Podcast Episode 64: David Roberts

January 15, 2024

#64 - David Roberts: Getting the Most Out of Your Dog's Enrichment Toys

Download the episode – Download the transcript

In this week’s interview episode, we’re joined by David Roberts of Ulti-Mutt Dog Toys!

In this episode, you’re going to hear Emily and David talk about:

Data-driven processes for developing enrichment tools
Meeting animals’ needs in cost-effective ways
Troubleshooting dogs’ interest in toys
Sacrificial shoes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Use the code PetHarmony at Ulti-Mutts for 15% off your order!

#19 – Kathy Sdao: Food Motivation Myths

Click here to chat with us about all things enrichment in the Facebook group

Meet the Guest

David Roberts

David grew up in Washington state and then joined the US Navy. When he joined the Navy he started working in medicine. Being in the Navy took David to multiple different countries to include: Italy, Spain, Turkey, UAE, Bahrain, and Cuba. When David got out of the Navy he lived in Arlington, Va and then moved to Norfolk, VA to be closer to his daughter. While in Arlington, he met his wife, Diane. After they moved to Norfolk, they got their first pet together, Nellie, a staffie terrier mix. Nellie has been Diane’s soulmate! When they first got Nellie, they had no idea how to train or manage her needs. After about a year of reading the wrong training methods Diane got into pet sitting and realized what they were doing wasn’t the best way. That is when Diane started getting involved in Behavioral Training and started her pathway to owning her own pet sitting business, and that evolved into a dog training business. From there Diane started to get David more involved into dog training and dog enrichment. Diane asked David to start making toys and leashes for her clients and that blossomed to where they have grown today! Diane and David have been blessed to participate in APDTs 2023 conference and AIDCs 2022 and 2023 conferences and will be at the AIDC conference in 2024 along with IAABC Foundations conference in 2024!

Meet the Hosts

Allie Bender, CDBC, CPDT-KA, SBA

Allie Bender is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Professional Dog Trainer- Knowledge Assessed, and a Shelter Behavior Affiliate. She has been in the animal welfare industry since 2006 and professionally training since 2012. She is the founder and co-owner of Pet Harmony, co-author of Canine Enrichment for the Real World, and a national speaker.

While in the animal sheltering industry, Allie realized that her passion lied in helping pets with maladaptive behaviors. Specifically, she wanted to help prevent animals with rehabilitatable problems from being euthanized. She loves working with dogs and cats displaying stranger danger, resource guarding, and leash reactivity. Her favorite thing about working with pets and their people is seeing relationships grow and seeing harmonious households develop.

Emily Strong, CDBC, SBA

Emily Strong is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Shelter Behavior Affiliate. She has been in the animal welfare industry since 1990 and has been a behavior consultant since 2008. She is the co-owner of Pet Harmony, co-author of Canine Enrichment for the Real World, and a national speaker.

Emily started working with animals at a young age and struggled with the notion that you have to hurt, scare, or intimidate animals to help them. When she discovered the behavior sciences and learned that it wasn’t necessary to do so– that we can care for emotional, mental, and physical health simultaneously– she plunged headfirst into animal behavior. Emily loves helping current and prospective behavior professionals and working with pet parents through our in-depth services. She enjoys working with all species.

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