Articles: Decoding Your Dog

It’s the best Christmas gift ever; my advance copy of Decoding Your Cat, authored by members of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists just arrived. You can order your advance copy too! I suppose I do take credit for this all beginning. The concept for this collaborative book idea was hatched at the Western Veterinary…

Participating in the North American Veterinary Community Institute with boarded veterinary behaviorists Dr. Kersti Seksel (who turned me on to kitten socialization classes) and Dr. Karen Overall was the greatest learning experience I’ve ever had. And Dr. Overall is hand-down the best teacher I’ve ever had. Dr. Overall also participated in the book Decoding Your…

Thunderstorm anxiety is huge issue for many, and with all the rain we’re having I can’t imagine a more relevant interview. I speak on my national Steve Dale’s Pet World radio show with veterinary behaviorist and co-editor of Decoding Your Dog, Dr. Debbie Horwitz. Horwitz points out that if your dog is anxious about storms…

Just a couple of years ago, most people didn’t know veterinary behaviorists even exists as a specialty in veterinary medicine. Veterinary behaviorists are specialists just as veterinary cardiologists or veterinary oncologists are – but I argue they may save more lives, though there are fewer than 85 boarded behaviorists in the U.S. far less than…

On Steve Dale’s Pet World, I begin HERE by chatting about how I just returned from the taping of the National Dog Show presented by Purina, the Kennel Club of Philadelphia. I had the opportunity to chat on two different facebook live broadcasts and discuss #dogthanking. *National Dog Show announcers David Frei and John O’Hurley.…

I bet veterinary behaviorists save more pets than even the most talented surgeons. Kicking off the 12 pet books of Christmas is my own book, called Decoding Your Dog, which I co-edited with Dr. Debra Horwitz and Dr. John Ciribassi, and members of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists authored. Veterinary behaviorists tend to see…

I bet veterinary behaviorists save more pets than even the most talented surgeons. Veterinary behaviorists tend to see the worst of the worst cases, like dogs jumping out of windows when owners leave for the office, or cat owners living in smelly homes because a cat just can’t aim accurately into the litter box. By…

Our pets have emotions all kinds. That’s not news to pet owners. In fact, pet owners have known this for thousands of years. However, scientists, until recently, called it anthropomorphizing, or offered other explanations. One of the first scientists to peek inside brains to prove that animals do have basic feelings is Jaak Panksepp, who…

Pets are afraid of the veterinary clinic. When the cat carrier appears, the cat relocates to the next county, or dogs hit the brakes and begin to tremble when they realize where that car ride has taken them, pet owners aren’t as likely to come back. When pets are anxious, their people are too. The…

Cesar Millan goes by his gut, and his own experiences….that’s fine, except he’s also ‘teaching’ millions watching on TV. Over the years, some of those methods have clearly been inhumane, and his general approach is based on dominance theory – that if you don’t dominate your dog, your dog with dominate you. That’s rubbish!! Still,…