The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB; www.dacvb.org) is pleased to announce the 2016 Veterinary Behavior Symposium (VBS).  The 2016 VBS will be held on Friday, August 5, 2016, immediately preceding the AVMA Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The meeting focus is on cutting-edge, original research in the field of animal behavior. Scientists, veterinarians, and applied […]

Fall is a good time to be in California! This September, ten behavior residents had the opportunity to attend a week-long course focused on food animal behavior and welfare hosted and organized by Dr. Melissa Bain DACVB, DACAW at UC Davis. The residents had the opportunity to learn from members of the UC Davis food animal faculty and […]

In this National Geographic article, an MRI study of OCD in dogs is discussed and strategies for addressing OCD are offered by Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist Dr. Jill Goldman. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130610-ocd-dogs-health-animals-science-brains/

Dr. Debra Horwitz contributes the most recent blog post to Psychology Today’s Decoding your Pet series. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/decoding-your-pet/201512/social-conflict-between-household-cats

Many families bring a puppy into their home around the holidays or in the new year. Although the “puppy under the tree” image is one that warms our hearts, it may not be the best time of year for getting a puppy. In addition to the hustle and bustle of the holidays, a disadvantage of […]

Dr. Emily Levine summarizes findings from a recent study demonstrating behavioral effects of steroids in dogs. See the AVSAB blog post from November 12, 2015 for the full abstract of this study. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/decoding-your-pet/201511/steroids-can-change-your-dogs-behavior

Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists Dr. Suzanne Hetts and Dr. Dan Estep discuss some mistakes that behavior consultants and dog trainers should avoid when working with dog aggression. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45zzHy04Yrw

From the Tufts University Center for Shelter Dogs blog, Dr. Amy Marder, DMV, CAAB, shares some comments about research on food aggression in shelter dogs. http://www.centerforshelterdogs.com/Home/News/ShelterDogsBlog/tabid/79/ctl/ReadCSDBlog/mid/654/ArticleId/208/Default.aspx

Dr. Megan Maxwell summarizes a recent survey study in which researchers examined owner-reported noise sensitivities across various dog breeds. Storengen, L. M., & Lingaas, F. (2015). Noise sensitivity in 17 breeds: Prevalence, breed risk and correlation with fear in other situations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 171, 152-160. In this recent study out of Norway, researchers […]

Research conducted by Notari, Burman, and Mills links corticosteroid treatment with important behavioral changes in dogs. The study was published this month in the journal Physiology & Behavior (Vol. 151, pp. 609-616) and the study’s abstract is presented here. In human medicine, psychiatric side effects among patients on corticosteroid therapy are widely reported, but this […]