Does Ignoring an Unwanted Behavior Really Work?
By Debbie Bauer
I often hear the advice given to ignore the behavior we don't like and it will go away. But is this really true? In my experience, and in the experience of many others, ignoring a behavior does not cause it to go away. In many instances, ignoring can even cause the ...
Pet Guardians Need Help Finding Professionals
As a professional dog trainer taking behavioral cases I see how confusing it can be for pet owners to know what sort of help they need and where to find it. Lack of regulation and transparency in the industry can lead pet guardians into pitfalls.
This happened to a client whose dog was ...
BARKS Podcast with Dr. Lynn Bahr – July 10, 2018
Guest: PPG Cat Committee, PPG Summit presenter, and founder of Dezi & Roo, Dr. Lynn Bahr.
Topics: Dr. Bahr's recent PPG blog post, Why Every Cat Needs a Place to Hide and her article in BARKS, Pain Underlying, in which she discusses the issue of pain, how well cats can hide it, and the ...
Pet Professional Guild to hold inaugural Australia summit in Sydney – Two weeks to go and 15 spots left!
Convention guarantees three full days of high-level education and networking opportunities for pet training and behavior professionals.
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) will hold its inaugural Australia summit on July 26 – 29, 2018 at the Bankstown Sports Club in Bankstown, NSW. PPG ...
Fear Free™ Vet Visits: A Feline Behavior and Training Specialist’s Journey
By Victoria Blais
Desperately visiting a veterinarian I had never seen before, I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I was encouraged to put on protective leather gloves to hold my highly anxious cat, Haddie. My normally sweet, affectionate girl, flattened her ears, pupils dilated, as ...
Busy Toys Gone Bad
By Yvette Van Veen
Toys...are neither good nor bad. Rather it's how they are used. They can strengthen behaviour you like. If you're not careful, they will strengthen behaviour you dislike.
There are more toys out there than you can shake a stick at. You could say that busy toys are the ...
Learning a New Way to Communicate
By Debbie Bauer
Sometimes we know in advance if our dog will lose sight and/or hearing. I have a senior dog now who is mostly deaf from age. So far his sight seems OK, but I know it too may begin to fade. There are some things we can do to help ease this transition for our dogs.
One is to ...
Leaving Dogs in Cars Can Kill Them
Like many dog owners, I enjoy taking Buddha and Gandhi in my car when I run chores.
They enjoy riding with me and have learned to recognize familiar locations such as the town dump, the bank, the vet clinic and even the local car wash. When I look around during those trips, I see others ...