We are excited to introduce you to Janet Velenovsky, an area pet lover and animal behavior specialist.
Janet is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) and a Professional Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). She is a graduate of Purdue University’s 2004 DOGS course, and holds a Counseling Certificate from the San Francisco SPCA’s Academy for Dog Trainers. Janet is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Trainer Partner (KPA CTP).
Janet will be answering your pet behavior-related questions in a regular “Ask the Trainer” feature! You can submit your questions via email (sarah@richmondpetlovers.com), as a blog comment, via Twitter, or on Facebook.
Do you Consider Your Pet a Member of the Family?
The answer, for most of us, is – “of course!” Americans, increasingly, include their pets in family activities, want the best in food, toys, and care for them, and are willing to spend an increasing part of our discretionary budget to keep them healthy and happy. In general, American pets are pretty lucky.
In our quest to support – and sometimes spoil – our four-legged “children,” though, some people will favor heart over head, and let impulse spending and easy, popular media information guide their thinking. Pet parents need to take care not to be misinformed, misled, or simply hoodwinked by unqualified “experts”. The pet industry is woefully unregulated; since pets are generally viewed by law as property, our ability to claim damages from irresponsible vendors and uneducated service providers is limited. This emboldens less knowledgeable and ethical pet product and service providers to take advantage of loving owners.
According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans will spend $50+ billion on companion animals this year. That’s a record, as pet spending has increased every year since 2001, even during the recent difficult economic times. Two-thirds of all American households own pets; we’re at a new high of 72.9 million households. The leading species are dogs and cats — about 78 million dogs and 86.4 million cats. This reflects a 2.1 percent increase from 2010.
One of the areas of greatest confusion, speculation, and frustration amongst pet owners is that of training and behavior. American households are inundated with advice about pet behavior from television, magazines, and the Internet. Wives’ tales and folksy wisdom is touted. What is a loving pet owner to believe?
photo courtesy agile dogs
As the new pet behavior blogger for RichmondPetLovers.com, I look forward to helping area owners decipher fact from fiction, science from fad, and provide answers for your questions. Whether you are frustrated with house soiling, a pet who can’t be groomed, or one who can’t ride in a car, are dealing with aggressive behavior, shy pets, or integrating new pets into the household, or want to know about activities like therapy work, agility, Rally, Nosework, or other activities, I am ready to provide you with the latest information and resources.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Janet Velenovsky, CPDT-KA, CDBC-TAC, KPA CTP
Owner, Kaizen Pet Training & Behavior
“Improve Your Pet, Improve Your Life” (TM)
804-241-8405 :: janet@velenovsky.com
velenovsky.com :: facebook.com/kaizenpets :: twitter.com/kaizenpets
More about Janet
Janet is a past president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and the current chair of its Working Animals division. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and a Therapy Animal Consultant (TAC) with IAABC. Janet was honored with the “Animals as Other Nations” award at the 3rd annual IAABC conference held in Houston in 2009.
Janet has been a member of a local therapy dog group in central Virginia by the name of Caring Canines for eight years, and Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (www.HopeAACR.com) for six years. Janet and her golden retriever partner, Kaizen, visited Louisiana post-Katrina to provide comfort for those affected by the hurricane. All five of Janet’s dogs have done therapy work, including local visits to nursing homes, churches and hospitals, as well as elementary school reading programs, and public events.
In addition to living and working with four wonderful dogs, Janet also has a strong feline side. She has been owned by cats since the age of six, and has a special interest in both finding ways to enrich the lives of indoor cats and in helping owners understanding the enigmatic feline. Janet shares her home with a cat named Griffin, occasional foster kittens, and a very understanding husband.
Janet is a co-creator of the patented “Come With Me Kitty” Cat Harness and Bungee Leash, invented during her more than seven year tenure as Training & Behavior Education Department Manager for Premier Pet Products.
Janet has published articles in Off Lead & Animal Behavior, Animal Wellness, and APDT Chronicle of the Dog and belongs to Cat Writers of America (CWA). Janet served on the Board of Directors, Association for Pet Loss & Bereavement.
Janet teaches puppy, Rally, Nosework, and agility classes locally as well as doing private behavior consultations.
- photo courtesy agiledogs
