What Can Street Dogs Teach Us About Socialization?

What Can Street Dogs Teach Us About Socialization?

There are certain truths we all hold as self-evident. One is that basic training is essential for all dogs. A dog whose behavior is “civilized” is able to be a fully participating member of the family. Further, if a dog develops a behavior problem, the foundation of...
Glucocorticoids, Stress, and Behavior Consulting

Glucocorticoids, Stress, and Behavior Consulting

As behavior consultants, we often focus on classical conditioning and the four quadrants of operant learning, but there’s so much more to consider. We don’t necessarily think about what’s happening internally—especially beyond an animal’s immediate...
Feral Kittens

Feral Kittens

It’s springtime, which means kitten season is upon us. Shelters around the country will soon be inundated with box after box of kittens that need to be bottle fed or “tamed.” These kittens will come from under a person’s porch, a live trap set for skunks, and inside...
Training Bite Inhibition in the Dark

Training Bite Inhibition in the Dark

The idea that, through certain socialization protocols, we can train a dog as a youngster to inhibit its bite as an adult is the foundation for many aspects of living with dogs: When we choose to take puppies from their mother, how we socialize them the first 16...
Cat Social Lives: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Cat Social Lives: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Although cats are stereotypically thought to be aloof and unsocial, domestic cats display great flexibility in their social behavior.  Cats have the ability to live solitarily, to live in extremely gregarious colonies, and to live socially in homes with humans and...