Issue 18 | November 2020

Peer Support and Networking for Parrot Behavior Consultants: An Interview with Robin Horemans

Although birds are a relatively common pet around the world, compared to dog and cat lovers I think it’s fair to say that “crazy bird people” are few and far...

Defining and Refining the “Cortisol Vacation”

There's no clear evidence that dogs need a "cortisol vacation" of 24-72 hours. The existing scientific literature does point to high cortisol levels impacting learning and stress, but the way...

By Luisa Depta

Working With Dogs and Children

Working with clients' children as well as their dogs introduces an additional level of challenge. Involving children in a dog's behavior intervention can be beneficial for both, but comes with...

By Mel Ritterman

Another Way Out: Friends For Life’s Fraidy Cat Program

While shelters across the country continue to increase their live-release rates, it becomes even more necessary to find new, innovative ways to save the most vulnerable populations. One population commonly...

By Melissa Taylor and Alese Zeman

How Behavior Modification Can Help Equine Veterinary Practice

1200lbs of frightened horse is a lot to handle, so how can equine veterinarians minimize that fear in their patients? Restraint techniques that depend on pain are still common practice....

By Katharine Mertens, DVM

Working With Animals in Presentations

As a puppy trainer, zookeeper, and zoo animal trainer working in an industry where we do a lot of presentations, the question I get asked the most is how can...

By Elly Neumann

Using Research-based Protocols with Shelter Dogs

Shelter personnel and consultants are always looking for new tools that to introduce dogs into a new home, help resolve inter-dog aggressive behavior within a household, or form shelter playgroups....

By Kimm Hunt

Socially Conscious Sheltering: Examples in Practice

Shelters are a part of the communities they serve, and should be aware of the needs and challenges people and animals in those communities face. Socially Conscious Sheltering (SCS) is...

By Dot Baisly MS, CPDT-KA, and Mara Velez MA, CDPT-KA

Angles of Approach in Dog Training

Geometry is important to successful dog training. When doing any kind of training that involves distance from a trigger or target, paying attention to the angle you're asking the dog...

By Matthias Lenz

“Til Death Do Us Part”: The Realities of COVID-19 and Your Dog

As an applied animal behaviorist and a nurse, I have first-hand experience with the disruption that COVID-19 catapulted at us in my professional life as well as through my family’s...

By Camille King

Building Confidence in Foster Dogs Through Passive Observation

How often do we use observation as a tool? We tend to monitor, assess, and weigh whether what we observe is what we would like to see. We question ourselves...

By Irene Perrett

Making the Switch to Online Dog Training Classes

Our County of Monterey, California went into shelter in place on March 17, 2020, and we had no choice but to cancel all classes and refund clients any money for...

By Wendi Newman

What Behavior Consultants Need To Know About Liability Waivers

A smart business owner will use education, training, and good practices to reduce the risk of accidents, but you also need to protect yourself and your business in case something...

By Christina Schenk-Hargrove, Esq., CPDT-KA

Shelter Dogs Go to College

What better way to teach college students about canine learning and behavior than inviting sheltered dogs into the classroom? This article introduces a program at Saint Francis University that matches...

By Shlomit Flaisher-Grinberg¹, Megan M. Stanton²

Lessons from my Dogs: Reflections on Animal Rights and Dog Training

Although thinking about animal rights and related questions of welfare can be complicated, uncomfortable, messy, and at times upsetting, critically reflecting on where we stand on questions of animal rights—and...

By Dr. Andrea V. Breen