New Content
BARKS Podcast with Cynophobia Specialist Stefani Cohen: January 21, 2022
Join Niki Tudge and PPG Canine Committee chair Judy Luther as they Chat and Chuckle with licensed clinical social worker Stefani Cohen, about cynophobia, aka fear of dogs.
Stefani helps dog lovers and dog trainers understand more about the fear of dogs, as well as how to help both others ...
A Safe Escape
By Dr. Lisel O’Dwyer
The Adelaide Hills, South Australia have recently faced severe brushfires, an unfortunate situation that has prompted the discussion of the logistical differences between ...
BARKS Podcast with Alex Pietraszko: March 26, 2021
Join Niki Tudge and Alex Pietraszko, head of marketing for PPG corporate partner Animals Courses Direct, discussing all the great programs they offer to pet professionals -- as well as the new ...
Latest Articles
Taming the Dreaded Oreckosaurus Rex
Some dogs run and hide at first sight of the vacuum cleaner or unleash a barrage of barking, lunging and biting at the dreadful thing. Others quickly identify the vacuum cleaner’s lair and the fear response begins as soon as the person reaches to open the closet door. Cleaning house soon ...
Observational Skills For Empathy
As Jane Goodall pointed out in an article this week, story-telling is sometimes the best way to share ideas and information. So, I thought I’d share an experience I had with a brilliant trainer utilising her empathic observation on me a few years ago.
Some years ago I acquired a rather ...
Seven Stages to a Bite
It’s sometimes good to remind ourselves of what our dogs are. Dogs are relatives of the modern day wolf, both having evolved from a common ancestor. Is it not fascinating that when we chose to domesticate an animal, we chose a predator and welcomed him into our homes. Irrespective of the ...
You Don’t Have to Go Through the Door Before Your Dog!
When Annie Phenix of Phenix Dogs recently mentioned to me that the “door myth” is still alive and well, I got to wondering what that actually would look like. The advice to always precede your dog through the door is propagated by those who think the key to having a well-behaved dog ...
What You Think Is One Dog’s Punishment May Be Another Dog’s Fun Game!
I was first introduced to a positive reinforcement instructor many years ago when I adopted my shelter dog, Freddie, an adolescent dog who was very enthused about EVERYTHING! As the instructor explained how to reinforce our dogs, and even as I was seeing results, what I really wanted to hear ...
Learning Becomes Almost Effortless
An excerpt from an upcoming article in BARKS from The Guild.
Why do I love teaching tricks and why do my dogs love learning them? Why would you want to teach your dog tricks? What are tricks, anyway? How old should your dog if you want them to learn how to do tricks? How do I teach them? ...
30 Reasons to Join the Pet Professional Guild
You may be wondering what exactly are the benefits of joining a member organization such as PPG so we've decided to help you out by listing a mere 30 of them. Whether you're a seasoned pet ...
Do Cats Really Like Music?
By Jane Ehrlich
According to a study by Snowdon et al., ‘cats may ignore human music—but they are highly responsive to music written especially for them’ according to their study published in applied Animal Behavior Science. Professor Charles Snowdon, of the University of Wisconsin, ...
Teaching Thinking Dogs
A study that was published recently by an Oregon State University researcher compared wolves with dogs … and many people reading the conclusions appear to have understood the study to mean that we teach dogs to be stupid.
The study tested pet dogs’, shelter dogs’, and wolves’ ability to ...