Petiquette is a franchise dog training business. By 2005, Jim Burwell had become the most sort after dog whispere in Houston, Texas. His technique for obediance training had become known as Petiquette by his many satisfied clients, so in 2005 he decided to take his method of training nationwide by selling franchises. His reasoning was sound because dog obedience training was a multibillion dollar business. Based on hat knowledge he put a hefty price tag on his franchises, a $60,000 to $65,000 price tag. For that small investment the franchisee receives six weeks of training at the company’s headquarters, access to the call center that schedules appointments and communicates with clients on behalf of the franchisee, a large and growing collection of professionally designed marketing materials, and access to a state-of-the-art Intranet system and various software management aids. Not a bad deal for those who want to become dog whisperers and have $65,000 to invest in what is now a very highly competitive business.

Aside from the franchise that named itself with this really cool term, stands the term itself: a hybrid of pet and ettiquette. This is acceptable behavior that should be expected from both pet, and pet owner. My loyal and well behaved Pit Bull, Virtue, will every once in a while take a shine to certain company. Unlike me, my wife taught our dog not to lick, sniff or hump. Yes, the poor structure of the previous sentence contains two different meanings...Both apply. This is an example of good petiquette.

The once in a while occurrence, with certain people, when he seems to show more than a dog-friendly interest in a visitor, and begins to take the relationship to the next level at the very beginning of the first date, and begins to hump that visitor like it's his job, I will quickly jump in to get the situation under control.

I start with advising the guest right away. Many people are not accustomed to dealing with this kind of pet behavior, and being sexually assaulted by a Pit Bull makes most people feel very uncomfortable. I understand this completely, and tell them that although their knee-jerk reaction may be to push the dog down, and wiggle out of the predicament, I tell them to do their best to avoid that reaction, and just try to hold a still as possible until he is finished. This is an example of bad petiquette.