INVERNESS, Fla. – May 4, 2023 – PRLog — The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) extends it congratulations to The Kennel Club, based in the United Kingdom, on its successful campaign to ban the use of remote-controlled electric collars on dogs in England. The ban represents the culmination of a decade-long effort by The Kennel Club.

In an April 28 announcement on The Kennel Club website (https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media-centre/2023/april/cruel-electric-shock-collars-banned-in-england/), Chief Executive Mark Beazley stated, “The legislation banning electric shock collars in England, which comes into force next year, is a historic moment for animal welfare and will put an end to the misery and suffering of countless dogs who are still subject to these cruel and unnecessary devices. There is simply no excuse for using these devices, which cause physical and psychological harm, especially given the vast array of positive training methods available.”

“Fantastic news for the force-free training community and all dogs in England,” said Dayle Pierce of PPG’s British Isles Chapter. Added Nathan Watson, also of PPG’s British Isles Chapter, “The news that shock collars are to finally be banned in England, quite honestly, is a huge relief! In the past year or so, I have seen them being used increasingly frequently by trainers on social media, and also local dog owners as they follow the social media shock-collar marketing. There are even local trainers now using them, which further fuels the problem. I firmly believe there is no place for the use of pain or fear in dog training. February 1, 2024, cannot come soon enough—it will certainly be a day for celebration! Let’s hope other nations follow suit!”

PPG launched its own global advocacy campaign, the Shock-Free Coalition, to end the practice of using electric shock to train, manage, and care for pets in 2017. The Shock-Free Coalition hosts a Shock-Free Pledge on its website (www.shockfree.org) for supporters to sign, as well as a variety of educational tools and resources to help pet professionals promote the movement and encourage participation across their communities. Global leaders in the animal welfare, veterinary, behavior and training worlds, including celebrity dog trainer, Victoria Stillwell; biologist, ethologist, behavioral ecologist, and writer, Dr. Marc Bekoff; and renowned author, veterinarian, and certified applied veterinary behaviorist, Dr. Karen Overall, have lent their voices to the Shock-Free Coalition.

“There is no need to harm pets in the name of management, care and training,” said PPG President and Founder Niki Tudge. “Shock collars, like any tool designed to work by inflicting pain or fear, trigger harmful psychological and physiological responses, causing pets to experience not only pain, but also fear, sadness and anxiety. When a pet feels threatened, a stress response is triggered, and the neural pathways that support dealing with danger are activated. Pets who have been physically punished tend to exhibit high hormonal reactivity to stress; overloaded biological systems, including the nervous, cardiovascular and nutritional systems; and changes in brain structure and function. Using shock on pets is inexcusable given that we, the professional community, scientists and behaviorists, know better and have other resources at hand to help support pets and their owners. We are overjoyed by this news and welcome its implementation.”

Numerous studies conducted by veterinary scientists and behavior specialists worldwide indicate that the use of pain and fear to train animals risks causing physical injury, as well as a host of psychological issues that may include a pet becoming fearful of other animals and people—and potentially aggressive toward them as a result. Although electric shock collars have been banned in some places, including Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, New South Wales, Norway, Quebec, Scotland, Slovenia, South Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales, and now England, it is still legal in many others, including the United States.

About the Shock-Free Coalition

The key purpose of the Shock-Free Coalition is to build a strong and broad movement committed to eliminating shock devices from the supply and demand chain. This goal will be reached when shock tools and equipment are universally unavailable and not permitted for the training, management and care of pets. The Shock-Free Coalition believes that pets have an intrinsic right to be treated humanely, to have each of their individual needs met, and to live in a safe, enriched environment free from force, pain and fear. The initiative has been developed purposely to bring together parties that have mutual business interests and a personal investment in the welfare of pets and embraces stakeholders of similar values and interests, enabling all parties to combine their resources and become more successful in achieving the stated goals. Members of the Shock-Free Coalition consider it to be their responsibility and utmost obligation to be vigilant, to educate, to remain engaged and work toward eliminating shock as a permissible tool so it is never considered a viable option in the training, management and care of pets.

Key Pet Professional Guild Position Statements

The Use of Shock in Animal Training: http://petprofessionalguild.com/shockcollars

The Use of Remote Electric Shock: http://petprofessionalguild.com/The-Use-of-Remote-Electric-Shock

The Use of Pet Correction Devices: http://petprofessionalguild.com/Equipment-Used-for-the-Management-Training-and-Care-of-Pets

INVERNESS, Fla. – April 23, 2022 – PRLog — The Pet Professional Guild (https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/) (PPG) has announced a new corporate partnership with Animal Training Academy (https://www.animaltrainingacademy.com/) (ATA), an online learning platform hosted by founder Ryan Cartlidge and supported by some of the world’s most renowned animal behavior and training specialists.

Through its membership, ATA helps its students, from beginner through to advanced, achieve their animal training and behavior goals based on the application of best practice, ethical, positive reinforcement animal training, and behavior management.

ATA membership runs at just $39 a month and includes:

• The opportunity to connect with Ryan Cartlidge, special guests, and other ATA members twice a month via live, members-only web classes featuring a range of fun, educational videos, and learning opportunities.
• Over 120 live web class replays that cover all industries and species.
• Access to a private Facebook group to connect with the ATA community, watch members’ training videos, ask questions, receive updates and discuss different training topics.
• Access to ATA website forums featuring hundreds of animal training videos from ATA members, plus thousands of educational posts on problem-solving in challenging situations.

ATA also hosts a free Animal Training Fundamentals course (https://atamember.com/) which is aimed specifically at anyone who has ever wondered how to change the behavior of animals in their care, whether they work with captive animals in a zoo setting, dogs at a doggy daycare, or simply want to change their pet goldfish’s behavior. Animal Training Fundamentals guides students through how to train the behaviors they want, for any species, big or small, and have fun doing it, all using positive reinforcement training.

In addition, ATA broadcasts one of the worlds’ longest-running, positive reinforcement-focused podcasts. Over 170+ free episodes are currently available featuring top subject matter experts on animal training and behavior.

“Through the Animal Training Academy, I connect hundreds of animal behavior and training enthusiasts with a large (and growing) library of lessons and tutorials delivered by renowned animal experts,” said ATA founder Ryan Cartlidge. “Now, through our corporate partnership with PPG, I hope to boost our ability to improve the lives of animals and their human companions through ethical animal training and behavior management principles.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the Animal Training Academy and to provide our members access to another exciting educational opportunity,” added PPG president, Niki Tudge. “One of PPG’s core missions has always been to provide top-quality education that aligns with its Guiding Principles (https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Key-Charter), and ATA is an ideal partner for us in this respect. We encourage our members to sign up for the free Animal Training Fundamentals course to get a taste of what full monthly ATA membership has to offer them as part of their educational journey.”

About the Pet Professional Guild

The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) is a 501(c)6 international member organization founded on the principles of force-free training and pet care. Its membership represents pet industry professionals who are committed to force-free training, pet care philosophies, practices and methods. Pet Professional Guild members understand force-free to mean that shock, pain, choke, fear, physical force, or compulsion-based methods are never employed in training or caring for a pet.

About Animal Training Academy

Animal Training Academy founder Ryan Cartlidge has been working as a professional animal trainer all over the world since 2007, including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the US. He has trained teams, developed animal training programs, been published in leading industry magazines, spoken at international conferences, and delivered university presentations on animal behavior. In 2015, he realized there was an opportunity to take what he was already doing and reach a much bigger audience, thereby helping more trainers and animals, and he founded Animal Training Academy that year. Animal Training Academy provides content for all levels of a student’s animal training journey, from beginner through to advanced, presented by Cartlidge and some of the most renowned animal behavior and training geeks in the world.