When Cat Guardians (and Their Cats) Are at the End of Their Rope, Bonnie Comes to the Rescue
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you first got into animal behavior and training and what you are doing now. A: I live in Missouri with my husband of 20 years along with two cats, one gerbil and some fish. I volunteer at Wayside Waifs, where I previously worked for nearly 11 years as their feline care manager. I helped develop behavior and socialization programs to help increase each cat’s chances of adoption. I also love dogs! I love to travel, and most recently we went to… Continued
Meet a Dog Lover Who Pursued a Calling and Now Creates Wonderful R+ Transformations
In our ongoing series of PPG member profiles, BARKS features Aaron Jones of AJ’s Waggin’ Train in Katy, Texas Aaron is a member of PPG’s Inclusivity Division and Shelter and Rescue Division, and he also serves on PPG’s Advocacy Panel. Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, how you first got into animal behavior and training, and what you are doing now? A: I am a graduate of the Animal Behavior College where I earned my credential as a Certified Dog Trainer. I have had a love… Continued
Fun Canine Nose Work in the Shelter
Congratulations to Kristin Laurene! This post won runner up in the 2022 Canine Scent Writing Competition. It is definitely not a news flash to any dog owner that a dog’s sense of smell is its strongest. It is also not surprising to hear about dogs stuck in shelter environments getting bored and unwanted behaviors developing, or further strengthening, due to lack of regular mental stimulation. However, pets in shelter and rescue environments are not the only pets who experience lack of mental stimulation. Three professional detection-dog trainers and handlers realized… Continued
Scent Success: Giving Scent Work a Second Chance
Congratulations to Shelley Doane! This post won runner up in the 2022 Canine Scent Writing Competition. I started getting interested in canine scent work with my dogs a few years ago. It began with an introductory class taught by a fellow trainer. It was an interesting class with lots of good information, but I did not find it fun, and my dog, Sophie, didn’t seem to really enjoy it either. A couple of years later, I listened to a podcast by another trainer about scent work using food and how… Continued
Sniff for Calm and So Much More!
Congratulations to Kris Whipple! This post won first prize in the 2022 Canine Scent Writing Competition. Of all the canine behaviors that I teach, calm is the most valuable. Calm dogs are less likely to bark, jump, mouth, lunge, pull or engage in other challenging behaviors that come with overexcitement. For me and my dog Sprig, an exuberant adolescent Cardigan Welsh corgi who thinks every day (and experience, dogand person) is his best day EVER, sniffing has become a positive and powerful tool I use daily to promote calm behaviors… Continued
Dog Speak: The Language of Barking
At a recent public event I attended, the question asked most by companion dog owners was, “How do I get my dog to stop barking?” As professionals, of course, the first thing we want to do is ask more questions. “When does the dog bark?”, “What time of day?”, “What are they barking at?”, “What are they getting out of it?”, “What do you do when they bark?”, “What do you want them to do instead?” and so on. We can all think of people who talk too much yet no… Continued
A Note From Your New Editor
Hello! My name is Paula Garber, and I’m the new editor of BARKS from the Guild! I wanted to take a moment to say hello and introduce myself. I started my professional cat training and behavior consulting career in 2014, when I launched my business, LIFELINE Cat Behavior Solutions. Before studying animal behavior, I worked as a freelance editorial professional in the publishing and education industries for more than 25 years. I’ve been a proud member of the Pet Professional Guild since 2015 and was the chair of PPG’s Feline… Continued
You Can Still Help the Animals of Ukraine Survive the War
Quick Link: Help Animals Survive the War in Ukraine (Click on link to donate.) Latest updates on the Help Animals Survive the War in Ukraine fundraiser A Letter from Dr. Marina Bayeva: On August 24th, it will be six months (!) since Russia invaded Ukraine. Six months with no end in sight! I cannot put into words all the pain and devastation that the war has brought to my home country. Yet, people of Ukraine persevere, coming together to help one another in acts of everyday heroism. And your continued support of… Continued
The Impact of Canine DNA Testing: Mapping the Future
In May 2016, Embark launched its comprehensive pet genetic test in partnership with the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. According to Embark’s website, the test will track “over 200,000 genetic markers, offering ancestry analysis as well as an extensive overview of both genetic disease risk and heritable traits, allowing users to understand their dog’s health, plan for his future and provide the best personalized care possible.” Embark further states that “four out of 10 dogs will suffer from inherited diseases,” and that the test, more than just a breed… Continued
Feline Fastidious Foodies
By Patience Fisher From cat food commercials to cartoons and internet cats, it is something of a running joke that cats are picky eaters. But is this common assumption correct? According to C.A. Tony Buffington, a leading researcher in the field of feline nutrition, the answer is a resounding no. Health and Stress Buffington states that cats are very adaptable; left to their own devices they can and do thrive on a wide range of foods. This is important to their survival, since they are opportunistic eaters. If a cat… Continued
Why Do Deaf Dogs Bark?
By Morag Heirs Barking is a form of communication for all dogs so it is important that we spend some time thinking about why our dogs might be barking. Are they anxious, over-excited, upset, fearful, thrilled, frustrated? Something else? Avoid concentrating on stopping the barking (particularly through the use of ‘aversives,’ e.g. telling off, harsh signals, water spray or air sprays, exclusion from the room or crating on a regular basis) as this gets in the way of understanding why the barking is happening. Without understanding why our dog is… Continued
A Better Dog-Human Understanding
By Susan Nilson Marco Adda is a freelance dog behavior consultant, independent researcher, dog-human facilitator (or dog trainer if you prefer), animal advocate, and educator who is passionate about all things canine. He describes himself as a “globetrotter who moves through different continents” but is now considering settling in one place to set up his own canine center offering several programs of education, training, research, animal assisted intervention, and community activities around dogs, humans and other animals. In 2012, Adda initiated preliminary observations of Bali street dogs (BSD). The observations… Continued
The Value of Non-Verbal Communication
By Angelica Steinker Consent testing is an informal experiment which allows a dog to offer consent regarding a specific situation. Via her body language the dog communicates a yes or no response. This information is used to: • Improve the quality of life of the dog. • Improve a training plan. • Make behavior modification more effective. • Generally improve communication. The yes or no is determined by assessing the dog’s body language and observing for distance increasing or distance decreasing behaviors. Distance increasing behaviors are considered a “no” and… Continued
The Challenge of Breed Discrimination
By Kym Iffert It was finally a beautiful day in Chicago so I grabbed my bag, my leash, a pocket full of treats and tennis ball and set out for a walk. The neighbors were out and it was the perfect opportunity for a social outing – but not for me and my dog. As we walked down the sidewalk, others may have looked, some would wave, a few may have offered a smile… and then crossed the street. Social pariah? No, just me and my Rottweiler out for a… Continued
The Click Starts the Behavior
By Yvette Van Veen A common expression used in clicker training is that the click “ends the behavior.” Rarely do we stop to think what this really means but it bears closer examination. Typically, the phrase indicates that dogs get reinforcement post-click, even if they have broken out of position. We click. The dog gets a cookie. There is no reneging. When I say click, I really mean marking the behavior. For the sake of clarity, I will also be using the word click to reference the wide array of… Continued
Thunder, Lightning and Barometric Pressure
By Carolyn Kocman Owners and caretakers can almost always recognize phobia related behaviors. Shaking, drooling, panting, restlessness, pacing, clinging to owners and hiding are all fairly overt and recognizable behaviors that can be triggered by such things as loud noises or thunderstorm activity. Immediate Recommendations for Panicking Dogs There are a number of things pet owners can do to comfort an animal that is in the throes of phobia related behavior. What follows is a list of more immediate recommendations. These are not tips on modifying the behavior and should… Continued
Building the ‘Super Learner’
By Kate Mallatratt One of my behavior colleagues posed a very interesting question recently, “If you always set your dog up for success and aim for errorless learning, are you not stunting your dog’s ability for critical thinking, limiting his opportunity to enjoy problem solving and shortening his fuse for frustration?” This excellent question raises several more in my mind: Can learning truly be 100 percent errorless? Does setting up a learning environment for a successful outcome really have a detrimental effect on a dog’s learning ability? Do mistakes actually… Continued
Introducing Cats: Slowly Does It
By Patience Fisher There are many challenges for shelters in finding adoptive homes for cats. As an adoption counselor, I always found it disheartening to have a cat returned to the shelter for not getting along with the resident cats. During the adoption process, the concept of slow introductions was explained, but upon the cat’s return we often found out that the introduction process had been rushed. As a result, I saw a need for a very simple, short, how-to brochure for introducing a new cat to a resident… Continued
Exotic Animals and Shelter Awareness
By Lara Joseph As animal trainers and behavior consultants, our work can appear very appealing to pet owners and those who work with and take care of animals. What we demonstrate in our training is a very important tool we can use to educate the public about how our work is done, its impact on behavior and mental stimulation, and responsibility in animal care. Being an animal trainer and understanding applied behavior analysis, using it, and showing others how to use it is very important to me. My intention… Continued
The Aftermath of “Boot Camp”
By Amanda Ballard [At the time of writing] Kobe is an 18-month-old terrier cross, who is loved madly by his person, Lizzie. My private consultation session with them is the only one in 10 years that has moved me to tears, right there in front of the owner. It absolutely broke my heart to witness a dog displaying visible signs of anxiety, triggered by hearing very basic and commonly used verbal cues. Sadly, it would not be the last time I would witness this. There is no doubt about… Continued
New Bird on the Block
By Vicki Ronchette Over the years I have introduced several parrots into my flock of companion birds. During this time I have found there are some things that should be done early on to help shape the bird into a good companion, while also giving him time and respecting his boundaries. I have talked to a lot of people who were disappointed that their new bird’s behavior changed after a couple of months in their home. Some people call this a “honeymoon period.” I do not use that term… Continued
Compulsive Eating in Dogs
By Maureen Tay Also known as compulsive eating disorder, compulsive eating is a disorder where a dog tends to eat everything – from food items to non-food items. The specific practice of eating non-food, non-nutritive substances, such as wool or paper, is known as pica. Stool eating (coprophagia) can also be categorized under pica. Common among Puppies Puppies are curious animals. They eat just about anything they can find, including things that are inedible. Puppies love to investigate their surroundings. An excellent way to do this is for… Continued
Training a Blind Dog
By Miki Saito Unfortunately, even knowledgeable and experienced trainers sometimes hesitate when it comes to working with a blind dog. It is as if they consider the dog’s blindness an obstacle that cannot be overcome. Since blindness cannot be changed, this mindset can lead trainers to believe that these dogs cannot be trained but this is, of course, untrue. The dog’s blindness does not inhibit training. His emotional state, however, may be preventing him from having a positive learning experience. As explained by Dr. Jesus Rosales-Ruiz at the Clicker… Continued
Aggression from Hearing Impairment?
By Morag Heirs As any reputable behavior consultant will tell you, all animals presenting with a behavior problem should first be checked by a vet. As behavior consultants, we work on veterinary referral for a number of reasons. Firstly, we want to be sure that the problem is not a symptom of an underlying medical condition and, secondly, we may need to collaborate with the veterinary professionals if medication or supplements are needed to support the behavioral therapy. Sometimes we might receive a referral where the examining veterinarian has decided… Continued
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