We often think of our human intelligence as being superior to that of animals. But what if we’re wrong? What if the intelligence of animals is equal to ours, only different? How might that change our view of the world around us, and of the animals sharing our planet?

My guest today is a pet professional who embraces the view of animals as distinct-but-equal travelers accompanying us on this journey through space and time. Doing both social work and shelter work means that MaryKaye Kendrick is no stranger to hard situations and the burnout that can result. But from this she’s learned empathy for the vast array of experiences, both human and animal, in the world around her. Join us today as we discuss how small things can have great impacts, putting your focus on the things you can control, and how to hold on to hope without sliding into toxic positivity.

Links worth clicking

• Pet Harmony Animal Behavior and Training website
• Enrichment for the Real World podcast
• Pet Harmony on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok
• Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or stressed? Take the burnout assessment to find your level of risk and start your recovery journey.

https://colleenpelar.com/132

Bringing home a new dog is a major life change, bringing home a new baby even moreso. Yet resources designed to help families adjust to having both two and four-legged babies in the house seem to be few and far between and often focused more on dogs and kids as antagonists than anything else.

That’s where my guest today comes in. Dog trainer Elysia Ostrander specializes in helping families navigate the sometimes choppy waters of parenting both children and dogs. She joined me today from the far frozen north (Calgary, Canada to be precise) to talk about how training dogs helps her be a better mom (and vice versa), the importance of knowing your own capacity, and the necessity of keeping your cup full.

Links worth clicking:

• Elysia's Pawsitive Families website, Facebook, and Instagram
• Jen Shryock's episode on Unleashed (at work & home)
• Family Paws Parent Education
• Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or stressed? Take the burnout assessment to find your level of risk and start your recovery journey.

https://colleenpelar.com/131

A little kindness can make all the difference to someone- and a lot of kindness can make even more. Especially in a world that seems increasingly negative and toxic, kindness definitely seems to be the one thing you can’t have too much of.

My guest today takes that philosophy to heart, always striving to be as kind as possible and then some. Ashley Orcutt is a killer-whale-toy-designer-turned-dog-trainer (yes, you read that right) who believes in bringing as much kindness to the world as possible. Join us as we discuss the similarities between dog training and dolphin training, a wish for more patience, and how to get a job at Sea World.

Links worth clicking:

• Canine Cohesion
• Ashley's Facebook and Instagram handles: @horizon.dogs, @thedogdoor, @feelingpawsitivevetbehavior
• Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or stressed? Take the burnout assessment to find your level of risk and start your recovery journey.

https://colleenpelar.com/130

Raised in Germany, educated in England, and currently training dogs in Alabama, my guest today has certainly had an interesting time! Like so many in the dog training world, Frances Dauster began as a force-based trainer, only to have her life changed by the magic of positive reinforcement training. Now she works to take those lessons into other areas of life, and help her clients enjoy their dogs. She joined me today to talk about the importance of flexibility, what an incident at boarding school taught her about integrity, and the humbling experience of training chickens.

Links worth clicking

• Sunpaws Training & Boarding
• Connect on Facebook with Frances and Sunpaws
• On Being a Change Maker, article by Karen Pryor
• Feeling exhausted or stressed? Take the burnout assessment to see where you stand and start your recovery journey.

https://colleenpelar.com/129

“What do you want?” It’s a simple question and it seems like it should have a simple answer. Yet so many of us, especially as we get older and lose ourselves in the business of our lives, seem to lose sight of what should be a very straightforward thing. What do we want? And even if we know (or somehow figure out) what we want, we’re often too uncertain or timid to ask for it.

Maggie Marshall is a dog trainer who spent years forgetting herself. Just recently, however, she’s learned not only to ask herself what she wants, but to take the time to think about the answer and go for it. She joined me today to talk not just about knowing what we want, but about the importance of knowing our gifts, the surprising lessons we learn from children, and the secret dog training tool you already have in your kitchen.

Links worth clicking:

• Maggie's training website 
• Feeling exhausted and stressed? Take the burnout assessment to see where you stand and start your recovery journey.

https://colleenpelar.com/128

Slow and steady…gets the toenails trimmed? While that may not be my guest’s official motto, it’s one she would probably agree with. Dr. Deb Jones wrote the book- literally- on cooperative care, an approach to animal care that requires patience but yields great rewards. Her years as a psychology professor, dog trainer, and writer have taught her a lot about the importance of hard work and how almost anything is achievable if you’re willing to take it slow and be consistent. Tune in for a conversation about ripple effects, feeling successful, and doing what you need to do.

Links worth clicking:

• Cooperative Care Facebook group
• Cooperative Care Certificate
• K9 in Focus, Deb's training site
• Some of Deb's most popular books: 
  • Cooperative Care: Seven Steps to Stress-Free Husbandry
  • Dog Sports Skills, Book 1: Developing Engagement & Relationship
  • Dog Sports Skills, Book 2: Motivation
  • Dog Sports Skills, Book 3: Play
  • Dog Sports Skills, Book 4: Focused & Engage!
  • In Focus: Developing a Working Relationship with Your Performance Dog
  • The Focused Puppy
  • When the Loss is Deep: A Companion Animal Grief Journal
• Feeling exhausted and stressed? Take the burnout assessment to see where you stand and start your recovery journey.

https://colleenpelar.com/127  

This post may contain affiliate links. When you click them, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services that my guests or I have used or have experience with.

Grief is a part of life for all of us, but--as too many pet professionals know all too well--there is a particularly deep strain of it that often runs through work with animals. That grief, and the toll it takes on on us--not just mentally and emotionally, but physically and even spiritually--is the reason so many of us become utterly burnt out.

Although she isn’t your typical pet professional, today’s guest has a deep and abiding love for animals and is intimately acquainted with both the joy and the grief that a life spent alongside them can bring. As a chaplain, grief worker, and strengths coach, Dallas Rising spends her time helping others learn to process the emotional, spiritual, and physical ramifications of deep loss. Join us for a conversation about trauma, healing, finding the sacred, and experiencing and joy.

https://colleenpelar.com/126

We hear a lot about the importance of “staying positive,” but with depressing headlines bombarding us what seems like every waking minute and the inescapable “doomscrolling” so many of us get sucked into, staying positive can be hard. It can even seem pointless or naive. Isn’t it better to confront reality, no matter how harsh, than be constantly trying to Pollyanna our way out of things?

Humane educator Heddie Wittlin-Leger is no stranger to the harsher aspects of life. In particular, her work with incarcerated individuals has shown her plainly how dark things can get. But she still believes in the importance of finding that silver lining and focusing on the positive, not the negative aspects of any given situation. Tune in as she and I chat about thinking outside the box, the ability of people to change against all odds, and the joy of life with a disabled dog.

https://colleenpelar.com/125

Burnout is an issue that affects almost everybody at some point, and pet professionals are no exception. Often it seems to hit us out of nowhere, but looking back the warning signs were almost always there- we just didn’t see them at the time. Learning to recognise those signs in the moment and respond appropriately can save us from falling into burnout, bitterness, and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Writer and dog trainer Teoti Anderson is no stranger to burnout, and she’s learned from experience the best ways to guard against it. Join us today as we chat about setting boundaries, learning not to take things so personally, and the importance of recognizing when you need chocolate.

https://colleenpelar.com/124

Debbie Martin isn't only a vet tech. She's also a subject matter expert, an author, a public speaker, and a “psychiatric nurse for dogs.” Connecting all these roles together is a love of the relationships formed in each one, with both people and their dogs. Debbie joined me today to talk about the many hats she wears and how each one brings something to her life. Listen in as we discuss the similarities between child and puppy development, learning to meditate, a near-death experience on the highway, and living in the moment.

https://colleenpelar.com/123

We often hear that we need to “find our purpose” in life. But so often, that’s easier said than done. What does it even mean to “have a purpose” and how on earth are we supposed to determine something simultaneously so vague and so weighty? How do we know if we’re right or if what we’ve latched on to even is a “purpose” at all?

Stephanie Frank has worked in computer technology, then as a business consultant, and finally as a dog trainer, but it was the poignant words of a friend’s widow that ultimately helped her define not just was purpose meant, but what her particular one was. She joined me today to discuss not only finding one’s purpose, but living without regret and learning to trust the universe.

https://colleenpelar.com/122