Barks Blog

PPG Member Profile featuring Pet Professional Guild member Chris Lopez-Santiago of Happy Tails Pet Care in Orlando, Florida     Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you first got into animal behavior and training and what you are doing now…                                     Honestly, getting into animal behavior was not something I thought I would ever do. I knew I always loved animals of all types. Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, fish, and even insects and arachnids are fascinating to me. I’d often watch Zak George on YouTube to learn how to teach… Continued

This article presents guidelines for dog training professionals to help them build training programs for their clients, including lesson and individual session plans     By Niki Tudge When we are building an effective training program for clients and their dogs, we usually start the process by completing a full client intake procedure and going to the client’s home and completing the informant interview. From here, we should then be ready to build our client a training program that includes the Training Road Map, Individual Lesson Plans, and Hands-on Sessions.… Continued

This article provides guidance on how to move an in-person dog training business to an online dog training business     By Veronica Boutelle   Q: I’m at a turning point with my dog training business and just don’t know how to move forward. During lockdown I had to shift my services online and while it was daunting to begin with, I ended up really enjoying it. It allowed me to spend more time at home and less time driving for hours in the car, and the results with clients were… Continued

This article presents multiple suggestions for providing enrichment to our horses, including food puzzles and games, different turnout options, opportunities for social interaction, environmental enrichment, and feeding options     By Kathie Gregory   Enrichment is a word that is becoming increasingly used to describe how we do more than provide welfare to our companion animals. Awareness of enrichment is very high in the dog world, and there are plenty of ideas and products that cater for the different breeds, traits, and personalities to ensure dogs have a wide variety… Continued

This article reports on some of the wonderful work being done by the teaching staff and students at a New England Technical High School to ensure their resident birds and animals have an array of enrichment opportunities available to ensure mental stimulation       By Sheila S. Blanchette As a professional certified parrot behavior consultant and trainer, I enjoy finding opportunities to improve my skills and also have a little fun along the way. As such, I volunteer at local animal rescues in my area and in doing so,… Continued

This article examines a new study that explores the importance cats place on an absent owner’s smell vs. their physical presence     By Andrea Carne   “Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.” – Helen Keller   Olfaction – the sense of smell – I’m sure we are all aware that it’s incredibly important to many species, including humans and dogs. However, I would wager there are many that don’t realise how important it also is for… Continued

This article provides suggestions and advice for ensuring your dog feels safe and happy as an office dog, as well as pointing out the signs of stress to look out for     By Chantal Hughes We know there is a link between happiness in the workplace and increased productivity. Findings from research coming out of Virginia Commonwealth University in the USA report that “[m]an’s best friend may make a positive difference in the workplace by reducing stress and making the job more satisfying for other employees.” (Barker et al., 2012). Great… Continued

This article relates the impact the pandemic had on one professional dog trainer’s business and how it empowered her to make life-changing decisions about her future – both personally and professionally By Gail Radtke In April 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, I closed my dog training facility that I had been operating in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, and moved all the equipment into my garage. Like so many other people at the time I was unsure, unprepared, and overwhelmed, but knew I had to make fast decisions… Continued

This article details how a dog obsessed with chasing squirrels learned, through repetition and reinforcement of an alternative behavior, to leave the squirrels alone By Karen Baragona Shhhh. Can you keep a secret? I used to HATE walking my dog. Why? Because my neighborhood is full of squirrels, and every time my dog saw one, she went freak-show crazy. Airborne. Yowling, lunging, sometimes even pulling me off my feet and dragging me along the sidewalk. People literally stopped and stared. Windows flew open and heads craned out to investigate the commotion.… Continued

This article tells the tale of Huckleberry, a dog fearful of riding in the car, and the importance of moving at the dog’s pace when engaging in a DS/CC protocol By Karen Baragona Poor shivering, quivering Huckleberry. Not because it’s cold out; she couldn’t care less about that. This is fear. Huckleberry is about to experience something that makes most dogs jump for joy, and she’s beside herself with fright: She’s going for a ride in the car. Part of this is my fault. When we adopted her, Huckleberry was… Continued

This article examines the growing body of research indicating that reward-based training, and the subsequent absence of stress, anxiety, pain, force, and fear, may improve an animal’s ability to learn; and that aversive training techniques can have adverse effects on a dog’s behavior       By Susan Nilson and Niki Tudge   The United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006), defines corporal or physical punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light…Physical punishment… Continued

This article presents an overview of the types of learning, animal emotions vs. animal behaviors, applied behavior analysis, and choice and empowerment in animal training By Niki Tudge Like humans, animals can learn in a healthy, humane and safe manner, or, conversely, through pain, force and fear. In cases of high emotional arousal (“emotional hijacking”), the emotional brain inhibits the rational brain and an animal will go into fight or flight mode. In biological terms, this means it is difficult, if not impossible, for them to learn productively when in… Continued