Shelter Behavior and Medical Teams Find Success Through Synergy

Shelters, especially larger ones, are made up of different departments that seldom interact with each other. Shelter behavior and veterinary medical teams may have competing priorities due to limitations on...

By Melissa Taylor, Lori Seelhoff, DVM, Jennifer Pallanich, CPDT-KA

Peer reviewed

Weak Links in the Canine Scent Detection Behavior Chain

Training for detection dogs involves creating a chain of behaviors with a reward at the end. When backchaining behaviors, there is always a risk of inadvertently reinforcing unwanted behaviors, which...

By Carla Simon, BSc, MD, MBA

Peer reviewed

Creating a Just and Joyful World for Dogs

Framing debates about how we should relate to companion animals as "rights vs welfare" is misleading and potentially harmful. Far from being the sole territory of abolitionists, many working behavior...

By Tiro Miller PhD

Peer reviewed

What Can “Streeties” Teach Us About Companion Dogs?

For most of human history, and indeed in much of the world today, dogs are not subjected to anywhere near as much restriction of movement as they are in the...

By Erin Jones, MS

Peer reviewed

Working with Horses and Children: Let’s Break Away from Tradition

How Topaze the horse taught an equine instructor three rules for happy, productive engagements between horses and children: Safety first, take care in matching each child to the right pony,...

By Nadia Hernandez

Peer reviewed

Puppy Pandemic – Facing Socialization Challenges Amidst COVID-19

What's the one thing we couldn't do during lockdown? Socialize. What's the single most important thing a new puppy needs to do? Socialize! COVID-19 brought some unique challenges for people...

By Jenna Hall

Peer reviewed

Enrichment at Home and in the Wild: Comparing Enrichment in Black-Footed Cats and Domestic Cats

Environmental enrichment provides captive animals with stimuli needed to participate in species-typical behavior and increases the amount of time an animal spends in goal-directed behavior. It is often used in...

By Gavin Fraser

Peer reviewed

COVID Sniffing Dogs: Where are we at with the Research and Implementation?

Within weeks of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 first being detected, preliminary studies on detection rates by working dogs were available. This review article examines two of the most promising early...

By Kayla Fratt

Peer reviewed

Selecting Shelter Dogs for Education Programs

When the idea of pairing shelter dogs and youth is discussed, dog training professionals generally have one of two reactions: That’s fantastic! – or – That’s risky! For decades, Society...

By Paula Ferrel, CPDT-KA

Dangerous Puppies: A Heartbreaking Choice

A deeply personal case history of a litter of puppies from a stressed, abandoned Catahoula. Signs of significant, unusual aggression were present from very soon after birth in all the...

By Chelsea Edwards

Peer reviewed

Issue 19 | February 2021