Jim Ha, PhD, CAAB I recently gave a presentation on applied animal behavior to a wonderful animal advocacy group on the Micronesian island of Guam. I was on the island on behalf of my wife’s (Dr. Renee Ha, UW Psychology/Animal Behavior) research on the endangered Mariana Crow, and I offered to meet with the local… [Read More]
Whales, Dogs, Poop and Conservation Biology
The Center for Conservation Biology, a non-profit nested in the University of Washington, is not only doing wildlife forensics, but they also train dogs to track poop (or “scat”) from endangered species.
What a Blockhead! Head Shape and Trainability in Dogs
Jim Ha, PhD, CAAB An interesting paper appeared in a recent issue of Behavioural Processes (2009, vol. 82, pp. 355). The author, William Helton from New Zealand, examined results from three published studies in which breed and head shape were reported, to answer the question of whether morphology (head shape, in this case) reflected intelligence… [Read More]
Confrontational Behavior Modification Techniques and the Risk to Owners
James Ha, PhD, CAAB I have expressed my concern about confrontational behavior modification techniques in earlier blogs: the use of “positive punishment” or dominance and pack theory-based techniques, especially in the hands of untrained users, has been shown to be ineffective and to produce negative side effects. Hiby and colleagues demonstrated that positive reinforcement techniques… [Read More]
Modern Animal Behavior: A Lot Has Changed in the Last Few Decades
Jim Ha, PhD, CAAB The modern science of animal behavior, which we call ‘ethology’, has come a long way in the past few decades, from a largely observational, descriptive science to a modern, quantitative science based on solid foundations of evolutionary biology and quantitative methodology. One of the most common situations in which I realize… [Read More]