New Content
BARKS Podcast with Dr. Marina Bayeva: How You Can Help the Fundraiser for Ukrainian Animal Shelters
The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) is supporting an important fundraiser for six animal shelters in Ukraine. In this podcast, we meet the fundraiser creator, Dr. Marina Bayeva, as well as supporting veterinarian Dr. Paula Klek and PPG's Shelter & Rescue Division Chair K. Holden ...
BARKS Podcast with Zazie Todd of Companion Animal Psychology: July 16, 2021
PPG president Niki Tudge chats to Zazie Todd, animal behavior expert and award-winning author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy, and creator of the Companion Animal ...
BARKS News – July 2021
Listen to the July 2021 edition of BARKS News!
Highlights include:
Geek Week 2021 – Early Bird discount available till July 31, 2021! / Special options for shelter and rescue / Schedule now ...
Latest Articles
Spray Bottles Are for Houseplants, Not Cats
By Beth Adelman, MS
It’s piece of bad advice that just won’t die: When your cat is misbehaving, squirt her with some water. Even some veterinarians still say it.
What’s wrong with the spray bottle? Well, for starters, it doesn’t work. Yes, when you squirt your cat, she is very likely to ...
“Good Sit!”
Here is a quiz. Let’s say someone says, “Sit,” to a dog, intending the word as a cue.
What part of speech is the word, “Sit”?
Then, what part of speech is the same word if we say, “Good sit!” afterwards?
That was a trick.
If we were talking to a human who speaks the same language we do, ...
News Flash: Dogs Remember
Science has once again confirmed the obvious: Dogs can remember things.
OK, maybe I am being a bit hard on the researchers. They were specifically interested in whether dogs have episodic memory. Well, they call it “episodic-like” memory, since some would argue that only humans can actually ...
Practice? Liszt or Chopsticks
Years ago in another life I was a music teacher. In addition to class music lessons for many years, I also taught the piano and the flute. What’s this got do do with dogs, you might ask.
My pupils’ results showed I was quite a good music teacher. Being a piano teacher in the exam system was ...
Jekyll and Hyde – Social off Leash but Reactive on Leash?
It might be a coincidence but over the last few weeks I have met a lot of dogs who are reactive on leash. They bark, lunge, whine and pull towards other dogs on walks. Some will aggress if given a chance and may even hurt another dog.
Leash reactivity presents in at least two forms, dogs who ...
Total Recall
I suspect most dog owners wish their dogs could be off leash and enjoy themselves without restriction, or at least be free of the leash in most situations. In that ideal world a dog could assuredly be called back on cue and no harm would occur if he occasionally strayed afar.
My personal ...
Puppy Biting: Learning the Rules
Anyone who has a puppy will know that they have needle sharp teeth. The current thinking is that this serves a useful purpose. If they hurt their litter mates when play biting them, (which most puppies do most of the time!) the other pups will squeal and not want to play and so each pup ...
But Every Dog is Different!
But every dog is different!
This is another common argument against trainers who train without force. It usually goes like this:
But every dog is different! You can’t just use a cookie cutter!
But every dog is different! Why limit yourself to only one method?
But every dog is ...
Setting Judgment Aside
Professional dog trainers and behavior consultants who use force-free methods are some of the most compassionate people I know. We couldn’t do this work if we didn’t care deeply and want the absolute best outcome in every situation. So it pains me to think about these same individuals ...