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Explore the world of human behavior through the lens of a dog trainer. UNLEASHED (at work & home) with Colleen Pelar helps pet professionals to take charge of their personal development. Gain insight into human behavior through interviews with fascinating experts about their work, their successes, their frustrations … and their love of dogs. Are you ready to be more productive, more positive, and more empowered? Get ready to be UNLEASHED!
Episodes
2 days ago
128. Maggie Marshall
2 days ago
2 days ago
“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
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
127. Deb Jones, PhD
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
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.
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.
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
126. Dallas Rising
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
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
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
125. Heddie Wittlin-Leger, ADT, CCFT, CPDT, FDM
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
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
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
124. Teoti Anderson, CPDT-KA, KPA-CTP
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
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
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
123. Debbie Martin, LVT, VTS (behavior), KPA CTP
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
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
Thursday Jun 27, 2024
122. Stephanie Frank
Thursday Jun 27, 2024
Thursday Jun 27, 2024
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
Monday Jun 03, 2024
121. Susan Marett, CPDT-KA, CSAT
Monday Jun 03, 2024
Monday Jun 03, 2024
Not everybody leaves a successful culinary career to take up dog training almost on a whim. But my guest today, Susan Marett, did just that. Along the way, she’s learned a great deal about everything from self-acceptance to the care and keeping of parrots.
Join us today for a conversation about encountering oneself, the best cure for sadness, taking up your rightful space, and even a sidetrack into falconry. Plus she gave us not one, but two sets of words that inspire her. Talk about overdelivering!
https://colleenpelar.com/121
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
120. Kim Cardeccia, MA, LPC
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
As anybody who has ever loved one knows, animals can help us be better people. Emotional regulation, compassion, and trust are all things that animals help us grow in, no matter our age or circumstances. In fact, it can even be its own form of therapy- literally. Today, licensed professional counselor and self-described “horse girl,” Kim Cardeccia joined me to talk about how she combines her love of horses with her practice of therapy to help people learn to bring their brightness to the world.
Friday Apr 12, 2024
119. Kym Iffert, CPDT-KA, LFDM, FPPE, FFCP
Friday Apr 12, 2024
Friday Apr 12, 2024
At first glance, there wouldn’t seem to be much in common between interior decorating and dog training. But, like so many things in life, scratch the surface and you find more similarities than you might think. My guest today, Kym Iffert, left the world of interior design to pursue a career in dog training, and found that the skills she used as a decorator gave her a valuable perspective on dogs. Join us as we discuss her journey from beautifying spaces to training dogs, the difficult decision that led her there, and finding joy and purpose even in hard and draining work.
https://colleenpelar.com/119