Paws & Reward Podcast Marissa Martino, CDBC, CTC

In episode 68, Marissa Martino interviews Jenni Pfafman, a certified behavior consultant, on how she teaches her clients to have a joyful, rock-solid recall. Jenni lives in Crested Butte, Colorado, where almost every pet parent is active on trails and wants off-leash reliability and a whiplash recall. This episode covers the many concepts Jenni teaches her clients so they view the world through their dog's perspective to set everyone up for training success. They also dive into the many exercises Jenni teaches her clients to get that fast, joyful recall we're all looking for! 

In episode 67, Marissa Martino interviews Karin Pienaar, of the The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE). During the episode, Marissa asks Karin about her new book, Mood Matters: MHERA: An Innovative Assessment Approach to Animal Emotionality in the Treatment of Behaviour Problems. Karin defines emotions and the 7 emotional systems. Karin shares her framework, MHERA, which is an acronym that stands for: Mood State, Hedonic Budget, Emotional, and Reinforcement Assessments.  
Karin has been working in the field of animal behavior therapy since 1997 and completed her Diploma in Animal Behaviour in the UK with The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE). 
After more than 20 years of consulting with dog and cat owners, Karin now focuses mainly on managing  The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE) International, presenting the COAPE Diplomas and MHERATM Practitioners course, as well as lecturing and mentoring students. 
She heads the Enrichment Partnership Program between COAPE International and several captive wildlife facilities, where she and her team develop enrichment programs to promote the behavioral and emotional health of animals, as well as implement consent-based training to facilitate stress-free husbandry and medical procedures in captive wildlife. 

In episode 65, Marissa Martino and Kathy Sdao talk about a necessary topic for pet parents and pet professionals: listening. Some questions that are addressed during the episode include:

What are the three levels of listening? Why is silence so important? How could our own best intentions be getting in the way of truly listening? When should we educate -vs- empathize? Can we do both?
Kathy Sdao, she/her, is the owner of Bright Spot Dog Training in Tacoma, WA. She is one of the original faculty members of the Karen Pryor Academy ClickerExpo. She has trained animal actors, written for The Clicker Journal and the Seattle Times, consulted with Guide Dogs for the Blind and with Susquehanna Service Dogs.
Kathy has taught more than 300 seminars, workshops, conference presentations & webinars, enjoying these opportunities to share her passion for the incredible power of positive-reinforcement training, confirmed over decades of working with dozens of species.

In episode 64, Marissa Martino speaks with Naomi Rotenberg about resolving conflicts between your dog and cat. Some questions that are addressed during the episode include
What expectations do we have for our pets that may or may not be realistic? How can we adjust our expectations? Does the environment factor into behavior issues? Can we find solutions for a more harmonious household How can we address all of our pet’s needs without drastically changing our homes and lives?  Naomi Rotenberg, she/her, is the owner of Praiseworthy Pets and focuses on the cat-dog interspecies relationship. She helps pet clients all over the world enjoy a household where cats and dogs coexist safely and peacefully. She also provides coaching for other pet professionals who want another pair of eyes on their cat-dog cases.

In episode 63, Marissa and Lisa Mullinax discuss their risk assessment methods both for animal shelters and their private practices. Determining whether a dog will be at risk of doing harm to another can be a difficult process and one that needs a compassionate, nuanced, and multi-tiered approach. Their risk assessment perspective gives them a comprehensive look at the dog’s environment and the many factors that can affect their behavior. Join them as they discuss the many factors they consider when assessing risk in dogs. 
 

On episode 62, Belinda Breen, a dog behavior professional currently earning her doctorate in clinical psychology, and Marissa Martino talk about an important topic: grief. It shows up in so many different ways in our relationships with our dogs and therefore it’s important that we shine a gentle light on it. 
Whether we are saying goodbye to a beloved pet, making a hard rehoming decision, or letting go of how we thought life would be with our dog, we discover there’s an abundance of grief when opening our heart to another living creature. 
They discuss the five stages of grief, why community is important during this process, and how to show up for others going through a difficult time.