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Dogs Living their Best Possible Lives In our ongoing series of PPG member profiles, this month BARKS features Beth Napollitano of Courteous Canine, Inc. in Lutz, Florida ARKS contributor Beth Napollitano is a retired nurse who devel oped an interest in canine behavior when she attended agility classes with one of her dogs.
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Beth Napollitano with her dogs, Sadie (left) and Murphy
Q: Can you tell us a bit more about yourself, how you first got into animal behavior and training and what you are doing now? A: I became interested in behavior when my first beagle was in agility classes at Courteous Canine in Lutz, Florida. [Former PPG steering committee member] Angelica Steinker was our instructor and she made learning about behavior so much fun, I became hooked. Cur rently I am teaching AKC Star puppy kindergarten, coming when called, Copy That!, and Basic Manners classes at Courteous Canine, Inc. Q: Why did you become a trainer/pet care provider? A: I love learning about behavior. Dogs are so smart and interesting. I am also motivated by my desire to help my younger dog with her fear/anxiety issues. Q: Tell us a little bit about your own pets. A: I have two beagles, a male who is 7½ years old and a female who is 5½ years old. I also have a 16yearold cat. My 5½yearold beagle has some fear/anxiety issues with novel stimuli. Fortunately, her issues are environmental and she is not reactive to other dogs or people. Q: What is your favorite part of your job? A: Playing with the puppies! Watching the clients celebrate successful train ing. Sometimes just getting that sit is reason for the whole class to cheer. Q: What do you consider to be your area of expertise? A: Puppy classes
© Beth Napollitano
Q: Are you a crossover trainer or have you always been a force‐free trainer? A: I have always been a forcefree trainer. Q: What drives you to be a force‐free professional and why is it impor‐ tant to you? A: It is so much fun to train dogs when they are happy and motivated to work with their humans. There is nothing like the smile on a happy dog’s face! Just because animals are nonverbal does not mean they don’t experience pain and suffering and as their caretakers, it is our re sponsibility to ensure that they have the best lives possible.
HOST A WEBINAR FOR PPG! Want to Share your Knowledge and Expertise? Showcasing the best of the pet industry to chat, chuckle and share Join hosts Niki Tudge and Louise Stapleton-Frappell with their special guests discussing news and views on force-free training, behavior, and pet care!
barksfromtheguild.com/podcasts
Topics may include a particular aspect of training, ethology, learning theory, behavior specifics... anything at all your fellow pet professionals would find educational.
We’ll even do some practice runs with you to help you along (if you need them!)
SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL TO:
petprofessionalguild.com/Host-A-Webinar
BARKS from the Guild/March 2021
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