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 Canine Connection Training & Coaching. She is a triple-certified Behaviour Consultant & Life Coach with a passion for helping people connect to themselves, their dogs and their deepest desires. She is a multidimensional being with a compelling history as a world traveler, wolf trainer, energy worker and ever learner.

She combines the unique balance of science-based dog training with self-development, holistic wellness & spiritual curiosity when working with her clients. Her desire is to create a space where you can come as you are. A place where you can feel supported & understood, and explore the teachings your dog brings forward for you in your life.

Annika is invested as much in the transformation of her clients as she is in their pets. With a strong belief that our dogs come into our lives for a reason, she feels if we remain curious, open-hearted & self-aware, our dogs have much to teach us, about us. 

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 our experience, and where we focus our mind. 

Annika McDade is the Founder of Canine Connection Training & Coaching. She is a triple-certified Behaviour Consultant & Life Coach with a passion for helping people connect to themselves, their dogs and their deepest desires. She is a multidimensional being with a compelling history as a world traveler, wolf trainer, energy worker and ever learner.

She combines the unique balance of science-based dog training with self-development, holistic wellness & spiritual curiosity when working with her clients. Her desire is to create a space where you can come as you are. A place where you can feel supported & understood, and explore the teachings your dog brings forward for you in your life.

Annika is invested as much in the transformation of her clients as she is in their pets. With a strong belief that our dogs come into our lives for a reason, she feels if we remain curious, open-hearted & self-aware, our dogs have much to teach us, about us.

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 best they can so the listeners can imagine how to try this at home. They discuss how and why they make certain training decisions along the way in the hopes of highlighting their thought process to answer pressing questions most clients have.  

Dr. Sophie Liu is a veterinarian practicing behavior medicine and is a passionate dog trainer and sports competitor. She provides behavior consultations through her business, Oakland Canine, and she currently shares her life with 2 Dobermans, 1 Taiwan rescue dog, and a very patient husband.

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 this way. They also discuss how this may impact your relationship with your dogs (and others) in both positive and challenging ways. Brooke's goal is to help people embrace these qualities and utilize this knowledge to understand themselves and their needs.       

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 increase both the dog's and the pet parent's welfare - making that a win-win for everyone! 

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 teaches her clients so they view the world through their dog's perspective to set everyone up for training success. They also dive into the many exercises Jenni teaches her clients to get that fast, joyful recall we're all looking for! 

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 her framework, MHERA, which is an acronym that stands for: Mood State, Hedonic Budget, Emotional, and Reinforcement Assessments.  

Karin has been working in the field of animal behavior therapy since 1997 and completed her Diploma in Animal Behaviour in the UK with The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE). 

After more than 20 years of consulting with dog and cat owners, Karin now focuses mainly on managing  The Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE) International, presenting the COAPE Diplomas and MHERATM Practitioners course, as well as lecturing and mentoring students. 

She heads the Enrichment Partnership Program between COAPE International and several captive wildlife facilities, where she and her team develop enrichment programs to promote the behavioral and emotional health of animals, as well as implement consent-based training to facilitate stress-free husbandry and medical procedures in captive wildlife. 

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 educate -vs- empathize? Can we do both?

Kathy Sdao, she/her, is the owner of Bright Spot Dog Training in Tacoma, WA. She is one of the original faculty members of the Karen Pryor Academy ClickerExpo. She has trained animal actors, written for The Clicker Journal and the Seattle Times, consulted with Guide Dogs for the Blind and with Susquehanna Service Dogs.

Kathy has taught more than 300 seminars, workshops, conference presentations & webinars, enjoying these opportunities to share her passion for the incredible power of positive-reinforcement training, confirmed over decades of working with dozens of species.

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 solutions for a more harmonious household
• How can we address all of our pet’s needs without drastically changing our homes and lives? 

Naomi Rotenberg, she/her, is the owner of Praiseworthy Pets and focuses on the cat-dog interspecies relationship. She helps pet clients all over the world enjoy a household where cats and dogs coexist safely and peacefully. She also provides coaching for other pet professionals who want another pair of eyes on their cat-dog cases.

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 comprehensive look at the dog’s environment and the many factors that can affect their behavior. Join them as they discuss the many factors they consider when assessing risk in dogs. 

On episode 62, Belinda Breen, a dog behavior professional currently earning her doctorate in clinical psychology, and Marissa Martino talk about an important topic: grief. It shows up in so many different ways in our relationships with our dogs and therefore it’s important that we shine a gentle light on it. 

Whether we are saying goodbye to a beloved pet, making a hard rehoming decision, or letting go of how we thought life would be with our dog, we discover there’s an abundance of grief when opening our heart to another living creature. 

They discuss the five stages of grief, why community is important during this process, and how to show up for others going through a difficult time.

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 skills for successful training sessions, sustainable behavior change, and connected relationships. to help you build a better relationship with your dog. Every other week, a new module is released with recorded webinars highlighting one of my 6 connection principles. There is homework to help take what you learn and bring it into action. The following week we all meet in a live community video call where we discuss the homework, learn from one another, and grow together in the community!

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 common pet parent examples and ways to support yourself through this emotion.    

Annika McDade is the Founder of Canine Connection Training & Coaching. She is a triple-certified Behaviour Consultant & Life Coach with a passion for helping people connect to themselves, their dogs and their deepest desires. She is a multidimensional being with a compelling history as a world traveler, wolf trainer, energy worker and ever learner.

She combines the unique balance of science-based dog training with self-development, holistic wellness & spiritual curiosity when working with her clients. Her desire is to create a space where you can come as you are. A place where you can feel supported & understood, and explore the teachings your dog brings forward for you in your life.

Annika is invested as much in the transformation of her clients as she is in their pets. With a strong belief that our dogs come into our lives for a reason, she feels if we remain curious, open-hearted & self-aware, our dogs have much to teach us, about us. 

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 controversial topic of rehoming. The goal is to avoid the shame that we experience, or unfortunately, receive from others regarding the very painful and layered decision. Listen with an open heart. 

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 personal experiences while recognizing they, too, are still learning and growing.

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) scale.

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 Intensity. We discuss the details of each element and how you can create an individualized canine exercise program for your dog. 

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 rarely discussed.

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 and conditions. What are the 7 domains of resilience conditioning and why are they important for our dogs to learn?

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, also known as B.A.T to help dog owners work on these issues in a more comprehensive and humane way. Recently, she's been working on B.A.T 3.0, focusing on attachment theory and how a secure or insecure attachment impacts our relationship with our dogs.

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 without influence from personal feelings, opinions, or biases—and focuses solely on factual information. How can we be sure we are thinking critically and what are some common pitfalls? Critical thinking skills are essential if we want to make informed decisions. It impacts all aspects of our lives.

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 and the caregiver is amazing. During this episode, we discuss what cooperative care looks like, how to support the dog, and how to support the caregiver. 

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. If you're a trainer, hobbyist, or pet parent, this episode is a must to help you feel less alone in raising and caring for dogs and their people. 

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 the Owner and Head Trainer at JW Dog Training. She has been training dogs since 2014 after she graduated with distinction from the Karen Pryor Academy.

Juliana enjoys applying her knowledge of canine behavior and the science of learning when working closely with pet parents to improve their dog's behavior. Watching the training plan strengthen the bond between owner and dog -- whether it's a puppy, adolescent, or adult dog-- is her favorite part of the job.

You can regularly catch Juliana on TV, radio, and online programs. She has shared her dog training expertise on WTOP and Good Day DC, and she was a regular guest on The Pet Show with Dr. Katy for many years.  Juliana currently co-hosts the Live from The Ranch online broadcast with Ken Ramirez. She has also provided quarterly free seminars and webinars for dog owners through the non-profit Your Dog's Friend.

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 your dogs to achieve harmony. Sarah Stemming is the owner of The Cognitive Canine and podcast host of Cog-Dog Radio. 

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. Working with dogs can show us how to be more emotionally available to others. Listen to the episode to learn more about what we can learn from dogs and their emotional experience, switching from a task-oriented approach to a care-oriented approach, and Andrew's acronyms TEA and CAKE! 

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 in least intrusive, minimally aversive options.   

Since I love listening to Dr. Pachel explain this framework, I knew he’d be the perfect guest for the show. As we discuss each step of the Humane Hierarchy, we provide examples of what it would look like in real life. This episode is for both pet professionals and pet parents.

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 in pain. Together they treat the animal holistically addressing the animal’s emotional, physical, and behavioral needs. This is why she was the perfect guest to bring on the podcast to discuss just how often pain is affecting our dogs and their behavior.

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 our lives with dogs is such a beautiful gift and we can all agree that there isn't enough time.

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 and consultant is key to finding the right fit for you.

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 consultants determine risk in each case and how to support the pet parent through this challenging situation. 

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 two non-fur children and one amazing furry sidekick the Marvelous Ms. Moya as well as a multitude of chickens. Amy also teaches positive reinforcement rattlesnake avoidance workshops and a Fear Free Handling and Cooperative Care lab to the veterinary students at Colorado State University.

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 most likely do! 

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 and takes care of animals (and their people), whether you're a dog trainer, animal welfare professional, or a devoted pet parent. 

Jessica Dolce, MS CCFE, is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Educator, receiving her training from TEND Academy. She brings more than 20 years of experience working with and for animals to The Compassion in Balance® Program, her online education platform for animal welfare professionals. Jessica is also an instructor at The Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida and has worked with organizations around the world such as the IAABC, National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, HSUS, Animals Asia, and the ASPCA. She holds a Master of Science in Adult and Higher Education degree and certificates in mindfulness facilitation, positive psychology coaching, and Mental Health First Aid. She lives in Maine with her husband, dogs, cats, and ducks. 

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. She helps people navigate the terrain of long-lasting intimacy more skillfully and mindfully. Through her coaching and online course, clients transform pain into love and connection. That type of connection can be found in all relationships. Many pet parents experience resentment from time to time. What can we do to be proactive in our relationships and heal from resentment?

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 challenging stage without creating a bigger problem for the future.

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 hard of hearing dog to check it out!

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?! In this conversation, we tackle the reasons dogs bark and how to help them find other ways to communicate with us.

Join Marissa Martino as she interviews her client and dear friend, Liz, aka Titan’s mom. Marissa has been wanting to highlight clients on the podcast and Liz was the perfect choice! Liz shares her experience of the behavior modification process from her lens. They discuss how important our mindset is during this process, specifically, how important it is to celebrate neutral responses from our dogs instead of getting hung up on only looking for positive responses.

Join Marissa Martino interview Dr. Chris Pachel as he shares the process and benefits of teaching relaxation to his canine clients. They start off the episode defining what relaxation is, discuss existing protocols, and why this is such a critical skill for the patients in his behavior practice. Dr. Pachel walks us through specific examples and how he integrates this exercise into the behavior modification plan for individual dogs. It’s a MUST listen!   

Join Marissa and Sarah Stremming of Cog-Dog Radio discuss why you should ditch your training resolutions. Wait - what?!?! Isn’t this a dog training podcast? Hear us out! We definitely want to encourage you to train with your dog(s). And, we also want to help you alleviate some of the pressure that a “new year, new you” attitude brings. In this episode, we talk about why resolutions quickly fail and what to do instead! 

On episode 32 of the podcast, Marissa is thrilled to speak with one of her heroes, Dr. Patricia McConnell. She is not one that needs a formal introduction since she’s a household name when it comes to behavior and training, has written so many books Marissa has lost count, and has made such an innovative impact on our profession! Today we will be discussing how to build resilience in our dogs and ourselves.

In Episode 31, Marissa is joined by her fellow colleagues and co-founders of LIMA Beings, Dr. Chris Pachel, Lynn Ungar, Barrie Finger, and Kathy Sdao. They discuss the drive behind their triggers and what hooks them. As we try to discover the things that make us reactive, we can learn to let things go. We react to situations in certain ways and because of those reactions we can become stuck. We can learn to accept that if/when we make mistakes, we can always stop, go back, and make edits.

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 listen! Get ready for some mindset shifts.

Dr Kathy Murphy (BVetMed, DPhil, CVA, CLAS, MRCVS) is a veterinary surgeon and neuroscientist. Dr Murphy founded and is now the Director of, Barking Brains Ltd (a neuroscience outreach platform for the animal behavior and training community), which focuses on translating neuroscientific information into practical and useful information for people interested in animal behavior. To maximize the impact of her diverse interests and skill set, Dr. Murphy teamed up with Behavior Vets in 2022 when she took up the position of Chief Scientific Officer, now the CEO. Dr Murphy lives in the UK with her husband Elliot and their 4 dogs.
  

Join Marissa as she speaks to Sarah Stremming about real behavior change. What are the steps toward achieving true change and how do you know you've been successful? When working with your dog on a challenging behavior, real change can feel impossible. With the right tools and support, the end goal becomes much more possible.

In episode 29, Christie Catan and Marissa Martino discuss how dogs help us embrace our humanity. They explore what it means to say “All of it Belongs” when life throws us curveballs, especially in training. When working with our dogs, feelings of frustration, impatience, or anger are normal. We tend to either push these feelings away or allow them to take over. How can we look at these feelings in a more productive way? Can we accept them and embrace the concept of belonging?

In episode 28, Sarah Stremming joins Marissa to discuss imposter syndrome and how it impacts all of us either as pet parents or dog training professionals. What can we do to combat this feeling of inadequacy and how can we help others overcome their doubts?

In the first episode of season two, Juliana DeWillems and Marissa Martino explore their relationship to control as pet parents. A lot of pet parents call trainers and behavior consultants looking for help and in need of control. And that makes total sense, however, they hope to offer a new perspective on the podcast today.