Straight from the Horse’s Mouth
By Dorothy Heffernan With a growing interest in ‘least intrusive, minimally aversive’ (LIMA) training methods and the ‘least intrusive effective behavior intervention’ (LIEBI) model, many equestrians of today are increasingly starting to consider the option of riding their horses without using a bit. Bits have traditionally been used to train and control horses, but few people question why this might be, or how they actually work. But there isn’t really a single answer to this “why,” because different cultures have their own approaches towards horse training. One single fact is… Continued
Trick Bunnies
By Emily Cassell “So, where do you plan to hold your trick classes?” asked the interviewer from Do More with Your Dog! I hoped she was ready for the answer: “I don’t actually plan to hold in-person classes,” I explained. “The reason I am trying to get certified is so that I can create a Spark group for bunnies.” If you aren’t familiar with Do More with Your Dog! or their trick titling program, let me fill in some gaps for you. Do More with Your Dog! was the first sanctioning… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Sara McLoudrey: February 19, 2021
Join Niki Tudge, Sara McLoudrey of Synergy Behavior Solutions as they chat about dog training and behavior consulting. Listen to the Podcast here on your preferred platform. Or simply click ‘Play’ below. Sara McLoudrey CPDT-KSA, FearFree Level 1 and Certified Trainer, Low-Stress Handling Silver Certification, FitPaws-MT, TagTeach L3, is the behavior modification and training coordinator at Synergy Behavior Solutions, a veterinary behavior practice in Portland, Oregon. She has been a professional animal trainer since 2004, founding ROOT Dog Training in suburban Chicago. ROOT started as a single proprietor in-home training business, that grew… Continued
Ask the Dog!
By Ada Simms Many dog trainers and dog owners probably have a closet full of front attaching or no-pull harnesses. It shows that our interest is about the dogs and their comfort, therefore we experiment. Could we find one that goes on easier or one that provides more control yet is still comfortable for the dog? As I thought about whether I should use brand names or not for this article, I came to the conclusion I would not be doing justice to the companies that I have not bought… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Debra Millikan and Lucie Malouin: February 5, 2021
Join Niki Tudge, Debra Millikan of the Pet Professional Guild and Lucie Malouin of Complètement Canin in Québec, Canada as they chat through the process of becoming accredited through the Pet Professional Accreditation Board (PPAB). Learn about PPAB’s eligibility, skill and knowledge testing – and much more. If you have unanswered questions about PPAB, the credentials, how they were developed, the different levels, the knowledge testing, the skill assessment, the process, or anything else at all, this is the podcast for you! Listen to the Podcast here on your preferred… Continued
Pit Bull Pete: One Dog’s Journey with Fear
By Daniel Antolec As an accredited professional dog trainer and certified canine behavior consultant I have devoted myself to helping anxious and fearful dogs. My journey on that path began on August 28, 2012 when I first began working with Ranger, a two-year-old Australian shepherd who was evaluated by another trainer, and whose euthanasia had already been decided based upon his poor quality of life. Ranger, like so many of my behavioral cases, had a multitude of fears. These included neophobia, separation anxiety and extreme leash reactivity. After three months… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Claire Staines of Lothlorien Dog Services: January 22, 2021
Join Niki Tudge as she Chats and Chuckles with Claire Staines of Lothlorien Dog Services in Linlithgow, Scotland, UK about all things UK dog training and behavior. Listen to Podcast here on a choice of platforms. Or simply click ‘Play’ below. Claire Staines is an accredited professional canine trainer, a Victoria Stilwell professional dog trainer, and a mentor and faculty advisor for the Victoria Stilwell Academy. She is owned and educated by her two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, is an avid lover of the breed, and assists in behavior modification for Ridgebacks that… Continued
Once More, with Feeling
By Andrea Carne A friend gave me a coffee cup some time ago which reads, “Cats know how you feel…they don’t care, but they know.” Well, recent research reveals that such comical turns of phrase are untrue. Not only can cats perceive our emotional state, but they will react accordingly through their own stress levels. Before getting into the nitty gritty of research findings, however, let’s begin by looking in general at cats and emotion. I mean, despite what some choose to believe (including, perhaps, the creator of my coffee… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Veronica Sanchez of Cooperative Paws Service Dog Education: January 9, 2021
Join Niki Tudge as she chats with Veronica Sanchez of Cooperative Paws Service Dog Education about service dog certification. Listen to Podcast here on a choice of platforms. Or simply click ‘Play’ below. Veronica Sanchez M.Ed CABC CPDT-KA is the founder of the Cooperative Paws Service Dog Coach™, an educational certification program for professional trainers. She teaches dog trainers how to train service dogs and how to incorporate service dog training into their pet dog training businesses. She also offers a variety of online courses on different aspects of service dog… Continued
Eat, PURR, Love
By Andrea Carne Read the next sentence very carefully (and with a large pinch of salt): Feeding your cat one meal a day might be best. I can almost hear the gasps from cat guardians across the world! “Feed my cat once a day? Are you crazy?” I hear you say. “What do I do when I get the 5 a.m. ‘wake up and feed me’ paw in the face? Calmly explain that there’ll be no food until 6 p.m.?” And I can also imagine what feline behavior specialists may… Continued
Ask the Experts: Virtual Training
Benefits: Emphasize the benefits of online training. Don’t just state that you’re offering it, sell it! Tell potential clients on your website and when you talk to them how thrilled you are with the advantages (and outcomes!) of this way of training. It Works: Show people how it works. Help potential clients understand what training this way will be like—both to inspire them and to assuage concerns or confusion they may have about it. Sometimes we just need to be able to imagine ourselves in a situation. You can do… Continued
Ask the Experts: Innovation, Creation
…the pandemic essentially hurled our industry into the future as trainers were forced to adapt quickly to continue to serve dogs and their people. We probably would have gotten here eventually, but at our industry’s usual snail’s pace the things we’ve learned (such as the benefits of working online and all the lessons learned there) would have taken far longer. The fast track may have been a bit discombobulating, but many trainers who stepped outside the box and took a good look around have decided to put that box in… Continued
Trick Bunnies
Rabbits are highly sensitive, smart, and sensible. They quickly thread environmental events together in a pattern and have a highly perceptive understanding of what is going on. Teaching them is not unlike teaching puppy class, where you watch the puppies catch onto the behavior more quickly than their humans realize they are learning something. Rabbits respond quickly to the environment, which makes them perfectly suited to learning patterns and chaining behaviors, which often means that the rabbit has learned the behavior before the trainer even realizes it. Our team has… Continued
The Need for Safety in Learning
It is worth noting that in environments where basic needs cannot easily be met, it is easier to capture feral animals. An animal who is starving or dying of thirst or needs shelter will move into potentially unsafe situations in order to satisfy the basic need(s). By contrast, in a resource rich environment, if the animal has ready access to food, shelter and water, they may consistently avoid any situations that make them feel unsafe, such as a bowl of food placed in a humane trap. we can artificially elevate… Continued
Managing an Aggressive, Fearful, or Reactive Dog
By Don Hanson When you have a dog that is exhibiting aggressive behavior, you have a responsibility to keep yourself, your family, your pets, and your community safe. A dog that is behaving aggressively is experiencing some form of emotional stress, so it is your responsibility to identify and keep him away from the stressors that trigger the behavior while working with a professionals who can help you. #1. Get Help from an Accredited Professional as Soon as Possible Helping change aggressive behavior is not a Do-It-Yourself project, nor is… Continued
The One Thing No Amount of Studying Can Teach You about Dogs
By Michelle Underwood *This post is a selected entry from the Pet Professional Guild Writers’ Competition for Geek Week 2020* Observing dogs, particularly my own, is one of my favorite pastimes. I love how we can try and understand their world, but we sometimes have no idea what they are really experiencing. Dogs have such individual personalities and sometimes I don’t get hung upon the what and the why too much, I just enjoy their characters’ and the things they do for who they are. To me, being in the forest… Continued
Maintaining a Rewarding Relationship with Your Dog
By Tiff Shao *This post is a selected entry from the Pet Professional Guild Writers’ Competition for Geek Week 2020 * The aquamarine waters looked extra enticing as we approached the river crossing. It was a hot August day and the previous section of the trail offered no shade. My dog Braeburn splashed in the chilly, mountain-fed waters and drank his fill. We had a few miles under our soles, and a total of five days to trek 40 in total. Our locale was the Bob Marshall Wilderness – land of… Continued
My Service Dog Changed My Life – And I Didn’t Even Want Her
By Aida Garcia *This post is a selected entry from the Pet Professional Guild Writers’ Competition for Geek Week 2020 * I am a disabled combat veteran. At one time, I lived and breathed the Marine Corps. From the day I stepped foot on the yellow footprints, I had no doubt this was what I wanted to do with my life. But after 12 years in, my career came to an end – and not the end I expected or wanted. I was crushed and lost. I went through some very… Continued
BARKS Podcast with Paula Garber and Tabitha Kucera of the PPG Feline Committee: December 4, 2020
Niki Tudge, PPG president, chats with the PPG Feline Committee chair, Paula Garber and vice-chair, Tabitha Kucera about all things feline. Topics range from pet cats and veterinary visits, to what we know we don’t know about cats, and to feral cats and the myths about cat colonies. The trio also spend some time talking about all the great things the Feline Committee is doing, including the popular Cat Lounge! Listen to Podcast here on a choice of platforms. Or simply click ‘Play’ below. Paula Garber is the owner of LIFELINE Cat… Continued
Dog Training in “3D”: Harnessing the Concepts of Distance, Duration and Distractions
By Joan Hunter Mayer of PPG corporate partner Transpaw Gear® At TransPaw Gear, we want people to have adventures with dogs that are safe and fun. One way to help ensure that happens is by teaching dogs a few key skills. Concepts that apply to teaching and refining many different behaviors are the 3Ds: distance, duration and distractions. Let’s look at each one in turn, including an example of how a versatile, well-fitting, force-free dog harness can help dogs and their humans achieve training successes together. Distance Distance, when applied… Continued
Dudley the Wonder Fish
By Sharon Empson It has been a little over a year since I trained Dudley as part of my Karen Pryor Academy Certification as a Pet Trainer. Not wanting to add more furry pets to our home, I chose a fish as my “other species.” I bought Dudley at a pet shop when he was about a little over an inch long. Cichlids are intelligent fish. I read an interesting article that stated you can see the intelligence of Cichlids in their hunting techniques. The N. Livingstonii buries itself in… Continued
The Giveaway: On the Loss of a Beloved Pet
For the first time, I missed the writing deadline for my monthly PPG blog this month. Sadly, it was unavoidable, as I could muster neither the energy or the words to do so. We each lose our beloved pets, and in the past couple of years I have read far too many posts from PPG colleagues expressing the loss of their pet, most of whom have been dogs. I read each post with tears in my eyes, sharing the sorrow with my dear force-free colleagues, remembering my own painful losses.… Continued
Feline Litter Box Problems: The Needs of the Many
By Andrea Carne The Star Trek character Spock once said: “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.” (Meyer, 1982). This movie quote popped into my mind upon reading the findings of a new study into stress levels of multicat households experiencing toileting issues. Stay with me on this – it will all become clear! I’m sure most cat behavior consultants would agree that the number one behavior problem reported by cat guardians is inappropriate toileting – both urine spraying… 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