PACT ATI / ABTC ATI
Y’ALL!!!!! Shameless self promotion post – please indulge me for 2 minutes before I return you to our regularly scheduled comical instagram reel involving a husky blowing off their human (probably).
So, I opened my email a couple weeks ago to find a nice note from the Grisha Stewart Academy and Empowered Animals, LLC folks. There are 60 instructors on this platform, including Simone Mueller, Chirag Patel, Susan Friedman, Grisha herself, Kim Brophy, Leslie McDevitt, and so, so many more big names in our industry who have courses and webinars on that prestigious platform. So, getting a note stating I was the instructor of the month made my entire year. I’m beyond flattered and so very, very honored.
The academy was promoting the urban dog considerations webinar I did for GSA last January, which is brilliantly timed! Other organizations, like the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors in the UK is doing a big conference on city pet stuff, including pocket pets, cats, dogs, and wildlife:
Urban animal care is in the zeitgeist right now, a decade after my friend, author and dog trainer, Sassafras Patterdale, and I each wrote about adding the specific challenges faced by city dogs to the conversation. I’m over the moon to see this conversation happening around the globe! The hurdles guardians and their pets face in the busiest environments can sometimes feel insurmountable. But now, professionals who have a much wider reach are contributing to the conversation, like behaviourist Tom Candy, social media sensation Cat The Vet, author and veterinarian Dr James Greenwood, as well as advocate and author Dr. Zazie Todd! This subject is near and dear to my heart, enough so that I wrote an entire book on it, and to see this take off organically is lovely to see.
If you don’t wish to buy from Amazon, there is a great place to purchase Considerations for the City Dog, my first book, via the GSA Store! I can’t believe that book is a decade old…I’d change a few things if I were to write it today, but overall I still am so proud of that first book, and I think fondly of the dozens of clients who shared their dog’s images for the book pages, and allowed me the opportunity to speak candidly about their cases. You can get your own physical copy while supporting the GSA mission of empowering animals by purchasing through that link.
I’m mentioning my first book because my SECOND book, Misadventures of the World’s Okayest Dog Trainer, comes out in April, 2026, through 5m Books. The timing couldn’t be better! The book release is sandwiched between my class with Grisha Stewart, and the week before my biggest presentation to date: The distinguished Dog Behavior Conference, put on every year by the one and only, Victoria Stilwell!
Victoria asked if I would speak about the Maine Six at her conference, the pet dogs (like yours and mine, curled up next to us on our couches) who were trained to find an invasive species in an effort to save the environment. She asked me moments after recording an episode of her podcast with her where we spoke about these dogs, and the conversation was like chatting with a long lost friend. We laughed hard at our misadventures in training these dogs, it was such a great conversation. I’m glad I get to have a little more time to talk about these wonderful dogs and handlers – which I could do all day!
The first half of the year is promised to be a whirlwind, bookended by two of the biggest names in positive reinforcement dog training and behavior who are giving little ol’ me an opportunity to be nerdy for other dog trainers and behavior folk: the highly esteemed Grisha Stewart, and the fiercely compassionate, Victoria Stilwell. Both of these women I have looked up to for my entire career and have influenced the ways in which I work with dogs, like yours.
And, get this: they were both gracious enough to answer the call when I sheepishly asked if they would consider writing a a piece in Misadventures… You see, each chapter of the new book starts with a quote from someone in the dog training, behavior, medical or related industry about what they wish they knew before working in their chosen field. Both Grisha and Victoria wrote something in kindness to their younger selves, while addressing all of the hopeful people who just love dogs, who will pick up the book because they also want to work with animals. They have so much to do in their daily lives, and yet, when given this task, they both enthusiastically said yes, and wrote something to those future dog trainers. They care so much about the dogs, and the humans, they took the time to do what they do best – be vulnerable while educating others.
And, I keep pinching myself to see if this is all really real.
One last big update – in August of this year, on my daughter’s 13th birthday, I became the first American resident to be certified by the PACT organization in the UK! I’m the lone red dot in the US of PACT certified trainers (ATI is Animal Training Instructor). It gets better…because PACT certifies to the Animal Behavior and Training Council’s standards, I’m also the first US resident to appear on THAT registry as well! That little red dot on the ABTC registry in the US is me. The other is the lone Canadian. We need more of y’all to jump in and add more ABTC approved trainers and behavior technicians in the States who are certifying to these elite standards!
So I’ll end this update to say, please support positive platforms, like GSA and the DBC (Dog Behavior Conference), organizations like PACT, the ABTC, Pet Professional Guild, APTC, and others. Stay curious, and always keep learning.
Happiest of new years –
-M3
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Melissa McCue-McGrath 