Playgroups the LIMA Way

Playgroups the LIMA Way

Playgroups are undoubtedly a beneficial practice in shelters and rescue groups, and over the past few years they have increased in popularity. As with most tools, though, playgroups can be implemented with varying degrees of skill, or misapplied altogether. While my...
Spotlight on Research: Lauren Robinson

Spotlight on Research: Lauren Robinson

This issue, we talked to Lauren Robinson, recent PhD graduate from the University of Edinburgh. Lauren’s work focuses on how we measure personality and welfare, and how these two areas interact. She has worked with many different species, from puppies to penguins, but...
Ask the Ethics Committee

Ask the Ethics Committee

Concerns about litigation can potentially limit dialogue about issues such as fear aggression. For example, if my dog is uneasy near strangers, I may be counseled not to talk openly about the dog’s bite risk or put a “Do Not Pet” sign on the...
IAABC News for Summer 2017

IAABC News for Summer 2017

Events and conferences IAABC Conference 2018 Our next conference is going to be bigger and better than ever, with a full three days of presentations, discussions and social events for all our Divisions. Join us on the 20th to the 22nd of April in Burlington,...
Pawsimony:  Needs Mustelid

Pawsimony: Needs Mustelid

We humans are always looking for evidence that our animal friends really do love us. That’s probably why videos like this one, which was described as a ferret mom insistently “showing” her human her new babies by leading him by the hand, are so consistently popular....
Testifying in Court

Testifying in Court

As professionals in the field of applied animal behavior, we are well-placed to understand the antecedents that cause an animal to act in a certain way. In cases where an animal has been implicated in causing injury, nuisance, or destruction of property that has...
Cat Training Corner

Cat Training Corner

This new column will highlight some of the great training you and your cat can do together. We’ll start with how to train a foundational behavior, and build up to showing off some of the fun and useful tricks that build on that groundwork. Our first installment will...
Kokoda’s Diary Part 2

Kokoda’s Diary Part 2

This is a continuation of the counter-conditioning diary I started last issue. I am working with my Eclectus parrot, Kokoda, who I would like to teach to happily accept wearing a harness. In the last issue, we had made a start on the process of gradually introducing...
Three Leash Reactive Dog Cases

Three Leash Reactive Dog Cases

The way a behavior consultant approaches a case is dependent on their education and background. As an applied behavior analyst, I approach my work as a behavior consultant with a bias toward that science. I want to understand the antecedent-behavior-consequence...
Housing Cats in Shelters

Housing Cats in Shelters

Appropriate housing is essential for animal wellbeing in shelters. Without clean, comfortable, spacious housing, no amount of enrichment will be sufficient to maintain low stress levels. An animal may receive enriching interaction with staff, trainers, or volunteers...
Stats Trek IV

Stats Trek IV

This is the fourth installment of our Stats Trek series, where we talk about all things data! In the current series, we systematically dissect a paper from the scientific literature and discuss some of the things that we should consider when reading primary literature...
Why Train Voluntary Cooperation in Horses?

Why Train Voluntary Cooperation in Horses?

 “But restraint is the only one sort of control, and absence of restraint isn’t freedom. It’s not control that’s lacking when one feels ‘free’, but the objectionable control of force.”  B.F. Skinner, Walden Two Traditional training and...
At the Foot of It All: Hoof Care and Behavior Modification

At the Foot of It All: Hoof Care and Behavior Modification

Over the last couple of years, we have increasingly seen the behavioural side to hoof care featured in videos that have gone viral on social media. One recent example showed “the duct tape method” of getting a fractious horse to stand still for the farrier. Numerous...