Official News Release: PPG Announces Virtual Summit to Celebrate Launch of New Pet Rescue Resource
April event will mark unveiling of Behavior and Welfare Toolkit, specifically designed to help increase adoption and retention rates in the shelter and rescue sector
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – February 17, 2020 — The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has announced an educational Virtual Summit taking place on Thursday, April 2 – Friday, April 3, 2020 to mark the launch of its new program, the PPG Pet Rescue Resource – A Behavior and Welfare Toolkit.
The Pet Rescue Resource Behavior and Welfare Toolkit is a comprehensive educational product, designed by PPG’s Shelter and Rescue Division, that features a broad range of programs and modules aimed at helping improve the prospects of pets in a shelter or rescue environment by increasing adoption and retention rates. It consists of articles, training plans and videos that cover a broad range of essential topics pertinent to the world of shelter and rescue (e.g. dogs that jump up and canine play groups), as well as individual modules that focus on topics of a smaller scope. Each resource fulfills a specific issue that has been identified by PPG’s Shelter and Rescue Division as something that commonly occurs and needs to be addressed to aid in the management, behavior modification, training, and enrichment of animals in shelters and foster homes.
In support of the rollout of the Toolkit, the Virtual Summit, jointly hosted by PPG in North America and Pet Professional Guild British Isles (PPGBI), will feature two full days of educational webinar sessions, focusing on collaborative care and enrichment, that can be implemented by animal rescue and/or shelter organizations to help better assimilate rescue pets into homes. The 1-hour sessions, followed by an interactive question and answer session lasting up to 30 minutes, will run from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (EDT)/3 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. (GMT) on consecutive days. Presenters include neuroscientist Dr. Kathy Murphy, Dr. Karolina Westlund of Illis Animal Behavior Consulting in Sweden, veterinarian Dr. Nick Thompson, Dr. Zazie Todd of popular blog Companion Animal Psychology, Dr. Morag Heirs of Well Connected Canine Ltd. in York, U.K., renowned canine separation anxiety expert Malena DeMartini, Dr. Robert Hewings of the UK College of Scent Detection, and Dr. Juliane Kaminski, director of the Dog Cognition Centre in Portsmouth, U.K.
Registration for the Virtual Summit opens online today, Monday, February 17, 2020 through either the PPG (petprofessionalguild.com/Pet-Rescue-Resource) or PPGBI (ppgbi.com/Pet-Rescue-Resources) website and registrants will gain access not only to the live event, but also to audio session recordings for their own personal use for 12 months.
“As a PPG developed concept, the Pet Rescue Resource Toolkit reflects our organization’s mission to provide the greatest value, highest quality, state-of-the-art, force-free, science-based education on the training, behavior consulting, and care of companion animals,” said PPG president, Niki Tudge. “Each program and module within the Toolkit has been constructed so it functions with the greatest possible efficiency in order to minimize additional work by shelter and rescue staff and volunteers in what are, often, under-resourced circumstances. On a secondary level, it has also been constructed to support adopters, foster home networks and professional pet trainers and care providers and designed specifically so it can be implemented by a cross section of pet professionals, volunteers, pet parents and pet hobbyists. The Virtual Summit is the perfect way to launch this exciting new resource, by starting as we mean to go on: providing quality education by some of the leading names in the field of pet training and behavior.”
About the Pet Rescue Resource – A Behavior and Welfare Toolkit
The Pet Rescue Resource – A Behavior and Welfare Toolkit consists of a number of comprehensive programs comprising articles, training plans and videos that cover a broad range of salient topics, as well as individual modules that focus on topics of a smaller scope. Each of its resources have been designed to guide and support programs for the management, behavior modification, training, and enrichment of animals in shelters and foster homes. Each of the resources provided in the Toolkit are designed to guide and support programs for the management, behavior modification, training, and enrichment of animals in shelters and foster homes.
