Pet Professional Guild launches Pet Dog Ambassador program worldwide

TAMPA, Fla. - May 14, 2016 - PRLog -- The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has launched the Pet Dog Ambassador (PDA) program, an international licensing initiative focused on improving and strengthening dogs' and their guardians' skills, both in a class situation and in the real world.

PDA's key aims are to acknowledge the hard work and commitment that dog guardians and their pets undertake to make their shared lives enjoyable, and to encourage guardians to continue training and developing new skills, abilities and knowledge. Agility dogs, show dogs, obedience dogs and many other dog sport competitors already gain titles as acknowledgement for the hours of dedicated training undertaken. The PDA program ensures that pet dogs and their people can now gain similar accolades. Specifically, PDA recognizes the efforts made by dog guardians from a puppy or new dog's very early training. Designed as a progressive assessment, PDA is a five-level program with each level building on the previous, working up from puppy/beginner to "championship" level.

Benefits of PDA include improving the relationships between pet dogs and their guardians, helping guardians gain a better appreciation of force-free dog training and its applications to everyday life, improving the knowledge of socially responsible pet guardians, increasing their knowledge and understanding of local laws in their locality, and equipping dogs and their guardians with the skills to be out in the wider community in public settings thereby demonstrating the many advantages of having a well-trained dog.

PPG members are able to participate in PDA as both dog guardians and instructors/assessors. Qualified professional dog trainers will be tested rigorously on the program before receiving their license to instruct, and assessors will be tested on both the program knowledge and their ability to test pet guardians across all the assessment markers for each level.

"We wanted an assessment process that tested real life situations," said Debra Millikan, PPG board member and project chair. "PDA differs from anything else that is currently available in the sense that there is much more real life testing and I am delighted that it has finally come to fruition. The program has been developed over a long period of time by a team of dedicated PPG members in Australia who have done an excellent job in developing the skill levels and the program guide."

Added PPG president, Niki Tudge: "PDA is another exciting product for PPG members to provide to their dog owning community. Not only does it provide the curriculum, skills and assessment markers, it also offers a wealth of marketing support and tools to help the program grow. I am very proud of the international effort that has gone into bringing this product to completion."

About the Pet Professional Guild

The Pet Professional Guild is a 501(c)6 member organization founded on the principles of force-free training and pet care. Its membership represents pet industry professionals who are committed to force-free training, pet care philosophies, practices and methods. Pet Professional Guild members understand force-free to mean: no shock, no pain, no choke, no fear, no physical force and that no compulsion-based methods are employed to train or care for a pet.

For more information, visit the Pet Dog Ambassador website.