Jennifer Berg, editor, was terrific to work with and I think she captured the essence of this regular Kamloops meet up very well. Last night Pat Cutler and I shared the article with the 100+ Breakfast Club members and it’s been fun to read their feedback.
Now that Jennifer has mentioned the forthcoming resources (and course) to help other trainers implement their own Breakfast Club it’s become a priority project!
I’ve been a member of CAPDT for many years and I continue to be impressed by the great work they are doing. If you have ideas for articles or content to contribute for the summer issue of CAPDT Forum, be sure to get in touch with Jennifer!
A Learning Exchange Workshop (LEW) is a facilitated, theme-based social learning event where participants are encouraged and invited to share their knowledge and experiences. The 2-hour workshop is open to the public, affordable, and designed to engage people with all levels of experience and expertise. These small group discussions are focused on emergent questions and observations, and then brainstorming solutions. It’s a fantastic format, and has a history of success on Vancouver Island where they originated (then called Training Exchange Workshops and when PACTA was the Vancouver Island Animal Training Association).
The facilitator’s role is to foster a congenial and cooperative atmosphere of inquiry so everyone feels encouraged and invited to share. They do this by:
asking the audience to brainstorm
noting/organizing ideas, key points, and questions
requesting clarification
eliciting demonstrations when appropriate
soliciting all participants for solutions
Having more than one facilitator is ideal – perhaps one for each topic, or assigned to each phase (kick off, wrap up, etc.) or task (scribe, demo, etc.) Three seems to be an ideal number.
To date we have organised two workshops in Kamloops.
Troubleshooting Your Dog Walk – facilitated by Lindsay Curry, Pat Cutler, and Sylvia Currie. During this workshop we identified three categories that the conversations circled around: Equipment, Strategies, and Mindset. We managed to hit on just about all the possible topics in such a short time! We were very motivated to plan the next LEW!
Preparing for Vet Visits – facilitated by Anne Flemming, Denise Hitt, and Pat Cutler. The discussions that day fell into four categories: Preparation when you have lots of time, day of appointment, supporting the human, suggestions from clinic staff. This time we followed up with a recap because there were so many local and online resources mentioned, and quite the list of tips.
The third LEW to be held on Saturday, April 13, 2024 is about Family Dynamics & Pets. It will be facilitated by Tanya Epp, Steph Stegemann, and Anne Flemming. You may notice a trend here. A facilitator from an earlier session co-facilitates with new facilitators in the next session. Another piece of this is that the new facilitators were participants in past workshops, so they experienced first hand how the workshops are run. I’m excited about that developmental facilitation model! It feels like we’re building a true learning community.
At the closing of each workshop the participants generate more topic ideas. There is no shortage of excellent ideas so we plan to continue with this series of engaging and active learning. So far the participant feedback certainly motivates us to continue! It sure feels good to be back to in-person workshops. If you’re within driving distance of the Kamloops BC SPCA Community Room, please join us!
Nanaimo, BC: PACTA BC announces the event, Are They Having Fun? Identifying Appropriate Dog-Dog Play. This interactive presentation showcases professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant Christina Young, BSc, CDBC, PCBC-A, KPA-CTP (www.Positive.Dog). Young will discuss what it looks like when dogs are enjoying play together, as well as how to recognize when they are not and what to do about it.
“An estimated 35% of Canadian households include dogs and dog parks are a growing amenity in many communities. Many dog guardians think their canine companions enjoy playing with other dogs, but don’t really know how to tell,” says Sylvia Currie, President of PACTA BC. “Intervening if interactions seem to be too rough can also be tricky. This presentation will teach how to read canine body language, provide guidelines on how to determine if intervention is necessary, and share ideas of qualities of a good playmate for your dog.”
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Time: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: Beban Park Social Centre, 2300 Bowen Rd, Nanaimo, BC, as well as simultaneously live streamed on Zoom
Cost: $30 to attend in person or to attend via Zoom (includes a recording of the event for later viewing)
Please contact us for additional information or to book an interview time with the spokespeople available.
Established in 2020, PACTA BC (Professional Animal Care and Training Association of BC) promotes reward-based, humane animal care and training in British Columbia.
On November 25th I sent my sister, Julia, a link to a Facebook post by Eromit Labrador Retrievers in Quesnel about a dog named Calvin looking for a new home. By the time we talked about Calvin later that day I had pretty much made up my mind I wanted to be considered, so I fired off a description of my home, life, and priorities. In that, I was able to truthfully say I was 62 years old because this all happened the day before my birthday. One more day and I might have been way too old for an energetic Lab!
A few days later Erin Lynes responded to say “I think Calvin would thrive in the situation you’ve described”. I had been selected! Julia and I quickly made plans to take a road trip together to pick up Calvin.
I’ve been keeping a daily log since the moment I met Calvin. We’re already on Day 20! So far his new life has been all about settling in. Our immediate priority is simply to get to know Calvin.
Here are some snippets.
Photo by Erin Lynes.
Meeting Calvin! This is the only photo where it doesn’t look like I’m trying with all my might to hold him still.
Julia and I are both behaviour consultants, and spent a fair bit of the 5-hour drive from Quesnel planning for Calvin’s introduction to Maggie. What if this? What if that? That’s right, the experts at work! We cracked up when they finally met outside. It was such a non event! They became quick buds.
It didn’t take long for Calvin to settle in. After some whining on the drive to Kamloops Calvin’s new thought bubble became HEY, MY OWN COUCH! Plus Julia stayed for a few days so every moment was HEY! FUN!
Day 1 Calvin attempted one too many sideways licks on the kitchen counter. The humans put on their thinking caps and asked important questions like, do pizza boxes fit in the microwave?
In fact, Calvin is just a little too interested in anything kitchen related. We implemented a carrot station and he learned very quickly that’s the spot where good things happen. If I’m doing dinner prep I can now guarantee Calvin will be at the station, even with the dog door open and exciting things happening on our street! (And by that I mean whoa, car headlights!)
Then we changed the name to meatball station. Carrots were no longer quite his thing. Also, somewhere along the way Calvin’s middle name became Conrad, and his nickname became Corn Dog.
Shortly after Calvin arrived the temperature dropped to -25, then -30, then -35, then the thermometer maxed out. It was actually a blessing in disguise. It gave Calvin an opportunity to have some very deep sleeps. Potty breaks were brisk!
By coincidence, the colour of Calvin’s coat matches the collar Erin made for him. Somebody should tell him he doesn’t need to dress up for meatball station duty.
The carrot meatball station also became the scene of practical relaxation protocol. (Clients to whom I’ve emphasised the importance of never leaving the special mat on the floor after training can avert their eyes. That ugly towel hasn’t moved for 20 days!)
This protocol, combined with some serious decompression time, has made a notable difference. Calvin is less inclined to fly at the thing he wants in the moment.
However, it hasn’t stopped him from opening doors when he wants outside, or to get in the garage where there is a strong memory of bacon fat in the garbage can.
The humans are getting really good at locking doors!
The view from my office has sure improved since Calvin arrived. Our 13-year old Maggie spends more time indoors, not wanting to miss out on anything Calvin related. And Calvin takes his foot warming job pretty seriously, even though he has his own couch.
We’ve experimented with every long line in history. This heavy biothane line is definitely the ticket for deep snow and all the snag-magnet bushes.
We’re casually working on recalls, acknowledging check-ins, and establishing a passing vehicle routine. Other than that I’m content to just follow Calvin… within reason! Hey Corn Dog, that snow is way too deep!
Dog enthusiasts in Kamloops are in for a treat! Pat Cutler and I, along with the helpful staff at BC SPCA, are organising an in-person gathering for an online PACTA BC event!
We are often tasked with making decisions that aim to improve dogs’ lives in animal shelters, pet homes, and working conditions. But our anthropocentric view of the world may mask what is truly important to a dog. In this talk, Dr. Protopopova will review research into the natural history of dogs as well as their perception of their environment in order to get an understanding of the “umwelt,” or inner-life, of the dog. She will use this information to guide us in clarifying which decisions do, in fact, improve dogs’ lives in various contexts. She will discuss a range of topics from improving adoptions in the shelter to considering therapy dog welfare, with many surprising conclusions. At the end of the presentation, we will have an introductory new look at what it means to be a dog and how we, as professionals and dog lovers, can be more effective at helping dogs live good lives with us.
Head over to the PACTA BC events page to sign up. You are also welcome to attend the PACTA-BC Annual General Meeting from the BC SPCA Kamloops location as well. Kamloops and region registrants will be contacted by email with further details. Note the $15 event fee is waived for those who come to the AGM. A perk for those who read to the end! 🙂
In preparation for the PACTA BC 2022 AGM I put together a summary of the Education Committee’s progress. It was a busy first year for this group!
Professional Animal Care and Training Association of British Columbia Education Committee Report
Submitted in preparation for the Annual General Meeting on October 30, 2022
As chair of the Education Committee for the past year I am happy to report that our enthusiastic and productive team continues to make excellent progress! We have used our distributed expertise to our advantage and are accomplishing our goals (and adding more). We meet regularly to discuss progress, identify emerging needs, and engage in intense collaborative writing sprints to create project support materials.
The Education Committee’s priority this year was to design a process for practicing dog trainers and apprentices to gain provincial recognition for their knowledge and skills. This Education Pathway to licensing relies on collaboration and peer support and is a unique and flexible alternative to what currently exists in the dog training industry, namely examinations outside of Canada, and educational programs that are sometimes financially and geographically prohibitive.
In a nutshell, applicants to become a licensed dog trainer in British Columbia will assemble a portfolio that provides evidence of skills, abilities, and knowledge. These individuals will be supported and guided by trained advisors and mentors, and their portfolios will be reviewed by trained assessors. There are many layers!
To support and inform the Education Pathway project we also embarked on the following projects:
Dog Trainer Survey – a first in a series of surveys to understand further the needs of animal care professionals and trainers, and their priorities for protecting animals and consumers.
The Peer Evaluated Animal Resource Library (PEARL) – a database of reviewed resources, a service and resource for creators of content, for aspiring animal care professionals, and for the public.
Mentorship Program – a service to support Education Pathway applicants. This will be an opportunity for current PACTA professional members and a much needed service for aspiring dog trainers.
Training programs for the various support roles required for implementation of the Education Pathway, namely program advisors, assessors, and mentors.
The first phase of the Education Pathway involved extensive research. This included an environmental scan of relevant qualifications and organizations, and learning from similar programs that are based on prior learning assessment, peer review, and mentorship. We gratefully acknowledge the work and guidance from the following organizations and programs:
BC SPCA – AnimalKind
Simon Fraser University Co-op Program
Companion Animals New Zealand – accreditation program
Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (UK) – accreditation of prior experience and learning program
eCampusOntario – open competency toolkit
We are now in the process of mapping competencies, outlining roles and education programs to support this work, and creating visuals and documentation in preparation for a pilot launch. Using an iterative design approach, our plan is to recruit a small group by December to participate in the Education Pathway pilot.
Our current work is focused on dog training. It will serve as a model for other animal care professionals such as groomers, dog walkers, daycare operators, cat trainers, and so on. One step at a time!
A competency is defined as a combination of knowledge, skills, and ability. Think of it as a unit involving all of these components concurrently. For example, you can have plenty of textbook knowledge, but if you have not had an opportunity to put that knowledge into practice, you will discover skill gaps. Likewise, you may successfully follow a training plan, but if you find yourself in a situation where the dog is not responding as hoped and you are unsure about how to modify the original plan, you have just discovered knowledge and ability gaps.
There are two often-cited critical elements to competency-based learning:
They can be assessed.
They can be applied.
I would add a third.
They should prompt individuals to engage in reflective practice.
This is where the portfolio fits in. Assembling artefacts that represent your learning requires that you provide clear rationale for why and how a particular item relates to a stated competency. In that process, you will likely begin to pose self-reflective questions, for example:
Am I being thorough enough in the evidence I am providing?
Did I really learn what a particular course claims to teach?
Would I benefit from more reading, more practice, another course, having someone observe and provide feedback on my work, and so on?
The PACTA BC Portfolio Pathway is based entirely on satisfying competencies that align with the dog training industry needs. These needs demand broad knowledge and understanding of the profession, as well as applications of specifics in a variety of settings or contexts. For example, implementing a series of puppy classes involves many competencies ranging from canine development to the administrative abilities to bring the project to fruition.
Since competencies are created for the purpose of assessment (both self and external), they need to be carefully crafted. A dog training professional needs to have knowledge about dogs, skills in applying the knowledge of dogs to train them, and the ability to employ the knowledge and skills effectively. Together, the knowledge, skills, and ability make up a competency that can be assessed.
Competencies are well understood in trades and other practice-based professions. There are many examples of programs, apprenticeships, and assessments that are guided by clear and robust competencies. The PACTA BC Education Committee is using established guidelines for reference to inform our work.
Now back to the drawing board! The Education Committee is deep into the process of writing competencies for the Portfolio Pathway project. Our goal is to create clear and relevant competencies and provide flexibility in how applicants provide evidence to satisfy them.
In this short video Dr. Susan Friedman explains how behaviour works using examples of common skills we all need to teach our dogs. Would you prefer that your dog not fly out the door when you open it? Have a listen.
While we are the first province in Canada to embark on this type of initiative, it is nonetheless long overdue. Currently, in British Columbia, the responsibility for assessing the knowledge, skills, and ethics of animal care and training professionals falls directly on the consumer. The two related initiatives, Portfolio Pathway and Provincial Regulation, aim to shift that responsibility to qualified individuals. We are using a portfolio assessment approach because it will provide a flexible, inclusive, accessible, and robust way for individuals to achieve a recognized standard in the dog training industry.
Over the past four months the PACTA BC Education Committee has been focusing on the research phase of these projects. This includes reviewing educational models for competency based programs and portfolio development, as well as profiling similar organizations and initiatives.
We are on target to complete this phase by January, 2022. However, research will always be an ongoing process. Of course we are watching, with interest, the newly formed Alliance for Professionalism in Dog Training in the United States. While the motivation for forming the alliance to pursue licensing legislation is completely in line with that of PACTA BC’s, there are few parallels in the details of what they are proposing.
Similarly, we were encouraged by the formation of the UK Behaviour and Training Charter in 2020. This organization brings together several membership organizations that accredit, support, and monitor their members in a collaborative solution to improve welfare in the dog training industry. Each participating organization self-regulates its own membership according to the ethical, welfare and conduct obligations stated in the Charter. Again, the UK Behaviour and Training Charter’s intent is completely in line with PACTA BC’s but with a different approach.
Another new initiative of interest is the work by the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers to develop a national curriculum that educational institutions in Canada can license. More opportunities for aspiring dog trainers to gain knowledge and skills would be a welcome addition to our efforts. The development of a standardized curriculum is not on PACTA BC’s agenda, so these complementary initiatives can directly support our work.
The essence of the Portfolio Pathway Project is a direct response to the limited opportunities to gain a recognized and Canadian dog training credential. As emphasized from the beginning, the Portfolio Pathway project builds on, rather than competes with, existing quality educational programs.
The committee has also made excellent progress on drafting competencies and accompanying documentation to describe the model and guide prospective licensing incumbents. To accelerate the process we organized a fall “sprint” – a process inspired by code sprints from the software development world to create specific portions of our work from scratch in a very short time frame. We hammered out a lot of text and arrived at some important design decisions! It also enabled us to identify gaps in our project planning, such as articulating the role of mentors throughout the portfolio development process, and a review of the PACTA BC Code of Ethics.
We are recognizing the value of both sprinting along and slowly working through the details. It’s a very large and important endeavor, and completely doable thanks to our enthusiastic committee members.
“Regulation is desperately needed in order to protect not only the animals, but the consumers of pet services, and the professionals themselves.” Lisbeth Plant
The PACTA Education Committee set as a priority a new project to design and implement a process for practicing dog trainers and apprentices to gain provincial recognition for their knowledge and skills. This “pathway” to licensing relies on collaboration and peer support and is a unique and flexible alternative to what currently exists in the dog training industry, namely examinations outside of Canada, and educational programmes that are sometimes financially and geographically prohibitive.
What is a portfolio?
Most are familiar with the term portfolio. It can be a showcase of your finest work (common for artists), a tool for a job application or promotion, or a personal approach to tracking your own progress and accomplishments.
However, in an educational context, a portfolio is a more robust learning and assessment tool. This is how we envision the use of portfolios in our licensing model. Here are some key elements:
Purposeful collection of artefacts that evidences skills, abilities, and knowledge, and demonstrates development.
Documents what you learned and how you learned it.
Has a continuous reflective component.
Evidences a thoughtful process, usually through a synthesis of ideas, reflection on achievements, and self-awareness.
Contains both direct evidence (products the individual has produced, e.g. work samples) and indirect evidence (details of achievements prepared by another person e.g. awards, certificates of completion, performance appraisals)
Includes future plans by identifying gaps in learning and ambitions.
Designed for the purpose of both self and external assessment.
In a nutshell, a portfolio is an undertaking that all professionals should consider. It’s important to be aware of what you need to learn!
What does this Pathway look like?
Let’s look at what this process is like for Stewart.
We are excited about the Portfolio Pathway Project!
The PACTA Education Committee aims to have a comprehensive series of documents ready to share with PACTA members in the first quarter of 2022. We extend an invitation to PACTA members who wish to be involved in this project, keeping in mind that this same model can ultimately be applied to other areas of animal care such as groomers, dog walkers, daycare operators, pet sitters, other animal trainers, and so on.
As chair of the Education Committee for the past year I am happy to report that our enthusiastic and productive team continues to make excellent progress! We have used our distributed expertise to our advantage and are accomplishing our goals (and adding more). We meet regularly to discuss progress, identify emerging needs, and engage in intense collaborative writing sprints to create project support materials. 
