Vibrant, Vulnerable Village Dogs and What We Can Learn About Our Pets From Them. Presented by Kristi Benson

CEUs: PPAB 1, CCPDT 1, IAABC 1, KPA 1

Many dog guardians, dog behaviour experts, and dog researchers have a keen interest in village dogs (and other dogs who live at large). Some of the interest is simple: a curiosity about how these dogs live. However, some people suggest that village dogs live a life which is much improved, welfare-wise, over the life of a pet dog. In this webinar, dog trainer and anthropologist Kristi Benson will provide an introduction to village dogs (including definitions and geography). She will also review welfare-compromised and positive aspects of village dogs lives before looking at some of the lessons we can learn for pet dogs: enrichment, foraging, socializing, environmental choices, and so on. She will also comment on some of the potential pitfalls and flaws in the discussions about village dogs.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate sources of expertise on village dogs and dog welfare
• Understand the difference between seeking good consequences vs. getting relief, and why those separate motivations matter to this topic
• Identify the naturalistic fallacy in the context of discussing village dogs
• Develop new ways to improve pet dog welfare based on lessons from village dogs

About Your Presenter

Kristi Benson

Kristi is an honours graduate of, and now on staff at, the Academy for Dog Trainers. At the Academy, she is a student mentor and coach, and is in charge of the weekly webinars. Kristi is also in charge of special projects, including the Husbandry Project, which is a large co-operative veterinary care research study working with hundreds of dog owners, testing the efficiency and usefulness of a series of training plans. In her private practice, Kristi works with dog guardians through her self-paced online classes. She also loves helping both the dogs and the humans in the equation and brings her trademark combination of humour and compassion to her courses, no matter the topic.

Kristi also enjoys reaching out to dog owners through writing. Besides her own blog, she also regularly writes for the Academy for Dog Trainers’ blog and is a Special Correspondent to Zazie Todd’s Companion Animal Psychology. For ten years, she ran a sled dog micro-rescue with her partner, and fostered, house-trained, obedience-trained, and re-homed racing sled dogs. She lives rurally in northern British Columbia, Canada. She has gained the PCBC-A credential, is Fear Free certified, and is on the Fear Free Speaker’s Bureau.