Pet Behavior Consulting Essentials

Have you taken a course on the Principles Of Professionalism?  We’re guessing not, because we’ve not ever seen a course with that title, and we’ve been around the block a few times in this field. But projecting a professional image and demeanor is all important to growing your business and have clients, colleagues, and other professionals respect and trust you. — What’s the mark of a professional in any field? — What are examples of behaviors you would categorize as “professional” compared to those considered “unprofessional”? — How can you present a professional image in how you write and speak and present yourself to others? — What are crucial mistakes to avoid that are considered unprofessional by almost anyone? We’ll answer those questions and MORE in this podcast on “Project Professionalism and Get More Referrals” Want to Enhance Your Professional Image And Receive More Referrals? When you’re ready to learn MORE, we actually do have that course on professionalism – that’s a detailed guide of how you can use your professional skills and knowledge to promote your services and grow your business.  We call it “Professional Tactics for Increasing Veterinary Referrals“. Don’t be fooled – we aren’t talking about running ads or sending out direct mail.  Nope.  We’re talking about what you should be doing to showcase your skills and knowledge, and the practices you should engage in to convince your community that you ARE a professional.  Actions always speak louder than words. Read the full course description and register HERE for the no-brainer price of only $19.95.  Take advantage of our 30 years of successful practice doing exactly what we teach in this course – we know these things works because we’ve done them. And we don’t stop there.  The next step is an advanced THREE session course on “Professional Business Tactics for Your Behavior and Training Business” that helps you analyze your business, starting with your mindset, down to your daily activities.  Includes business and self assessment worksheets, business plan template and MORE. If you enroll in BOTH courses from Pet Pro Webinars, we’ll give you a 20% discount off the combined registration fees.  Just enter PRO20 in the shopping cart at check out.  (NOTE: you will have immediate access to the first course.  Because our system cannot automatically enroll you in both courses, we will manually add you to the second course within one business day of purchase). In the meantime, read our related article 3 Mistakes That Detract From Your Professional Image and How To Avoid Them. Behavior Education Network Members – You have access to Increasing Veterinary Referrals course as a member benefit AND you already have a 25% discount on the Business Tactics course (purchase from within BEN).  AND MANY MORE resources to help enhance your professional image and grow your business, including: Webinar Course with Dr. Jen Rommel on “Impress the Vet”

After our first episode on “It’s Time To Drop the Drive Word” we received a very thoughtful comment from Mr. Tom Aaron, CPDT-KA, ABCDT  from Fetchmasters Dog Training.  Tom and his wife Linda are changing the world of gun dog training by introducing new and innovative protocols focusing more on positive reinforcement procedures rather than the more traditional aversive  training techniques common to field work. We have Tom’s permission to share and discuss his comments about the idea of drives and what they mean for those involved in gun dog and field training.  We thank Tom for his detailed examples and for fostering further discussion on this topic.   One of our goals throughout our professional careers, is to bring the science of animal behavior to our work with both pet owners and pet professionals.  The application of scientific knowledge to real world issues involving animals can’t help but improve our understanding, care and management of the critters we all care so deeply about.  

Someone recently asked in an online discussion group how they might increase their dog’s prey drive.  In a field that is striving hard to be more connected to the sciences of animal behavior and learning, for some reason the outdated notion of drives as explanations for behavior still persists.  In this podcast you’ll discover the origin of the term in the scientific literature, find out why behavior scientists discarded the notion, and what is much more helpful. Our webinar course on “Myths and Misconceptions About Motivation and ‘Drives'” delves more deeply into the subject and what’s really important – motivation of behavior.  Here’s what a few BEN members had to say about the course: “Interesting discussion. It was a great demonstration to me on how popular methodologies for training are based on assumption not fact.”  Deb R. “I liked how carefully the three terms were explained with examples that related to what I could easily grasp.  The narrow focus of this webinar allowed the topic to be throughly examined.”       Jan B.  ‘Interesting to learn about how these terms have been mis-used. Loved the explanation about “just” describing a behavior versus explaining the reasons behind a given behavior.”  Almudena O.” So join us today! Just CLICK HERE to go back to the Home Page and get signed up! If you STILL aren’t ready for monthly education, try our 4 week course on “Shining the Light of Science on Canine Behavior” from Pet Pro Webinars, to discover even more myths and misconceptions about dog behavior that are holding you back from successfully changing behavior.   Or purchase the DVD for when you can’t connect to the digital world! (look for a new, updated look for AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com coming soon!)

  In this episode we talk about the essentials of house TRAINING. Not all house soiling problems are due to a lack of house training. Fears, anxieties, problem preferences and MORE can all be the reason underlying why dogs choose to relieve themselves inside rather than outside.  If recommendations  to resolve the problem don’t target the right “why”, your efforts will be wasted. Learn how to evaluate house soiling problems, and how to develop proven effective behavior modification plans in our How to Resolve House Soiling Problems from PetProWebinars.com CLICK HERE to read a full course description and to enroll.  Comes with a chapter from Dr. Hetts’ Pet Behavior Protocols Book!

Recently we ran across yet another claim about what science has “proven” regarding certain dog training techniques.  This prompted us to take up the topic of what “science based” means, and what research there is comparing different dog training techniques.  Take a listen!   Want to learn more about what contributes to science based training?  Register for “The Professionals’ Guide to Decoding and Applying Canine Behavior Science” from Applied Animal Behavior Academy. 

This episode was motivated by a discussion in an online forum.  The question was about recommendations for a stronger, sturdier crate that would prevent a dog from breaking out of it.  Or for ways an existing crate could be modified to prevent an escape.  That’s asking the WRONG question, as you’ll discover in this episode. Learn more about how to use crates in ways that are good for dogs and don’t cause harm with our course “Crates and Crate Confinement for Behavior Management”  from PetProWebinars.com.  While you’re there, register for our Priority Notification List, and get a free Special Report on Four Strategies to Help Pets Overcome Their Fears.

Separation anxiety is a common problem behaviorists, behavior consultants, and trainers see on a regular basis.  Is this problem caused because the dog has an overly intense, or particularly strong bond or attachment to the owner(s)?  That’s our topic for discussion in this podcast. Resources mentioned in the podcast are: Managing the Home Alone Dog: A 2 CD audio program, including class notes, of our in depth course for professionals to help them be more effective helping their clients with separation anxiety problems.  Helping the Home Alone Fido:  A 2 CD home study course, including notes, checklists and protocols, especially for PET OWNERS to help them understand and resolve their dog’s separation anxiety problem. Resources on Separation Anxiety for Behavior Education Network Members:  Can Placebos Help Dogs With Separation Anxiety? How Effective Are Treatments For Separation Anxiety? What’s New With Separation Anxiety? Separation Anxiety: Separating the Truth From the Myth Eleven Things You Should Know About Separation Anxiety Preventing Separation Anxiety

    In this inaugural episode of Pet Behavior Consulting Essentials we introduce ourselves and tell you FIVE ways you can increase your referrals and become the consultant or trainer people want to hire.