Training Horses with Positive Reinforcement: Taking Cues from the Dog World
…horses in the wild do not have a strict dominance hierarchy, and your horse is not trying to dominate you if he does something you don’t want him to. Horses do not like physical pain any more than we do. This is not a good way to teach and horses, like any animal, are less likely to do something again if the result is pain. Ask yourself why that is. Is it because they have learned a new behavior or is it simply because they are scared of being hurt?… Continued
Helping Fearful Cats
Cats are solitary hunters and prefer to avoid threats rather than face them. They use hiding as a coping strategy to help them avoid unwanted interactions or difficult situations. Providing a safe place is one of the five pillars of a healthy feline environment, according to the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the International Society of Feline Medicine (Ellis et al., 2013). From the cat’s perspective, a safe place is somewhere secluded that they can withdraw to if they feel stressed or threatened. Since cats like to be high… Continued
A Miniature Puppet Master
By Bob McMillan I’d heard about dogs like Bentley—manipulative, ready to take over the house and quite likely the entire block, a mastermind who bends all other dogs to his will. Bentley was my first chance to observe a Svengali of the dog world in his native habitat, which in this case was in my lap in my own home, looking up at me with huge, sincere, moist brown eyes. The little guy really had me, until a better lap came along and I watched him work his mojo on… Continued
The Pet Professional Guild Position Statement on Cat Declawing
Introduction The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) believes that all cats have an intrinsic right to be treated humanely, to have each of their individual needs met, and to live in safe, enriched environments free from pain, force, and fear. Scratching is a natural feline behavior. Declawing cats for owner convenience or in an attempt to protect property, people, and other pets is both inhumane and unnecessary given that there are highly effective alternatives available to manage the behavior more appropriately and less intrusively. Studies have also shown that declawing a… Continued
Position Statement on PPG’s Pet Industry Education Mandate
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) and its membership hold themselves accountable to a high standard of ethics, protocols and transparency. Since its inception in 2012, PPG has been unwavering and unequivocal about where it stands on equipment philosophy and training methods for pets. As such, its members are committed to the use, promotion and education of humane, scientific and effective training, care and management protocols, as espoused in PPG’s Guiding Principles (2012). While PPG has taken an exclusively force-free approach and a promise to “do no harm,” it also recognizes… Continued
PPG Summit 2020 Sessions: Bunny Cooperative Care
BARKS presents session details from PPG’s 2020 Summit and Multi-Species Workshop Events in Phoenix, Arizona Session Details: Presenter: Emily Cassell Session Title: HusBUNdry Basics: Language, Observation and Behavior in Bunny Cooperative Care Session Type: Arizona Humane Society Workshop (1.5 Hours) HusBUNdry Basics workshops will build on themselves throughout the week at Best Friends. All learners will be exposed to the basics in body language, observation skills, and common behavior objectives in rabbit cooperative care. As prey animals, rabbits often have different behavioral tendencies than dogs and cats, so learning to build… Continued
PPG Summit 2020 Sessions: Building Stronger Teams for the Shelter
BARKS presents session details from PPG’s 2020 Summit and Multi-Species Workshop Events in Phoenix, Arizona Session Details: Presenter: Sherry Woodard Session Title: Building Stronger Teams for the Shelter, Community, Rescue, Adoptions, Daily Care and Enrichment Session Type: Lecture (1.5 Hours) In the shelter environment, strong teams are important to expand every aspect of your work with animals and the community. A limited number of staff can only do so much. You can increase your effectiveness by creating teams composed of staff members, community partners and volunteers, so much more can… Continued
PPG Summit 2020 Sessions: How Emotions Impact the Outcome of Your Training
BARKS presents session details from PPG’s 2020 Summit and Multi-Species Workshop Events in Phoenix, Arizona Session Details: Presenter: Dr. Karolina Westlund Session Title: How Emotions Impact the Outcome of Your Training Session Type: Keynote Session (1.5 Hours) Emotional experiences impact brain development, personality, social skills, and stress sensitivity, and this presentation will focus specifically on how emotional reactions impact learning and performance. It will examine several of the mechanisms involved and discuss the importance of not only the animal’s emotional experience, but also the human part of the equation. The… Continued
How I TRAINED My Dog to Take a Pill
By Eileen Anderson Most of us have used the “hide it” method at one time or another to get our dogs to take pills. In fact, I wrote a whole post about some ways to sneak pills into dogs. But there’s a better way. What if you never had to hide a pill again? What if your dog would take a pill almost like a human? Instead of washing it down with a drink of water, your dog would get a favorite treat afterward instead. Pill-taking can be trained as a behavior. It… Continued
Training Tips: My Puppy Is a Scaredy Cat
By Sally Bradbury The world can be a scary place for a puppy sometimes, so it is important that we don’t put him into situations that he cannot cope with. For example, if your puppy is scared of large chubby bearded men in red coats, then you can just keep him away from the chimney on Christmas Eve. However, we also need to help him to not be scared of everyday things like the vacuum cleaner, the dog behind the fence up the road, visitors to the house…all the things… Continued
Resolving Destructive Behaviour in Your Pet
By Karolina Westlund Ph.D. of PPG corporate partner Illis Animal Behaviour Consulting Destructive behaviour can be extremely frustrating. Image: concept by ILLIS ABC, drawing by Pyrrth Destructive behaviour from your beloved pet can be a nuisance. Assuming there’s not an underlying medical condition or the behaviour isn’t anxiety-related, let’s look at some ways of addressing these types of behaviour, regardless of whether you’re a dog dude, a cat gal or a parrot person. Or hang out with any other critter, for that matter. I’m going to use cat furniture scratching as… Continued
Four Steps to a Thriving Group Class Program
By Veronica Boutelle of PPG corporate partner, dogbiz Do any of these group training class challenges sound familiar? Students who tell you their dogs “only behave during class” or “when the trainer is around” Starting class with 6 students and ending with 3 Students who check training off their list after Puppy or Basic Manners class, never to return Cancelling or postponing classes that don’t fill in time. Teaching half-empty classes Struggling to teach students with a wide variety of skill levels and needs Fitting in make-ups for students who… Continued
Hide My Deaf/Blind Dog Away?
By Debbie Bauer Here is my handsome, clever, fun-loving boy Vinny on our recent trip to Purina Farms. This picture was taken at their Visitor Center and he is smiling, which is his normal state of mind. You see, on this day, it was Saturday morning and the Visitor Center was full of children! In fact, we struggled at times to get a picture, as children were running up to him trying to pet him and say hello. Vinny loves children! They are just at his nose height and he… Continued
July 22, 2019: Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Banning Cat Declawing
New York Becomes First State in Nation to Ban Cat Declawing: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has signed legislation (S.5532B/A.1303) banning the performance of declawing procedures on cats, making New York the first state to prohibit the practice. The bill takes effect immediately. “Declawing is a cruel and painful procedure that can create physical and behavioral problems for helpless animals, and today it stops,” Governor Cuomo said.“By banning this archaic practice, we will ensure that animals are no longer subjected to these inhumane and unnecessary procedures.” Read article
For The Curious 2 – Your Questions on Deaf, Blind Dogs Answered
By Debbie Bauer There were more great questions sent for my For The Curious series of posts! Thank you to everyone who sent such great questions that people often have about blind/deaf dogs and double merles! Are your blind/deaf dogs always on a leash or beside you? Are they able to roam freely at home and are they able to navigate a space they are familiar with? What about a space they are unfamiliar with? My b/d dogs are free to roam in the house or fenced areas. They know the space… Continued
#PPGSummit 2019: Sound Bites
By Susan Nilson “We need to be careful when using genetics as an easy ‘explanation’ for behavior…Genetics has an important and undeniable contribution to behavior, including aggression. However, how and to what degree genetics interacts with environmental variables is far from known. Understanding how environmental risk factors mixed with more susceptible genotypes may help contextualize risk and our understanding of behavior.” – Dr. Nathan Hall. Read article
Ask the Experts: Maximizing Your Training Space
By Veronica Boutelle Make sure to use your space in ways that truly work for you. You’ve achieved your dream of having a facility. Be careful you get to enjoy it. That means passing on services that require you to spend time in ways you’d rather not (for example, tied to a day care floor instead of out day training, or overseeing a large staff when you’re really not comfortable doing so, etc.). Read article
The Escape Artist Dog
By Beth Napolitano According to PAWS (2019), we are justified in worrying about our dogs’ safety when we are out with them in public places: “Escaping is a serious problem for both you and your dog, as it can have tragic consequences. If your dog is running loose, he is in danger of being hit by a car, being injured in a fight with another dog, or being hurt in a number of other ways. Additionally, you are liable for any damage or injury your dog may cause and you… Continued
Thinking Inside the Box
By Andrea Carne “If it fits, I sits.” How many Facebook memes and YouTube videos depicting cats squished into boxes and other small spaces have you chuckled over? It might be a packing box, a shoebox, even an egg carton – often far too small to actually fit the cat comfortably – and yet the said cats seem blissfully happy with their chosen spaces. While no definitive research study has come up with an answer, most behavior consultants agree boxes and other small, enclosed spaces provide a safe, secure hiding… Continued
Teaching Students, Training Kittens
By Breanna Norris Where to begin training a kitten? We started in the same place we would with any other species, a nose target. I brought a variety of target sticks for students to use…After training nose targets, the students went on to work on crate training, shaping going around a cone, stationing to a platform and cooperative nail trims. The crate training progressed quickly for all four kittens, with Bagheera the star. We started with all four kittens on lab tables (although for other training some teams opted to… Continued
Group Housing Solutions
By Kathie Gregory Horses have evolved as a social species to live in groups. The group is essential to the survival of the species, providing safety in numbers, working together to detect and assess any potential threat. The fact that many horses are now kept in a domesticated environment where there are no predators has not changed their survival mechanism. As such, significant issues arise from a lack of social contact, not being part of a group, and the lack of opportunity to form friendships. It is intrinsic to the… Continued
Considering Canine Aggression from a Scientific Perspective
By Susan Nilson “The skull shape is going to determine the bite level. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into the amount of damage done by a bite and very little of it has to do with the dog’s ability to control himself. A dog jaw is a third order lever. This means the force is in the middle between the load and the fulcrum. This is physics 101. Dogs do not all have the same bite mechanics or bite potential…My issue with bite levels is that predictions are… Continued
Learning from Mother Nature
By Lara Joseph Sadly, behavior issues are skyrocketing in the realm of exotic animal care. Most of what I see is due to ongoing, stressful conditions and, often, the signs of stress are not recognized in the companion animal community or facility staff, who are not always educated appropriately. A lot of the behaviors I see are due to frustration, lack of choice, and the result of an animal not being able to control their own consequences. Read article
Saying Goodbye
By Alicia Obando According to Tzivian et al. (2015), the loss of a pet may be “very stressful to the owner, whether these deaths were caused by euthanasia, accident, or by the progress of illness. The longer one has a pet, the greater the attachment can become, and this strong attachment may provoke a distress reaction upon a pet’s death. Many people grieve for their pets in much the same way as they do for the deaths of their friends. Families are known to experience a range of emotions in… Continued
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