Essential Client Client Communication Skills You Can’t Be Without

Like it or not, training, behavior consulting, grooming and other pet professions – and volunteer activities such as pet rescue and sheltering – are first and foremost people businesses. Just like any other human service business, your success depends on how well you communicate with your clients. In every phase of your contact with your…

Continue Reading →

How To Conduct Phone and Video Distance Consults and Training

Everything You Need To Know for Making Distance Consults Work! Instructors:  Suzanne Hetts, Ph. D., CAAB-Emeritus and Dan Estep, Ph.D., CAAB   Distance consultations are training or behavior appointments that are conducted over the phone, or through online audio or video conferencing.  You may already make use of this option for follow-ups after you’ve already…

Continue Reading →

When The Pet Can’t Stay

Talking to Clients About Euthanasia, Rehoming and Other Options Presented by Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., CAAB, and Daniel Estep, Ph.D., CAAB There are cases that all of us work with when questions arise as to whether a pet should stay in the home.  These concerns may come from the clients, from us, and/or from third parties. …

Continue Reading →

How To Do Court Ordered Evaluations

More and more communities are taking a progressive, or individual approach, when dealing with dogs that bite or threaten people.  Rather than taking a “one size fits all” approach, the courts are ordering these dogs to be professionally evaluated, and using those individual assessments to help decide what consequences both dogs and owners will face.…

Continue Reading →

Everything You Need To Teach ’Prepare Your Dog For Your Baby’ Classes

Pet parents contact you when they have problems with their pets.  We know, as you do, that when we delve into the “why” of these unwanted behaviors, we frequently wish people would have called us sooner.  Not only earlier in the course of the development of the problem, but ideally before the problem even existed.…

Continue Reading →

Professional Tactics for Increasing Veterinary Referrals

During the 30 years we’ve had a successful behavior consulting practice, our most important source of referrals was from veterinarians.  Why? Veterinarians are the ONLY pet professional new puppy owners MUST see multiple times while that puppy is growing up.  AND the veterinarian’ is the first, or certainly an early stop, for most people who…

Continue Reading →

Recent Scientific Research To Help You Choose the Best Fear Reduction Methods and Improve Pets’ Behavioral Health

There seems to be greater focus these days on helping both owners and professionals reduce the fear, stress or anxiety pets experience. That’s a good thing. But how frequently are pets subjected to experiences that detract from their quality of life?  Is it important to distinguish among fear, stress and anxiety or are they all…

Continue Reading →

The Science of Socialization As Compared to the Stories We’ve Been Told

Instructors:  Dan Estep, Ph.D. and Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists Much has been written about the importance of socializing our dogs and cats.  But what is socialization, exactly?  Is it a process?  Is it an outcome?  Both?  Something else as well? What sorts of experiences are required to “socialize” a dog or cat…

Continue Reading →

How to Resolve Housesoiling Problems

Instructors: Daniel Estep, Ph.D., CAAB and Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., CAAB Housesoiling behavior is among the most common of problems for dog owners.  At one time or another almost all owners have to deal with it, even if it’s just when housetraining a puppy.  And ongoing soiling is one of the main behavior reasons why dogs lose…

Continue Reading →

Do Dogs Really Prefer Their Owners Over Food – Let’s See What the Science Really Says

Instructors: Daniel Estep, Ph.D., CAAB and Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., CAAB A recent study that related brain activity in dogs to preferences for food or praise has generated a lot of discussion.  For example, one news report of the study says: “We always knew it! Scientists at Emory University in Atlanta GA recently proved that most dogs prefer their…

Continue Reading →

Page 1 of 4