A Message from the President
Greetings and welcome to the IAABC’s Journal.
The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants is a worldwide organization whose members share an interest in the study and application of animal training and behavior consulting. As part of our mission, the IAABC promotes professionalism and continuing education in the field of animal behavior and we are proud to offer this online journal as a showcase of this initiative.
In each issue of this journal, we will highlight case studies from talented behavior consultants in the field, which will include video and the techniques and tools applied for successful outcomes in those cases. In addition, we’ll be featuring articles focusing on animal behavior from the best and brightest in the industry.
The IAABC is pleased to make the journal available as a free resource to anyone with a desire to learn more about the latest in animal behavior. As part of the community spirit the IAABC embodies, we welcome our readers to share this resource and continue to disseminate contemporary information related to the science of animal behavior.
On behalf of the Board of Directors for the IAABC,
Michael Shikashio CDBC
President – IAABC
Membership Milestone
We’re thrilled to announce that on the 24th of May this year, the IAABC reached a milestone of 1000 members! One thousand people wanting to learn, share, and grow this field to the highest standards possible, in the most respectful way possible, through hard work and collegiality. Together we’re really doing something! If you want to help move us towards our next thousand, take a look at the different membership and certification levels we offer on our website.
New Divisions
In recognition of the fact that behavior consultants don’t just help pet animals, we we’ve added a Shelter Division, dedicated to support and education of all those working in shelters and rescues, and re-formed our Working Animals Division to develop LIMA protocols and support those working with service and therapy animals struggling in their duties. Since their launch, we’ve attracted some wonderfully knowledgeable and creative people as Affiliate and Associate members. There have been some fascinating discussions in our email lists, and we’re hoping for even stronger growth in the next few months. If you would like to join IAABC, visit our website.
With that mission in mind, our executive director Marjie Alonso and Project Manager Mychelle Blake set up a booth at the Humane Society of the United States Animal Care Expo 2016 in Las Vegas in May. We made many new connections in the animal sheltering world and hope to expand the Shelter Division’s impact by providing education and resources to staff and volunteers.
Online Courses
In the past few months, IAABC has expanded the range of continuing education courses available to members and the public alike. Three courses are currently available through our education portal, our flagship Principles and Practice program and two shorter courses on fear in horses and the science of behavior. Robin Foster, PhD, CAAB, CHCB and Lauren Fraser, CHBC, teaches “Needles and Clippers and Farriers, Oh My! Understanding and Resolving Common Fear-based Behaviors in Horses,” and “Putting Behavior Back in Behavior Professional” is taught by Erica Feuerbacher, PhD, BCBA-D, CPDT-KA.
Georgina Lees-Smith proudly displays her Principles & Practice graduation certificate
In Principles and Practice, we offer a complete background in what it takes to become a successful behavior consultant in all companion animal species. We have recruited experts in the fields of behavior analysis; training and behavior modification in all species; business; animal welfare, and human interaction and self care to create our online lectures, and we have a pool of experienced mentors offering weekly live sessions to expand on and clarify students’ understanding of what they have learned.
We believe our platform is the future of online learning: interactive, not static; understandable, even for very complex concepts; challenging, but not overwhelming; and fun!
Scholarship
Sadly, one of our great friends, Rebecca Park, CDBC, passed away in March. She was a passionate supporter of everything IAABC did, and will be greatly missed. In honor of her dedication to excellence in the field of animal behavior consulting, we have set up the Rebecca Park Principles and Practice Scholarship, which will allow one spring and one winter winner a free place on our Principles and Practice course. We are now accepting entries for the October contest; more details are available on our website.
Heddie Leger won the spring contest, and you can read her winning article on page 48 in this journal.
Dog Park Project
The IAABC has collaborated with Dr. Jessica Hekman and artist Lili Chin to create a series of posters for use by trainers, dog parks, and community dog organizations to promote safety in dog parks and dog play. The posters are available as PDFs, intended for printing, and in JPG form for social media. IAABC members have free access to these posters, which can be found under “resources” in their user accounts.
We’re encouraging members to distribute these to their local dog owner social groups, dog parks, training centers, veterinary offices, and anywhere else they might be useful.
Thanks to Miki Saito, Alexandra Bovell and others, the posters are now available in Japanese, French, Spanish and Norwegian.
Through this campaign we hope to educate owners in a simple, friendly way, improve safety for the dogs playing in dog parks, and to help make the IAABC a household name for people looking for further help.
In addition to the dog park posters, a series of cat behavior posters were created as well.
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Mike is an emerging animal behaviorist sitting in Minnesota in the US. He carries an MSc in social science research methods (U. of Kentucky) and brings a passion for understanding how the methods we favor shape the knowledge we privilege. Coming from careers in teaching and non-profit program evaluation, he found companion animal behavior by accident helping anxious feline friends in a unique shelter in Ohio. It is a privilege and a joy to combine these and advance the journal in this exciting time of growth.
Alexandra is a certified dog behavior consultant and holds a PhD in neuroscience. She has spent over a decade in academic research and is author of numerous scientific articles on different aspects of brain development, including olfaction, neurogenesis, and memory formation. Her work as a behavior consultant focuses on creating trusting relationships between humans and their dogs through communication, respect, and science-based knowledge. Alexandra is very dedicated to promoting more science within the dog training world. She supports dog guardians and professionals to build a solid understanding of scientific principles and provides guidance on how to apply these to life with dogs. She runs Canine Mindscape in Alicante, Spain.
I’m an Argentinean-Italian dog trainer and CSAT who spent eight amazing years in Brazil learning and working with dogs. Now based in Europe, I volunteer with the IAABC as a translator and, in my free time, help rehomed dogs settle into their new families. I love bridging languages—and hearts—between people and their dogs.
I’m a translator, editor and journalist, as well as canine educator for children and families, specialized in canine body language. I am part of the IAABC Family since 2019, as Language Director at the IAABC and Translators Team Lead at the IAABC Foundation, at the moment. I volunteer at local shelters and promote bite prevention and animal welfare at schools and events all over my country, Uruguay.
I’m a Chilean veterinarian and certified dog trainer, based in Madrid and working at a veterinary clinic. I’ve been volunteering with the IAABC and the IAABC Foundation for over seven years. In my free time, I help dogs and their guardians strengthen their bond, and I love spending quality time with my own dogs.
Master’s Degree in Natural Sciences, with a strong interest in environmental sustainability and the protection of natural ecosystems. Passionate about writing and science communication, she collaborates with multidisciplinary teams on research projects, such as Equine International, and with non-profit initiatives in the environmental and cultural fields. She is writing for different magazines, including IAABC Foundation. Her major goal is to improve horse’s welfare through behaviour research and empirical practice.
Adrienne Hovey is the copy editor for the IAABC Foundation journal and the owner of 
I believe that knowledge from a wide range of disciplines fosters a more empathetic, curious, and engaging world. I am passionate about social, environmental, and minority rights issues (both human and non-human), and this has invariably led me down the road of multi-species anthropology. Perpetually curious about the world we live in, I hope to contribute towards making the world a kinder place for all of us earthlings to live on!
Beckie Wheldon is based in England, UK, and has been supporting the IAABC Foundation Journal team as a volunteer journal content editor since early 2025. She has a BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour and Welfare, and has recently completed a MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour. With a passion for both practical and theory, Beckie is proud to be a part of the journal submission journey and support the process of applied animal behaviour information and research getting from our writers to the readers. As her full-time career, Beckie is currently part of the UK veterinary charity, PDSA, as a Learning and Development Business Partner for Veterinary, where she supports the professional development of people in their Veterinary Hospitals. Her last position was with the rescue charity, Dogs Trust, as a Canine Behavioural Welfare Manager, where she worked on embedding evidence-based behavioural welfare best practices throughout policy and practices, with both internal and external professional stakeholders, such as the police and military. With a varied background in kennels, caregiver education, and charity dog training classes, Beckie is also an accredited Animal Training Instructor (APDT UK) and an Associate Clinical Animal Behaviourist (APBC).
Erin Jones, PhD, IAABC-ADT, CDBC, CPDT-KA, CANZ-ATI, CANZ-ABC, is the Journal Director of the IAABC Foundation Journal. She holds a PhD in Human–Animal Studies, an MSc in Anthrozoology, a PG Dip in Animal Welfare, and a BSc (Hons) in Anthropology and Psychology. An international presenter, editor, writer and mentor, Erin’s writing bridges research and practice with a focus on the intersection of philosophy, ethics and dog-centered behaviour practice. She is the author of Constructing Canine Consent and co-editor of Topics in Non/Human Coexistence and numerous academic and trade journal publications.