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. […]

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, in collaboration with Psychology Today, presents a new blog series called Decoding Your Pet. In their first two blog posts (both linked below), veterinary behaviorist Dr. Karen Overall describes the history of her own dog Missy Rose and some strategies she has employed to manage Missy Rose’s behavior. Part […]