Black Voices in the Animal-Care Community
Renee Erdman (@bravodogtraining) invited trainer Curtis Kelly (@petparentallies) to her podcast, Bravo Dog Knowledge: Dog Training Podcast. Curtis is the owner of Pet Parent Allies in Philadelphia, PA, and he candidly discusses racism and his unique perspective as a black positive reinforcement dog trainer. Listening to his experiences was enlightening and worthwhile. Curtis posts great content on Instagram.
Listen to the podcast here.
This is a common question that many trainers get asked at one point or another in their career. And although black trainers may not get asked that question directly, they certainly face issues surrounding this question. Here are two separate discussions of this issue from the perspectives of four different trainers of color.
Laurie C. Williams (@thecaninediva) addressed this question in an article published by Whole Dog Journal in 2016. Laurie is a successful black trainer and owner of Pup ‘N Iron Canine Fitness and Learning Center in Virginia.
Read the article here.
More recently, Jenna Romano (@dog_liason) posted a video on YouTube searching for a scientific answer to the question of racism in dogs. In the absence of hard data, she decided to seek out the opinions of three trainers of color, Taylor Barconey and Jio Alcaide of Smart Bitch Modern Dog Training (@smartbitchdogtraining) in New Orleans, LA, and Curtis Kelly (@petparentallies) of Pet Parent Allies in Philadelphia, PA.
In June of this year, the women of Smart Bitch Dog Training (@smartbitchdogtraining) also appeared on Rachel Harris’ Disorderly Dog podcast. They talked about the obstacles of working in the dog world, particularly for people of color. Taylor and Jio speak passionately from their personal experiences and give good advice to those interested in a career working with dogs. While they certainly represent voices of trainers of color, they also offer the perspectives of professional young women. I found the discussion truthful, thought-provoking, and worthwhile.
Listen to the episode here.
Lindsay Somerset, owner of For the Love of Animal Rescue (@fortheloveofanimalrescue), dedicated her two most recent blogs to highlighting black-owned businesses in the pet industry. I have not had the opportunity to learn about every business highlighted, but I appreciate her putting the time into getting these names and businesses in front of a wider audience. I wanted to share those blogs here.
For us at Karen Pryor Clicker Training, learning to be anti-racist supports our mission, it is humane, and it is right. By learning to be anti-racist, we will strengthen our community of positive reinforcement trainers and become better trainers. When we are trying to change behavior, we have to hone our observation skills. We learn to observe behavior in greater detail, understand the environment where behavior occurs, and interpret what we observe with empathy. The articles, blogs, and videos above can be helpful in developing those skills. They are steps along the journey of understanding the perspectives of people of color, which is a first step toward meeting long-term anti-racism goals. We wanted to share those resources with you and hope you find them meaningful as well.
Happy Training,
Ken
Ken Ramirez is the Executive Vice-President (EVP) and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training (KPCT). There he helps to oversee the vision, development, and implementation of training education programs for the organization.
A 40+-year veteran of animal care and training, Ken is a biologist and animal behaviorist who has overseen or consulted on training projects for many zoological organizations throughout the world. He began his training career working with guide dogs for the visually impaired and continues to work with organizations training dogs for service work, search-and-rescue, bomb detection, and narcotic detection. Ken has also maintained a close affiliation with pet training throughout his career.