In episode 86, Marissa Martino interviews Annika McDade to discuss how establishing clear boundaries with friends, family, and strangers can help protect your dog’s progress, support their behavior, and preserve your relationship with them. From politely managing unsolicited advice to ensuring others respect your dog’s needs, we’ll discuss why advo…

In episode 85, Marissa Martino interviews Emily Wolf of Summit Dog Rescue and ​Brilliant Pup Behavior to discuss how we can set up our dogs for success when bringing them home for the first time. They discuss what to consider before choosing a new dog or puppy, how to help them transition to your lifestyle with ease, and ways to introduce new eleme…

In episode 84, Marissa Martino interviews Dr. Ariel Fagen about how collaboration between professionals can create a more effective behavior modification journey for dogs and their people. They explore the roles that trainers, veterinarians, veterinary behaviorists, and pet parents play in shaping a dog’s success, and how working together can provi…

In episode 83, Marissa Martino interviews Karishma Warr of Calm Canine Academy about separation-related behaviors and their impact on the caregiver. They begin by defining what separation-related behaviors are, exploring the subtleties of each category, and discussing the common overlaps that many dog guardians encounter. The conversation then shif…

In episode 82, Marissa Martino interviews Tricia Case to talk about her love of designing amazing leashes to navigate the world with our dogs. They talk about the reasons for using long lines, what to consider when using them, and the skills needed for everyone to enjoy their walks. She also offers a discount for our podcast listeners! Tricia Case …

In episode 81, Marissa Martino interviews Annika McDade in this three-part series about the emotional experience of caring for, living with, and loving our dogs. In part 3 of the series, they explore the many ways we try to control ourselves, our dogs, others, and the situation as we navigate life with our dogs. Annika McDade is the Founder of Cani…

In episode 80, Marissa Martino interviews Annika McDade in this three-part series about the emotional experience of caring for, living with, and loving our dogs. In part 2 of the series, they explore the many ways grief shows up while caring for our beloved dogs. They also explore the intersection of grief and hope, why it's critical for us to feel…

In episode 79, Marissa Martino interviews Annika McDade in this three-part series about the emotional experience of caring for, living with, and loving our dogs. In the first episode, they explore the prevalent emotion of guilt. Marissa and Annika share their personal experiences with guilt in their relationships with their dogs. They also provide …

Join Marissa Martino interview Juliana DeWillams of JW Dog Training talk about the critical skill of behavior management. Juliana and Marissa define management, share some examples of what active and passive management strategies look like with your dog, and how these strategies can help support your dog's behavior and your relationship. Juliana is…

In episode 77, Marissa Martino interviews Jessica Dolce about a very important topic in our profession, compassion fatigue, or what we're now calling it - empathetic distress. We explore what empathetic distress is, why it is common to experience as a caregiver, and what to do to avoid burnout. This episode is for anyone who cares and feels a lot a…

In episode 76, Marissa Martino interviews Dr. Kathy Murphy on the art and neuroscience of puppy socialization. Dr. Murphy explores some common myths about puppy socialization, explains what is happening from a neuroscience perspective, why that matters to us (and the puppies), and how to support our puppies during this critical time. It's a MUST li…

In episode 75, Marissa Martino interviews Annika McDade to discuss the healing power of our canine relationships. Both Annika and Marissa have a passion for encouraging pet parents to see their relationship with their dogs as an opportunity for personal development. They get vulnerable during this episode and share how their dogs have presented gro…

In episode 74, Marissa Martino interviews Tom Candy about shelter dogs that experience frustration. They discuss the 3 R's - Risk assessment, Reduce (management strategies), and Resolve (behavior modification and teaching skills). Tom provides examples of interventions that he and his team implement to reduce a dog's stress level in the shelter env…

In episode 73, Marissa Martino interviews Lisa Mullinax to discuss stranger-directed aggression. Lisa defines the difference between reactivity and aggression. She talks about the reasons why these cases are high stakes and how to support both the dog and the client. Lisa also shares how she builds custom behavior plans for ultimate success. Lisa M…

In episode 72, Marissa Martino interviews Allie Bender of Pet Harmony to discuss the nuanced skill of building successful training plans for our clients and their beloved dogs. During this episode, they discuss why sustainable training plans are so important, the common mistakes most trainers make, and how to collaborate with the client for additio…

In episode 71, Marissa Martino interviews Dr. Sophie Liu about cooperative care, a process offering choice and agency to our animals when it comes to training for husbandry procedures. Marissa and Dr. Liu met through a mutual client who needed support for her dog in a veterinary setting. During this episode, they break down the training process as …

In episode 70, Marissa Martino connects with Brooke Nielson, a licensed therapist, writer, speaker, and teacher on the topic of Highly Sensitive People, and in this case, Highly Sensitive Pet Parents. Brooke explains what the Highly Sensitive Person is, the research behind the term, and the characteristics that people may embody if they identify th…

In episode 69, Marissa Martino interviews her dear friend, Sarah Stremming of the Cognitive Canine on the topic of balancing welfare and training for our dogs. Spoiler alert, Sarah feels strongly that both meeting your dog's needs and teaching them high-level training skills are equally as important. Sarah discusses how teaching these skills can in…

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 tea…

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 …

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 edu…

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 solu…

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 comp…

In episode 61 of the Paws & Reward Podcast, Marissa is joined by her clients and colleagues, Kelly Ferber, Tiffany Chen, and Jenni Pfafman, all of whom recently took my Reflective Relationship Program. A 3-month program where we explore ourselves through the relationship with our dogs. This program cultivates the necessary human end of the leash sk…

Listen to Marissa Martino chat with Tara Stillwell, a licensed family dog mediator about the challenging topic of rehoming a beloved pet. Tara was brave enough to come onto the podcast to discuss her recent rehoming experience with her dog, Eva. Marissa and Tara decided to discuss this topic on the podcast to shine some light and grace on the contr…

In Ep 59, Lisa Mullinax and Marissa discuss compassionate communication and how to have hard conversations in the most empathetic and effective ways. What leads to these difficult topics? How can we be better listeners? And what can we do when we come up against our own ethical boundaries? They share stories from the shelter world as well as person…

In episode 58, Marissa chats with Tabitha Kucera, a registered veterinary technician and certified positive reinforcement behavior consultant about the Fear Free Movement. They discuss why keeping data about your pet's emotional experience is so important for their well-being and how you can do it accurately using the FAS (Fear, Anxiety, Stress) sc…

In episode 57 of the Paws & Reward Podcast, I speak with Liza Radar about their canine exercise framework and their unique approach toward exercise and physical enrichment. During the episode, Liza introduces their exercise framework. The framework includes four elements: 1) Physical Exercise, 2) Mental Exercise, 3) Low Intensity, and 4) High Inten…

In episode 56 of the Paws & Reward Podcast, join Marissa Martino and Sarah Stremming as they dive into the nuances behind the different scenarios for setting up training sessions for leash reactivity. Trainers and behavior consultants routinely use setups as part of their approach when treating reactivity, but the details and considerations are rar…

In episode 55 of the Paws and Reward Podcast, Marissa and Bobbie Bhambree-Wirkmaa, director of behavior services and a certified dog behavior consultant at Behavior Vets, discuss the Resilience Rainbow and cultivating resilience in our dogs. Resilience is the ability to adapt successfully to, or recover quickly from, stressful events, situations an…

On episode 54 of the Paws and Reward Podcast, Marissa speaks with Grisha Stewart about attachment styles and the human-canine bond. Grisha is an author, international speaker, dog trainer, and online dog school facilitator based in Oregon. Grisha specializes in dog reactivity which led her to design and launch her book Behavior Adjustment Training,…

In episode 53, Marissa speaks with Emily Strong about a necessary and possibly under-utilized skill for all behavior consultants to exercise and teach their clients- critical thinking. Critical thinking is defined as the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment. Critical thinking is to be done objectively—meaning wi…

Join Marissa Martino and Laura Monaco Torelli for a conversation about cooperative care. Laura has a ton of experience working with many different species, teaching and training them complex, difficult behaviors. I had the pleasure of working with her on cooperative care techniques with Sully as he aged. Her compassionate approach towards the dog a…

Join Marissa Martino and Claire Goyer for a conversation about building community. Claire works for Grisha Stewart's Amazing Online Academy, where she builds community and helps people shine. Working in the dog training profession can be isolating at times for a variety of reasons. It's critical to be able to develop a community to support yourself…

Join Marissa Martino and Sarah Stremming to discuss Marissa's recent solo trip to Peru. They discuss what the street dogs of Peru taught Marissa about life, how both Sarah and Marissa are integrating these concepts, and their invitation to pet parents and trainers. Sneak peek: What is the gift and opportunity in allowing all behavior and emotions?…

In episode 49, Sarah Stremming and I will be talking about the necessary strategies used to strengthen and maintain a healthy relationship between the dogs in your home. Some of the topics we discuss involve proactive management strategies to prevent inter-household aggression, ways to increase your observation skills, and training skills to teach …

Join me as I speak with Andrew Hale (Bsc, ISCP.Dip.Canine.Prac), the owner, principal trainer and behaviorist at Train Positive in the UK, about emotional awareness and how that applies to dog training. Both animals and humans have individual emotional care needs. They both need validation, positive reinforcement, and permission to make mistakes. W…

In episode 47, Dr. Chris Pachel and I will be talking about The Humane Hierarchy for both our dogs and their people. The Humane Hierarchy is a framework that trainers, behavior consultants, and veterinary behaviorists use when working with their clients. It's an ethical approach, inviting professionals to develop a behavior modification plan rooted…

I am so excited to announce the launch of season 3. The first episode starts with Ursa Acree! She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Professional Dog Trainer, and Fear Free Certified Trainer. She is the Training Manager at Behavior Vets in Colorado where she works collaboratively with vet behaviorists and veterinarians specializing i…

Join Marissa Martino in this bonus episode where she talks about her experience with grief as she says goodbye to her best friend of 13.5 years, Sully. This episode is a tribute to the lessons he taught her (even at the last moment) and their special relationship. Marissa hopes all pet parents will find solace and comfort through her words. Sharing…

In Episode 44, Marissa is joined by her friend and colleague Jenna Teti of Think Smart Dog Training to discuss what their roles as dog trainers and behavior consultants entail. What does the title of “dog trainer” encompass? What’s expected of them and how can they meet those expectations? For pet parents, knowing what to expect from a good trainer…

In episode 43 of the podcast, Marissa invites Michael Shikashio on the podcast to talk about inter-household aggression. During this episode, Michael defines what inter-household aggression is, what his favorite management strategies are, and what every pet parent that is experiencing this concern should know. They also discuss how they as behavior…

In episode 42, Marissia is joined by Amy Creaven to discuss the importance of muzzle training for your dog. Amy Creaven is a recovering ICU nurse and has been a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner since 2010. Prior to COVID-19, she worked with all types of canine behavioral cases privately. Currently, she is a work-from-home mother of tw…

In Episode 41, Marissa is joined by Dr. Amy Cook as they discuss the best ways to play with our dogs. As many listeners might know, Amy is the creator of the Play Way, a wonderful framework used to help pet parents drop in, connect, and play with their dogs. One might think they don’t need help learning how to play with their dog, but trust me, you…

In Episode 40, Marissa is joined by Dr. Jessica Higgins, host of the Empowered Relationship Podcast. They will be discussing resentment in our relationships- both human and canine. Dr. Jessica Higgins holds two graduate degrees in psychology, two coaching certifications, and over 20 years of experience helping clients achieve successful results. Sh…

In episode 39 of the podcast, Marissa and Lisa Mullinax will be talking about how to get through the teenage period with our dogs. Adolescence can be hard on both the dog and the pet parent. Behavior can change quickly from snuggly puppy to energetic teen who loves to push the boundaries. Marissa and Lisa give advice about how to handle this challe…

In episode 38, Marissa is joined by Ursa Acree, a certified dog behavior consultant, to explore the topic of rethinking obedience: what are we really training for? Obedience is defined as compliance with an order or submission to another's authority. It’s important to remember that language can be very powerful. The words we choose have the ability…

On today’s episode, Marissa and Terrie Hayward talk about the training process for deaf dogs and dogs with hearing loss. Since Marissa is less experienced in this area, she thought Terrie would be the perfect person to speak to on this subject. Her book "A Deaf Dog Joins the Family" is an invauable resource and Marissa urges anyone with a deaf or h…

Join Marissa Martino interview Kiki Yablon about barking! So many pet parents reach out to trainers and behavior consultants in hopes to reduce or even stop their dog’s barking behavior. And, let's face it, barking can be startling to our nervous systems, and according to us, it’s not a socially acceptable behavior, even though, well, they are dogs…