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Is It Time to Have a Business Meeting with Yourself?

Is It Time to Have a Business Meeting with Yourself?

  by Veronica Boutelle If you’ve ever had someone say to you, “Oh, you’re a dog trainer? It must be so fun to play with puppies all day!” and had to take a very deep breath, we get it. Running your own business, especially one that requires complex behavior work and client support, is a ...
The Topic of Microaggressions for Identification and Educational Purposes!

The Topic of Microaggressions for Identification and Educational Purposes!

Introduction To some degree we are all products of cultural conditioning that instills within us biases and prejudices that can impregnate our behavior towards others. The term and concept ...
Exotic Animals and Shelter Awareness

Exotic Animals and Shelter Awareness

By Lara Joseph   As animal trainers and behavior consultants, our work can appear very appealing to pet owners and those who work with and take care of animals. What we ...

Latest Articles

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

BARKS Podcast with Amy C. Martin: September 25, 2019

Guest: Amy C. Martin, the owner of Conscious Companion™, member of the PPG Cat Committee, retired zoologist, animal behavior consultant, published author, and artist. Topic: Cats, Kids, and Compassion. Education creates understanding.  Understanding facilitates compassion.  Compassion ...

Being Social…..and Polite

I have seen many posts on social media recently by dog owners regarding 'out of control' dogs in public spaces. I don't recall this much of an outcry 3, 5 or way back 10 years ago, so is it really warranted? Or is it simply the case that now we have a facilitated platform for such ...

BARKS Podcast with Tabitha Kucera: August 22, 2019

Guest: Tabitha Kucera, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant, Co- Chair of PPG’s Feline Committee and Owner of Chirrups and Chatter Cat Behavior Consulting and Training and Positively Pawsitive Dog Behavior Consulting and Training in Cleveland, Ohio. Topic: From Hiss to Purr - Kitten ...

Mentoring the Next Generation of Trainers

I entered the field of dog training late in life, following my initial career in law enforcement. When I consider the things which made that 30 year career successful a long line of teachers parade through my memory and make me smile.  They saw my potential, fueled my interest in learning ...

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 ...

Dog Play and Prediction Error

Dog play is comprised of “ritualized aggression”, and aggression is rooted in fear. In ritualized aggression, there are varying degrees of fear/stress/aversions, along the spectrum from slight stress to possibly full blown fear, that results in a fight or bite or an attempt to flee. The ...