Frogger was a sleek and energetic German Shepherd puppy. His case exemplifies many food guarding cases I have seen so I will use his story to bring to light some of the causes of, and intervention options for, food guarding in dogs. Frogger was purchased from a breeder by a young couple who had little […]

The behavior residents had a busy summer centered on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Annual Convention held in Boston. Thursday was Resident’s Day which is a resident-only event focused on behavior specific training. This year Dr. Gerry Flannigan and Dr. Debbie Horwitz covered learning theory and current scientific research in the field while Dr. Katherine […]

 ORCA presents:  The 9th annual Art and Science of Animal Training Conference February 25-26, 2017 Dallas, Texas Speakers for the February 2017 conference: Dr. Peter Killeen, Ken Ramirez, Emily Larlham, Steve White, Alexandra Kurland, Dr. Paul Andronis, Barbara Heidenreich, Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz, and Karen Pryor. This year’s conference will have two themes. On the first day of […]

Welcome to the new website for AVSAB! Some of our blog posts have been transferred from the old website so you can get a sense of common content and themes. I encourage any readers of the blog to bring to my attention topics that they would like to see covered or content that they have […]

Coco was a Standard Poodle I worked with several years ago. Spunky yet regal, Coco was a delight to her owners. She had excelled in her basic obedience class and was responsive in the home and community on a variety of commands. She was friendly with strangers and dogs alike and enjoyed the attention of […]

This year, the topic for Public Day at the ABS Meeting at the University of Missouri is “Animals Helping in Society.”  For this CAAB Chat, you’ll be treated to a preview of Public Day presentations from some of the speakers. You’ll be hearing from Dr. Robin Foster, CAAB, presenter, and organizer of Public Day, about […]

A paper was published this month in Applied Animal Behaviour Science in which authors summarize the origins and various hypotheses about the function and utility of clicker training. Full text of this article, How clicker training works: Comparing Reinforcing, Marking, and Bridging Hypotheses, by Lynna Feng, Tiffani Howell, & Pauleen Bennett is available here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159116301393

The most recent CAAB Chat with guest Dr. Jessica Lockhart, CAAB, is now available. Whether you are a pet owner confused by all the conflicting training information you’re getting, a novice or intermediate trainer looking for direction when formulating training plans, or an experienced trainer or behavior consultant looking for more advanced ways to explain […]

In this post from The New York Times, veterinarians and veterinary behaviorists discuss options for addressing dogs’ fear of thunder and fireworks. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/why-thunder-and-fireworks-make-dogs-anxious/?_r=0

In Part 1, we met Bella, the Golden Retriever who’d been adopted from an animal hoarding home and was exhibiting fearful behavior, unable to enjoy many of the situations associated with living in a home with new people. I introduced readers to my Five P’s – five areas of intervention I recommend to owners working […]