Animal Training Academy: Making Ripples

In this episode of the Animal Training Academy: Making Ripples podcast, host Shelly Wood sits down with Robin Reiners—a lifelong animal enthusiast and domestic dog trainer based in Nelson, New Zealand—for a rich conversation about the evolution of dog training, the journey of positive reinforcement, and the joys of raising a puppy later in life. Raised in a dog show family in the early 1970s, Robin shares her early roots handling Great Danes and running a local pet-sitting business before discovering behavior-based training through her own reactive dogs. That pivotal shift led her to transition from a corporate tax office career into professional dog walking and training. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Robin stepped into a dream role as a Puppy Trainer at Guide Dogs of the Desert, where she served as a vital catalyst for shifting the school's culture away from prong collars and toward positive reinforcement and science-based care. After navigating four years in New Zealand without a dog following the loss of her beloved Gunny, Robin welcomed Val, a spirited smooth fox terrier puppy. She opens up candidly about the trials and triumphs of raising a terrier pup, training her partner Alex (who is experiencing dog ownership for the very first time), and viewing every challenging puppy behavior through the lens of data and behavioral science. Together, Shelley and Robin explore: ✅ The Evolution of a Trainer: How a background in traditional dog shows gave way to a lifelong commitment to force-free, science-based behavior support. ✅ Shifting Culture at Scale: The challenges and triumphs of helping an accredited guide dog school transition away from aversive tools to positive reinforcement. ✅ Training the First-Time Owner: Meeting family members where they are and using creative, tech-minded analogies to help a first-time dog owner succeed. ✅ Leveraging Novelty: Turning everyday public outings into positive training opportunities by enlisting enthusiastic strangers to help a puppy learn polite greetings. ✅ Behavior as Data: How embracing Susan Friedman's framework helps transform stressful puppy moments into manageable pieces of information. ✅ The Power of Community: Why active engagement in the ATA community has been an essential pillar throughout her ongoing training journey. This episode is a celebration of resilience, humor, and the emotional rewards of learning to do better once we know better. Robin's story is a reminder that when we treat behavior as data and prioritize connection over control, we open the door to a life full of mutual joy.

In this engaging episode of the Animal Training Academy: Making Ripples podcast, host Shelly Wood sits down with Jaana Aadamsoo — a lifelong dog nerd whose journey has taken her from animal control and assistance dog training to breeding, showing, and training American Staffordshire Terriers. Jaana is currently focused on fitness coaching and training for dogs, showing in conformation, raising puppies, consulting, and occasionally training and handling dogs bred under the Pure Power prefix. Jaana shares the story of her lifelong fascination with animals and training, from reading books about dog breeds, anatomy, and training as a child to working with a wide variety of dogs and eventually discovering clicker training. She reflects on her experiences with old-school and balanced IGP-style training, attending KPA Dog Trainer Professional in 2021, and the impact of finding approaches based on applied behaviour analysis and positive reinforcement. A major focus of the conversation is Jaana's work with Olive, an American Staffordshire Terrier who developed significant reactivity and difficulty regulating her arousal in show environments. Rather than trying to simply train Olive out of the behaviour, Jaana took a broader approach, exploring enrichment, exercise, sleep, stress, and other factors that could support Olive's overall wellbeing. She shares how weight pulling became an important part of that process and how these changes ultimately helped Olive become more comfortable and able to regulate herself in challenging environments. Jaana also discusses her work with a dog who developed intense resource guarding, sharing how she approached the situation by building trust, working below threshold, combining positive and negative reinforcement, and avoiding unnecessary conflict. Her story highlights the importance of looking beyond the immediate behaviour and considering what the animal needs to feel safe and function well. Together, Shelly and Jaana explore: ✅ Jaana's lifelong fascination with dogs, training, breeding, and animal behaviour ✅ Her journey from old-school and balanced training approaches towards applied behaviour analysis and positive reinforcement ✅ What Jaana loves about American Staffordshire Terriers, including their optimism, energy, creativity, and sense of humour ✅ The importance of doing things scared and stepping outside your comfort zone ✅ Supporting dogs with reactivity by looking beyond the immediate behaviour and considering their overall emotional state and welfare ✅ Using enrichment, exercise, sleep, and other factors to help dogs develop better regulation and coping skills ✅ How weight pulling became an important part of Olive's enrichment and wellbeing ✅ Recognising when management and positive interrupters are useful, while also addressing the underlying factors contributing to behaviour ✅ A detailed resource guarding case and the process of gradually building trust around valuable resources ✅ Working below threshold and using distance, positive reinforcement, and carefully chosen resources to create successful learning opportunities ✅ Why suppressing behaviour is not necessarily the same as helping an animal feel better ✅ The importance of giving animals access to social and other welfare-enhancing opportunities ✅ Learning from other trainers, researchers, and educators by "trampling on the shoulders of giants" ✅ How the Animal Training Academy community provides Jaana with a safe and thought-provoking space to learn, question, and explore new ideas This episode is a celebration of curiosity, learning, and the willingness to rethink how we approach challenging behaviour. Jaana's experiences offer a thoughtful reminder that sometimes the most effective way to address a behaviour is to step back, look at the bigger picture, and focus on helping the animal feel better rather than simply trying to change what they are doing. Links https://purepowerkennel.com

In this inspiring episode of the Animal Training Academy: Making Ripples podcast, host Shelly Wood sits down with Molly Feldman — Senior Bear Team Manager at the Chengdu Bear Rescue Center and board member of the Animal Behavior and Management Alliance (ABMA) — for a conversation about rehabilitating rescued bears, advanced cooperative care, and the power of listening to animal body language. With nearly two decades of experience in animal husbandry, Molly shares her decade-long journey with Animals Asia, overseeing the mental well-being and management of 81 bears (mostly Asiatic black bears alongside two Tibetan brown bears). She reflects on the complex social lives of bears, how they form dynamic and seasonal relationships, and how her team successfully utilizes seasonal enrichment and comprehensive cooperative care—ranging from voluntary blood draws and ultrasounds to conscious suture removals. Molly also opens up about her passion for improving dog welfare in her rural local community through fencing projects and dog-walking clubs, as well as her recent foray into cognitive research with bears via match-to-sample training challenges. Together, Shelly and Molly explore: ✅ How transitioning to seasonal, behavior-based enrichment matches the natural life cycles and needs of Asiatic black bears  ✅ The intricate social dynamics of bears in sanctuary groups, including seasonal friendships and fascinating case studies like Shanty and Picklenickle ✅ Building a comprehensive cooperative care program from the ground up, allowing bears to voluntarily participate in complex medical procedures ✅ The crucial importance of observing subtle body language cues—such as micro-exhalations and posture changes—to determine when a bear is stressed or frustrated ✅ Redesigning transport cage loading protocols by eliminating luring, honoring choice, and using distance as a negative reinforcer to build trust with fearful bears ✅ Community engagement efforts to improve the lives of chained and confined dogs in rural China ✅ The value of utilizing the Animal Training Academy community and forums to troubleshoot training plateaus and cognitive tasks This episode is a celebration of empathy, science-based husbandry, and the dedication required to help traumatized animals thrive. Molly's story is a powerful reminder that true animal welfare begins when we honor choice, listen closely to subtle communications, and ensure our animals feel completely in control of their lives. Links www.linkedin.com/in/molly-feldman [email protected]

In this inspiring episode of the Animal Training Academy: Making Ripples podcast, host Shelly Wood sits down with Debbie Sykes — veterinary technician, instructor for the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, and speaker chair for the Clinical Animal Behavior Conference — for a rich conversation about wildlife rehabilitation, animal welfare, and the power of shifting our perspective to see care through the animal's eyes. With an extensive background spanning two decades in wildlife rehabilitation, Debbie shares her journey from stumbling into the field in Southern California to tackling the heartbreaking realities of high mortality rates and preventable injuries in rescue centers. She reflects on the pivotal mentors who shaped her path, the importance of moving beyond "checking boxes" to truly meet animal needs, and why she transitioned from simply treating patients to focusing on upstream prevention through community education and coexistence. Debbie also opens up about her transition into teaching future veterinarians, her passion for science communication through simple calls to action (CTAs), and her recent adventures in cooperative care—including training her bearded dragon, Triss, for dental care with the help of the ATA community. Together, Shelly and Debbie explore: How learning to see care from the animal's perspective completely transformed wildlife rehabilitation practices The reality of compassion fatigue in rescue work and why shifting focus upstream to prevent injuries is crucial The power of simple, actionable conservation calls to action Smart antecedent arrangements and protocol design to help volunteers safely and successfully care for complex species like herons The vital role of community support, mentorship, and outside perspectives when hitting a training plateau Collaborative training wins, including teaching cooperative care for toothbrushing and oral medications with a bearded dragon named Triss This episode is a celebration of empathy, science-based care, and the steady work of helping both wildlife and humans thrive together. Debbie's story is a powerful reminder that whether we are working with wild patients or companion animals, slowing down to ask what the learner is experiencing allows us to improve welfare and make better decisions every single day. Links [email protected] 

In this episode of the Animal Training Academy: Making Ripples podcast, host Shelly Wood sits down with Jimmy Maxwell—founder of Leap Canine Coaching—to explore the powerful intersection of human behavior, empathy, and science-based dog training. Jimmy shares his unexpected journey into the industry, which began not with dogs, but through years of youth ministry. He offers an honest account of growing up with a "traditional" view of dog training and the pivotal, eye-opening experience with his own chocolate Lab, Lambeau, that shifted his perspective toward reinforcement-based methods. Jimmy delves into his transition from Search and Rescue (SAR) to becoming a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, and how he now approaches behavior modification by prioritizing the human-canine bond above all else. Beyond the technical side of training, Jimmy opens up about the often-unspoken challenges trainers face, including compassion fatigue, the emotional weight of behavioral euthanasia, and the necessity of finding safe communities for support. He also shares his unique philosophy on building rapport with clients, emphasizing the importance of meeting people where they are—using his own ministry background and observation skills to translate complex behavior concepts into relatable, human-centered language. Together, Shelly and Jimmy explore: How early life experiences, both good and bad, shape our professional behavior philosophies. The "double-edged sword" of being an empathetic trainer and how to maintain healthy professional boundaries. Why the "people side" of dog training is often the most critical component of behavior change. Practical strategies for connecting with clients who may hold different views on training. The essential role of vulnerability and seeking support to avoid burnout in the industry. This episode is a candid exploration of what it means to be a "whole" trainer—one who cares deeply for the animals while also fostering real, compassionate connections with the people on the other end of the leash. Links https://www.leapcanine.com/ [email protected]