COVER STORY
© Can Stock Photo/chalabala
Through educational marketing and strategic discounts, Project Trade can help pet professionals reach clients they may otherwise not have access to
Helping Dogs, Helping Families
Daniel Antolec discusses the many facets of Project Trade, PPG’s advocacy program
that encourages pet owners to swap aversive gear for service discounts, and the benefits
I
it can bring to both your clients and your business
n spring of 2016, the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) rolled out Project Trade, an “international educational advocacy program promoting the use of force-free pet equipment asking pet guardians to swap choke, prong and shock collars.” (Pet Professional Guild, 2016). In return for swapping aversive gear, pet guardians are given a discount of up to 15 percent on products or services provided by participating Project Trade members.
Economics 101
In my own business, my most important goals include educating pet owners on the use of positive training methods, and working towards eliminating aversive gear from the marketplace. Bearing all this in mind, I immediately charged out of the gate like a terrier chasing a squirrel and joined Project Trade when it was first rolled out. As the PPG Summit 2016 approached last November, 20
BARKS from the Guild/March 2017
I stopped in my pseudo-terrier squirrel chasing tracks to look around and saw that, at that time, there were 45 individuals participating in Project Trade out of several thousand PPG members worldwide. Knowing how beneficial the program has been for me, I scratched the remaining graying hair on my head wondering if there might be obstacles that were keeping others from joining the chase. Perhaps people were wondering whether joining Project Trade represented a net gain, or a net loss for their businesses, so I would like to clarify: It cost me absolutely nothing to become a Project Trade member. Not only that, the application process was simple. First, I filled out an online opt-in form and, thanks to super-efficient PPG membership manager, Rebekah King, it was quickly approved. I received a link to the Project Trade copy for my website and, just a few minutes later, I had added the required text and graphics to my own website. Net Cost: 0