Pawsitively Fabulous Dog Training

12/21/2023

Learn about LIFE!
🔹Great FREE PPG member webinar🔸 It's a great time to join PPG!🔹
'The Least Inhibitive, Functionally Effective (LIFE) Model: A New Framework for Ethical Animal Training Practices'
Presented by: Dr. Eduardo Fernandez
⏰Friday, January 19, 2024 4:00 PM ET
PPG members register today! https://petprofessionalguild.com/event-5523535
📩Can’t make it to the live webinar? No worries! Webinar recordings are emailed to registrants 48 to 72 hours after the live sessions.

LIFE is discussed in terms of its connection to established terminology, behavioral principles, and training practices, as well as its ability to promote optimal welfare for the animals under our care and in our lives.

09/17/2023

Janice Z Dog Training uses effective, force-free, rewards-based training methods for all manner of dog behavior and training issues.

04/06/2023

Confused about training methods for dogs? Read this please!

Dog training is a completely unregulated industry, so it's important for us at The Academy to be fully transparent about where we stand on training methods.

You can read our complete position statement here:https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Methods-Position-Statement-1.pdf

10/26/2022

"It has been tested, proven, and documented that the use of Shock Collar Products leads to psychological stress, anxiety, and depression caused by the repeated painful shocks administered in response to the pets’ completely natural
behaviors."

10/04/2022

After spending 22 years training dogs and their people in California and Delaware, I have decided to move on to my next endeavor. I’ll be spending more time with my husband Bill, and I’ll be playing with, training, traveling and showing our own dogs: Makani, our 12 year old Bichon Frise; Samba, our 5 year old Löwchen; and Kalima, our new Bichon Frise show girl puppy!

But first I want to thank a few people…..

Jean Donaldson The Academy for Dog Trainers, you have my eternal gratitude for preparing me for the most incredible career of my life. You changed the way I understood dogs and that had a profound effect on my life in countless ways. My life was divided between “before the Academy” and “after the Academy.”

Thank you to my husband, Bill, for standing behind me and believing in me when I dropped everything to go to the Academy and then came out and started trainings dogs and their people and never looked back. You helped me to achieve this dream beyond my wildest imagination and supported me thru every twist and turn!

Thank you, Tracey Lee Davis, for the fabulous way we worked together as a team to build success. We influenced each other, supported each other and learned from each other thru many changes. I will be forever grateful our paths crossed and continue to.

Thank you, Diane Troup, for believing in me when I went out on my own. You were right there by my side every step of the way and I loved the way we worked together. I’m not sure I could have done it without you and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to!

Also thanks to the many trainers who helped me build such a fabulous training program for A Dog’s’s Life. Because of Tracey Lee and Diane, Donna Medeiros, Janelle Haggett, Peggy McCarty, Ruthanna Levy, Josette Kimes, Rachel Evers, and the support of many others, we were able to offer puppy classes, adult classes, advanced classes, nose work, freestyle, agility, tricks, CGC, Rally, pet first aid and many workshops and seminars. Not to mention the fantastic puppy socials on Sunday mornings.

Finally, thank you to every single client, both in classes and private, who let me into your lives to help you better understand a kinder and more positive way of training with your precious puppies and dogs. Without you, this career that I loved simply would not have been possible.

Along the way I have been fortunate that many of my clients and trainers have become, and remained, life-long friends. I cherish that and will look forward to many more great times in the future!

09/22/2022

Is that person REALLY a behaviorist?

Before diving into this post, I want to say that the things said in this post only apply to the United States, not outside of the US. Regulations will vary depending on the country you are in!

I often hear new clients tell me that they worked with a ‘behaviorist’ before coming to work with me. Huh, that’s odd. A behaviorist is actually a step ABOVE me on the referral ladder, why would this client call ME to replace their behaviorist? It's typical for a behaviorist and trainer to work in conjunction, but not for the client to work with the trainer INSTEAD of a behaviorist!

Upon further digging what this usually means it that they worked with a dog trainer who CALLED themselves a behaviorist, but to be completely frank had no business calling themselves that. Let me explain.

I am a dog trainer. I am also a dog behavior consultant. I am NOT a behaviorist. The title of ‘behaviorist’ should be reserved for Veterinary Behaviorists (basically doggy psychiatrists, see: https://www.dacvb.org/page/AnimalOwners) or Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists (behavior professionals who have pursued graduate and doctoral level work in animal behavior, see:https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/index.php). This might seem like splitting hairs, but when a trainer without these qualifications refers to themselves as a behaviorist they are being dishonest and disrespecting the years of work that VB’s and CAAB’s put in. I like to think that I am an accomplished, knowledgeable behavior professional. I am still NOT a behaviorist. (Maybe one day, if I win the lottery and can go back to school for a doctorate in animal behavior! 😉)

As an aside, whenever I hear a trainer call themselves a “behaviorist” it has always, ALWAYS, meant that that trainer offered terrible advice and honestly had no idea what they were doing. I am not being hyperbolic. I have never seen an unqualified trainer who called themselves a behaviorist NOT make things worse. The trainer typically applied shock and prong collars to the dog, and the dog was worse for the wear. In the United States a reputable, knowledgeable trainer will not call themselves a behaviorist.

If a behavior professional you are in touch with is calling themselves a behaviorist, and you would like to double check, see the listings at: https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=4709 and https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/applied-behavior-caab-directory.php. If their name is not listed there, they are likely a fake ‘behaviorist’, and my recommendation would be to find someone who is more honest about their qualifications.

Some great places to start are:

The Pet Professional Guild: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com

The Academy for Dog Trainers: https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com

Pat Miller’s Peaceable Paws Academies: https://peaceablepaws.com/pat-miller-certified-trainers/

The Karen Pryor Academy: https://karenpryoracademy.com/find-a-trainer/

If you need a veterinary behaviorist to work with in the Chicagoland area, check out:

https://chicagovetbehavior.com

And

https://www.insightfulanimals.com

And always remember: dog training in this country is completely unregulated. Just because someone calls themselves a behaviorist (heck, just because someone calls themselves a trainer!) doesn’t make it so! Always check for education and credentials! Always!

06/14/2022

This is true! They can breed for great temperament.

05/27/2022

Food for thought!

Leaving a dog home along for 10 to 12 hours is not at all uncommon. However, this can lead to separation anxiety in dogs.

05/01/2022

Vicki is the BOMB! If you need help with showing your conformation dog, run, don't walk, to sign up for this!!!

12/13/2021

My dog training and behavior colleagues weigh in on some common misconceptions of doggy dos and don’ts. Read on!

09/26/2021

This event is going to be amazing!

08/12/2021

Exactly !

08/05/2021

Here is the latest class that graduated Tuesday August 3 (where we will refine those sit/stays 😄). Looking forward to seeing them in our Puppy 2 class! Many other classes are also available at the Salisbury Maryland Kennel Club! Check out our schedule!

08/02/2021

Find healthy, vet-checked puppies and dogs from trusted breeders and shelters. Easy to Apply. Arranged Transport. Free articles and resources.

05/15/2021

Hard truth. It is irresponsible ownership that lands dogs in shelters, not breeders. 

A dog is for life, not just for lockdown.

05/01/2021

My Puppy 1 Classes start Tuesday May 4 at Salisbury Maryland Kennel Club! 9:30 a.m. Register at https://salisburymarylandkennelclub.org.
If you have a puppy that will be 16 weeks or YOUNGER on May 4, join us to get your puppy on the perfect start to becoming a great dog! There are also other class options from which to choose. See you in class!

New classes start October 10th! Face coverings and social distancing guidelines are still in place. Please check out the class schedule to register.

04/15/2021

Congratulations to my first Puppy 1 graduating class in over a year! So great to be back! All AKC STAR Puppies!

02/17/2021

Excellent article! Please share everywhere!

Trainers who use shock collars are starting to use phrases and metaphors which obfuscate the way shock collars work., like 'tap', 'TENS Unit', and 'communication'.

02/05/2021

Excellent info!

I got my first dog, a stray that I begged my mother to allow me to keep, when I was 9 years old. It was 1964, on Long Island, New York. I had been playing in the cul-de-sac with friends when this little black and tan puppy came bounding up to us. We became best friends, […]

09/26/2020

Academy students and grads don't just make it up as they go. We believe that dogs and their people deserve better. We train systematically, striking the optimal balance between incremental and efficient. Incorporate these 8 habits into you training game and watch it soar to the next level!

08/13/2020

By Eileen Anderson This is a story from a client of one of my professional trainer friends. Let’s call my friend “Phoebe.” My friend had met the client for some coaching for her young, exuberant do…