Podcasts about Catahoula

In this episode Doug talks about losing your phone. Doug and the listeners share stories on losing their phones on various trips in the outdoors. You don't want to miss this. Plus, an update on the St. Jude Golf Tour. Feel the love as Doug's audience share the love by contributing to a good cause. What's that cause? Well, be sure to tune in to find out. Caller Rice Bice and Doug gives advice on how to populate your land with deer for hunting year after year. This is some amazing stuff. Do you hunt by size or by antlers? Or do you just shot anything just because you have a deer lease? Find out what Doug has to say about which is best. Want to open a can of worms? You guessed it talk about the best dog for hunting. Our listeners chime in on all the pros/cons of some of the breeds. Other topics covered: Duck Stamp, Speckle trout season. Barbless hooks and using A.I.technology on your golf swing.

http://hiddencreekranchtx.com https://www.facebook.com/hccatahoulas/ https://www.instagram.com/hiddencreekcatahoulas/ https://www.gooddog.com/breeders/hidden-creek-catahoulas-texas Join Today! https://www.patreon.com/bulldogsocialclub https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bulldogsocialclub Please consider a donation towards further content. Thank you very much for your support. http://www.venmo.com/rarebreedsusa http://cash.me/$bulldogsocialclub https://www.paypal.me/SeanOBrien75 Please follow me on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/bulldogsocialclubpod/

The crew sits down with new LSU AgCenter ANR Agents Trip Morgan and Tyler Garza. We talk about their background and future plans. Tripp MorganAssistant Extension AgentAgricultural and Natural Resources (Livestock & Forages)Union, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, West Carroll210 E. Water Street Farmerville, LA 71241tmorgan@agcenter.lsu.edu318-368-9935Tyler GarzaAssistant Extension AgentEast Carroll Parish 502 First Street Lake Providence, La 71254tgarza@agcenter.lsu.edu 318-559-1459

Chad Landreneau, developer of the app, AnimalFindr, joined Discover Lafayette to discuss his mission to connect breeders, buyers, and sellers of livestock such as cattle and horses, as well as family pets. Animal Findr is available on the Apple App store and Google Play. Animal Findr connects buyers and sellers across the nation for any and every pet enthusiast. As Chad's website says, "Whether you are looking for a Catahoula, a calico, a cobra or a cockatiel," you can search on the go as you travel. Buyers and sellers can communicate about a potential sale in real time. The app uses GPS geolocation, geofencing, and real-time motion tracking technology, which allows you to find the animal of your dreams within a 500-mile radius of your location, across the U.S. The app is free, unless you want to subscribe so as to have access to breeding records, registration papers, or the extended family tree of the animal. Subscriptions run from $19.99 monthly to $97.99 for a six-month period. Chad grew up in Mamou, part of a third-generation farming family. He had a couple of horses while growing up, as well as farm animals, so he was always comfortable around animals. A graduate of McNeese State University, Chad worked on a Western Pleasure Horse farm while in college and enjoyed the experience. When he moved back to Lafayette after a stint working in Dallas, he came across a horse trainer who convinced him to buy a horse and give racing a whirl. Chad says, "I got bit by the bug. First we traveled to races in South Louisiana, then across Louisiana." It was during that time that he spent many weekends in the stands waiting for a race with his horse to occur and he had plenty of time to notice the behavior of other people sitting around him. "You only compete for a couple of minutes when your horse races. The rest of the time you just sit in the stands. I noticed that everyone's heads were down. I walked through the venue and saw that everyone was scrolling on their phone or an IPad. They were looking for their 'winner'. I wondered how I could effectively connect people who want to buy animals with those who want to sell." When he searched online for horses, he found sites that sell the animals by discipline, such as Barrel Racers, Race Horses, or Western Pleasure. But no sites just listing horses of all backgrounds. "I wanted a one-stop shop where all horses, as well as cattle, dogs, cats, sheep, birds, or exotic animals could be bought and sold. So, Chad created an app where users can post in real time and find their desired animal. "If I get in a truck and drive down the road for 3,000 miles, I wanted something that had the GPS technology that would reload other opportunities to buy or sell animals depending on where I was located in the country. I wanted people to find animals for sale outside of their usual territory of where they lived, as they might be traveling for horse shows or vacations. And I wanted instant messaging so if you see something you like, you can connect with the owner. It's a way to truly connect buyers and sellers in real time, on the go." In October 2023, Chad launched Animal Findr and the app was recently updated in February 2024. "I wanted to make sure the app works, and is rock solid in all capacities, in Android and Apple before we did the hard push. Now we have hundreds of users....buyers and sellers." Animal Findr connects the buyer and seller, but is not involved in the actual exchange of the animal or the payment. The customers handle the actual purchase and no money is made by Animal Findr off the sale. Josh Richard of Burning Stick Creative has helped Chad market this new app. Chad recounts how he's had to learn about Tik Tok, Instagram, FaceBook, and the ins and outs of working a website. He also shared how starting a business is not always easy. His first website programmer took his money and then hit the road.

Humans are social animals. We like to hang out and talk. We could, conceivably, create spaces where we could go, solely to talk to other people. But the way our society is structured, everything has to be paid for. Would people pay to go to a place just to talk to each other? Maybe. But that's not what happens. What happens is, we socialize with each other while doing an activity we're prepared to pay for. Like eating. Drinking. Listening to music. Or going to a yoga class. And, like a lot of things these days, we start young. Take for example Lolo's Youth Yoga and Art Studio, Uptown on Magazine Street. Lolo's is New Orleans' first yoga studio specifically for kids. Children - from three years old to teenagers - practice yoga, make art, do mindfulness exercises, and learn meditation in afterschool or full-day sessions. The founder and owner of Lolo's Studio is Laurie Azzano. Two places that adults like to congregate are bars and coffee shops. We go to a coffee shop where we like the taste of the coffee they serve. Bars all serve the same alcohol, so they compete with each other by providing “added value.” For example, live music. For a combination of these business models – coffee and live music – you could go to Catahoula Tattoo, on Broad Street in Mid City. The coffee is their own blend – Catahoula Tattoo Select. And if you drink it at the studio, it's free. The live music is free too. While you're hanging out at Catahoula's self- described “tattoo lounge,” you could get a tattoo, right? Not so fast. Catahoula has 3 tattoo artists, but they won't give you a tattoo on the spur of the moment. Your tattoo needs to be designed ahead of time, and you need an appointment to get it inked into your skin. And in further market-differentiation, the owner of Catahoula Tattoo, Dominic Srgo, says, Catahoula is “not the kind of tattoo shop where the tattoo artists look like they belong in a circus.” If you ever go to a Saints Game when the dome is sold out, the sheer mass of humanity can be overwhelming. That's around 70,000 people. Each one of those people is on an individual life journey. So is every one of the 7 billion humans who aren't in the dome on any given Sunday. And, because we're human, that individual journey we're all on can be physical, and spiritual. One of the oldest ways of creating an individual difference between ourself and everyone else on earth, physically, is body art. And one of the oldest ways of developing our individual non-physical self, is Yoga. The practice of both of those pursuits is ever-evolving. Laurie Azzano and Dominic Srgo might be merely two individuals in the 21st Century in a small city in the south of the United States, but their respective contributions to the arts of tattooing and yoga are a part of ancient traditions, and uniquely their own. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at NOLA Pizza in the NOLA Brewing Taproom. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dog communication is one of the impressive skills that seem to come naturally to dog owners. I'm mindblown by the idea that even though our dogs do not talk, they have this amazing capacity to let their needs be known. Through their gestures, and actions, and sounds, our pets help us learn how dogs communicate. Our dogs want us to understand them! As a dog trainer, I always emphasize to dog owners that one of the best ways to raise and love a dog starts with understanding them. In fact, I have included some of the best practices for communicating with dogs in my Dog Calming Code and Puppy Coach programs. Dogs may not speak our language, but they have their own unique ways of telling us what they need. It's up to us as their owners to learn to read those cues and respond to them with love and compassion. And this blog is here to help you with that. Key Takeaways: Our dogs communicate with us through small, easy-to-miss signals. Dog owners should be sensitive with dog communication. When your dog knows that you understand them, their trust towards you increases. In turn, your bond becomes stronger. Dogs communicate love, hunger, discomfort, anxiety, and frustration through different ways. MASTER DOG COMMUNICATION WITH THE DOG CALMING CODE™️ Table of Contents: Jack Needs a Blanket: What My Dog Taught Me About Dog Communication Understanding Dog Communication: Why It's Important to Know How Dogs Communicate How Do Dogs Communicate? 10 Common Gestures and Actions That Dogs Use to Talk to You Dog Communication Through Vocalization Does Their Personality Affect the Way Dogs Communicate? Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Anxiety Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Hunger Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Discomfort Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Love How to Have Better Communication With Your Dog: Dog Communication Tips Dog Communication: Small Gestures with a Big Message   Jack Needs a Blanket: What My Dog Taught Me About Dog Communication As an experienced dog trainer, I have seen countless instances where dog owners struggle to catch their dogs' messages, especially when their pets are uncomfortable. It breaks my heart to see these dogs suffer in silence because there's misunderstanding despite dog owners doing their best. I myself have gone through a similar struggle.   My dog, Jack, is a big and tough Catahoula leopard dog. At one glance, you'd think that Jack can handle everything! One winter day, despite his resilience, I noticed that he was shivering even though he was wearing his jacket. BUILD TRUST IN YOUR PUPPIES WITH THE PUPPY COACH™️ PROGRAM At first, I couldn't understand what was wrong with him! After all, he had his coat on, right? But then I realized that I needed to think like a dog to truly understand his needs. I immediately got Jack a warm blanket, and as soon as he snuggled up in it, his shivering stopped. The look of relief on his face melted my heart, and I realized just how important it is to pay attention to our dogs' messages, especially when they're uncomfortable. For me to understand Jack, I had to do something: communicate with a dog by thinking like a dog. Understanding Dog Communication: Why It's Important to Know How Dogs Communicate Dogs communicate through a variety of non-verbal cues, such as body language, facial expressions, and vocalizations. Understanding these cues is essential for building a strong bond and trust with your dog. Have you ever seen the eyes of your dogs lighting up when you get what they want to tell you? Oh the wagging tails and the excited jumps that seem to say “Hurrah! You understand me!” But apart from the joy of communicating with your dogs, there are also other big reasons why it's crucial for you to know how dogs communicate. The list below includes several reasons why learning to understand dog communication is a skill every dog owner must have. UNDERSTAND YOUR DOGS BETTER WITH THE HELP OF THE DOG CALMING CODE™️ Knowing How Dogs Communicate Can Prevent the Negative Effects of Misunderstanding Dogs Let's take this example: your dog is thirsty and they want water. However, you read their actions as boredom. So you pour toys in front of them, but no water. It's going to be no surprise if your dog ends up feeling frustrated and desperate! They'd probably say “Does mom/dad really get me?” Misunderstanding your dog's communication can lead to frustration, confusion, and even aggression. By learning to read your dog's body language and other signals, you can avoid misunderstandings and build a strong relationship and stronger trust. Knowing What Your Dogs Truly Want to Communicate Can Help You Meet Their Needs Dogs have different ways of expressing their needs and wants, and understanding their communication can help you provide for them better. For example, a dog who is pacing and whining may need to go outside, while a dog who is cowering and avoiding eye contact may be feeling scared or anxious. BETTER COMMUNICATION WITH DOGS = STRONGER TRUST. LEARN FROM THE DOG CALMING CODE™️ Providing the right help not only saves your pet from danger or discomfort, but also sends a message to your pet that they can trust you. When Your Dogs Know That You Get Them, Your Training Improves Communication AND trust are crucial in dog training. Understanding your dog's body language can help you know when they are ready to learn, when they need a break, and when they are feeling overwhelmed. Because dogs know you feel and care for them, this can make training more effective and enjoyable for both you and your dog. When Your Dog's Needs are Met, Your Bond Becomes Stronger Dogs are social animals and thrive on connection with their owners. When you understand your dog's communication, you are better able to meet their needs, build trust, and foster a deeper bond. How Do Dogs Communicate? 10 Common Gestures and Actions That Dogs Use to Talk to You Are dogs hard to understand? Quick answer: no, if you know these ten body language cues that dogs use to communicate with you. #1: Tail Wagging Dogs wag their tails when they are happy or excited. The speed and direction of the tail wag can also convey different messages. For example, a slow wag may indicate uncertainty or caution. On the other hand, fast wag may indicate excitement. #2: Ear Position Dogs use their ears to communicate their mood and intentions. Ears held forward and up can indicate attentiveness or alertness, while ears pinned back against the head may indicate fear or anxiety. BE THE DOG OWNER YOUR PUPPY NEEDS. CHECK OUT THE PUPPY COACH™️ PROGRAM. #3: Body Posture A dog's body posture can communicate their mood and intentions. A relaxed, loose body posture usually indicates a happy, calm dog, while a stiff, tense posture may indicate aggression or fear. #4: Eye Contact Dogs use eye contact to communicate with their owners. Direct eye contact can convey trust and affection, while avoiding eye contact may indicate fear or anxiety. #5: Barking Dogs bark to communicate a variety of messages, including excitement, warning, and distress. The tone and frequency of the bark can also convey different meanings. #6: Licking Dogs may lick their owners as a sign of affection, or to communicate a need, such as hunger or thirst. Moreover, licking is also a dog's way to welcome or greet you. #7: Yawning Dogs may yawn when they are stressed or anxious. It can also indicate tiredness or boredom, too. #8: Growling Dogs growl as a warning sign, to communicate discomfort or aggression. Growling is also a way for dogs to communicate their feeling of being cornered. #9: Sniffing Dogs use their sense of smell to communicate with the world around them. Sniffing can also indicate curiosity or interest. #10: Jumping Dogs may jump up to greet their owners, or to communicate excitement or affection. However, it can also be a sign of dominance or aggression. Dog Communication Through Vocalization Dogs are highly vocal animals and use a range of vocalizations to communicate with us and other dogs. Listen to barks, growls, howls, whines, and yelps because these are just some of the many ways dogs vocalize. Each sound has a specific meaning and can convey different emotions or intentions. For example, a bark can indicate excitement, aggression, or alertness, while a whine can signal anxiety or distress. Dogs also use their voices to express their wants and needs, such as when they're hungry or in need of attention. As a dog owner, it's important that you pay extra attention when your dogs start to do vocalizations. We can use their different sounds as cues in order to better understand and communicate with them. Does Their Personality Affect the Way Dogs Communicate? Dog owners often ask me “Doggy Dan, does my dog's personality affect the way they communicate?” The quick answer is yes. Because their personality is a big factor on how they express themselves, their communication style can totally differ from other dogs. How Confidence Level Affects Dog Communication Confident dogs may communicate more assertively, while shy dogs may be more subtle or avoidant in their communication. Energy Levels Influence Dog Communication High-energy dogs may communicate more boisterously or use more physical gestures, while low-energy dogs may be more subdued. History Dogs who have had negative experiences in the past may communicate differently than those who have not, such as being more fearful or defensive. Training and Socialization Dogs who have received training and socialization may be more confident and communicative, while those who have not may struggle to express themselves clearly. Understanding your dog's personality and how it affects their communication style can help you better interpret your dog's needs and behaviors. Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Anxiety When you are adept at picking up signs of anxiety in dogs, you can take steps to help your dog feel more comfortable and secure. Once your dogs communicate feelings of anxiety, you can offer techniques such as massage or aromatherapy, or seeking professional help if necessary. Here are ways dog communicate anxiety. Anxiety Cue #1: Pinned Back Ears When a dog is anxious, they may pin their ears back against their head as a way of communicating their discomfort. Anxiety Cue #2: Excessive Licking or Yawning Dogs may lick their lips or yawn excessively when they're feeling anxious, which can be a way of communicating their stress. Anxiety Cue #3: Tucked Tail If your dog's tail is tucked tightly between their legs, this is often a sign that they are feeling threatened or scared. Anxiety Cue #4: Dogs Communicate By Avoiding Eye Contact Dogs may avoid making direct eye contact when they're anxious, and instead may look away frequently or avert their gaze. Anxiety Cue #5: Raised Hackles When a dog's hair stands up along their spine and neck, it can indicate that they're feeling anxious or unsafe. WITH THE DOG CALMING CODE™️, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR DOGS BETTER. Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Hunger In my opinion, signs of hunger can be quite difficult to pick up. Unless your dog has a regular feeding routine, it's important to take note of the common hunger cues from dogs. Hunger Cue #1: Whining or Whimpering Dogs may vocalize to indicate that they are hungry. Whining or whimpering sounds can be a way of communicating to their owners that they want food. Hunger Cue #2: Pacing or Following If a dog is hungry, they may pace back and forth or follow you around in the hopes of getting food. Hunger Cue #3: Increased Activity Level Some dogs may become more active when they're hungry, such as by running around more or playing with toys. This can be a way of signaling you that they need food. Hunger Cue #4: Begging Dogs may beg for food by sitting near you and looking up to you with pleading eyes. They may also paw or nudge at you with their nose to get attention. Hunger Cue #5: Eating Non-food Items In some cases, dogs may eat non-food items when they're hungry or have a strong desire to eat. This behavior, known as pica, can be a sign that the dog needs more food or is not getting the proper nutrients in their diet. Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Discomfort Discomfort in dogs can come in many forms, such as pain, hunger, cold, or itching. They may communicate this through various behaviors such as whining, whimpering, excessive licking or scratching, or avoidance of certain activities or areas. DOG CALMING CODE™️: THE PROGRAM TRUSTED BY THOUSANDS OF DOG OWNERS Dog owners should pay attention to changes in their dog's behavior or routine and look for signs of discomfort, as addressing these issues promptly can improve their dog's overall health and well-being. Discomfort #1: Pain Dogs may whine, whimper, or cry when they are in pain. They may also limp or favor one side of their body if they are experiencing discomfort in a specific area. Discomfort #2: Hunger Dogs may become restless, pace around, or even become vocal when they are hungry. They may also sniff around their food bowl or look towards their owner for food. Discomfort #3: Cold Dogs may shiver or shake when they are cold. They may also try to curl up in a warm spot or seek out a blanket or cozy spot. Discomfort #4: Itchiness Dogs may excessively scratch or lick certain areas of their body when they are itchy. They may also rub their body against furniture or carpet to try to alleviate the discomfort. Dog Communication Cues: Common Ways Dogs Communicate Love I always tell this to dog owners: dogs come with the biggest, purest love; and they want us to feel it! Here are some ways that they tell you they love you! Love Cues #1: Tail Wagging is How Dogs Communicate Is your dog coming to you with a wagging tail? Take that as a sign of overflowing love! A wagging tail is often a sign of happiness and excitement in dogs. When a dog wags their tail, it can also mean that they are showing affection towards you, their owner. THE DOG CALMING CODE™️ WILL TEACH YOU DOG COMMUNICATION BETTER. Love Cues #2: Snuggling One of the most common signs of “I love you, furmom and furdad” in dogs is the famous dog snuggle. Dogs may snuggle up against you or lay their head on your lap as a way of showing love and affection. This physical contact can be comforting and reassuring for both the dog and you. Love Cue #3: Eye Contact Dogs often make eye contact as a way of showing love and trust. Direct eye contact with a soft, relaxed gaze can be a sign that your dog feels safe and connected to you. Love Cue #4: Licking Dogs may lick your face or hands as a way of showing affection. This behavior is often seen as a way for dogs to groom their pack mates and show affection. What's more is that licking is a big sign that they're at home with you. Love Cue #5: Playfulness Dogs may engage in playful behavior with their owner as a way of showing love and affection. This can include fetching a ball, playing tug-of-war, or running around in the backyard. How to Have Better Communication With Your Dog: Dog Communication Tips To truly say “I get you” to our dogs is a skill that's worth mastering! I've listed some examples below on how you can communicate with dogs that will truly connect and bond you with your beloved pet. #1 Spend Quality Time With Your Dog Regularly setting aside time to spend with your dog, whether it's playing, training, or simply hanging out together, can help build a strong connection and improve communication. #2 Be Consistent Consistency is key in communication with your dog. Use the same commands and gestures every time, and establish a routine to help your dog understand what is expected of them. Moreover, follow a routine that works best for your puppies and dogs. RAISE YOUR DOGS IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM TRUST YOU MORE. LEARN HOW WITH THE DOG CALMING CODE™️. Listen to Your Dog Pay attention to your dog's nonverbal cues and respond to their needs accordingly because this builds trust and strengthen your connection. Dogs want to talk to us, so let's show them we're listening. Use Body Language Dogs rely heavily on body language to communicate, so using your own body language, such as leaning forward or making eye contact, can help convey your own intentions and build a stronger connection with your dog. Speak in a Calm, Reassuring Tone Dogs can pick up on your tone of voice, so speaking in a calm, reassuring tone can help them feel relaxed and connected to you. Exercise Together Regular exercise with your dog, such as walking or running with your dog, can improve their physical and mental well-being, and also provide an opportunity for you to bond and communicate. Be Patient and Understanding Building a strong connection with your dog takes time and patience. Be understanding of their individual needs and personalities, and take the time to establish a strong bond based on mutual trust and respect. Dog Communication: Small Gestures with a Big Message When it comes to communicating with dogs, the message is in the little gestures. A nudge. A lick. A snuggle. A whimper. These signals are easy to miss, so it's essential that we know how to see this signals and instantly catch the message. Because as dog owners, we're the first people that our dogs will communicate to. It's just right that we send back a message that says “Don't worry, bud. I totally get you.”   ~ Doggy Dan 

On today's episode of the "The Runway Decade Podcast," hosts Bill Bush and Pete Bush, advisors at Horizon Financial Group are going to talk to Ray Castle, who has had one retirement already and is currently on the runway. They mention that Ray is known in the medical training world and has a diverse background that they were not aware of. Pete and Bill express their excitement about getting to know Ray's story better and believe that the listeners will enjoy it as well.     Episode Highlights ·         01:52: Ray Castle mentions that in addition to the revitalization of his hometown, there have been new restaurants opening up. He expresses his admiration for these restaurants, saying that they rival most restaurants in town. ·         02:38: Ray mentions that he learned to drive at a young age and had some mishaps with tractors, including running into trees. He also shares that his father had a heart attack when he was 49, which influenced their decision to go into the cattle business in the late 70s. ·         03.12: Despite the challenges, Ray stayed in the farming business for about six years. Pete and Bush relate to Ray's farming background, mentioning that their own family was involved in farming tobacco, corn and raising animals like pigs. ·         04:03: As a child, Ray Castle explains that he would mostly engage in activities on the farm. Ray mentions how his older brother and younger sister were simply immersed in farm life and its various tasks. ·         05.12: Ray Castle mentions that he attended Tensas Academy, a small private school, for his high school education. After high school, he came to LSU (Louisiana State University). ·         05:27: Ray confirms that he has always been interested in sports and participated in multiple sports during high school. However, he never initially realized that he wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. ·         05:48: Ray Castle explains that his parents never pressured him to choose a specific career path, but instead emphasized the importance of going to school and taking things step by step. They provided encouragement even when he was struggling academically or making mistakes. ·         06:53: Ray Castle shares his experience at LSU, where he initially pursued a major in geology but eventually realized that it wasn't the right fit for him. ·         08.42: Ray reflects on his interest in sports and decides to pursue a degree in kinesiology. He mentions considering a Med technology degree but ultimately opts for kinesiology, realizing that he can excel if he puts in the effort to balance work and study. ·         10.50: Ray Castle talks about a moment when he realized he needed to be more prepared for his kinesiology class. ·         12:32: Ray Castle talks about his experience as a student trainer at LSU. He mentions staying in Broussard Hall and working from 12:30 to 1, assisting the team. He mentions that the women's track team won their first back-to-back championships in Eugene, Oregon. ·         14:45: Ray Castle reflects on his experience working with different sports teams at LSU. He mentions the unique family atmosphere within athletics and how it felt to be part of that community. ·         15:24: Ray mentions working alongside Tammy Bianco, who was an athletic training student at the time. Ray describes the long to-do lists and tasks he had to complete, including budgeting, inventory management, and working during the summer. He notes that the current system has changed significantly compared to his time working with the teams. ·         17:40: Ray acknowledges the opportunity to work with great people throughout their 20-year tenure, and they mention that they retired in August. ·         19.07: Ray emphasizes the importance of having a solid foundation to build a successful career and personal life. ·         22:51: Ray talks about their experience working with various sports, including Olympic cycles. Pete and Bill mention working with Kathy Osborne and John Purdy, who worked at the Olympics. Kathy worked with USA women's basketball in Barcelona in 1992, and John worked at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in 1993. ·         23:49: Ray shares how they have been involved in covering marathons and traveling to different locations for their work. ·         26:18: Ray describes their experience at a marathon where they were stationed at the medical tent. Ray then mentions being about 30-40 yards away from the first bomb site during the Boston Marathon bombing incident. They reflect on how, despite being taught not to take action in such situations, they found themselves instinctively responding and helping people in need. ·         29:33 Ray talks about the challenging transition to retirement and the painful process of leaving their previous career. ·         34:50: Bill mentions wearing an Apple Watch and the availability of data for monitoring human performance. Ray who is involved in the medical side of athlete training, talks about the changes and advancements in the field over the past 15 to 20 years. ·         36:51: Ray emphasizes the importance of exercise and mentions their personal experience with open heart surgery. ·         39:48: Ray discusses the importance of being aware of one's family history of cardiac events and how it can increase the risk of experiencing similar issues. ·         45:02: Pete, Bill and Ray expresses their appreciation for their partner, emphasizing the importance of enjoying each other's company and expressing love and affection every day. ·         49:02: Ray talks about his favourite music band. He also shares that their first pet was a Catahoula card Mix named Diamond, who had a small diamond-shaped marking on his forehead. ·         52:01: Ray shares about their best vacation, which took place in the Bahamas on an island called Spanish Wells. ·         54:02: Ray talks about their website, www.actionmed.co, where they offer services such as emergency care workshops, first aid and CPR certification training, and consulting in the field of emergency medicine.     Three Key Points 1.    Ray Castle shares how timing of their transition into the cattle business was good because the farming industry was changing and it was difficult to sustain a small farming business during that time, particularly in the late 70s. 2.    Ray talks about the coaches he worked with, including Pat Henry, Lauren Seagrave, and Dan Path, and how he learned a lot from them in terms of technical skills and understanding the body. 3.    Bill, Pete and Ray discuss technology and hybrid learning, while pointing that younger generations learn faster than they did.     Tweetable Quotes ·         "I remember when I was 8th or 9th grade, my dad came home, and my parents never pushed me in one direction." – Ray Castle ·         "I am a firm believer that careers find you. You don't find them." - Ray Castle ·         "It was a lot of that was an incredible experience just to work with folks and see that beforehand and I left the day before all the craziness." - Ray Castle ·         "Just working on very simple things to be healthy doesn't take a lot to do that." - Ray Castle     Resources Mentioned ·         runwaydecade.com ·         https://www.actionmed.co/  

In this episode we are talking to Vee about the Catahoula, where they originated from, what they were bred for and everything else in between. We will place a trigger warning on the episode as there is conversation that touches on some disturbing content. If you are interested in a Catahoula, or would like to talk about them in more depth detail please contact Vee - All of Vee's social's will be linked to our Instagram account @baddogmoms.podcast Again thank you so much Janelle from the Crooked Larch for yet another amazing edit.

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As we've done six times prior—spanning nearly two years–today's show involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the extended feature, “Ask The Trainer.” Listeners are […] The post Glen Hatchell: dog trainer, behaviorist–“Ask The Trainer” 7th Edition first appeared on Talking Animals.

In this weeks episode Lucas Gareau and I talk about hunting cats and other big game with Catahoula Leopard Dogs. Lucas has only been following these dogs for a few years but has proven to be quite successful. He has also had a few hounds and learned that the versatility eagerness to please of the Catahoula can't be beat.  https://www.dusupply.com/hound-hunting-organizations/all-podcast-apparel.html https://www.patreon.com/treetalkintime https://www.facebook.com/treetalkinmedia https://www.instagram.com/treetalkinmedia  

Drummer Steve Luongo's Catahoula Leopard Dog sings In the Jungle the Mighty Jungle --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brutally-delicious/message

Dr. Barbara Coatney talks about her campaign run for Bay St. Louis/Waveland School Board and her love for Education. She is a native of Catahoula, Mississippi in Hancock County and obtained her Bachelor's in Special Education from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, Master's degree in School Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS, and Doctorate in Education from the University of Mississippi in Oxford Mississippi with a concentration in Curriculum.  After moving to North Carolina, she did a two-year program at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to be a School Superintendent.  Her professional career credits are Special Education Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, Federal Program Director, Curriculum Director and Adjunct Professor. After a 32 year career in Education, Dr. Coatney administers Play Therapy for babies ages 0-3 years. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/koolkard/support

The lads sit with Bradshaw from Catahoula Sign Co. to talk how he transitioned from tech sales to owning a wood shop, the future of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, comedians with podcasts like Theo Von, Mark Normand and John Mulaney, celeb spottings, beard tips, craziest customers, Young Dolph, Pillz the sex tourist and a whole lot more.Use promo code REDACTED at https://catahoulasign.co for 20% off all goodsPanelists: Hmmx, Koozie, special guest Bradshaw

GoodShepherdTraining.com

Today we'll be discussing best practices for your beloved house pets and dispelling myths about their care. Dr. Shivers has loved veterinary medicine from the very beginning. Growing up in Miami, he cared for dogs, cats, orphaned squirrels, turtles, and hermit crabs. After getting his veterinary degree from the University of Florida, he began practicing in Jacksonville, Fl. A desire to be closer to family and great fishing led him to Ft. Myers and Indian Creek. Dr. Shivers believes in having a high-quality, low-stress hospital that clients and their pets feel good about visiting. His favorite part of his job is getting to interact with our clients and pets. Dr. Shivers loves the feeling of getting a sick pet back on its feet and playing at home again. In his spare time, he enjoys saltwater fishing, traveling, diving, and cooking. Dr. Shivers has a Catahoula hound dog named Remy. He is happy to be here, where he can enjoy the laid-back atmosphere, beautiful gulf waters, and friendly residents of Ft. Myers. More at Companion Pet Care https://companionpcc.com/ or Indian Creek Veterinary https://indiancreekvet.com/. Host Pam Stack is a book junkie, cat wrangler and an internationally awarded advocate for women. Find her podcasts on Authors on the Air - Facebook, Soundcloud and YouTube or your favorite audio or video app. @Copyrighted by the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.

Today we'll be discussing best practices for your beloved house pets and dispelling myths about their care. Dr. Shivers has loved veterinary medicine from the very beginning. Growing up in Miami, he cared for dogs, cats, orphaned squirrels, turtles, and hermit crabs. After getting his veterinary degree from the University of Florida, he began practicing in Jacksonville, Fl. A desire to be closer to family and great fishing led him to Ft. Myers and Indian Creek. Dr. Shivers believes in having a high-quality, low-stress hospital that clients and their pets feel good about visiting. His favorite part of his job is getting to interact with our clients and pets. Dr. Shivers loves the feeling of getting a sick pet back on its feet and playing at home again. In his spare time, he enjoys saltwater fishing, traveling, diving, and cooking. Dr. Shivers has a Catahoula hound dog named Remy. He is happy to be here, where he can enjoy the laid-back atmosphere, beautiful gulf waters, and friendly residents of Ft. Myers. More at Companion Pet Care companionpcc.com/ or Indian Creek Veterinary indiancreekvet.com/. Host Pam Stack is a book junkie, cat wrangler and an internationally awarded advocate for women. Find her podcasts on Authors on the Air - Facebook, Soundcloud and YouTube or your favorite audio or video app. @Copyrighted by the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.

Today we'll be discussing best practices for your beloved house pets and dispelling myths about their care. Dr. Shivers has loved veterinary medicine from the very beginning. Growing up in Miami, he cared for dogs, cats, orphaned squirrels, turtles, and hermit crabs. After getting his veterinary degree from the University of Florida, he began practicing in Jacksonville, Fl. A desire to be closer to family and great fishing led him to Ft. Myers and Indian Creek. Dr. Shivers believes in having a high-quality, low-stress hospital that clients and their pets feel good about visiting. His favorite part of his job is getting to interact with our clients and pets. Dr. Shivers loves the feeling of getting a sick pet back on its feet and playing at home again. In his spare time, he enjoys saltwater fishing, traveling, diving, and cooking. Dr. Shivers has a Catahoula hound dog named Remy. He is happy to be here, where he can enjoy the laid-back atmosphere, beautiful gulf waters, and friendly residents of Ft. Myers. More at Companion Pet Care https://companionpcc.com/ or Indian Creek Veterinary https://indiancreekvet.com/. Host Pam Stack is a book junkie, cat wrangler and an internationally awarded advocate for women. Find her podcasts on Authors on the Air - Facebook, Soundcloud and YouTube or your favorite audio or video app. @Copyrighted by the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.

In this episode, Pamela Clay shares her inspirational story that started in being a multitalented artist from Oklahoma. Pamela Clay is an Oklahoma-born singer-actress-songwriter and Army brat who lived many years in France and Germany, fluent in French and some German.  Pamela's award-winning career began in the musical theatre, and encompasses not only stage, but also radio, film, television and internet; working with such stars as Mel Brooks, Mandy Patinkin, and Alan Arkin along the way. Her vocal styles include jazz, R & B, pop, country, cabaret, Broadway, Edith Piaf in French and more, and Sanford Meisner called her a true character actress.  Cabaret Scenes magazine called LA- based Pamela Clay “a powerhouse performer whose style crosses all genres”, late great Grammy winner Lou Rawls said she's got one of the best voices he'd ever heard, and esteemed critic Richard Blackwell wrote of her Edith Piaf renditions: “A voice that will have you mesmerized”! Her first one-woman show was at JFK Center, first film role opposite Tommy Lee Jones, and first solo show in NY at Feinstein's 54 Below, where she presented her acclaimed self-penned “Forever Piaf!”, in which she is “taken over” by the spirit of the French chanteuse, singing in French and sharing poignant true-life tales in an authentic French accent.  In Los Angeles, Pamela's headlined at Catalina Jazz Club, Herb Alpert's Vibrato, Feinstein's at Vitello's, Wilshire-Ebell, House of Blues, the Gardenia and starred at John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in original rock musical VISIONS, and is often hired to entertain at private parties, and special events for charities such as the Thalians.  Her original compositions written and recorded with her all-original New Orleans-flavored rock band, Catahoula, as well as some of her original French songs have been featured on prime-time television and feature films, and with Catahoula, she's performed at major rock clubs in Los Angeles including Troubadour, Whisky, Roxy, Federal, Molly Malone's, and with musical luminary Randy Newman.  Pamela also sings with Unity Inspiration Ensemble gospel choir and currently resides with husband Bruce Bermudez, New Orleans-born artist-musician and Catahoula co-founder, in the magical Hollywood Hills, from whence her live shows are now broadcast via New York's leader in virtual events, MetropolitanZoom.com, formerly the fabled Metropolitan Room.  For more information, visit http://www.pamelaclay.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thesuccesspodcastnow/support

Malcolm Ribot is, a trans man who is a community builder, avid hiker, graphic designer, artist, constant wanderer, wiggler, and man of trans experience. He was born in Maryland and grew up in PA, Germany, UT, IN, and IL – where he graduated with his Bachelor’s in Graphic Design. After working at a travel goods company for 5 years as their packaging designer, he left for life on the road and found his true purpose and calling as the FTM Traveler. In June, 2015, he began traveling with his trusty copilot Catahoula pup, Grayson, connecting fellow men of trans experience with one another – helping folks like him see that they are not alone, and that there are other folks like them often even nearby. He’s done so in 49/50 states, Vancouver, Brighton, and Berlin thus far – with much more to come. He now also volunteers, works with, and partners with his favorite non-profit The Venture Out Project bringing together queer folks in the outdoors - combining 2 of his great passions into 1!His trans experience, and his efforts have been featured by/in: NBC OUT, Buzzfeed, Transform Washington, and much more. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/transcasterradio)

In this interview Travis talks about an area of Louisiana that many people don't think about visiting too much.  He does a great job representing the people in his district and promoting all the great things there are about his district.  He is State Representative for the 21st Legislative District. Parishes: Concordia, Catahoula, Madison, Tensas and East Carrol.

Pride Series Day 28 we talk to Malcolm Ribot. Malcolm Ribot is, a trans man who is a community builder, avid hiker, graphic designer, artist, constant wanderer, wiggler, and man of trans experience. He was born in Maryland and grew up in PA, Germany, UT, IN, and IL – where he graduated with his Bachelor’s in Graphic Design. After working at a travel goods company for 5 years as their packaging designer, he left for life on the road and found his true purpose and calling as the FTM Traveler.In June, 2015, he began traveling with his trusty copilot Catahoula pup, Grayson, connecting fellow men of trans experience with one another – helping folks like him see that they are not alone, and that there are other folks like them often even nearby. He’s done so in 49/50 states, Vancouver, Brighton, and Berlin thus far – with much more to come. He now also volunteers, works with, and partners with his favorite non-profit The Venture Out Project bringing together queer folks in the outdoors - combining 2 of his great passions into 1!His trans experience, and his efforts have been featured by/in: NBC OUT, Buzzfeed, Transform Washington, and much more. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/transcasterradio)

Today’s episode is with Kristie, the dogmom to Harper Lee @harperleethecur, a catahoula leopard dog living among the lowlands and wetlands in the motherland of central Louisiana. Historically, the Catahoula leopard dog is the only species of dog know to have originated in Louisiana. Most of their time is spent walking and exploring the community … Continue reading Kristie & Harper Lee @HarperLeeTheCur

Land review of 195 +/- ac deer & duck hunting tract with camp site location adjoining the Catahoula Wildlife Refuge in Catahoula Parish, LA. Our podcasts are sponsored by the Winnsboro, LA branch office of the Louisiana Land Bank. Call them directly at 318-435-5308. All of Pat's land related ebooks, audio books & print versions are at https://amzn.to/2H5Yqds   http://www.youtube.com/reclandtalks   https://www.youtube.com/c/RecLandRealty   http://www.instagram.com/reclandrealty   https://www.linkedin.com/recland-realty   The main website for RecLand's properties is http://www.recland.net  Office: RecLand 410 Olive Street Monroe, LA 71201 318-281-4900

Land review of 45.7 +/- acres wooded tract with old home and barn on a lake near Enterprise in Catahoula Parish, LA. Our podcasts are sponsored by the Winnsboro, LA branch office of the Louisiana Land Bank. Call them directly at 318-435-5308. All of Pat's land related ebooks, audio books & print versions are at https://amzn.to/2H5Yqds   http://www.youtube.com/reclandtalks   https://www.youtube.com/c/RecLandRealty   http://www.instagram.com/reclandrealty   https://www.linkedin.com/recland-realty   The main website for RecLand's properties is http://www.recland.net  Office: RecLand 410 Olive Street Monroe, LA 71201 318-281-4900

In the Thursday, January 23, 2020 episode of The Daily Dog Podcast, Jennifer Campbell-Smith explains how Jake, her German Shepherd-Husky-Catahoula Leopard Dog mix, is the perfect living lab specimen for teaching her high school biology students.More from Jennifer Campbell-Smith:Instagram: http://instagram.com/spothoundTwitter: http://twitter.com/drcampbellsmithAll The Social Thingys:Leave a Voicemail1 (321) 430-4763Subscribe to The Daily Dog on your favorite Podcast Apps:https://link.chtbl.com/DailyDogThe Daily Dog on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLJwsEGFeTF3YkK79XJ-V_gThe Daily Dog on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/DailyDogPodcastThe Daily Dog on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/DailyDogPodcastThe Daily Dog on Instagramhttp://instagram.com/DailyDogPodcastJoin The Daily Dog on Patreonhttp://patreon.com/DailyDogPodcastThe Daily Dog Wish Listhttps://tinyurl.com/FLMenAmazonGet on the The Daily Dog mailing listhttps://mailchi.mp/e18ffdd18903/dailydogpodcastThe Daily Dog Podcast Websitehttp://DailyDogPodcast.com/"Italian Afternoon" by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/© 2020 Shady Side Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

SONGLIST: 1) Catahoula Brown - Blame It On The River, 2) Catahoula Brown - Lessons Of Life, 3) Catahoula Brown - Boat In A Bottle, 4) Catahoula Brown - Love Is Overrated, 5) Catahoula Brown - Rosebud, 6) Catahoula Brown - Rotten Wood, 7) BONUS: Ian Alistair Gosbee - Life Is Good. Enjoy!!

Land review of 238 +/- acre hardwood hunting tract with a camp along the Tensas River in Catahoula Parish, LA. Our podcasts are sponsored by the Winnsboro, LA branch office of the Louisiana Land Bank. Call them directly at 318-435-5308. All of Pat's land related ebooks, audio books & print versions are at https://amzn.to/2H5Yqds   http://www.youtube.com/reclandtalks   https://www.youtube.com/c/RecLandRealty   http://www.instagram.com/reclandrealty   https://www.linkedin.com/recland-realty   The main website for RecLand's properties is http://www.recland.net  Office: RecLand 410 Olive Street Monroe, LA 71201 318-281-4900 office@recland.net

  Today’s episode is with Kevin, the dogdad to Nola @catahoudat, a beautiful blue merle Catahoula leopard dog from Cleveland, with quite a few trail miles under her harness. Being a working breed dog, Nola has been an enthusiastic partner in Kevin’s marathon training this past winter and spring. After searching online, Kevin found Nola … Continue reading Kevin & Nola @Catahoudat

Hannah brings a decade of experience to the table and shares some really interesting insights, a few nuggets of cool information on working with pharmaceutical companies as well as the importance of treatments: they are read and they are valued!   Key Takeaways [:31] Heather introduces Hannah Wolfert and asks her guest to talk about who she is, where she is from, how she found her way into art production, the precious mentors that have helped her along the way and about Morty the new Catahoula puppy! [8:30] Smaller and smaller budgets is one of the most noticeable changes Hannah has seen in the last decade, along with an increase in the scope of the projects! Paperwork has also become cumbersome before a job is awarded. [9:40] Heather explains ‘Firm Bid’ process for the audience as well as the heft of paperwork required for pre-bidding in that kind of setting. [11:20] Dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘T’s for getting a job approved in Hannah’s agency. [13:47] Hannah explains why it is that in most cases, pharmaceutical projects often don’t let photographers retain self-promotion rights. Heather talks about the usage information appearing in NDAs. [18:20] Letting people know they didn’t get the job is the hardest part of Hannah’s job, but it’s a rare occurrence when she doesn’t get on the phone to do it — ‘it’s important to let them know why.’ She encourages other producers to pick up the phone. [22:08] Treatments are required on every job — the creative call is critical to explain direction, but the treatment provides a strong visual statement in terms of the photographer's vision and process. [23:15] Listener question! Do treatments get read and if so, by who? Hannah reads them and so do the creative team and the accounts services team. Sometimes the client gets a redacted version. [25:25] Hannah has her own question for Heather! [26:54] Treatments are a good place to let people know who you are, however, you can’t lose sight of the specifics of what you are going to do and how, as well as why you are best suited for the brand. [28:14] Having a rep is a great way of getting feedback and advice! [28:53] Grabbing Hannah’s attention: mailers, emails, but it really boils down to the imagery. [30:53] Hannah is on Instagram and had begun to use it more and more as an additional way to vet photographers and reps. But rep websites are 90% of what she shares with her creative team. [32:56] Sometimes, the creative team has someone in mind but it really depends on the project. [33:59] Hannah and Heather talk about remembering everything! [36:52] What would Hannah do if she wasn’t an art producer. [40:47] Heather thanks Hannah for coming on the podcast and invites listeners to tune in for the next episode.   Thanks for listening.   In an industry where the rules are always changing, it’s helpful to hear from those on the front line. Heather Elder is the visionary behind NotesFromARep’sJournal.com; visit her website for industry updates, stunning photography and video, and the artists behind the work.   Mentioned in this episode Syneos Health McGraw Hill   More about your host Heather Elder’s Bio Heather Elder’s Blog Heather Elder on Instagram Heather Elder on Twitter Heather Elder on LinkedIn Heather Elder on Facebook   More about today’s guest Hannah Wolfert’s LinkedIn

The mission of Catahoula Rescue, also known as Houlas & Heelers of New England is to advocate for homeless Catahoula Leopard Dogs, Australian Cattle Dogs, and mixes, to place these animals in permanent, loving homes, and to promote responsible guardianship through humane education. In January 2018, this amazing rescue was awarded the P.L.A.Y January 2018 Warm Bellies Product Grant.

In this much-anticipated episode of the Holistic Housing Show, Laura and Sarah introduce their new co-host, NACCED's new Policy Director, Katelynn Harris. Katelynn shares about her journey from the beaches of NC to the mountains of NC, to the affordable housing world of DC, and why her passion for housing is personal. Plus, the crew is joined by three special mystery guests – all NACCED members! – who ask thought-provoking and laugh-inducing questions of the new co-host. Also discussed: why Dolly Parton is perennial and Shania Twain “is a mood;” what policy change Katelynn would make with a magic wand (good one, Elizabeth!); and everyone learns what a Catahoula is (google it). Don't forget to subscribe to the show, rate us in the app and send us an email to podcast@nacced.org. And follow us on Twitter @HousingPodcast!

Land review of 101 +/- acres of recreational and timber land along the Ouachita River in Catahoula Parish, LA. http://www.youtube.com/reclandtalks   https://www.youtube.com/c/RecLandRealty   http://www.instagram.com/reclandrealty   http://www.facebook.com/reclandtalks   http://www.facebook.com/recland   All of Pat's land related ebooks, audio books & print versions are at https://amzn.to/2H5Yqds   Main company website http://www.RecLand.net   Video Blog http://www.RecLandTalks.com   Blog http://www.LandInfoSite.com   The RecLand Talks & RecLand Realty podcasts are sponsored in part by the Winnsboro, LA Branch of the Louisiana Land Bank. 318-435-5308

This week on “Why Are You A Dog?” the show gets real. During... The post 36 – Why Are You a Catahoula Leopard Dog? appeared first on Why Are You a Dog?.

Summary: Kathy Sdao is an applied animal behaviorist. She has spent 30 years as a full-time animal trainer, first with marine mammals and now with dogs and their people. She currently owns Bright Spot Dog Training where she consults with families about their challenging dogs, teaches private lessons to dogs and their owners, and coaches novices and professionals to cross over to positive-reinforcement training. She's been interviewed pretty much everywhere worth reading — at least as far as dog info is concerned — consulted with organizations including Guide Dogs for the Blind, appeared on Bill Nye the Science Guy, and is one of the original faculty members for Karen Pryor's long-running ClickerExpos. She is also the author of Plenty in Life is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training, and Finding Grace. Links Plenty in Life is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training, and Finding Grace (via Dogwise) www.kathysdao.com Next Episode:  To be released 5/4/2018, featuring Michele Pouliot, talking about being a change-maker in the dog world. TRANSCRIPTION: Melissa Breau: This is Melissa Breau and you're listening to the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicated to providing high-quality instruction for competitive dog sports using only the most current and progressive training methods. Today we'll be talking to Kathy Sdao -- Kathy is an applied animal behaviorist. She has spent 30 years as a full-time animal trainer, first with marine mammals and now with dogs and their people. She currently owns Bright Spot Dog Training where she consults with families about their challenging dogs, teaches private lessons to dogs and their owners, and coaches novices and professionals to cross over to positive-reinforcement training. She's been interviewed pretty much everywhere worth reading — at least as far as dog info is concerned — consulted with organizations including Guide Dogs for the Blind, appeared on Bill Nye the Science Guy, and is one of the original faculty members for Karen Pryor's long-running ClickerExpos. She is also the author of Plenty in Life is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training, and Finding Grace. I'm incredibly thrilled to have her here today! Hi Kathy! Welcome to the podcast. Kathy Sdao: Hi Melissa. Thanks so much for the invitation. This is going to be fun. Melissa Breau: To start us out, do you mind just sharing a little bit about your own dogs and anything you're working on with them? Kathy Sdao: What an embarrassing way to start! I currently have just one dog of my own. His name is Smudge. He's a … who knows what he is. He's a mixed breed. Let's call him a Catahoula mixed breed. He's about 3 years old, and as I'm reminded after my walk in the woods with him this morning that the combination of young man in a hoodie on a skateboard with an off-leash dog running beside this young man — too much for Smudge to deal with on our walk in the woods, so rather than dog sports, I'm still training this young dog that the world is full of interesting adventures and you really don't have to bark at them when they startle you. So we're still doing real-world training just getting him out with me every day in my environment here in Tacoma, Washington, which is beautiful. We spend a lot of time outside. I also am very good friends with the magnificent Michele Pouliot, and she has offered to choreograph a freestyle routine for Smudge and me, and I feel like that would be crazy for me not to take her up on that. So if I ever dip my toe into the water of dog sports, it's likely to be freestyle, because I have an awesome friend offering to help me. Melissa Breau: That's fantastic, and hey, I can't blame him. I think that if a guy showed up suddenly and surprised me wearing a hoodie and a skateboard with a dog running next to him, I might be a little startled too. Kathy Sdao: I was having such a peaceful walk, and then we turned a corner and I'm like, Uh-oh, this isn't going to work. Fortunately, that kid was really nice about it. We all kind of laughed, so it ended up well, but anyway, training goes on, right? Melissa Breau: Absolutely. How did you originally get into training? Can you share a little bit on your background? Kathy Sdao: When I do Career Days at schools. I think kids always think it was planned, like “You had a plan.” I didn't have a plan. I was a premed student in college and took an elective, animal behavior, a psych course, which I thought, That'll be easy. The professor, Dr. Pat Ebert, had a need of someone to help her with some research she was doing and just happened to be at the aquarium where I lived in Niagara Falls, New York. She needed a research assistant, and I went to the aquarium and did some observation work there and fell into the rabbit hole and quit premed and changed my major to psychology. My beloved dad will turn 97 years old next month, and he still has not gotten over the shock that his daughter left premed to do this crazy career he has never once understood. So it was serendipity that got me to that aquarium where I ended up training my first animal, a harbor seal. My professor, Dr. Ebert, passed away very suddenly and at a very young age, 32, from liver cancer, and I don't know, I always felt like there's some way to pass the gauntlet on to me to study the science of animal learning and be brave about it. I applied to graduate school after I got my bachelor's degree in fields that could study animal behavior, and all the schools I was going to study either rats or pigeons, except the University of Hawaii, where I would be studying dolphins. I got accepted to the University of Hawaii to study dolphins, got accepted to Rutgers to study rats, it wasn't much of a choice: Newark to study rats or Honolulu to study dolphins. That was the beginning. The second animal I learned to train was a dolphin at the University of Hawaii, so that started my career in a really different kind of way. Melissa Breau: I certainly understand that decision. I think most people would choose dolphins over rats or pigeons. Kathy Sdao: You know, it's funny, Melissa. Rutgers gave me a big scholarship and I turned it down and they really were mortified. They couldn't believe I was leaving money on the table there. In retrospect, I think I made a good choice. Melissa Breau: It certainly served you well. From dolphins to dogs, it's a pretty big bridge there. What led you to go from marine animals and zoo animals — because you did some of that, too, if you want to talk about that — to dogs? Kathy Sdao: When I was fortunate enough to start my career working with marine mammals, I actually worked in three different, amazing settings. For several years I worked at the University of Hawaii, when I was a graduate student, on the research done there that included, among other cool things, teaching sign language to bottlenose dolphins back in the 1980s. That was just an amazing way to start a training career. I got my masters degree and then was hired as one of the first women to work for the United States Navy's Department of Defense that was training dolphins at the time to do mine detection and detonation work, also a job in Hawaii, working to prepare those dolphins to be turned over to sailors to actually be in the military. Another amazing job and worked there for several years, and then decided that it was time, even though I loved Hawaii, to go to a place that was more reasonable to live, just cost of living-wise. Honolulu's gorgeous but expensive. There were two jobs on the mainland in the United States that year that I decided I was going to transition back to the mainland. One was at Disneyland in Orlando and one was at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. I never lived either place, I didn't know anybody in either place, but decided that I much more preferred the Pacific Northwest and so took a job as a staff biologist at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, and got to work with beluga whales and porpoises and sea lions and fur seals and walruses and polar bears and sea otters and an amazing collection of marine mammals. Having worked at the zoo for five years, though, realized it was a difficult job. It was tough physically, it can be tough emotionally — I know people are listening; if they've done some zoo work, it's challenging — and so made the decision that it was time to leave the zoo. But I didn't want to leave Tacoma, Washington. I still live here. I love it. So training dogs was my creative solution to earn a living and not have to move, and I can't even recall to you, Melissa, how humbling that switch was, because I was cocky enough to go, “Hey, I've trained really cool, big, exotic animals. Dogs are going to be a piece of cake.” And oh, they weren't. I really didn't know what I was doing at all, and quickly found out that I needed a lot more dog savvy if I was going to do a good job, and opened up the first dog daycare in Tacoma, Washington, back in the mid-1990s. Nobody had ever heard of a dog day care here. I had to get special zoning from the city. They thought we were nuts. But I opened that dog daycare to be able to get my eyeballs on dog behavior more and to be immersed in it. I know you've got listeners that work in dog daycares, own dog daycares, it's a good immersion process for the human to learn about dog behavior. So that was my entry into dog work, and started teaching classes at night in clicker training, and that was really new at the time, a new way to set up dog training classes back in the late 1990s, so haven't looked back since. And though I loved my time with marine mammals and other exotic species, I really don't miss it. I'm just as intrigued working with dogs and their people as I ever was with the exotics. Melissa Breau: You mentioned that there was a little bit of a transition there. Can you share some of the similarities and differences and what they were as you went from training dolphins and zoo animals to dogs? Kathy Sdao: I really look right now, when I'm looking for teachers for myself … it's interesting, Melissa. One of the reasons I asked you if you would be so kind as to delay our appointment for this recording was so that I could spend a couple of hours this morning listening yet again to my colleague and friend Dr. Susan Friedman. She was doing a webinar this morning on a topic I've heard her teach on before, but I'm like, No, I would like to listen to Dr. Friedman again. What I look for in my teachers when I'm making choices is I really love teachers who are transparent and authentic. So your question invites me to be transparent and authentic, because I'm going to say to you that transition, which should have been smooth in terms of training techniques, I really was able to learn to be a trainer in some extraordinary settings that really call out the best skills. People often say, “You know, it's amazing that the dolphins could learn that mine detection and detonation work,” and keep in mind the work I did for the Navy was classified, it is no longer classified, I can tell you about it. The dolphins' lives were not in danger. That sounds really dramatic, like we were risking the dolphins. We were not. The dolphins and the sailors, the military, all the personnel, all the military personnel, dolphins and people, moved away from the setting before anything was detonated. I don't want any listeners to think, oh my gosh, how cavalier I am about that training. It was as safe as possible for everybody. But in saying that, people go, “That's amazing you could teach that to the dolphins,” and I say, “No, no. What was amazing is every one of those dozens and dozens of dolphins that we took out to the open ocean every day had to jump back in our motorboats, our Boston whalers, to go back to their enclosures every evening, every afternoon, good training session, bad training session. They were free, and they had to choose to jump on a boat and come back to the enclosures.” When you have that as your school for learning, you get an ego. So I got an ego to go, “Hey, I trained open ocean dolphins. How hard is it to train dogs?” Not only was it hard, here's the thing I'm sort of dancing around that I'm humbled by. I didn't think dogs could be trained using the same methods as marine mammals. So I really, switching over species, switched training methods and apprenticed with a local balanced trainer. That wasn't a term at the time in the mid-'90s, but used leash corrections and also positive reinforcement, but all mixed together. So I learned how to pop a choke chain, and I trained that way for, I want to say, at least a year, with only the mildest cognitive dissonance in the back of my head going, Why would dogs be different than every other species I've ever worked with? But of course we've got a mythology about why dogs are different. We can tell that story about pack leaders and hierarchies, and we can spin a good tale about why all other animals can be trained using positive reinforcement and a marker signal, but not dogs, they need corrections. Karen Pryor, fortuitously, happened to be talking in Seattle. She was giving a seminar, and I went to the seminar because Karen's a friend, so I just like, Hey, I'll go visit Karen. I don't need to learn anything about training. Now I'm mortified to say that out loud. Karen started the weekend seminar — I still remember it, it was more than twenty years ago — Karen started the weekend seminar to this big room filled with dog trainers, hundreds of dog trainers, and she said, “I'd really be grateful if no one gave a leash correction over the time we're together this weekend. It's upsetting to me, and it's upsetting to the dogs and anybody who has to watch it.” And then she just went on to talk, and like, What? What is she talking about? There's going to be anarchy in here. What does she mean, no leash correction? I had no idea what she was talking about. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I wandered into that seminar with her, because she started the dominoes falling in my mind to be able to say, Why, possibly, would you not do this with dogs? She was such a good friend and mentor to me, to help me be brave enough to teach classes in my city in a completely different way that dog training colleagues were saying to me, “Absolutely impossible. You're going to fail at this.” So I'm grateful to her and so many people that taught me that it was possible. But my transition was ugly, so if you saw me in that time of me trying to figure out, does all the learning and training I did with marine mammals for over a decade, does it really fit in with dogs? Aren't dogs different? And the answer really is, no, they're not. Good thing I could bring all my other skills into the training. It's a different way to train dogs, but I'd say it's a better way and it's certainly more fun. So that kept me going for a long time, because I don't think we all agree on that yet, so there's work to do. Melissa Breau: That's really interesting. It's a specific pivot point or turning point for you. At what point would you say you actually became, to steal a line from your website, focused on positive, unique solutions, and what has kept you interested in positive training and made you transition to that so completely? Kathy Sdao: I owned that dog daycare for several years, and then at some point felt like I could fledge from that work. It was good work, but it wasn't really feeding me, so I switched at that point to becoming a behavior consultant, becoming a certified applied animal behavior consultant. And so, at that point, to be able to help people create solutions for challenging problems — that brought out a different level of my knowledge than running a daycare. So I'd have to say it was at that point that you have to make decisions about … today we'd look at the Humane Hierarchy and we'd go, “Wow, that algorithm, that sort of model for choosing behavior interventions to be least intrusive for the learner” — I couldn't have given that language back in the late 1990s. That's in reality what I'm doing with the best teachers I can to help me, because I'm now entering people's lives and their families to help them resolve behavior problems with a family member, so that changes things. The idea of that algorithm for interventions, for our training methods with nonhuman learners, comes to us from the work that behavior analysts do with children. And so to make that line fuzzier, to stop saying “humans and animals” like that's a dichotomy, humans or animals, we are animals, and the that learning we do, the teaching we do with animals and people, I want there to be no line dividing those two. So to be able to say, to help a family understand they can help their dog become less aggressive through skilled behavior intervention that's mostly focused on positive reinforcement of alternative behaviors, if I can help a family do that, it changes their lives. It not only changes that dog's life, but if I do my job right, it helps that family become curious about how behavior works. And you know what? We all behave. I love the kids' book Everybody Poops. I want there to be a kids' book called Everybody Behaves. We had the zookeepers read the Everybody Poops kids' book. I'm not a parent of human children, but parents tell me, “Oh yeah, that's a classic book. We read Everybody Poops in our family.” Where's the book Everybody Behaves, so that you can understand if you can change the behavior in one family member, and it happens to be your four-legged dog, and you're successful at that, and you sort of had fun doing it, and you didn't have to be coercive, oh my gosh, then what does that open up for you in terms of all the other behavior change solutions you can come up with? The reason that's interesting to me is I like my species a lot. The colleagues I have that say, “Oh, I work with animals because I don't much like people” are in the wrong business. We should like our species, because I feel like we're doomed if we don't learn some better ways of interacting. So I honestly feel like I'm helping people learn about better ways of interacting. I'm teaching them nonviolence in an around-the-corner, sneaky way to go, “Yeah, we're just training your dog,” but not really. That's never how I'm going into a situation. I'm hoping we can all be learning together to be effective at the same time we're being nonviolent. There's tons of work to do on that. I'm never going to run out of work. It's a tall mountain to climb. Every dog that comes into my consultation office — I mean this sincerely — I'm still fascinated at the learning. I had a new … it's a new breed for me … I always joke when people first contact me and they say, “What do you know about this obscure breed?” Like, in other words, “Are you an expert in …?” My answer to this is “No, but I've trained like fifty different species. Does that count that I don't know?” So a new breed for me this month was a lovely, lovely client with two Berger Picards, Picardy Shepherds. Beautiful dogs, but the breeder talked my elderly client into taking two puppies — “As long as you're going to take one, why don't you take two?” Breeders! Breeders, breeders, breeders! Anyway, lovely woman, retired, her husband just retired, now have two very active herding puppies. As those dogs come into my office, and they've got some behavior issues, but just to watch them learn. Tuesday I was sitting on the floor with them, teaching them just basic behaviors, and to watch their behavior change and their agency kick in that they realized, wow, their behavior is controlling my click, I don't know, it never gets boring for me. I've been doing this for a long time, and I'm still as excited with each dog that comes in as I was in the beginning. Aren't I lucky? Melissa Breau: That's awesome, and it totally comes through in that answer. I do want to back up for a second, because you mentioned two things there that I'm curious. All listeners may not be familiar with what the Humane Hierarchy is, or what it means, and I was hoping you could briefly explain the phrase. Kathy Sdao: I shouldn't presume people know it, but I'm hoping it becomes a common term in our conversations about training, because, Melissa, you've been doing this a long time, too, you know trainers like to have opinions about what's the right way to do things. And unfortunately, at least in the United States, there aren't a lot of laws about what are the right ways to do things, and it's a Wild West out there, at least in my neck of the woods, about what's considered acceptable training practices. I've had two different clients come to me, new clients come to me, in the last couple of months, having gone to another local … we'll call it a trainer. Both of their dogs were in the course of a ten-week package of private lessons. In Week 6, both dogs were hung until they passed out, in Week 6, to make sure that the dogs knew who the leader was. Were hung until they passed out. This is acceptable training. It boggles my mind. So to be able to have an algorithm model to be able to say, “What's OK when you're intervening in another organism's behaviors? Is effectiveness all we care about, that it works?” I first learned of the Humane Hierarchy through Dr. Susan Friedman's teaching, and the easiest way, I think, to find out about it would be on her website, behaviorworks.org. I certainly think if you Googled “Humane Hierarchy in training,” you would see that it's a series of, the last time I looked at it, six levels of intervention. Six choices you would have as a trainer for how you could change your learner's behavior, starting from the least intrusive way, basically looking at the learner's physical environment and health situation, to the most intrusive way, Level 6, which would be positive punishment, and that there would be lots of cautions and prohibitions before you'd ever get to Level 6, and that often, if we're doing our jobs really in a skillful way, we never have to consider using positive punishment, the addition of something painful, pressuring, or annoying, contingent on our learner's behavior. Positive punishment is done so casually and flippantly in dog training, especially in the United States, without a second thought, and this sort of hierarchy of methods we might use really calls out our best practices to say we have a lot of other approaches to go through before we jump right to punishing our learner for behavior we find dangerous or destructive. So I think learning and conversation that continues around the Humane Hierarchy, which comes to us trainers from where? From the rules for behaviorist analysts working with children, human children. They can't just go in and do whatever they want. They have professional restrictions, as should we, as trainers. But that day is not here yet for us. It's coming, I hope. So I find that to be a really helpful model. It's not the only model out there, but it's the one I go to most often when I'm teaching and also when I'm being a consultant. Melissa Breau: Thank you. I appreciate you taking a moment just to break that down and explain it for everybody. And then you mentioned Everybody Poops, and I haven't read that book. So actually I'm curious. Can you give us the gist of what we can imply from the title? Kathy Sdao: You know what? I'm being really serious. I have not read it since I was a zookeeper and was required. I'm not kidding. It's a kids' book, I would think the age group is probably 4-year-olds, to be able to say to your child, “Poop is normal. Poop is good. Don't worry about your poop. We all poop. We've got this thing in common. It's cool.” It's actually a powerful message, like, “Wow, all right, there's nothing weird about that. Everybody poops.” But seriously, in the back of my head I've got this Everybody Behaves book, because if you understood behavior in one organism, seriously … I've got dear clients right now, they're just lovely, they've been my clients for a long time. I'm actually friends with the family now, and one of my clients has a 9-year-old son. As a birthday present he got the fish agility set from R2 Fish School, so 9-year-old boy, he's got his fish agility equipment. What he said to me when I saw him just two days ago, he said to me, “Kathy, I have a science fair coming up. Can you help me teach the fish to do weave poles?” I'm like, This is the best question I've ever been asked. Seriously, I'm so ecstatic I can't even stand it. That a 9-year-old would say, “For my science project I'm going to teach fish to do weave poles”? Aren't we hopeful what that 9-year-old boy is going to grow into, just for the good of the world? Seriously. Melissa Breau: That is so cool. Kathy Sdao: He is going to have the perfect approach to being a parent and a boss and a friend. He's got it at the age of 9, because he's going to teach that fish. And how do you teach the fish? The same way I taught the dolphins and the same way I teach the dogs. It's all the same learning, so that learning principals are general and everybody behaves. Figure it out with one and then it spreads. It's so exciting. So yes, I'm going to help Ryan with his goldfish-training project. We're in the process now of choosing the right fish. It's just making me very happy. Melissa Breau: I seriously hope you video some of that and share it, just because that's so cool. It's such a neat project. It's such a neat science project. Kathy Sdao: One of the most valuable books I've got on my shelf, and I will never sell it, it was vanity-published probably 20 years ago. The title of the book is How to Dolphin Train Your Goldfish, and the thing that made me buy it in the first place is the author, C. Scott Johnson, was a really high and bio-sonar Ph.D. at the Navy, seriously geeky researcher into sonar. He helped us set up some of the training for the dolphins. I'm like, That's such an odd name, C. Scott Johnson. I see it on a book list, I'm like, He wrote a book. It's a 20-page, black-and-white, vanity-published, it is not a high-end book, but it is a perfect description of teaching five tricks to a goldfish and it's brilliant. So now everybody's going to go on Amazon and try to find the book and it's impossible. I wrote to him once and said, “If you've got cases of this book in your garage, I can sell them for you, because it's awesome.” So I've got good resources to help Ryan, and yes, Melissa, it's a great tip. I will videotape. Melissa Breau: That's awesome. I wanted to ask you, as somebody who has been a full-time animal trainer for over 30 years now, and in dogs for quite a while too, how have you seen the field change? What changes are you maybe even seeing today? Kathy Sdao: Oh my gosh, how long do we have? Oh my gosh, the changes. I don't even know where to start. I just taught at my 35th ClickerExpo — 35th. I've gotten the honor and privilege of not only teaching but attending 35 ClickerExpos over 15 years with amazing faculty as my colleagues, oh my gosh. To look back at the first ClickerExpo 15 years ago, what we were teaching and talking about, and now? I wonder when is it that I need to retire, because everything's just moved beyond me. It's so, gosh, I feel like a dinosaur sometimes. So, first off, I already alluded to the idea that whatever species we train is not unique in how they learn. Now, they might be unique in what reinforces them, how we're going to choose our reinforcers, or how we're going to set up the environment, or what behaviors we might teach first, absolutely. But that doesn't mean that the actual laws of learning and that choice of what training methods we will use, maybe with the Humane Hierarchy as a reference for us on how to do that effectively without taking control away from our learner, to be able to say that's general throughout species, to me, that's new. I like that we're moving in that direction and stopping the conversation, or maybe not having so much of the conversation, that says, “Rottweilers learn this way, and they need this kind of training,” and “High-drive dogs, they need this particular kind of training.” I like that the conversation's moving to more general. In fact, even the terminology, my terminology, has changed from saying “the animal learned” to “the learner,” so we are actually using a noun that encompasses nonhuman animals and human animals. And actually even the word training is being replaced by the verb teaching. I'm liking that. It's just a reflection that we teach learners rather than train animals just is taking that it's not just politically correct, it's reflecting the science, which says we can use some of these general principals to our advantage and to the learner's advantage, right? Melissa Breau: Right. Kathy Sdao: Even the idea that we want to empower our learners, you know, when I started with dogs, that was heresy. You would empower the dog? You're supposed to be the leader. You're supposed to be in charge. This is not about empowering. It's about showing them their place. They need to learn deference. They need to learn their place in the hierarchy, and if they get that sorted out, all the good behavior will come along with it. To be able to say that your learner can not only make choices but … I'm so intrigued by this; this is kind of new learning to me and I'm still playing with it. So to be able to say, “Give your learner a way to say “no” to opt out of anything, opt out of a social contact, opt out of a husbandry behavior you've asked the dog to do.” If the dog says, “No, I don't feel like, it,” that we not only accept that no, we reinforce the no — this is like mind-blowing. What does that mean that you say to your learner, “You don't have to. You don't have to”? I'm just intrigued that this doesn't produce complete opting out, the animal doesn't want to do anything, you get no compliance at all. No, instead, you set the animal free to feel so brave and safe in your presence that they're not compelled or pressured to do behaviors. I don't know. I feel like this is a new conversation that I've had with colleagues, again not just about allowing animals to opt out, but reinforcing them for opting. Ken Ramirez talked about training beluga whales, a specific beluga whale, to have a buoy in the tank that she could press with her big old beluga melon, her big head, and say, “No, I don't feel like doing it.” The data he collected with his team at Shedd Aquarium — what did that actually do? What did we get in her behavior? Less cooperation? Or did it provide her safety to be able to work with us in a more fluent way? I don't know. Twenty years ago I can't even imagine we would have had a conversation like that. Melissa Breau: That's so cool. It's such a neat concept. I'll have to go look up the specific stuff that Ken's put out on it, because I don't think I've had the chance to hear him talk about it. So that's cool. Kathy Sdao: You know, it's funny that you say that, Melissa. The timing is really great, because the videos from this year's ClickerExpo — there's two ClickerExpos a year in the U.S., one in January on the West Coast and one in March on the East Coast. The presentations, and there's a lot of them — there are three days, five simultaneous tracks, it's a lot of presentations — but those are recorded, and they're usually not available until the summer, but I know that they're going to be released later this week. So clickertraining.com, you could actually look for Ken Ramirez's presentation on — I think it's called Dr. No — on teaching animals to be able to opt out of procedures. You would actually not only be able to read about it, Ken has written on clickertraining.com about that procedure, you'd actually be able to hear Ken teach on it. So just to know there's a wealth of educational stuff. Gosh, there's lots of good stuff out there, but those ClickerExpo recordings are just one thing you can take advantage of and soon. Melissa Breau: That's awesome. And actually this will be out next Friday, so by the time this comes out, those will be available, so anybody who wants to go check them out can. Kathy Sdao: Thanks Melissa. Melissa Breau: We talked about the change that you've seen. What about where the field is heading, or even just where you'd like for it to go in the next few decades? What do you think is ahead for us? Kathy Sdao: It's a different question between where it is going and where I want it to go. I don't actually know where it's going. What I dream about. I dream about this. We need some guidelines. We need some legal guidelines. We need some way to have a field that has professional standards, and I don't know what that looks like, and I know that's not an easy thing to do, but it's just not OK. Yes, we continue to educate, and we continue to raise the standards, but I want to bring everybody along with us, meaning all my colleagues. That big line we tend to draw — I'm certainly guilty of this — of this “Us, the positive trainers, and them, the other trainers,” and there's this big chasm between us. I want to feel like there's not a big chasm between us. We're all doing the best we can with the knowledge we have, and you're putting more information out there through these amazing podcasts and through all the classes that I'm going to call the Academy, it's not the Academy, I don't know … Melissa Breau: FDSA. Kathy Sdao: The acronym doesn't trip off my tongue. But to be able to go, there's amazing education and I know there is, because I've got colleagues teaching for you, and I've got students who take those courses and rave and are learning so much. That's great. I love the increased educational opportunities, and the bar has really gotten higher. They're better. We're better at teaching this stuff. But I feel there's got to be a way that there's a professional ethic that comes along with. We've all got to be striving and moving toward better practices. It's no longer OK to say, “We've always used these coercive tools with dogs, and we've been able to teach them just fine.” I want that not to be so OK anymore. I'm not sounding very eloquent on this because I don't know exactly how to say … I strive for the day when I'm not losing sleep over what the dog trainer down the street is doing in the name of training. I would like to not lose sleep over what a professional dog trainer with a slick website can do. Melissa Breau: And I totally get you. I want to transition for a minute there. I'd love to talk a little bit about your book. I mentioned it in the intro, the title is Plenty in Life is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training, and Finding Grace. Can you start off by explaining the name a little bit, and then share a little on what the book is about?   Kathy Sdao: Thanks Melissa. I sort of love my book, so thanks for giving me an opportunity to talk about it. I have to credit my publishers at Dogwise. Larry Woodward — what a lovely, kind man. My original title for that book, and I don't actually remember it because it was so horrible. I didn't see it. I thought it was really clever. I like puns, and so I'd come up with … honestly, I don't remember. That's how much I mentally blocked the bad title I had. Larry so graciously talked me into something else, and Plenty in Life is Free was his idea, and I really love it. The thing that really inspired me to write the book is I was becoming disenchanted with “Nothing in life is free” protocols that not only was I running into that my colleagues would use, but I used all the time in my consultation practice. I would hand out instructions on “For your aggressive dog,” or your anxious dog or whatever behavior problem brought my clients to me. Basic rule of thumb we would start at was your dog would get nothing that the dog would consider a reinforcer without doing a behavior for you first. Often these are implemented as the dog must sit before any food, toy, attention, freedom, there can be other behaviors, but it's sort of like you don't pay unless the dog complies with one of your signals first. Those were at the time, and still in some places, not only ubiquitous, like everywhere, but applied to any problem. So not only were they really common, they're applied to any problem, and the more I used them and really looked at them, I found them wanting in a lot of ways. Not only were they inadequate, but it seemed to me that they were producing really constrained relationships, like not free flowing, spontaneous, joyful relationships between people and their dogs, that everything was all those reinforcers were minutely controlled and titrated. I had clients say to me, “Oh my gosh, I pet my dog for nothing, just because she's cute.” I'm like, When did that become a problem? When is loving your dog the issue? And so the more I took a look at them, I realized I and maybe some of my colleagues were handing those out because we didn't have a way to be able to say, “Yes, we want to reinforce good behavior, but we don't want to be so stringent about it that we don't allow for the free flow of attention and love between family members that we aspire to, to have a joyful life.” Not only did I want to point out the concerns I had for those “Nothing in life is free” or “Say please” protocols — they come by different names — but to give an alternative. So to be able to say, if I looked at my masters degree in animal learning, what would the science say would be the replacement foundation advice we would be giving people. If I'm going to pull the “Nothing in life is free” handout out of my colleagues' hands — and that's what some people who have read the book said: “Wait, that's my Week 1 handout for class. What am I going to do?” “I know, let me give you another handout.” So, for me, it would be the acronym SMART. I don't use a lot of acronyms. I worked for the military, you can get really carried away with acronyms, but SMART — See, Mark, And Reinforce Training — is a really nice package to be able to tell my clients what habits I want to create in them. Because I'm actually changing their behavior. Anytime we teach, we're changing the human's behavior. What is it that science says we want the humans to do more of? Notice the behavior. Become a better observer. See behavior in your learner. Mark the behavior you want to see more of. Use a clicker, use a word, use a thumbs up. We're not going to debate too much about has to be one particular sort of marker signal, but marking is good. It gives information to your learner that's really important. And reinforce. So to be able to say, if I can develop that see, mark, and reinforce habit in my humans, the animal's behavior, the dog's behavior, is going to change, reflecting how much your habit has developed. Just to be able to shift people from that “I'm controlling every reinforcer in your life” strategy to “It's my responsibility to notice behavior I want to see more of, and to put reinforcement contingencies in place for that to make those behaviors more likely” — that's a huge shift. If we can get that going, I hope my little book might start the ball rolling in that direction. Melissa Breau: That's awesome. I know the book came out in 2012, and since then you've done some on-demand videos and you have all sorts of other resources on your site. I'd love to know what aspect of training or methods have you most excited today. What's out there that you want to talk about? Kathy Sdao: It's going to probably be a surprising answer to that. In my talks most recently, my presentations most recently, at ClickerExpo, because I've been on faculty for a long time there, interesting conversations happen about this time of year between the folks who put on ClickerExpo and me and all the other faculty and say, “Hey, what do you want to talk about next year, Kathy?” When that conversation happened last year, maybe even the year before, one of the things that's been really on my mind a lot is burnout, is burnout in my colleagues, and so sort of jokingly in that presentation, call it my Flee Control presentation, meaning I see lots of really skilled colleagues leaving the profession. I see some skilled colleagues leaving more than just the profession, leaving life. It's a really serious problem for trainers, for veterinarians, and where does this sense of burnout come from when we've spent all this time developing our mechanical training chops? We're actually good at the nuts and bolts, the physical skills of training, and we're studying the science, and we're taking courses and we're getting all this education. How is it that so many colleagues quit? It's a hard profession that we've got, those of us that are doing it professionally, and it can be exhausting. And so to be able to take a look at how we can support each other in a really skilled way, meaning taking the skills we have as trainers and applying them to our own longevity and mental health as practitioners. I think we're missing some sort of support mechanisms that are there in other professions. For instance, I have a client who's a psychiatrist and she works with a really difficult population, patients who are suicidal, very frequently suicidal and significantly suicidal, so she has a very challenging human patient load. When we were talking a little while back, she was at a dog-training lesson with her Rottweiler, we were working together, she said, “You know, every Thursday at 1:00 I have to meet with three of my peers. I have to. It's one of my professional demands. I would lose my license if I didn't. We don't look at each other's cases. We don't offer problem solutions. We give each other support. We're there to vent, we're there to listen, we're there to offload some of the grief and heartache that comes from doing our jobs well, and so that's just part of our professional standards.” My jaw sort of dropped open and I'm like, wait, what? I didn't even know that was a thing. Why is that not a thing for us? Why do we not have structures at least to support us being in this for the long haul? Because really, here's the thing. When I started out being a trainer and people said, “You've got to be a really good observer. That's what trainers do. They observe behavior.”  I'm like, cool, I'm going to get that 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell talks about on watching animals behave. That's what the dog daycare did for me, lots and lots of hours watching dogs behave. No one says to you, “Hey, let's warn you that you're not going to be able to unsee.” You can't go back. You can't stop seeing animals in distress and in difficult situations, and it develops a lot of grief in each of us. So I think I'm losing colleagues not just because they've got better job offers. It's because their hearts are breaking. I don't know what the structure looks like to say I want to help prevent burnout in a structured way, but even the title of my book is going to hint the other thing I want to say to you, Melissa, which is intentionally that book title has the word grace in it because I talk about my spirituality in that book, which is kind of weird in a dog-training book, but to me they're all one and the same. Training, to me, is a spiritual practice, completely, and so I don't think we have comfortable formats to be able to have the conversation about the overlap of animal training and spirituality, not in a really saccharine, Pollyanna kind of way, but in a really open our hearts to what's deepest and true for us. I don't know. I want to figure out ways to facilitate that conversation. Because this is the conversation I want to have, so I'm brainstorming projects I'm hoping to take on in the next year or so that will let us have some formats to have that conversation. We're always talking about reinforcement for our learners, and I never want us to forget we have to set up reinforcement for ourselves and the work that we do. I think spirituality talks about how we can develop mindfulness practices that allow us to do good work, but also to stay happy and centered while we're doing it. I'm sure there are resources out there I haven't tripped upon, but I'm intrigued at developing even more. Melissa Breau: It's such an interesting topic, and it's definitely something I don't see enough people talking about or even thinking about, just our own mental health as you are a trainer or as you work towards training. It's an important topic for sure. Kathy Sdao: Exactly. Melissa Breau: We're getting close to the end here, and I want to ask you a slightly different version of the three questions I usually ask at the end of the podcast when I have a new guest. The first one I tweaked a little bit here, but can you share a story of a training breakthrough, either on your side or on the learner's end? Kathy Sdao: Anyone who's heard me teach at all is going to have heard something about my favorite learner of all time. That's E.T., the male Pacific walrus that I got the privilege to work with at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. The very short version of an amazing story is when I first got hired at the zoo in 1990, I had worked with seals and sea lions and other pinnipeds, but had never even seen a walrus. So I spent the morning before my interview at the zoo, walking around the zoo and looking at the animals that I would train, and realized that E.T. — he weighed about 3500 pounds at that point — was one of the scariest animals I had ever seen. When I went into the interview I got asked the question, “If you get hired here, you're going to have to work with a new species, a Pacific walrus. What do you think about that?” Of course, anybody who's been in an interview knows that the answer is, “Ooh, I'd be really intrigued to have the opportunity.” Of course, you're saying how cool that would be, yet on the inside I'm positive that he's going to kill me. I mean this sincerely. I had moved into an unfurnished house, I had no furniture, so I have really clear memories of all I have in that house is a sleeping bag, and I'm waking up in cold sweat nightmares, sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor in my empty house in Tacoma right after I got hired, those nightmares are that E.T. is going to kill me. He is completely aggressive, humans cannot get in his exhibit, he's destroying the exhibit because it's inadequate for a walrus. It was designed for sea lions. He came to the zoo as an orphaned pup in Alaska, nobody really expected him to survive, he grew to be an adolescent. The reason that there was a job opening at that department at the zoo is all the trainers had quit. There were no marine mammal trainers at the time I got hired. I don't know why they quit, I didn't ask them, but I suspect it was because E.T. weighed nearly two tons and was an adolescent and he was dangerous, destructive, oh, and he was X-rated — he masturbated in the underwater viewing windows for a couple of hours a day, and you don't need the visuals for that. Trust me when I tell you, if you were an elementary school teacher in Tacoma, Washington, you did not go to the underwater viewing section. It was awful. We didn't know what to do with him. The end of that story that starts with truly I don't want to be anywhere near him, he's terrifying me, he becomes one of the best friends I've ever had, I trust him with my life. By the time I quit the zoo five years later, E.T. knew over 200 behaviors on cue, we got in the exhibit with him, we took naps with him, I trusted him with my life. He lived another 20 years. He passed away only a couple of years ago. He was amazing. His behavior changed so much that I am being honest when I tell you I didn't see the old walrus in the current walrus. There was no more aggression. I don't mean infrequent outbursts of aggression. I mean we didn't see it anymore, based on what? We were brilliant trainers? Based on we were stuck with him and we needed to come up — three new trainers, myself and two gentlemen from Sea World — we needed to come up with a plan to make this livable, and what came out wasn't a tolerable animal. It was genius, and I mean that sincerely. If anyone had had the chance to see E.T. working with his trainers, it wasn't just that he learned really complicated behavior chains and he was really fluent in them. It was we were his friends, and I mean that in the true sense of the word. So my biggest breakthrough is that I can say that E.T. considered me his friend. Oh my gosh, that's it, that's what I'm putting on my resume. I was E.T. the walrus's friend, and he taught me more about training and the possibilities, the potential in each learner, that given enough time and resources, we sometimes can unleash and release those behaviors. That doesn't mean we don't ever give up on animals and say, “Oh my gosh, they're too dangerous, we can't change this behavior in a way that's adequate,” but the fact that we didn't really have that easy choice with E.T., it made us pull out all our best training ideas and to be persistent. Wow, you just couldn't believe what was in there, and without videos and about ten more hours, I can't do him justice, but that we were friends? Yeah, that's my coolest accomplishment. Melissa Breau: That's awesome. My second-to-last question is, what is the best piece of training advice that you've ever heard? Kathy Sdao: Let me do two. I'm going to cheat. Years ago, this is straightforward training advice, but it's one that I keep in the back of my head, which is, “Train like no one's watching you.” Because even when I don't have an audience … sometimes I have a real audience and I'm onstage trying to train an animal, which is nerve-wracking, but I don't need a human audience in front of me. I have judges in my head, so I always have an audience I always carry around, my critics, and to be able to free myself from those and to instead what happens if I say, “There's no audience in my head judging me”? It frees me up to see what's happening right in front of me. There's a quote I have next to my desk and it's from outside of training context. It's from a Jesuit priest whom I like very much, Father Greg Boyle, and the phrase that's on the Post-It next to my desk says, “Now. Here. This.” To be able to be in the present moment with your learner and say, “What's happening right now? What behavior is right in front of me?” sounds really simple, but it's not. It takes real mindfulness and intention to be in the present moment. When you're paying attention to your audience, real or imagined in your head, you can't be really present. So that would be one: Train like no one's watching you. And here's one that comes from my favorite science book, and every time I have a chance to have anybody listen to me anywhere, I'm going to quote the name of the book so that I can get this book in everybody's hands: Coercion and Its Fallout, by Dr. Murray Sidman. It's an astonishing book. It's not a training book. It's a science book, but it's very readable, most easily purchased at the behavior website, behavior.org, which is the Cambridge behavioral site. It's hard to find on Amazon. You shouldn't pay much more than twenty dollars for Coercion and Its Fallout, by Dr. Murray Sidman. Here's the training advice that Dr. Sidman would give. It's not training advice, it's life advice, but it's my new tagline. Let's see how this works, Melissa, because, you know, you've been doing these podcasts for a while, you're into training deep. It's hard to go “positive training,” that phrase is kind of vague and weird, and clicker training is … so what am I? I'm going to take Dr. Sidman's, one of his lines from Coercion and Its Fallout: “Positive reinforcement works and coercion is dangerous.” That's a seven-word descriptor for what it is I do, and it comes for every learner. Positive reinforcement works, and coercion, Dr. Sidman's definition is all the other three quadrants: positive punishment, negative punishment, and negative reinforcement. So we've got the four operant conditioning quadrants. Dr. Sidman's going to go, “Positive reinforcement works.” It does the job. It's all you need. The other three quadrants, they're there, I know, we use them, but they're dangerous. I love that summary. I'm using that with my clients now. I'm seeing if I can let that really simple summary of the science and our best practices to see if it works. Melissa Breau: That's fantastic. I love that. It's a very simple, easy line to remember. Kathy Sdao: It's Dr. Sidman's genius, so take it and run with it. Melissa Breau: Absolutely. Last question for you: Who is somebody else in the training world that you look up to? Kathy Sdao: There's so many. But because he's now my neighbor … Kathy, what's the most exciting thing that's happened to you recently? Ken Ramirez has moved in my back yard. I'm so excited! That genius trainer, the kindest man you'll ever meet, colleague of mine for the last 25 years, truly amazing human being, is now not only living a half-hour from me in Graham, Washington, just outside of Tacoma, he's not only living near me but offering courses. He's teaching a course this week at The Ranch. It's Karen Pryor's training facility here in Graham, Washington. It's an amazing facility, but that Ken, mentor and friend and genius trainer … a client of mine yesterday said, “Wait a minute. Who's that guy that taught the butterflies to fly on cue for the BBC's documentary?” Like, oh my gosh, that's Ken, yes, he taught butterflies, herds of butterflies, what do you call a group of butterflies, swarms of butterflies to fly on cue to the London Symphony for a big fundraising gig. Oh my god. Now is that someone you want to know more about? So I'm going to do a shout out to Ken and say you can find out more about the educational offerings at The Ranch at Karen Pryor's website, clickertraining.com. They've got a drop-down on The Ranch, and I don't live far away from there, so if you want to come beachcombing with me after you've visited Ken and learned stuff, I'll take you beachcombing. I love my beachcombing, so I'm happy to share that. Melissa Breau: That sounds like so much fun. I keep meaning to get out that way at some point and I haven't been yet, so it's definitely on the bucket list. Kathy Sdao: He's going to draw some really cool people to my neighborhood, so I'm going to share. I'm going to share. Melissa Breau: Absolutely. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Kathy. This has been truly fantastic. Kathy Sdao: Thanks so much, Melissa. You made it fun, and it's just a real treat to be affiliated with … now teach me the name: FDSA. Melissa Breau: Yes. Absolutely. Kathy Sdao: Excellent. So cool to be affiliated with you guys. You do great work, and I'm just honored. Melissa Breau: Thank you. And thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in! We'll be back next week, this time with — she was mentioned earlier in this podcast — Michele Pouliot to talk about being a change-maker in the dog world. If you haven't already, subscribe to our podcast in iTunes or the podcast app of your choice and our next episode will be automatically downloaded to your phone as soon as it becomes available. Credits: Today's show is brought to you by the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Special thanks to Denise Fenzi for supporting this podcast. Music provided royalty-free by BenSound.com; the track featured here is called “Buddy.” Audio editing provided by Chris Lang.

Once there was this lion who had many friends, big and small. One day the lion got trapped in a net. Help, yelled the lion. I’m coming, said the elephant and with a swing of his trunk he missed the net holding the lion and got trapped in a different net. Help, yelled both the animals and all their large friends came to help, and also got trapped in nets. Help!, they all yelled and then 1,000,000 ants, mice, rats, bees, wasps bit through the net and didn't get caught. Aesop: Many small friends can be the best of friends. Announcer: And now your host. Kelly Coughlin is a CPA and CEO of BankBosun, a management consulting firm helping bank C Level Officers navigate risk and discover reward. He is the host of the syndicated audio podcast, BankBosun.com. Kelly brings over 25 years of experience with companies like PWC, Lloyds Bank, and Merrill Lynch. On the podcast, Kelly interviews key executives in the banking ecosystem to provide bank C suite officers, risk management, technology, and investment ideas and solutions to help them navigate risks and discover reward. And now your host, Kelly Coughlin. Kelly Coughlin: Greetings. This is Kelly Coughlin, CPA and CEO of Bank Bosun, helping C-suite bank executives manage risk, regulation, and revenue creation in a sea of opportunities and threats. Today, we're going to talk about a tactic that can without any doubt generate new customers and create new revenues for a bank. But first some background. I started my business career back in 1982 at Merrill Lynch selling mortgage backed securities and municipal bonds to banks and credit unions. In those days, I kept a 3” by 5” card box of contacts filed two ways, alphabetically and chronologically by next date of contact. I would staple a new business card of a banker to the 3” by 5” card with all the contact information on the alpha card. On the chronological card I would have the name of the individual and the company and the contact history with dates I met with them, calls I made, information I sent, and the next future contact date. Looking back now, I don't see how I was able to manage that system. Very inefficient, but very effective, provided you recorded all activities and filed each card correctly. There was frequently a panic if a call came in from a contact and you had to scramble around to identify the contact in the alpha box and then locate the contact history in the chronological box. In 1986, I bought one the very first personal computers by Compaq. This is a couple of years before Windows. I think I paid about $8000. Got a long term five-year lease for it. I bought some software that had a very primitive contact management system. It was called Exsell, spelled E-X-S-E-L-L, not related to the spreadsheet software. I don't know what happened to that company, but as primitive as that software was, it changed my life. At least my life in terms of sales marketing. That one simple software reduced my contact management maintenance time by 90%. It was more effective in that there were fewer errors and now more efficient, and that I only had to maintain one record in which the contact info and the past and future contact info was maintained on that contact record. The reason I tell you that story is, in today's podcast we're going to learn about a sales and marketing tactic that will have as great an impact on how you identify new business relationships, develop those relationships, and convert those relationships to new customers. But this podcast isn't for everybody. Specifically, it's only three types of bankers interested in growing revenues. One, they are using LinkedIn now but really don't do much with it in terms of generating new clients. Number two, they are using LinkedIn now to generate new clients but spend more than 45 minutes per day on it. And three, they're not using LinkedIn now because they haven't really seen the benefits of it but would like to see the benefits. You will notice the common word in these three categories is LinkedIn. Why is LinkedIn so important? Because LinkedIn provides a platform that enables people to cost effectively connect with over 313 million members in over 200 countries and territories. No other platform allows that. Please note I did not say efficiently. I said cost effectively. In my accounting world, effectively implies accuracy and functionality, and efficiency implies time and effort, which for many of us equates to cost. Most of you use some sort of spreadsheet software. Excel is the most popular. On my first computer, I used Lotus 1-2-3. Remember the backslash you had to use before you entered anything in that program? Painful. I've been a power user of Excel for many, many years, yet I estimate I only utilize about 15% of Excel’s total functionality. The same is true with LinkedIn. In today's podcast, we're going to focus a little bit on a more effective use of some of the hidden functionality of LinkedIn, kind of like that moment when I discovered the pivot table function in Excel. That was a brilliant moment. More importantly, though, we're going to talk about a more efficient use of LinkedIn. Then you can rest assured this is not some theoretical podcast on the benefits of social media, nor is it on the benefits of advertising on LinkedIn. This is focused exclusively on using LinkedIn to identify target customers, develop a relationship with them, and convert them to new customers, all within a minimal amount of time. So, if you're in category number two, spending over 45 minutes a day on LinkedIn will show you how to reduce that to 12 minutes per day, max. If you are in category number one, only using LinkedIn to maintain your profile, we'll show you how to uncover a couple of hidden functions and use your profile to identify new customers and new revenues. If you are in category number three and aren't using LinkedIn at all but are curious about it, this might be the perfect thing for you, because one is probably kept you away from LinkedIn is you perceive it as a waste of time. For many, it is just that, a complete waste of time. I know this firsthand. I was in category number one. I used LinkedIn mainly as a way for people to find me, and somewhat, I was in category number three. I didn't use it very much. I frankly was never in category number two, spending over 45 minutes a day on it, because I never saw the value of doing that. But I'm in a whole new category now. I'm going to call it Category AAA. I spend less than 10 minutes a day and generate new contacts and new relationships every single day, and frankly love it. All because I'm a software as a service solution created by Don Brailsford, the CEO of Social Leverage Venture, Inc. It delivers revenues. It's inexpensive. In fact, I can make it cost $0 for certain banks, but that's a separate discussion. With all that said, I want to introduce Don Brailsford, the CEO of Social Leverage Ventures, Inc., located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Don, are you on the line? Don Brailsford: I am. Thanks so much Kelly. Thanks for having me. Kelly Coughlin: Thank you, Don. I hope you're having a great morning. It's Saturday morning. Why don't we start out with just a real short introduction of who you are, what you're doing? Family, that sort of thing. Give us some context of who Don Brailsford is. Don Brailsford: Sure. I've been in the financial services space and the marketing space and a serial entrepreneur basically my whole life. I've done real estate development. Grew up in Connecticut. Came out of a traditional business education. Next, I ended up teaching some classes at the University of Connecticut, but my real love is marketing. I love to talk to people. It's my life. I enjoy it, and I'm always fascinated by how hard it is to get good ideas and quality people together. The friction between getting the right person to the right idea just amazes me because it seems like we've built so many bad ways of “selling” or marketing that there's more resistance than there is acceptance. I'm 59 years old. I live in a little town just north of Wilmington of the water called Hampstead. I have a 20- and a 21-year-old son, and I've got a beautiful Catahoula. I think the most telling time in our history was when the immigrants came to America. The immigrants came in and most of them were destitute. They had nothing, but the first thing they did was they formed networks. Those are the neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods, all those people did was everything they could for each other. If someone knew where there was a good place to buy food or a good place to live or there was a job, or anything they could do. Those groups, despite having absolutely nothing, very quickly prospered, and it wasn't to the detriment of anybody. It was to the benefit of everybody. That rising tide lifted all ships. That's what great networking does. It's not, I'll do this for you Kelly if you do it for me. It's, Kelly, if I can help you in any way, let me know. I'll be looking for ways to help you, and it would be great if you did that for me too. If we both did that we got 20 other or 30 other or 40 other people to do that, we'd be unlike everybody else in the business industry, where very few people have anyone trying to help them succeed. If you can become one of those rare few who can put a team together where everybody is trying to help everybody succeed, your life becomes infinitely easier. You have fellow travelers in your journey, and it's much more enjoyable, and life becomes just much, much sweeter. I just love facilitating that for people.  Kelly Coughlin: Yeah, that's well said. You use the term immigrant networking. I use the term ecosystem. We're now all part of a similar ecosystem. We're talking to community and regional banks, and everyone participating in that ecosystem. That is our audience for this podcast, and that's the audience for Bank Bosun as well. Catahoula? Is Catahoula a boat? Or is that an animal. Don Brailsford: Catahoula is C-A-T-A-H-O-U-L-A. Catahoula is a dog. It's the oldest cur in the United States. It's actually the state dog for Louisiana. Your listeners down in the Deep South will be familiar with the dog. It's a dog bred for hunting wild boar and bear, which makes it sound ferocious, but the fact is they're incredibly sweet, amazingly fast, and beautiful, gentle animals.  Kelly Coughlin: You've used the term immigrant networking. I use the term ecosystem. So, let's stick with the term ecosystem for our purposes. When we look at an ecosystem, many organizations currently use LinkedIn as a way to connect to their ecosystem. In the subject of this podcast and my discussion with you, is a more efficient use of LinkedIn. You listened to my introduction. I talked about the primitive version of my sales and marketing experience at Merrill Lynch, where it was a 3x5 card system. This is free technology. Then, there is some CRM software that was available for nothing. At that time, nothing really enabled us to connect to a network or an ecosystem, but LinkedIn is kind of the first one to do that. How do you see most organizations use LinkedIn? I know you have a more efficient way of using LinkedIn, but before we get into that, let's describe what's the state of the state before you guys are involved with it. Don Brailsford: Honestly, LinkedIn, nine years ago the marketing that I was doing was much more conventional. I had a mail center and a call center, and we did a lot of work doing seminars. We'd set up seminars for our clients in their communities and created the idea of having online sign ups. We did online sign ups, which is a whole novel thing. Did automated phone follow ups to follow mail that we sent. We'd call up and tell people that we were writing to them about the letter that we'd sent them to and invite them. That was all kind of novel, but it was also slow and you could see the costs just spiraling out of control, and you could see this this nascent social media coming on, Facebook coming on. Back then, it was Myspace. Nine years ago, I switched. I just couldn't do the seminars anymore because I just felt like so many guys were spending so much money and it was such a huge risk for them. A lot of people showing up just because they were planning their weeks around where their free food was I looked at the different social media spaces, and LinkedIn was a few years earlier—I don't remember exactly when it was, but I joined LinkedIn because I always like to check out the new stuff. It had a couple hundred thousand people. I think it was seven or eight hundred thousand when I first got into it. I didn't pay attention for a bit, but then I started paying attention, and nine years ago, they were in the millions. They started to make sense, and I found out about the groups and things and I said, gosh, there's an opportunity. Never mind the seminar. If I put 2,000 or 3,000 people with someone, that's a lifetime supply. We started going into LinkedIn, and LinkedIn back then, everything was free because they used either the crack cocaine sales model where you give everything away until everybody is hooked and then they can't go away because they're so addicted to it. They've built an amazing, one of the most valuable databases in the world, honestly. Everybody worth knowing has dumped their information into LinkedIn and has presented themselves on LinkedIn. It's amazing that people on LinkedIn who might not ever take your phone call or an e-mail or anything from you will connect with you on LinkedIn and then you can send them a message. One of the hardest things we had to do when we started out was just convince people. They'd say, well why will they connect with me? I said, because they just do, because people are social, because we're pack animals. That's what they want. A lot of times I had to spend 30 minutes convincing people. I promise you they will. They just will. We want to be connected even if we're wealthy and important and famous. We still want to have connections. It's such a small world when you have relationships. Going back to the immigrant thing, you'd be amazed at who knows who and who meets who. If you treat people right and if they know what you have to offer and what you're trying to accomplish, and they know that you're trying to help them with theirs, reciprocity is incredibly powerful. LinkedIn as it started out was just basically they started off thinking, okay, we're going to get people jobs. Then, they quickly realized that they had this massive database of all these people. I frankly believe they can say whatever story they want, but I believe that their users created the idea that actually it's even better as a sales and marketing and partnering and affiliating and joint venturing tool than it is hiring tool. I think the biggest part is, they do more business as a result of trying to find prospects and clients than they do trying to find employees. Kelly Coughlin: How does one go from category number one, using LinkedIn mainly as a way for people to find each other, to category two and three? Especially number two which is using it as a way to more actively do business with each other? Connecting with clients that might be looking to do a business loan or looking for wealth management services or looking for trust services or looking for bank cards or services? How do they go from passive use to active use? Don Brailsford: One word, systematically. Nike said, just do it. It's right. You sit down and on a daily basis, LinkedIn gives you these great tools for searching. You can search for exactly the kind of people you want to work with. I would submit to you that unlike in the financial services of the life insurance industry where everybody is a sales person, bankers aren't viewed that way, so they have a big advantage. When their banker reaches out to connect you, you're like, sure. I'll connect with a banker, because I might need a bank. The thing I didn't get to say in the beginning, or I didn't think to say it, I'm a huge proponent of community banks. I so much prefer a local bank that understands the community and is invested in the community and cares about the community. The way that you work is you sit down and you take LinkedIn and you say, all right, we what are the people we can best help? What kind of people are we looking for? You do a search, and they have these great search tools. Basically, you pick what industries you want to work with. Who is the person in the business? Do you have specific businesses? You can target anything you want almost. Then, you just reach out and you send them a contact request and it has to be personalized. Kelly, if it was you and you were the client I wanted to reach, I'd reach out to you and I'd identify you as the CEO and I sort of manufacturing company that I would certainly love to make a loan to and get deposits and things from. I would say, hey Kelly, we're a local community bank and we always like to connect with local business leaders with the opportunity of perhaps helping each other out. We're also involved in many local events and things. Let's connect and hopefully get coffee and just get an introduction and see if there's ways we can help each other. I'd sign it, Don, and that's all I would say. Kelly Coughlin: Let's take an example. Let's say I'm a bank down in St. Petersburg, Florida. My footprint is in a 120-mile radius of St. Pete. I do a search on LinkedIn and find all businesses roughly within that radius, and then I could even refine it further by look for manufacturers or look for whatever target profile. Don Brailsford: Absolutely. The way you do it is as you would do—it's not exactly 120. So, it would do a 100-mile radius, is their biggest radius. You can always move your center, so you can move your radius around. Do 100-mile radius and then you just search what kind of business you want. It tells you what industry you want to get and you can search for particular businesses if you want if you know them, but if you don't know the business but you just know, we work well with manufacturers or we work well with service companies or we work well with professionals or doctors, attorneys and people like that, the kind of people that can bring you business. You reach out and you say, here's all the people. Again, I would submit to you that for bankers, it is a target-rich environment because they're not viewed as salespeople they have to be defended against even though there is a sales function, very definitely a sales function, in it. It's just not viewed that way. They're going to be pretty well received, and they're going to get an opportunity to at least get to the door and create a relationship and do that. You could so easily keep your marketing or your business development staff could be steadily building on a daily basis. You could have two or three new introductions and meetings and get togethers. You could have 20 or 30 people a day coming into your ecosystem where you connected to them and you can start communicating with them. Reach out to connect with them, and then on your connection message you could say, I'd love to get together and have coffee. There's two ways they can respond. They can just accept your connection request and become connected to you, which is a win because now the door is open. Or, they can respond and say, yeah Kelly, I'd love to have coffee. If they say, I'd love to have coffee, hey you're in dialogue. There you go. Now you're off where you wanted to be. If they don't respond, I would send another message to you. If I'd sent that to you and all you said was, yeah, I'll accept your connection, but you didn't respond to me, I'd send you another message a couple days later. Hey, Kelly. Thanks so much for connecting with me. I love to get together and just get an opportunity to at least buy you a coffee and hear about your business and tell you about the kinds of things we're doing in the community. Would you be available for coffee sometime next week? Then, I would wait and I would wait another week to 10 days. Ten days later I'm like, hey, Kelly. Hope you're having a great week. Just wanted to put this back on the top of your inbox. I'm sure you're very, very busy and you may not get to LinkedIn very often, but I am still very interested in getting together. Hopefully we can work that out. If you're available any time next week, please let me know one or the other. That would be great. Kelly Coughlin: Or, if they've done say a podcast, you could send a link to a podcast that say, hey we just did this podcast on estate planning and trust work, and have a listen. Tell me what you think. Don Brailsford: Absolutely. That's the great thing. It's a win when they connect. As soon as someone connects with you, you can go to their profile. You get all their information about them. Their titles. A lot of times they'll have addresses and phone numbers and Twitter handles and their websites that they use. You'll know who they know, and that's huge, because it might be that I get to you, but who I really wanted to get to is the guy that you know. The guy that you know, the guy who's the CEO of the company that I desperately want to work with because there's a huge opportunity they're going to build a big building and I want to make them a loan. I'm going to sit down with you and say, hey, Kelly. I was really impressed with your profile and the connections you've got are spectacular. You've got a great reputation in town. I see you know Bob Jones over at Dewey, Reitman, Howe. I'd love to meet with Bob. I know they're starting a big project and I'd love to chat with him about that. Would you be kind enough to make an introduction? Introductions are better than just connection requests because obviously, they're a third-person endorsement, basically. It's an opportunity to get in there. Most of the guys I work with are identified as, and are in fact, salespeople. Bankers aren't viewed that way. So, when a banker asked to be introduced to somebody, you're like, oh yeah. Nobody's afraid to introduce a banker. Again, target-rich environment. Just an unbelievable opportunity. I know the banking business is very tough, but the connections and the opportunities to get to the door and make your pitch and create the relationships are absolutely there. Kelly Coughlin: Let's back up for a moment. In the webinar when I first got introduced to you, I believe you had a five-step process that you envisioned. Don Brailsford: Yeah. You target the people you want. You do your searches. You try to niche it down as much as you can. I actually think the biggest problem banks are going to have, they'll have too many responses. You want to make sure that all your responses are as close to exactly what you want as you can get, because you could keep a business development office busy constantly. My gut feeling, because I know the reaction that bankers get, so that's what I think. You target first and then you contact. You target and then you send out your connection request. Then you connect and you nurture, and you nurture that by keep prodding it along. If they don't respond to you, just keep prodding it along, that nurturing. As you said brilliantly, establish value in the relationship. Show people that it's not just about, I don’t view you as a commission or you're not just an automatic sale. This is a relationship. I want to be helpful. How can I help you? Who can I introduce you to? Is there anything else? That, by the way, is one of the most powerful things you can do. As you build these connections, you're going to start having the ability to connect people, make some powerful connections for other people. So, it's target, contact, connect, then nurture. The nurturing is, you share information with them, you take the opportunity, you keep pushing them along towards having a meeting or invite them to a webinar, invite them to lunch and learn. Send them podcasts. Ideally, here's a podcast that covers this, whatever it is. Anything you have of value, and just show people that I'm a go giver, as they say. That's a great book by the way, Go Giver. Then, after that is, just sell. The great thing about it is, when you do it like that, they're not a transaction. They're a relationship, and that sales lead to not only more sales because they'll keep working with you, but it also leads to referrals. The referrals are automatic. They just keep coming. People want to feel good about what they did. If I refer someone to someone who can help them, it makes me feel good. I think that you're the kind of person who makes people feel good and does things that help them. I'm going to refer you actively because it benefits me. It makes me look good. It makes me feel important. It validates me as a person. That's how referrals work. They don't do it because it's good for you. Human beings don't work that way. Mother Teresa was self-centered, and I say that tongue in cheek, but the fact is she did what she did. It made her feel good. Thank God, she was an amazing person and did the most unbelievable things. Human beings act in self interest at all times, and one of those things are when we feel good about helping someone else, it's still self-centered although it's altruistic in that way. Kelly Coughlin: I wrote down five things. Identify, contact, connect, nurture, and sell. That can take an extraordinary amount of time. I did a certain amount of that every day for the entire ecosystem before I got involved with your software solution. Frankly, it was quite painful. It just takes up an inordinate amount of time. But what got me interested in your deal is you reduce that by 80%. Let's talk about that. Don Brailsford: Sure. You send me home and tell me here's 15 pieces of paper you got to fill out, and you get to make an entry over here, and don't forget to write this letter, don’t forget that spreadsheet. I'm like, oh please, shoot me now. I don't want to spend 20 minutes doing that because that's awful. That's painful. It's just too time consuming to sit down and execute. Our system does 50 initial outreaches a day. Then, it also does up to four follow ups for all of them from all the ones that have gone back a month. It's talking about literally thousands of communications over the course of a month, which just fills the pipeline. If you do that yourself, you're going to spend four hours a day. You're going to sit there for four hours a day cutting and pasting and personalizing, and cutting and pasting and personalizing so that people get something from you that doesn't look like, we're both on LinkedIn. We should connect. Don. That's not a connection request that's going to get anybody to work with you. Kelly Coughlin: Congratulations on your anniversary. I hope you have a good day. Don Brailsford: Exactly. People like a lot of things. I'm sorry. I've been in social media for nine years. I never even noticed when somebody like my stuff. To me it's like, okay. Good, I've got some likes, but I didn't chase the guy down. Hey, thanks for liking my stuff. Another thing that LinkedIn or social media experts like to say is, you should post articles. That's great. Questions under that. Talk about taking time. Oh, my God. It's really very, very simple. Honestly. It's very simple but it's very time consuming, and it requires discipline and consistency. I found in my brief history on the planet earth that I'm a lot more consistent when the machine is doing my consistency. It does a lot better job of showing up every day and never getting bored and never getting tired and executing when it's a piece of software or it's a machine and it's not me. I seem to have these problems of getting distracted, having to chase my dogs because he got out. I have a better idea. Not feeling like it that day. When you have a system where you know every day, every day out there, your work's getting done, and the sole thing that we say for the clients is the things that human beings have to do. You get to pick who you want to go after. Then, once they start communicating with you, once you get into dialogue and it's interpersonal communication which we all love, that gets handed off. All of the, keep nudging, keep nudging, keep nudging, keep nudging, keep delivering, keep nudging. That's all automated. Kelly Coughlin: Let's take the five categories. Identification first. Does your system reduce the time involved in that? Don Brailsford: We use all the same things for searching that LinkedIn does, but ours is sort of easier to do. It's just a few clicks. I wouldn't really look at it as time saving so much as setting it up. Once you set it up where you really saved a bunch of time, it's because it's not the initial figuring out how you want to go after, and that search comes up and there's 283 them. Well, now I've got to sit there and by hand put together 283 messages that say Kelly and then Bob and then Mary and then Eric and then whatever. Then, putting some information in it about them and then changing the message and putting my signature. Our system, you write the message that you want. If I'm writing to a whole bunch of manufacturing executives I'm going to say something about the manufacturing field, let's say something about our firm. We're very active in manufacturing industry locally. Heard great things about you. Love to get together and have coffee and meet and discuss ways that we might be able to assist you. Then, our system will go through and just deliver all those for you. Then, it's not just that message. It's the follow up message. When people connect with you, if they don't respond, basically you just go, okay, and you wait, and the system will send out the follow up. Hey, when we connected a couple days ago, as I mentioned we'd love to get together for coffee. Still serious about that. Would you be available sometime next week? Oh, and by the way, here's an interesting article you might like about tax breaks for manufacturing concerns that were created this year. Whatever it is. I'm making that up, obviously. Then, the third message and the fourth, all the way to an email. You sent three messages by LinkedIn, and then the last one you should send by e-mail because you do have your e-mail. Some people don't spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, and some people don't have that LinkedIn messages forwarded to their e-mail. So, try them a couple three times on LinkedIn and then you say, well, I'm just going to reach out to you on e-mail. The last message to you might have said, hey Kelly. We connected a while back. I mentioned I want to meet with you and reached out to you a couple of times and haven't heard anything. It occurred to me you might not be on LinkedIn very often. Is this a better way to communicate? What I said to you was, I'd love to get together and have coffee. I've got this, this, and this to offer. If you can let me know one way or another. I certainly don't want to waste your time, and I hope you're having a great week. At that point, you're going to get a response sometime. You can't ignore four communications. If they do, at that point, who cares? It's nice to be able to say, some will, some won't. So what? Someone's waiting. As long as you always have someone ready to go to, you don't feel like you're ready to starve. It's awful exciting to know that every day I've got this long list of people to see, and my biggest problem is I don't have enough time for all my new meetings and new opportunities, versus I don't know how I'm going to get to see that guy. I don’t have anything going on. My boss wants a report of my activities. Not real happy about that.  Kelly Coughlin: What kind of time reduction do you see users would experience? Don Brailsford: It does what would take a human being, some nights it could be four hours. Some nights, you might be able to knock it out in one or one and a half if you just put your head down and just went like a maniac. Bottom line is, on a daily basis, your responsibility is open up your inbox and see if there's anybody who responded to you, who you need to talk to, and tag them that they did that so the system knows, okay, you got this. We're done with our sequence, and that's it. Fifteen, 20 minutes to do what needs to be done versus an hour and a half to four hours is, I think, a pretty substantial time savings. I think you'd be a superstar in the banking industry with this. I really do.  Kelly Coughlin: That covers what I wanted to cover, Don. one of the things I always end with—I didn't give you a heads up on this, but this might be a little bit of a curve ball. I'll give you the choice of giving us one of your favorite quotes, or tell us one of the dumbest, stupidest things you've ever done in your business career. Don Brailsford: My favorite quote is, I've learned so much from my mistakes, I'm thinking of making a few more. Kelly Coughlin: Don, thanks again for your time, and we'll be in touch. That concludes my interview with Don Brailsford, a LinkedIn marketing guru. I have negotiated a discounted fee with Don for community banks only. He shares my commitment to helping community banks succeed, and he's offered us a great program at $97 a month with the final two months at no charge. You should know that in order to use his LinkedIn marketing application, you need to subscribe to LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator program, and that is around $75 a month. LinkedIn is free if you just want to post your own profile, but if you want to use it to really help get business, you need Navigator. If you use Navigator, you absolutely need this application. $97 a month to save two to four hours per day. That is a savings of about 60 hours per month. So, if your time is worth at least $1.60 per hour, then you need this. I use it and I love it. That's it for me. I'm Kelly Coughlin, CPA and CEO of Bank Bosun. Thank you. Announcer: We want to thank you for listening to the syndicated audio program, BankBosun.com The audio content is produced and syndicated by Seth Greene, Market Domination. Video content is produced by The Guildmaster Studio, Keenan Bobson Boyle. The voice introduction is me, Karim Kronfli. The program is hosted by Kelly Coughlin. If you like this program, please tell us. If you don’t, please tell us how we can improve it. Now, some disclaimers. Kelly is licensed with the Minnesota State Board of Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant. The views expressed here are solely those of Kelly Coughlin and his guests in their private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of any other agent, principal, employer, employee, vendor or supplier.

Chase Coleman is calling into Variety Radio Online to answer all of your questions LIVE on air.. Chase Coleman is an American actor, director and musician. Coleman is best known for portraying the character Billy Winslow in the HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire. He was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and raised in Monroe, Louisiana. He first attended Grace Episcopal School for elementary and Junior High education and graduated to Saint Frederick High School. While in his 2nd year of high school he began singing and playing music in his first rock band. Throughout high school he played in the local Monroe, Louisiana rock band Crawl Space until graduation. He attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe majoring in Business Marketing. Throughout college he played in the local band Fallstaff. In his second year in college he began to gain interest in acting. He performed with the Straus Community Theatre and the Theatre of the University of Louisiana at Monroe and during his Junior year of college he signed with the Baton Rouge agency, Stage 2000 recruited by Ron Randell. Coleman is most recognized for his role as Billy Winslow in Season One of Boardwalk Empire, as well as guest starring on The Originals, The Good Wife, Gossip Girl, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Kings. He has had many starring and supporting roles in independent films such as New York City Serenade, Catahoula, and God Don't Make the Laws. He also played the lead of Andrew in the Off Broadway play My Big Gay Italian Wedding.  

My guests are: Actor, Tod Macofsky ("Naked Boys Singing!") Actor, Christopher Michael Graham ("Mack And Poppy") Actor, Floyd VanBuskirk ("The Guardian") Musician, Bob Schoonover ("Catahoula") Musician, Jon O'Hara ("Catahoula") To hear this show: http://www.latalkradio.com/Sheena.php For more info: http://www.sheenametalexperience.com

Jeffrey and Kristin are back with Episode #3 of the Florida Show Music Podcast. More good music from all over Florida. 1. "Don't Be Fooled" Casey Powers. 2009. Orlando, FL. 2. "Heard No More" Tres Bien. 2007. Clearwater, FL. 3. "Please Go Away" Potential Frenzy. 1994. Orlando, FL. 4. "Lifeguard Dan" The Cichlids. 1980. Dania, FL. 5. "The King" Dead Meat. 2009. Miami, FL. 6. "Red Shoes" Saint Sweetheart. 2008. Sarasota, FL. 7. "Duel With The Octopus" Emperor Moth. 1994. Micanopy, FL. 8. "Waltz" Crowsdell. 1995. Jacksonville, FL. 9. "I Was Never There" Boss Fight. 2009. Tallahassee, FL. 10. "Show Me A Man Who Don't" Blowfly. 1978. Miami, FL. 11. "Catahoula" The Usuals. 1995. Gainesville, FL. 12. "I'm Gonna Go Now" Wrong Numbers. 1967. Mount Dora, FL. 13. "Method Acting" Yusef's Well. 1996. Jensen Beach, FL. 14. "Track 16" Spirex. 1994-1997. Tallahassee, FL. 15. "Let's Go The Beach" Bucket Of Nails. 2006. Orlando, FL.

ACTRESS/SINGER - This week’s guest is PAMELA CLAY MAGATHAN. Pamela trained under the late, great Sanford Meisner who told her: "You may very well be a true character actress, and can hold your own with anyone." She is currently studying in Gene Bua’s Master Acting Class. Pamela Clay won "Best Actress Award" for "Eliza" in "My Fair Lady" her Senior year, starred in BMI-Award winning all-original musical "Sun, Son" and played "Chava" opposite Mandy Patinkin in "Fiddler On The Roof" at KU. She won GWU’s "Paul Parady Memorial Award" for "Outstanding Contributions to the University Theatre", and also played "Jenny" in "Three Penny Opera." Pamela starred opposite MASH's William Christopher in Marilyn Monroe’s role "The Girl" in "The Seven Year Itch" in Manassas, Virginia at the Hayloft Dinner Theatre and as "Tansy" in "The Nerd" at the American Heartland Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. She has also played opposite Tommy Lee Jones. Currently, Pamela Clay performs Edith Piaf (& more!) in Hollywood legend Skip E. Lowe’s "Celebrity Showcase" on Monday nights at Trilussa Restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. She also appears regularly in Hollywood with her all-original New Orleans rock band, Catahoula