Shock-Free Coalition

07/11/2024

New On-Demand PPG Webinar Now Available!
'Learn How To Effectively Manage Groups of Dogs In an Off Leash Environment' - Presented by Kathy Sdao
Watch as soon as you register:
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/learn-how-to-effectively-manage-groups-of-dogs-in-an-off-leash-environment/
☑️Whether you supervise a dog daycare or playgroup, take your dog to a dog-park, or simply have a multi-dog family, you will have to manage groups of unrestrained dogs.
☑️We’ll review some skills, protocols and behavioral knowledge that will help you keep dogs and handlers safe while promoting constructive canine socialization and fun.

On-Demand Webinar: Watch as soon as you register

06/11/2024

Upcoming live PPG webinar:
✨November 7, 2024!✨5:00 pm - 6:30 pm (ET)
Hurry! Register today!
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/research-on-anthropomorphism-has-practical-applications-for-pet-professionals/

05/11/2024

NEW POST in Pets and Their People!
Free Treats for Better Behavior
"You know that rewarding behaviors you like gets you more nice behavior, but did you know that consequences aren’t the only way our pets learn?"- Hannah Thiemann of Happy Tails Training
Get more tips here: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/pet-owners/pets-and-their-people/pets-and-their-people-blog/free-treats-for-better-behavior/

05/11/2024

03/11/2024

The Pet Professional Guild has announced the winners of its community outreach competition that was part of its first annual advocacy event, Celebrating Life Together!
🎉Congratulations Elizabeth Eckert, awarded Best in Show for her blog post, Best Life With Your Big Feeling Dog: How to Love the Dog You Have.
Read the post here: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/pet-owners/pets-and-their-people/pets-and-their-people-blog/best-life-with-your-big-feeling-dog-how-to-love-the-dog-you-have/

02/11/2024

Pet Professional Accreditation Board – November Support Call For Those Interested or Those Applying
⏰November 12, 2024, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm (ET)
Register for the Zoom link here: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/pet-professional-accreditation-board-november-support-call-for-those-interested-or-those-applying/
If you are interested in transferring a current credential into PPAB or taking one of the PPAB credentials and have questions about the process, please join our meeting.

01/11/2024

Upcoming PPG Webinar: 'Behavioral or Medical: Are They One and the Same?'
Your Presenter: Christine Calder DVM Board-Certified Veterinary Behaviorist
⏰⏰November 4, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)⏰⏰
HURRY! Register today: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/behavioral-or-medical-are-they-one-and-the-same-with-dr-christine-calder/
🤓CEUs: PPAB 1, PMCT 1, IAABC 1, CCPDT 1, KPA 1
📩This talk will be recorded, so sign up even if you can't make it live.
Webinar Description:
Behavioral and medical conditions in pets often overlap, making it difficult to identify the root cause of certain behaviors.
✅This session will explore the connection between medical issues and behavioral problems in dogs and cats, highlighting how they often coexist.
✅Common medical conditions that present as behavioral challenges, such as aggression, anxiety, separation issues, and house-soiling, will be discussed, along with the impact of pain on behavior and the importance of considering underlying medical issues when addressing these behavioral concerns.

01/11/2024

Scroll down to watch the Best on the Block winning video!⬇️

31/10/2024

The Pet Professional Guild "has announced the winners of its community outreach competition that was part of its first annual advocacy event, Celebrating Life Together, held in August and September 2024. The goal of the event was to raise awareness for humane, ethical and effective pet training and care..."

Read more about the event here:

Pet Professional Guild Announces the Winners of Its Celebrating Life Together Outreach Competition. Entrants helped provide the antidote to harmful, aversive pet training and care and won prizes - PR13045918

30/10/2024

🎉NEW POST in Pets and Their People🎉
Positive Reinforcement vs. Punishment: The Best Approach to Cat Training
"The best way to prevent unwanted behavior is to ensure your cat’s physical and mental needs are met." - Mary Stevens, runner-up in the community outreach competition in the Pet Professional - Blog Post category
Read the post here: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/pet-owners/pets-and-their-people/pets-and-their-people-blog/positive-reinforcement-vs-punishment-the-best-approach-to-cat-training/

29/10/2024

HURRY! Register today!

28/10/2024

Why Train Pets Using Fear or Pain!

If a change in behavior is not seen immediately, users of aversive tools may opt to increase the frequency, duration or intensity of the application. Unfortunately, this can only result in the pet attempting to escape or avoid the stimulus with even greater intensity. This creates a counterproductive paradigm whereby the pet
simply learns to fear the stimulus, the context, and/or the person delivering it. In addition, some pets tend to be “stoic” and may fail to show any kind of fear response, irrespective of increased levels of anxiety or frustration.

There is also the risk that pets may become habituated to the sense of fear or anxiety, once again causing the trainer or owner to increase the level and/or frequency of the aversive stimulus. It has been scientifically proven that fear and stress caused in such situations can have a significant effect on a pet's well-being due to increasing cortisol levels and heart rate, not to mention the psychological impact. (O’Heare, 2005).

Click on the pop-out icon ( ) in the top-right corner of the resource to open it in Google Drive. Click the download icon ( ) in the upper right-hand corner of the Google Drive page to save the resource to your computer.

27/10/2024

Many people think growling is a sign of aggression, but it’s actually one of the most important ways dogs communicate with us. We are going to explore why gr...

26/10/2024

Upcoming PPG Webinar: 'Behavioral or Medical: Are They One and the Same?'
Your Presenter: Christine Calder DVM Board-Certified Veterinary Behaviorist
⏰November 4, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm (ET)
Registration & details: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/behavioral-or-medical-are-they-one-and-the-same-with-dr-christine-calder/
CEUs: PPAB 1, PMCT 1, IAABC 1, CCPDT 1, KPA 1
✅Webinar Description:
Behavioral and medical conditions in pets often overlap, making it difficult to identify the root cause of certain behaviors. This session will explore the connection between medical issues and behavioral problems in dogs and cats, highlighting how they often coexist.

Common medical conditions that present as behavioral challenges, such as aggression, anxiety, separation issues, and house-soiling, will be discussed, along with the impact of pain on behavior and the importance of considering underlying medical issues when addressing these behavioral concerns.

25/10/2024

Pet expert Steve Dale speaks with a favorite guest, Victoria Stilwell of It's Me or the Dog about reactive dogs to banning e-collars

24/10/2024

from Trust Centered Training about 'What Trainers Wish You Knew'

As professional behavior specialists, we've seen it all-pets, families, and some of the wildest misconceptions about dogs. In this series, we're diving into ...

23/10/2024

Upcoming PPG Webinar: 'Putting Relationships First. Cooperative Training and Permission for Procedures'
⏰⏰October 24, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (ET)⏰⏰
Your Presenter: Melanie Watson of Instinctive Horse Training
HURRY! Register today! https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/putting-relationships-first-cooperative-training-and-permission-for-procedures-with-melanie-watson/
🤓CEUs: PPAB 1, PMCT 1, CCPDT 1, KPA 1
Webinar Description:
✔️This presentation will educate the audience on possibilities. It’s real-time training, sometimes under challenging circumstances. The horses featured in this presentation all come from a base of trauma or suffering from PTSD. As a result, each horse holds fear, flight, or rage through classical conditioning, and all have unwanted learned behaviors in defense of themselves or in survival.
✔️The videos in this presentation show the type of training used to change all of this and show what can be created using an approach that promotes cooperative relationships.
✔️All the training is positive, putting the horse’s emotional state first and foremost, and each horse has been empowered with full choice.