THE VILLAGES, Fla. - s4story -- The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has appointed Sam Wike as chair of its Canine Division with immediate effect. Sam has been a member of PPG since 2012 and the Summit Planning Committee since 2016. He has served on the Steering Committee since June 2025, after an initial stint in 2020.

Sam's work with dogs started in 1983 in the U.S. Army as a sergeant in the Military Police Corps in West Germany and New Jersey. While in Germany, he was billeted with the K9 handlers and their dogs. He became a New Jersey Transit police officer in 1989, later a patrol sergeant, then one of the three officers to start the explosive detection K9 unit, eventually becoming the unit sergeant. He and his K9 partner, Sanders, retired together in 2006. Sam then embarked on a new career in dog training. He earned a CPDT-KA certification and successfully completed a rigorous personal and professional vetting progress to become a Victoria Stilwell Professional Dog Trainer (VSPDT). He became involved with the Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) and was mentored by six of their trainers working with dogs with behavior challenges. This experience decided his path to work with behaviorally challenged dogs, which he continues to do today through his business, The Inner Dog (https://theinnerdog.com/).

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Judy Luther has stepped down as Canine Division chair and into a new role as supervisor of a PPG program she helped develop called Behavior Teams (https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/programs/behavior-teams/). Behavior Teams facilitates teams of behavior experts and pet professionals who work together to support pets and their people with behavior and training programs. As Canine Division chair, Judy also served on PPG's Advocacy Panel and led the division in submitting articles to PPG's publications, BARKS (https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/barks/) and Pets and Their People (https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/pet-owners...).

Said Sam Wike, "I love PPG and everything it stands for, and I'm honored and privileged to be continuing the work of the amazing Judy Luther, whom I've known, respected and admired for a long time. The future of the Canine Division is bright and our advocacy, programs, and efforts will continue to build on the foundation laid before us."

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"I am delighted that Sam has offered to lead this division into a new chapter," said PPG Founder and President Niki Tudge. "With his knowledge of PPG and his dedication to our mission, vision and values, Sam will hit the ground running and will lead and support our ongoing and future initiatives."

The other members of PPG's Canine Division are Claire Clark, Kelly Fahey, Sandra Machado, and Caroline Ward.

The Pet Professional Guild (www.petprofessionalguild.com) (https://petprofessionalguild.com/) is a 501(c)6 member-based organization founded on the principles of force-free training and pet care. Its membership represents pet industry professionals who are committed to science-based, humane training and pet care philosophies, practices and methods. Pet Professional Guild members understand force-free to mean that shock, choke, prong, pain, force and fear are never employed to train or care for a pet. PPG members are professionals who are "Informed by Science, Guided by Empathy, Governed by Ethics^TM."