What you need to know about herding dogs with Emily Priestley

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Zazie and Kristi talk to dog trainer Emily Priestley about her book Urban Sheepdog and what you need to know about herding breeds.

We start by discussing which breeds count as herding breeds and what they were bred to do, and ask Emily how a herding dog first came into her life.

Then we talked about the kinds of herding dog behaviours that dog guardians can sometimes struggle with, and the extent to which we consider these normal or pathological.

We also talk about the importance of exercise and enrichment, and Emily's main takeaway from the book. Finally, we talk about the books we're reading.

Emily Priestley is a multi-certified dog trainer, having graduated from the renowned Academy for Dog Trainers and is a Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant through the IAABC. She has been working with and handling dogs professionally for over a decade.

Emily specializes in working with herding breed dogs struggling in pet homes. Over a century of selective breeding for working stock, as well as a rise in popularity, has led to many guardians struggling with their herders in urban settings. Emily's long career with the BC SPCA has also allowed her to have a proven track record, having personally handled over 2,000 dogs.

With experience with many breeds and all problem behaviours, Emily has worked with dogs desperately needing intervention and behaviour modification. Emily specializes in reactivity and compulsive disorders but is available to help with all breed challenges from misdirected herding, "spooky" and fearful behaviour to nipping, biting and everything in between. Her book about herding dogs is called Urban Sheepdog.

Emily's website: https://wildatheartdogs.com/ with links to her socials and podcast.

About the co-hosts:

Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.

Kristi Benson's website Facebook

Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.

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