice our client is unable, disinterested, and unlikely to follow through with our recommendations? Does a dog’s behaviour really need to be perfect? Part of being an outstanding trainer is knowing how to work within limitations and still achieve results that make for a happy client. While we are tempted to jump right into what we see is an effective textbook way to modify a dog’s behaviour, it’s equally important to be able to take a step back and ask ourselves how realistic our training plan is. Is the client likely to adhere to this plan? If not, how else can we address their problem?
This presentation will take a look at how we can better help our clients and their dogs by becoming more creative problem-solvers with the goal of strengthening the bond between clients and their dogs. Attendees will learn how to apply a simple flowchart involving fundamental steps to achieve success in every consultation, without necessarily achieving textbook perfection. Beginners and Intermediate trainers will get some tips and ideas they can incorporate immediately into their practice, and more advanced trainers will be given food for thought.
Being more creative with our problem-solving
Honing our listening and observation skills
Putting an emphasis on strengthening the bond between our clients and their dogs
Recognizing and accepting a client’s limitations, and working within those parameters
Nancy is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (Knowledge Assessed) and is a full-time trainer and behaviour consultant in Quebec, Canada. She does behaviour consultations as a staff member at a veterinary clinic in Quebec, and spends much of her time doing private in-home behaviour consultations with clients. She regularly presents seminars and workshops on dog behaviour to dog owners, trainers, and veterinary staff.
Nancy has written numerous articles on dog behaviour for French-language publications and several articles as a past member of the CCPDT writing committee, as well as training and case study articles for the Whole Dog Journal. She is a Charter Member of the PPG and a founding member of the Regroupement Québécois des Intervenants en Éducation Canine (RQIEC), a Quebec-based association of force-free trainers and consultants.
Free Member Webinar
presented by Paula Garber
CEU: PPAB 1, CPDT 1, IAABC 1, KPA 1
This presentation will teach you the ins and outs of organizing a Kittengarten. You will learn why kitten socialization is so important (and needed), and the goals and objectives of a Kittengarten. The presentation will discuss how to develop the basic structure and curriculum, find a location, boost kitten participation and human attendance, and practice the skills you will need to conduct a Kittengarten.
The presentation will also share ideas for identifying individuals, groups, and organizations that can help you (and that you can help in return). Plus, you will learn how organizing a Kittengarten can drive business for you and others who are involved. Many resources will be provided to help you organize a fun, unique Kittengarten in your community.
Paula holds a master’s degree in education and is a Certified Animal Training and Enrichment Professional and Certified Feline Training and Behavior Specialist. She is also certified in Low-Stress Handling (Silver, 2015) and Pet CPR & First Aid, and she is pursuing a diploma in Feline Behavior Science and Technology from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute.
Paula owns and operates LIFELINE Cat Behavior Solutions and is currently a co-Vice Chair for the Pet Professional Guild’s Cat Committee and a supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. A consummate cat advocate, Paula proudly serves on the Cat Protection Council of Westchester in her community. She resides in Ossining, New York, with her husband and five rescued cats.
LIMA guidelines currently rank negative punishment and negative reinforcement at equivalent levels of invasiveness. This webinar will explore whether this is ethically defensible when applied to the presenting problems faced by dog trainers. The webinar will also suggest contexts where antecedent arrangements are contra-indicated from a welfare perspective.
Jean is the founder and principle instructor of The Academy for Dog Trainers. The Academy has trained and certified over 600 trainers in evidence-based dog behavior, training and private behavior counseling since 1999. She is a four-time winner of The Dog Writers' Association of America's Maxwell Award, and her books include The Culture Clash, Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs, Fight! A Guide to Dog-Dog Aggression, Dogs Are From Neptune, Oh Behave! Dogs From Pavlov to Premack to Pinker, and Train Like a Pro. Born in Montreal, Canada, Jean founded the Montreal Flyball Association, and Renaissance Dog Training, the first positive reinforcement-based school and counseling service in the province. Her own dogs and dogs she has trained have earned numerous titles and wins in various dog sports including OTCh (Obedience Trial Champion), UD (Utility Dog), TDX (Tracking Dog Excellent), FDCh (Flyball Champion), CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and HIT (High In Trial). While a student, she worked as an adoption counselor at the Montreal SPCA and later served on its Board of Directors. Before founding The Academy, Jean did exclusively referral aggression cases for six years. She lives in Oakland with her dog, Brian, adopted in 2015.
Presented by Lennea Bower
CEUs: PPAB 1, CCPDT 1, IAABC 1
We all have a vision of our multi-species home as a peaceable kingdom, but how do we make that dream a reality? First impressions do matter, and the initial "introduction" of dogs and cats can make a huge difference in establishing successful dog-cat households. This webinar will review strategies for successfully integrating new dog to a household with a resident cat and vice versa. This process starts prior to the animals' first meeting and may continue for days, weeks, or months before stabilizing.
In addition, it will cover pain points and possible solutions for building a successful relationship that can endure the test of time. For professionals, it will also review important areas to discuss with your clients. These include helping your client set realistic expectations for process, expectations and timeline. We will also touch on factors, such as physical home set up, family composition, and lifestyle that can also affect this process. In addition, we will address issues related to the animals' past experience and personalities that may help or hinder the integration process, as well as the importance of meeting the basic needs of all household members throughout the integration process.
Lennea “Linny” Bower, MA, CPDT-KA grew up in a multi-species household that included both dogs and cats. She began volunteering in animal shelters in 2004 and has worked and volunteered in shelters in metro-DC, Massachusetts, and Costa Rica. She became interested in force-free training while working in animal shelters. She began teaching group classes at a local shelter in 2010, and founded her business, Next Best Pet, in 2013. She currently teaches group classes at the Animal Resource Foundation in Chester, MD, and offers private training in Maryland's Prince George's and Queen Anne's counties.
Lennea has a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Spanish Studies and a master’s degree in Psychology, all from American University. She earned her CPDT-KA certification in 2014. She has previously presented on topics including multi-species households and adopting a new dog. She has also worked with animal shelter staff and volunteers behavior and training topics.
PPAB, 1.5 CCPDT, 1.5 IAABC, 1.5
Are we as force-free with our clients and our colleagues as we are with the animals in our care? Our behavior-consulting work often takes place amidst emotionally charged situations. The stakes can be high and our clients can be upset, argumentative and unpleasant. Additionally, these same characteristics can describe our colleagues as well at times. And so, when dealing with disagreeable people, can we apply our core skills of careful observation, non-reactivity, gradual shaping and timely reinforcement of alternate behaviors? Let’s consider if we are willing to extend our ethic of non-violence to include our interactions with people as well as pets, and if so, what practical changes we could make to support this.
Kathy Sdao, MA, ACAAB.
Kathy is an associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist based in Tacoma, Washington and has spent the past two decades as a full-time professional trainer for dogs and other animals.
For her first ten years as an animal trainer, Kathy trained marine mammals at a research laboratory for the University of Hawaii, in the open-ocean for the US Navy and at a zoo in Tacoma Washington. Since 1995, Kathy has focused on training land-dwelling animals: dogs and their people.
She has been honored to be on the faculty of Karen Pryor’s Clicker Expos since 2003. She also has trained animal actors, written for The Clicker Journal and the APDT Newsletter, served as a subject-matter expert for the Delta Society's Service Dog Education System; conducted rat-training camp for Terry Ryan's DogSense, instructed at Dogs of Course’s Instructor Training Course and appeared as the "Way Cool Scientist" on an episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy!
Kathy meets with dog owners in Tacoma, Seattle, and other areas in the Puget Sound region to design behavior modification plans, to teach basic manners to their dogs and to prepare for competition. She also travels extensively to lead dog training and behavior workshops that make the science of animal training accessible and practical for dog trainers and owners alike.
www.KathySado.com
Presented by Laura Bridges from Business Insurers of the Carolinas
CEUs: PPAB 1
This presentation is designed to present Pet Professional Guild (PPG) members with an overview of insurance coverages that may be used to cover exposures to risk in their pet services businesses. It will go through PPG’s liability policy, including care, custody and control/animal bailee and veterinary medical coverages, as well as other general liability, professional liability, commercial property/equipment/business owners’ policies, workers’ compensation, commercial auto, bonding and umbrella policies. The presentation will include actual claims examples from the claims files at Business Insurers of the Carolinas in an effort to provide members with an understanding of the types of claims often seen and that are specific to the pet care/service industry.
Laura Bridges has been providing insurance and working with pet service professionals (dog trainers, pet sitters, pet groomers and boarding/daycare facilities) since she started working with Business Insurers of the Carolinas in August, 2000. She has headed the pet services department since 2002, specializing in insuring pet trainers, pet sitters/dog walkers, boarding kennels/daycares and pet grooming professionals. Laura works closely with David Pearsall, coowner of the company, and attends many association conferences each year, including the PPG Summit, meeting face to face with clients and working with them to reduce their exposures to risk.
Presented by Paula Garber
In this webinar, you will learn the common causes of fear, anxiety, and stress in cats, as well as the evolutionary, environmental, and social factors that often contribute to these emotions. You will also learn how cats typically express fear, anxiety, and stress and the signs to look for, some of which may be subtle. After gaining an understanding of the potential fallout of using force-based handling techniques, you will learn basic handling techniques to reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in cats that you can begin using immediately, whether you work with cats in a veterinary clinic or a shelter, or in a home setting with your clients’ cats—or even your own cats.
Paula owns LIFELINE Cat Behavior Solutions in Westchester County, NY. She holds a master of arts degree in education and is a Certified Animal Training and Enrichment Professional and Certified Feline Training and Behavior Specialist through the Animal Behavior Institute. She is also certified in Low Stress Handling (Silver, 2015) through Sophia Yin’s course, Low Stress Handling of Dogs and Cats, and she is pursuing a diploma in Feline Behavior Science and Technology from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute.
Paula is currently a co-Vice Chair for the Pet Professional Guild’s Cat Committee and a supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also serves as an advisor to the board of FurBridge, a non-profit animal rescue and community outreach program. A consummate cat advocate, Paula hosts an annual event for volunteers to build winter shelters for free-roaming cats in her community. She resides in Ossining, New York, with her husband and five rescued cats.
Presented by Yolanda Harper LCSW
CEUs: PPAB 1.5, CCPDT 1.5, IAABC 1.5
You used to LOVE going to work, but now, there’s a knot at the pit of your stomach as you go to bed and dread what’s to come the next day. You don’t sleep well because your night is consumed with thoughts about what might go wrong, and your irritable with your family. During your workday, the hours drag by, and you can feel the energy draining from your body. You can’t image doing this job another month, much less for years to come, and you daydream about your next vacation.
What happened to your passion and drive? The good news is that it’s still there! This webinar is full of science, research, and – best of all – practical tips on how to get your groove back. The world needs for you to show up, do the work that you do, and help others in the way that only you can. Start now by taking some time to take care of yourself!
Yolanda Harper is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. She specializes in guiding others to Hope, Growth, and Healing as a Master Accelerated Resolution Therapist, a Daring Way™ facilitator, and as a neurofeedback provider. Yolanda is passionate about having community conversations about authenticity, wholeheartedness, boundaries, self-care, and the things that keep us from us showing up, being seen, and living brave in our lives.
Toby is a Goldendoodle and is Yolanda's co-therapist. He loves long walks, squeaky toys, playing with turtles on the office grounds, and cuddling with clients. Find out more about Yolanda and Toby at www.harpertherapy.com, or on social media at www.facebook.com/yolandaharperLCSW
Presented by Beth Adelman
While positive reinforcement is always my first choice in working with cats, many times very frightened/under-socialized cats will not accept food, play, a happy tone of voice, petting, or any interaction at all with humans. If nothing you offer the cat is rewarding in that moment, how do you gain the cat’s trust? I have found a behavior modification protocol using negative reinforcement to be very effective in these situations.
I am using the term “negative reinforcement” in the strict sense of removing something to increase the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated. I do not use aversives in this behavior modification protocol. My goal is always to move the cat as quickly as possible to a state where he or she is able to accept positive reinforcement.
About the Presenter
CEUs: PPAB 1.25, CCPDT 1.5, IAABC 1.25
Over the past decade, a series of canine spay/neuter research projects have provided compelling data that challenges our long-held beliefs about the impacts of neutering dogs. Some of the studies document an increased incidence of orthopedic diseases and/or cancer in dogs neutered before one year of age. Others document increased behavioral issues associated with neutering.
This presentation will focus on the results of the recent research and how our thoughts about neutering dogma are beginning to shift. There's little doubt that neutering recommendations for our pet dogs are beginning to change. Webinar participants will land on the cutting edge of awareness of these changes.
Dr. Nancy Kay received her veterinary degree from Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, and she completed her residency training in small animal internal medicine at the University of California—Davis Veterinary School. Dr. Kay is a board certified specialist in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Recently retired from clinical practice, she worked as a specialist in private practice for 32 years. She is published in several professional journals and textbooks and lectures professionally to regional and national audiences. One of her favorite lecture topics is communication between veterinarians and their clients. Since the release of her books, Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life and Your Dog’s Best Health, Dr. Kay has lectured extensively and written numerous magazine articles on the topic of medical advocacy. She was a featured guest on the popular National Public Radio show, Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Dr. Kay’s award winning blog, “Spot Speaks” is posted weekly.
Dr. Kay was selected by the American Animal Hospital Association to receive the Hill’s Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award. This award is given annually to a veterinarian or nonveterinarian who has advanced animal welfare through extraordinary service or by furthering humane principles, education, and understanding. Dr. Kay was the Leo K. Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year, an award presented every year by the American Veterinary Medical Association to a veterinarian whose work exemplifies and promotes the human animal bond. Dr. Kay has received several awards from the Dog Writer’s Association of America. Dr. Kay’s personal life revolves around her husband (also a veterinarian), her three children (none of whom aspire to be veterinarians) and their menagerie of four-legged family members. When she’s not speaking or writing, she spends her spare moments in the garden or horseback riding. Dr. Kay resides in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Presented by Jacqueline Munera
Jacqueline Munera encourages people to push the boundaries of what they think cats are capable of. Jacqueline is a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant and is co-instructor of the Companion Animal Sciences Institute’s Diploma of Feline Behavior program. She has a B.A. in Honors Biological Psychology from New College of Florida, where she pursued studies on animal cognition and behavior, and thesis work on coat color as an indicator of cat personality.
Jacqueline presents nationally and internationally on a variety of cat training and behavior topics and has published multiple award winning cat and dog behavior articles. Visit her site www.PositiveCattitudes.com for videos, article and a positive cattitude adjustment!
But my dog isn't food motivated!. When clients say this in an initial interview, my response is “not yet.” Eating is an operant behavior. Therefore, we can increase its probability and intensity and lower its latency through structured training procedures. While this might seem laughable if you have a ravenous Rottweiler or always-hungry hound, situations abound which require skilled intervention: a senior dog whose appetite is fading; a wary dog who has learned to distrust treats; a little dog who is fussy about meals; or a dog whose health is threatened by conditioned anorexia. While various medical conditions (requiring veterinary expertise) may create finicky eaters, so can unwise behavioral practices. We’ll review several common mistakes and provide alternatives.
Kathy Sdao
Kathy Sdao is an applied animal behaviorist who has spent 30 years as a full-time animal trainer, initially with marine mammals and currently with dogs and their people. As a graduate student at the University of Hawaii, she received a Master’s as part of a research team which trained dolphins to solve complex cognitive puzzles. She was then hired by the United States Navy to train dolphins for open-ocean tasks. Next, Sdao worked as a marine-mammal trainer at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. After leaving the zoo world, she and a colleague created Tacoma’s first dog day care facility where she began teaching clicker training classes for dog owners. For the past 17 years, Sdao has owned Bright Spot Dog Training in Tacoma. Services include consulting with families about their challenging dogs, teaching private lessons, and mentoring professional trainers who want to maximize the power of positive reinforcement training. Sdao is an original faculty member for Karen Pryor’s ClickerExpos and has taught at 29 of these popular conferences since 2003. She also has traveled extensively educating students about the science of animal training. Her first book, Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace, was published in 2012.
Presented by Jean Donaldson
“Know Your Enemy.” This webinar zooms out from our day to day fight against the use of aversives in dog training to the broader context of the use of aversives by humans on other humans. It will survey the use of corporal punishment over recorded human history, where we currently stand, and outline the research on the adaptive significance of the human tendency to use punishment. Understanding the human tendency to punish will help us combat it.