Greta Kaplan, CPDT-KA, CDBC In high school, I played on the varsity squash team. Squash is not widely played in the United States, so many readers won’t be familiar with it. It bears some resemblance to handball, though it is several centuries older, and the court has foul zones, so accuracy is required. Players on… [Read More]
Dogs Biting Children
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT-KA This is Dog Bite Prevention week so I thought this would be a good time to discuss the latest research and resources for understanding why dogs bite and preventing dog bites. If we can prevent dog bites to children, we ought to be able to prevent dog bites to adults, or… [Read More]
Don’t Touch Me There!
Louisa Beal, DVM Mario, a West Highland White Terrier had snapped at a two year old girl. If Mario couldn’t be trusted around children, his owners would have to get rid of him. The knee jerk response to this would be to try to modify the behavior of the dog. Mario’s behavior is definitely unacceptable. … [Read More]
What Do I Do Now? Conflict Behavior in Cats and Dogs
Jim Ha, PhD, CAAB Some time ago, I wrote an article titled Pass It On, Redirected Aggression in Cats and Dogs. In that article, I wrote: “Redirection of a behavior is one of three forms of conflict behavior seen in animals, and humans. The other two forms of conflict behavior are “approach-withdraw” and “displacement behavior,”… [Read More]
What Is a Reactive Rover?
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT One of the most common calls we get at Companion Animal Solutions is from an owner whose dog barks, growls, and lunges at other dogs when on leash. Often, the owner is baffled because their dog loves playing with other dogs at the dog park or dog daycare. There are several… [Read More]