In 2019, accredited pet professional training and behavior consultants Niki Tudge, Susan Nilson, Debra Millikan and Louise Stapleton-Frappell authored a book titled Pet Training and Behavior Consulting: A Model for Raising the Bar to Protect Professionals, Pets and Their People. This body of work was the culmination of two years of research conducted on the Pet Services Industry (including pet training, behavior consulting, care, and management) and its need for oversight and regulation, compounded by the sense that we need to be “careful what we wish for,” so to speak. In other words, any industry regulation needs to be more than simply the implementation of a licensing model. In the book, the authors present their collective views on what is needed to facilitate the professionalization of the pet services industry to provide oversight that protects the pet, their owner, guardian, or caretaker, as well as all the people who practice within it. In this presentation, Pet Professional Guild president Niki Tudge will summarize the book’s key messages and speak to the need for a greater understanding of what occupational licensing is, as well as how this needs to be underpinned by several additional interconnected concepts. These include Competency, Consumer Transparency and Protection, the Reclassification of Pets from objects to living beings – and much more. It is the authors’ opinion that without these important issues being taken into consideration, the pet services industry will be left with a regulation model that does little more than place further financial burden on pet professionals – while providing little oversight or protection for pets or their owners. This is an issue that everyone operating in the pet services industry today needs to be aware of and have their voice heard. So please do join us for this vitally important presentation which will be followed by a live question and answer session, giving you the unique opportunity to contribute to the discussion.

Sponsor:Pet Professional Guild
Speaker(s):Niki Tudge

Contact: Sharon Nettles
 Email: events@petprofessionalguild.com
 Phone: 731-300-6520
 Web: https://petprofessionalguild.com/event-4587760