The Clinical Animal Behavioral Gold Standard

In the 1940s E. R. Guthrie and G. P. Horton designed an experiment to test feline problem-solving ability using a test box and cats that met the scientific standard. In...

By Myrna Milani, DVM

Spotlight on Research: Rabbits in Shelters

by the IAABC Editing Team According to the House Rabbit Society, rabbits are the third most commonly surrendered pets in the United States. Rabbits have also been steadily gaining in...

By Clare Ellis, interviewed by the IAABC Foundation Editing Team

Cat Training: “But it’s so difficult!”

I have never understood the difficulty that some people have training cats. I find them intelligent, interested and engaged when I work with them, so I assume it should be...

By Jacqueline Munera

Lives of Streeties: A study on the activity budget of free-ranging dogs

Lives of Streeties is an ongoing study that I am conducting on the street dogs of Bangalore, India. Streeties is a term of endearment that Bangaloreans use to refer to the dogs that...

By Sindhoor Pangal

Good Intentions Are Not Always Enough

I sat on the grassy hillside near a field, running the leash through my hands, trying to catch my breath in the fresh air. Feeling alone, frustrated, and lost, I...

By Aubrey Williams

Virtual Consultations – Why, If, and How

by Katenna Jones For eight years, I worked remotely from a home office for organizations that were in different time zones. Perhaps that is why virtual consultations came so naturally...

By Katenna Jones

Stats Trek III: What is Normal, Anyway?

This is the third 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...

By Jessica Fry

Species-Appropriate Enrichment for Ferrets

When I first started volunteering with a ferret shelter, I had owned ferrets for over 13 years, but I still knew very little about them. I understood my own ferrets,...

By Shannan Skitch

Group Living for Equines

In this video, Certified Horse Behavior Consultant Lindsy Murray promotes the concept of group living for equines. This is Lindsy’s herd of horses that have lived together for over 20 years....

By Lindsy Murray

Pawsimony: He’s Just Not That Into You

One of the precious few things the Internet could agree on in 2016 was that capybara are awesome. The giant South American rodents supplanted 2015’s darling, the three-toed sloth, as...

By Tiro Miller, PhD

Animal Assisted Play Therapy™

My name is Lucy Llewellyn, and my dog and I are “Paws4Play.” I am a qualified social worker, qualified play therapist, and Certified Animal Assisted Play Therapist. I work mostly...

By Lucy Llewellyn

Conference Summary: Human Behaviour Change for Animal Welfare

A number of IAABC members attended the recent Human Behaviour Change for Animal Welfare conference, held in early October in Dorking, U.K. The conference was the brainchild of—and almost single-handedly organised...

By Catherine Bell, Debbie Busby, Suzanne Rogers, and Dr. Risë VanFleet

Attachment Scales as a Tool for Behavior Consultants

Human-dog interactions have many of the same components of human-human interactions: They amount to a relationship based on trust with mutual physical, psychological, and social benefits. The history-taking part of...

By Melissa McMath Hatfield

Ethological Considerations in the Care of Companion Parrots

Parrots (Psittacines) are the most popular companion birds. However, most species are not domesticated, and they retain the behavioural traits seen in the species in the wild. Many conditions in...

By Greg Glendell

The Importance of Tracking Changes in Dog Behaviour

Over the many years of dog ownership, I have developed an extensive system of tracking behaviours in an effort to monitor progress (or the lack thereof) in the various interventions...

By Blanche Axton

Ask the Ethics Committee

At a recent dog trainer conference, I saw a video of canine socialization within a shelter context that I found troubling. A number of dogs were potentially traumatized for the...

An Interview with Sarah Ellis, Author of “The Trainable Cat”

Patience Fisher discusses Dr. Ellis’ research and new book with her, uncovering additional details and insights on how to train a cat. Sarah Ellis’ life of research, consulting, and educating...

Obesity in Dogs

Oh, how I dread the sight of an obese dog. I feel bad for the dog and have the usual quick scroll of all the medical complications run through my...

By Jess Elliott

Within Reach: The Business of Animal Behavior in the 21st Century Marketplace

You love your job. You wake up every day with a passion for working with animals and their people, for making the world a slightly better place one case at...

By Kim Brophey

Publishing for the Internet

So you have taken the time to sit down and carefully write out your thoughts on dogs, training, behaviour, management, or some combination thereof. Now what? Publishing your writing on...

By Eric Brad

Multisensory Enrichment for Shelter Dogs

I have worked in the animal industry for over 18 years. I currently work at the Arizona Humane Society, where my original title was canine welfare specialist. My role is...

By Mik Moeller

Relapse of Conditioned Fear in Horses: The Four R’s

My 18-year-old thoroughbred is a warrior in most respects. He barely flicks an ear at a motorcycle speeding past as we cross the road; he nods politely and winks at...

By Robin Foster, PhD

Case Study: Cat Attacking Dog

Smudge was found by his owner in a box full of kittens of mixed ages, which had been left in front of the Petco where she worked at the time....

By Emily Strong

Issue 3 | FEBRUARY 2017