New Content
Introducing Cats: Slowly Does It
By Patience Fisher
There are many challenges for shelters in finding adoptive homes for cats. As an adoption counselor, I always found it disheartening to have a cat returned to the shelter for not getting along with the resident cats.
During the adoption process, the ...
BARKS Podcast with the PPG Advocacy Panel: Discussion #1 – How to Best Advocate for Positive Reinforcement Training
How to Best Advocate for Positive Reinforcement Training
Join the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) Advocacy Panel for a discussion on How to Best Advocate for Positive Reinforcement Training. Pet ...
Pet Professional Guild Launches ‘Horses with Voices’ Initiative
OFFICIAL PPG NEWS RELEASE | LECANTO, Fla. - Aug. 30, 2021 - The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has launched its Horses with Voices initiative, the primary aim of which is to improve companion ...
Latest Articles
“Naughty” Dog Or Normal Dog?
I've lost count as to how many times I've heard that Fido is 'really naughty,' 'he's doing it deliberately,' 'he's trying to spite me,' or, if an owner has more than one dog, 'they're trying to gang up on me!' But are these labels in any way helpful? Let's consider this for a moment.
Ask ...
Having a Bit More Fun with Our Dogs
When I got my first dog as a child no one in the family knew much about dogs, puppy preschool classes were unheard of and the average dog just somehow became part of the family. My father mainly got the dog because I probably pestered him for too long. He was a Dalmatian called Lord, he was ...
So Tell Me What You Want, What You Really Really Want: Nine Ways Preference Testing Can Go Wrong
What’s your favorite color?
Do you prefer pie or ice cream?
Which shirt do you like better: the striped one or the solid green one?
Most of us have been asked our preferences since we were children. Sometimes we are being asked to make a choice: if we choose the striped shirt we ...
Does Breed Specific Legislation Work?
Recently a dog incident occurred in the tiny northern village of Plain, Wisconsin. As reported by TV news in the southern part of the state, a lady was walking her dog when three Pit Bulls escaped their home and rushed up to her. The lady ended up on the ground and was “scratched”.
The news ...
Labels and Limitations…..
By Kamal Fernandez
Do you have a nickname for your dog? I mean, an endearing title or word that describes or captures who they are? This can often be a positive thing… all of my dogs, have a ‘second name’, that I often use to reference them… Sugar is ‘shu-shu’….. Punch is ‘P dog’… ‘Super’ ...
A Good Start in Life
By Francine Miller
Thankfully, more people are now aware that puppies need early socialization to have the best shot at being behaviorally healthy, but there are still many that are sketchy on the details of the process.
Very few people are aware that kittens also undergo a sensitive ...
Dog Car Safety: Help – An Escapee!
Recently, my nephew and I saw a dog running down a busy main road. She was very lucky as between us we managed to redirect her down an alleyway away from all the traffic and eventually I got her to come near enough to me so that I could take hold of her collar. She was obviously very ...
Cognitive Dog Training
I first started teaching about what I called cognitive dog training several years ago. I didn't invent it; I simply named what a lot of positive, forward-thinking dog trainers were already doing. Cognitive dog training enlists the dog as ...
The Problem with Punishment
Fortunately today, thanks to force free advocating organizations like Pet Professional Guild, there is much more awareness of the detrimental effects of punishment. Sadly though, in some quarters it still prevails and is even advocated by some and perpetuated by the media. So what ...