Advances in animal behavior has helped veterinarians provide less stressful care to many patients, both large and small. The ability to correctly read the body language of stress before it reaches aggression, and then respond to this by changing the exam room, treatment and hospitalization areas has helped keep...
Dog Training Methods Affect Attachment to the Owner Originally posted on Companion Animal Psychology Dogs trained with aversive methods are less likely to show a ‘secure base’ effect, study shows. When people use aversive methods to train dogs, it is associated with risks to the dog’s welfare, including fear, stress,...
From “Stop it!” to “Good Pup!” – Problem Solving With Alternative Behaviors By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM Hey there, gang. Today, it’s time for another installment of “problem solving at Dr. Jen’s house.” (For another example of this, see my previous post about my dog Clint, and his habit of launching himself...
Drop It! by Megan Maxwell, Ph.D., CAAB One wonderful option for owners interested in playing with their dog is tug-of-war, but tug toys (e.g., ropes or stuffed toys) have a bad reputation because some owners have heard that tugging with their dog will make their dog aggressive. This is...
Separation Anxiety: The Great Imitator, Part 4 By Meredith Stepita, DVM, DACVB It’s hard to believe we have been able to cover so many differentials for behaviors associated with separation anxiety in just 3 blogs! The only other differential I want to briefly mention is predatory behavior. Destructive behavior (and even vocalization)...
Separation Anxiety: The Great Imitator, Part 3 By Meredith Stepita, DVM, DACVB Another common symptom of separation anxiety is urination and/or defecation in the house. First, all medical causes (e.g., intestinal parasites, urinary tract infections, etc) need be ruled out by visiting your veterinarian. Then, other behavioral causes should be considered. When...
Separation Anxiety: The Great Imitator, Part 2 By Meredith Stepita, DVM, DACVB One of the first natural remedies most people try when their dog is destructive to the house is confining the dog to a crate. Unfortunately, most of my patients with separation anxiety DO NOT improve when placed in a crate....
Separation Anxiety: The Great Imitator, Part 1 By Meredith Stepita, DVM, DACVB Clients often tell me that their dog has separation anxiety. When I ask them what exactly their dog is doing, the answer varies widely. This is because there are many different causes of behaviors that mimic the signs consistent with...
Why It’s Hard Being Tiny and Cute by Jennifer Summerfield, DVM Today, I want to talk about little dogs. I was at a client’s home a few weeks ago, doing a behavior consultation for their adorable two-year-old Maltese mix. “Chloe” had a tendency to get over-aroused and begin barking,...
Worried about using food luring during training? by Kelly Ballantyne, DVM, DACVB The science is pretty clear at this point that using positive reinforcement (i.e. giving an animal something s/he likes to increase the chance they’ll repeat a behavior) is the most effective and humane means of training. In...
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