Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Sophia Yin was an excellent speaker and writer who conveyed a clear understanding of behavioral principles as they are applied to the behavior of pet dogs. Her influence in the world of dog training and behavior therapy is broad and she will be dearly missed by many. Over the next week or […]

Certified Pet Dog Trainer Pat Miller throws a Paw Lickers Puzzle Party and lets some dogs test out a series of new interactive puzzle toys designed by Sweden’s Nina Ottosson (including the Dog Tornado, the Dog Smart, the Dog Pyramid, the Dog Spinny, and more). She provides some fun and informative feedback on variables such […]

In this post from Psychology Today’s Decoding Your Pet series, Dr. Emily Levine offers some guidelines for proper socialization. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/decoding-your-pet/201409/socialization-when-do-it-and-when-not-do-it

Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice “Behavior: A Guide For Practitioners” with guest editors, Dr. Gary Landsberg and Dr. Valarie Tynes (Link to: http://www.vetsmall.theclinics.com/issues?issue_key=S0195-5616%2814%29X0003-3) Review by Dr. Amy Pike In May of 2014, Elsevier published their quarterly compilation of clinical review articles which focused solely on small animal behavioral medicine. The last time […]

The Brake Fast Bowl (Link: http://www.brake-fast.net/) Review by Dr. Leslie Sinn, Behavior Resident The Brake-Fast Dog Food Bowl comes in small (1.5 cup capacity), medium (5 cup capacity) and large (8 cup capacity).  The bowl contains 3 posts that force dogs to manipulate around the columns to reach food, slowing down the speed at which […]

Dr. Haug provides a brief overview of positive reinforcement and some common misconceptions about its use in the dog training community. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/decoding-your-pet/201409/the-truth-about-positive-reinforcement

In part 2 of this series, we equip veterinary teams to assess and alleviate fear during veterinary visits to build a more positive patient experience and stronger pet-owner relationships. If you’re not conducting routine evaluations for common behavior problems, you’re not alone. Taking a proactive approach to behavior is almost nonexistent in most of our […]

Article Summary: Klausz, B., Kis, A., Persa, E., Miklosi, A., & Gacsi, M. (2014). A Quick Assessment Tool for Human-Directed Aggression in Pet Dogs. Aggressive Behavior, 40, 178-188. Stranger-directed aggression is among the most common behavior problems exhibited by pet dogs. Although several assessment protocols have been designed to assess canine aggression, many involve multiple […]

In this blog post from Psychology Today’s Decoding Your Pet series, Dr. Karen Overall discusses the prenatal and perinatal variables that can influence dog behavior, using her own dog as a case example. Read this post here: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/decoding-your-pet/201408/the-lovely-missy-rose-diaries-part-3 To read Parts 1 and 2 of this series, see the AVSAB blog post from August 22, 2014.

Article Summary: Mehrkam, L. R., & Wynne, C. D. L. (2014). Behavioral differences among breeds of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris): Current state of the science. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 155, 12-27. A recent review paper by Lindsay Mehrkam and Clive Wynne summarizes well the state of the science regarding behavioral differences between dog breeds. […]