What Makes a Cat a Cat?
By Dr. Liz Bales What is the essence of a cat? When we understand what motivates a cat’s behavior, we understand what to expect from a cat — as a human companion and a companion to other cats in our homes. With this information, we can rethink the criteria for a minimally satisfactory physical living space in the confinement of our homes. Well-being for all living things begins with basic survival. How do cats survive and stay safe? How do they eat, drink, and sustain themselves? What are the threats… Continued
Lockdown Learning from Home
By Animal Courses Direct, a PPG corporate partner Short CPD Courses for Dog Lovers brought to you by Animal Courses Direct We know that things may be uncertain with a second lockdown, so now is more important than ever to keep our minds busy and make the most of the time at home. Whilst it is hard to stay focused, it’s important that we focus on ourselves and bring a daily structure back to our home life. So, how to make the most of these 4 weeks? Why not take… Continued
The Fearful Rescue Dog Who Changed My Life
By Gloria Schmidt *This post is the Pet Professional Guild runner up entry in our Geek Week 2020 Writers’ Competition* Back in 2011, I had accepted a job at St. Jude Children’s Research hospital that required moving to a new state, 13 hours away from home, to a place where I initially knew nobody within a five hour radius of Memphis. As an anxious and quieter type of person, I was frequently asked if this life change was the best idea for me. My constant answer was, “It will be… Continued
Good Kharma: Lessons from a Retired Greyhound
By Devene Godau *This post is the Pet Professional Guild winning entry in our Geek Week 2020 Writers’ Competition* I thought I knew everything there was to know about dogs. As a child I read everything I could and in my teens I spent my spare time working in a boarding kennel. All I dreamed of was being a dog trainer. When I graduated from college, I moved back home when my mom got a cairn terrier puppy. I was excited to start the training process with her and signed… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Denise O’Moore of INTO Dogs: October 22, 2020
Niki Tudge, PPG president, and Denise O’Moore, chair of INTO Dogs, talk all things Geek Week! INTODogs is one of the co-hosting organizations for Geek Week, an international virtual educational event for pet training and behavior professionals, taking place on November 11-15, 2020. See Geek Week for more details. Listen to Podcast here on a choice of platforms. Or simply click ‘Play’ below.
Getting Willow: How the Loss of One Dog Taught Me How to Grieve and Love Again
By Sonya Bevan *This post is the Pet Professional Guild Australia winning entry in our Geek Week 2020 Writers’ Competition* I lost the love of my life on my birthday. I chose the day to sit by her side and say farewell. Although it felt like I had no choice. Zuri, my Rhodesian Ridgeback and keeper of my heart, was dying of cancer which had spread mercilessly to her lungs and abdomen. Every decision I had made up to this point was meant to prevent this. I was shocked to… Continued
Cats: In Crisis
By Dr. Liz Bales America loves cats! In fact, we have more cats than dogs living in our homes. We currently live with more than 94 million cats, compared to 90 million dogs (Daily Dog Stuff, n.d.). Nearly half of all millennials have cats: 57% consider their feline friends as important as the humans in their lives and 86% consider their cats to be loyal companions (Purina, 2015). But even the most passionate cat lovers among us are not always aware that our cats are facing something of a crisis… Continued
Project Trade: Revisited
In March of 2016, the Pet Professional Guild rolled out Project Trade, an international advocacy program promoting the use of force-free pet equipment by asking pet guardians to swap aversive gear for a discount on services. The aversive gear was identified as shock, prong, and choke collars. I was one of the initial members of Project Trade, who now number about 56 pet professionals in several nations. Together we have collected many aversive collars and freed pet dogs from the fear, pain, and intimidation that equipment once inflicted. Just as… Continued
A Creative Solution for the Dog Who Barks at Other Dogs
By Kitty Lee *This post is The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Australia winning entry in our Geek Week 2020 Writers’ Competition* Three years ago, I decided to become a professional dog trainer. I’d been teaching obedience classes at the local dog club and fostering rescue dogs since 2012 but I’d never had a dog of my own and I was pretty sure that was a requirement of being a dog trainer. So I started looking for a puppy. I was very specific. I wanted a sable working line… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Louise Ginman of APDT Australia: October 3, 2020
Join Niki Tudge as she chats to Louise Ginman, president of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Australia, one of the co-hosting organizations for Geek Week, a virtual educational event for pet training and behavior professionals, taking place on November 11-15, 2020. Louise is presenting two great sessions at Geek Week: My Dog Has Cancer: Navigating Cancer from a Pet Parent’s Perspective. Home Alone Program for Puppies and Dogs of All Ages. Join us as we dig deeper into these important topics. Listen to Podcast here on a choice of… Continued
Phoenix Blog Competition: A Rough Start
By Kim Jukes Zeus had a rough start to his days at Fuzzy Friends Rescue in Waco, Texas two years ago. Early one morning, the staff came in to find that someone had thrown a young German shepherd puppy over the fence. When they did, he had cut his underside on the fence. Fence Jumper The staff at Fuzzy Friends Rescue, being compassionate as they are, took him in, neutered him and doctored his wounds. Then, they found out how high spirited he was. As a young pup, they couldn’t… Continued
Puppy Joint Problems: An Unexpected Detour
By Gail Radtke Porter came into Sam’s life at the age of 8 weeks old as a healthy, happy, and adorable American pit bull terrier pup. Sam had met both Porter’s breeder and his biological mother and could not have been happier to bring Porter home and start raising her puppy. Sam works as a veterinary assistant at an animal hospital in the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, Canada, and is well experienced in canine care. Porter was your typical happy, playful, and goofy puppy and Sam enrolled in puppy… Continued
Phoenix Blog Competition: Blake’s Story – Adopting a Prison Program Dog
By Rhonda York One of the many things I get to do as a dog trainer is train inmates at the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas in tandem with the Leavenworth County Humane Society. It helps both the residents and dogs and we work together to train the dogs in the program to have good manners and basic skills. Last November, one of the dogs, Blake, had finished his training but hadn’t been adopted yet. I didn’t want him to go back to the shelter, so knowing he should be… Continued
Networking for Success
By Niki Tudge “More business decisions occur over lunch and dinner than any other time, yet no MBA courses are given on the subject.” – Peter Drucker Networking is an effective way to spread your value through those around you. Understanding the basic mechanics of networking will increase your success in delivering the right message about yourself to others. In this post, I will cover how to create an effective introduction and how to make a great first impression. Creating an Effective Introduction Most people form an opinion about you… Continued
Phoenix Blog Competition: Choices Matter
By Maria Zarate As a veteran shelter professional, I’ve always sought outside the box to find effective and efficient methods to help residents skill build. Here are three “go to” methods we use regularly in the shelter environment and I hope you find them helpful too. Pillow Case Feeds What to do with all those donated pillow cases? Don’t toss them, use them instead to feed the residents who eat quickly or who enjoy a good game of “find it”. Pillow case feedings make meal times fun and help slow… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Laurie C. Williams of Pup ‘N Iron: September 4, 2020
Niki Tudge is joined by Laurie C. Williams the Owner of Pup ‘N Iron® in Virginia to discuss diversity in the dog training profession. Listen to Podcast here on a choice of platforms. Or simply click ‘Play’ below. Laurie C. Williams CPDT-KA has had a love of and connection with dogs from as far back as she can remember. She is the owner and director of training and behavior counseling at Pup ‘N Iron Canine Fitness and Learning Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she has been serving her community as a… Continued
Phoenix Blog Competition: Traumatized Dog
By Rhonda York Claire, an Aussie/cattle dog mix, came to live with us in May 2016. When I brought her home to foster her, I had no idea how to help her. She was completely unsocialized to humans and utterly terrified of everyone and everything—except for my two Labs, Angel and Buddy. I read many books, but nothing addressed how traumatized she really was. I regularly volunteer at PAWS for Life animal shelter in Pueblo, Colorado and am used to hyper dogs, big dogs, slightly OCD dogs and nervous dogs.… Continued
Celebrating National Dog Day 2020
By Bella / Animal Courses Direct, a PPG corporate partner In honor of our canine companions, Animal Courses Direct are celebrating National Dog Day 2020 with some truly inspirational stories from some of our students. “My Four-Legged Glasses Called Karma” Anne, from London, is completely blind and so depends on her wonderful helper Karma to get around. Karma, the dog, is the perfect supportive companion, helping Anne with day-to-day life. One day, Anne had to go into the city center to deliver some documents to a particular office. Karma did… Continued
Phoenix Blog Competition: Understanding Behavior
By Kimm Hunt In my second week as an animal control officer, a few heartbeats away from my 21st birthday, I had a rude awakening about the realities of working in animal welfare. The incident set the course for my professional career, including my current work in animal behavior and training almost 30 years later. A 14-week-old pit bull-type puppy I picked up had just completed his seven-day stray holding period at our shelter and I was crushing on him. He was sociable, wiggly and adorable. The sympathetic woman who found… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Denise O’Moore of INTODogs: July 31, 2020
Niki Tudge hosts Denise O’Moore, chair of INTO Dogs, to chat about all things Geek Week, a virtual educational event taking place on November 11-15, 2020. Join us to find out all about the Geek Week schedule, presenters, and all things Geeky. Tune in to hear the fun news about this great event where, for five-days, 24-hours a day, there will be more than 130 educational sessions with over 80 presenters. Learn about the sponsorship opportunities, virtual exhibitor halls, and so much more. See Geek Week for more details. Listen… Continued
Behavior Modification — A Case Study of a “Difficult” Dog
By Maren Jensen Ph.D. and Angelica Steinker M.Ed. CDBC PDBC PCBC-A The Joy and Journey of Rehabilitating a Dog with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Pica, Separation Anxiety, Noise Sensitivity and Aggression Rumble was a normal puppy. He investigated, pounced and loved all. Rum, as he is affectionately known, socialized with confidence and happiness, starting at nine weeks. He learned how to learn playing games. Maren, his owner, is a dog trainer and dog sport coach. Everything seemed on track for Rum to make a spectacular entrance into the dog sport… Continued
Phoenix Blog Competition: Learning Compassion
By Charleen Cordo For 15 years, I worked at an established training and adoption facility for shelter dogs at a facility for mentally ill youths. The dogs, who mostly came from a rural community, I felt that, judging by their behavior, had not always been treated very well. Many of them had worms or were prone to eating anything they could, some had mange, and most were just not very healthy. Among the behaviors they exhibited were jumping up, shyness around the approach of hands, lack of leash manners, and… Continued
Understanding Our Dogs: Separation Anxiety in Canines
By Animal Courses Direct How is your dog coping with changes during the pandemic? For many of us, the coronavirus and lockdown have brought a chance to spend more time with our beloved pets and families. Lots of dogs are benefitting from increased walks, interactions and new opportunities for mental stimulation. Some dogs will be loving this extra time with their loved ones and the company day-to-day, however for some dogs this will feel unusual and they may struggle with this change to their normal routine. It’s also likely that… Continued
Phoenix Blog Competition: Working to Address Stress
By Jerri Colonna I am a shelter volunteer on the behavior and enrichment team at Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) and we have worked very hard as volunteers to develop some great enrichment for our dogs. We are a very large inner city, open intake shelter and many of our dogs only get to go outdoors once every 24 hours, so it can be a stressful environment for them – especially if they are there long-term. Because of this, we have an enrichment group that focuses on things we can… Continued