Canine Wizardry

09/10/2024

PLEASE SHARE – This is the second in my series of articles with the theme “Things I Wish I Had Known.” Once again I’m writing about Gus and how back in 1991 we were told the best way to train him was with a choke collar. I discuss choke collars and prong/pinch collars describing how they work and why they are a poor choice for training a dog at any time.

You can read the full article on my blog at http://bit.ly/Things-Aversives-1 or an abbreviated version in the January 2019 issue of Downeast Dog News.

03/09/2024

Phoenix and Anna entered a little video of them doing one of their daily training/enrichment/snuffle sessions into the Pets & Their People Celebrating Life Together competition.
The link is below to see all the entries and you can vote for your favourite. They are in the PO Cat 2: Enriched Pet section, you can't miss them!
P.S. you can vote once a day, every day 😉 until 28th September.

https://woobox.com/ww33pm #

Vote for your favorite between September 1 and 28!

31/08/2024

With The Pet Professional Guild – just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

01/08/2024

Great lineup

26/07/2024

🎉Celebrating Life Together - A Pet Approved Event!
Join Mary Richards of The Enriched Equine at the three-day virtual advocacy event on August 16, 17, 18, 2024.
Register here today:
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/celebrating-life-together-a-pet-approved-event/
PRESENTATION TITLE - Fostering Emotional Resilience in Reactive Equids: Harnessing the Power of Environmental Enrichment
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
In this presentation, I will describe how enriched environments can positively impact the expression of fearful and reactive behaviors in equines.

The management of domestic horses diverges from their natural habitat and behavioral requirements. Confined spaces such as small stalls and regulated feedings limit opportunities for movement and diminish natural foraging behaviors, potentially affecting the well-being of the horses.

Enrichment initiatives aim to promote mental engagement and facilitate activities that align with their species-typical behavior patterns. Evidence suggests that, alongside the rise in natural behaviors observed in horses within enriched environments, there can also be reduced intensity and frequency of undesirable behavior patterns such as fearfulness and reactivity.
🐶Come and join us! Please help us be the antidote to harmful training and pet care.
🐴66 sessions over three days.
🐦You can access the recordings for 12 months, and there are great CEUs.
😺Let's join together and create a large platform of ethical and compassionate pet care shaping the industry one paw at a time.

26/07/2024

🎉Celebrating Life Together - A Pet Approved Event!
Join Adrienne Wisok of The College of Scent Dogs USA at the three-day virtual advocacy event on August 16, 17, 18, 2024.
Register here today:
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/celebrating-life-together-a-pet-approved-event/
PRESENTATION TITLE: The Science and Method of How to Use Scent Training to Help Dogs with Behavioral Challenges
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
⭐ Join the inaugural webinar for The College of Scent Dogs USA!⭐
We all say that scent training is good for dogs who are reactive, fearful, or have other challenges. But why? And how do we approach scent training to ensure we’re setting up our dogs and their guardians for success?

This session will provide the science behind why scent training is good for dogs, as well as some information about how to put it into action with clients or shelter dogs.
🐶Come and join us! Please help us be the antidote to harmful training and pet care.
🐴66 sessions over three days.
🐦You can access the recordings for 12 months, and there are great CEUs.
😺Let's join together and create a large platform of ethical and compassionate pet care shaping the industry one paw at a time.

26/07/2024

🎉Celebrating Life Together - A Pet Approved Event!
Join Sandra Grossmann of The Feline Consultant at the three-day virtual advocacy event on August 16, 17, 18, 2024.
Register here today:
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/celebrating-life-together-a-pet-approved-event/
PRESENTATION TITLE- Feeding Cats: How Food Can Impact Behavioral Health
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Many cat behavior cases can be mitigated by a species-appropriate feeding routine, highly digestible and bioavailable food for felines and a corrected caloric intake.

We will discuss how following incorrect feeding guidelines and advice can create a living situation where your cat does not consider treats as a reward. Treats are a necessity to meet their daily caloric needs.

Almost 40% of my cat behavior cases have a significant nutritional component. Cat owners tend to prioritize the importance of what they feed their cats over how often and how much food they feed.

From food aggression to feeding routine, nutrition and behavior are closely intertwined.
🐶Come and join us! Please help us be the antidote to harmful training and pet care.
🐴66 sessions over three days.
🐦You can access the recordings for 12 months, and there are great CEUs.
😺Let's join together and create a large platform of ethical and compassionate pet care shaping the industry one paw at a time.

26/07/2024

🎉Celebrating Life Together - A Pet Approved Event!
Join Debra Millikan of Canine Behavioural School Inc. at the three-day virtual advocacy event on August 16, 17, 18, 2024.
Register here today:
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/celebrating-life-together-a-pet-approved-event/
PRESENTATION TITLE- Pet Bereavement: Précis of a Complex Journey
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
As animal trainers with a passion for what we do, we possibly know more than most about the pain of losing an animal family member, whether it be one of our own or one with whom we work. How to companion people through this difficult time is rarely seen in any animal training course. This is an unfortunate oversight.

Grief comes in many forms and so too do grievers. Having a basic understanding of not only the types of grief that people can encounter but the stages of grief through which many pass, will help us support our clients, friends, family and even ourselves through the grieving process.

Children and elders are differently sensitive to grief and need individual attention to their concerns. That does not discount the complexity of adult grief.

Grief counselling is not the job of an animal trainer, but some knowledge of grief and its vagaries may help relieve clients’ anxieties or encourage them to seek further help.

Grief is a very personal journey (despite what some in society believe of it) and there is no right or wrong way to grieve. There is no time limit on grief. There are, however, warning signs of when help is warranted. Many do not understand these principles and suffer further as a consequence.

Reconciling grief and acceptance of life as it is and as it will be is a more recent concept than formally seeking ‘closure’. “Moving from loving in the present to loving in memory” (Wolfet 2019) is a necessary transitional phase.

Simple things such as knowing the various options people have when their pet dies and how they can best celebrate and memorialize the life of a pet will help people understand and move forward with life after losing a special friend. Today there are many therapies to help people in their grief and a knowledge of what is locally available will always be of benefit to the grieving client.

This topic is endless, and this presentation seeks only to whet the trainer’s appetite to know more about how this knowledge can be incorporated into daily practice.
🐶Come and join us! Please help us be the antidote to harmful training and pet care.
🐴66 sessions over three days.
🐦You can access the recordings for 12 months, and there are great CEUs.
😺Let's join together and create a large platform of ethical and compassionate pet care shaping the industry one paw at a time.

26/07/2024

24/07/2024