Dog Archives - IAABC Journal

Through Thick and Thin: Caring For and Training Companion Dogs with Disabilities

by Nee Kang, Jeffrey Lee & Nan Arthur

The relationship between companion dogs and their humans can be a deep and mutually supportive one.

Glucocorticoids, Stress, and Behavior Consulting

Kayla Fratt and Jackie Maffucci

As behavior consultants, we often focus on classical conditioning and the four quadrants of operant learning, but there’s so much more to consider.

Facilitating client compliance using the strategy of comparisons of dog to child behavior.

by Joan M. Engel

Enlisting compliance and follow-up contact from veterinary behavior clients for behavior modification, with or without medical treatment, has often been tricky.

Caring for Dogs with Advanced Dementia

Melissa McMath Hatfield & Sara Bartlett

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is similar to Alzheimer’s disease in humans; it is a “progressive age-related neurodegenerative condition that affects cognitive function”. The disease, both in dogs and in humans, affects many parts of the way an individual thinks, remembers, and feels. It is marked by memory loss, a decreased ability to learn, problems regulating emotions and interacting socially, problems with sleeping and waking, confusion and disorientation that can lead to wandering and circling, heightened anxiety, bladder and bowel control issues, and a decrease in overall activity levels (Fast et al., 2013; Madari et. al., 2015; Schütt et al., 2015).

Spotlight on Research: Dr. Tammie King

Dr. Tammie King works at the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition in the U.K., the fundamental science centre for Mars Petcare that is engaged in a variety of behavior-related projects, in addition to conducting research on pet health and nutrition. Tammie has published on a variety of companion-animal behavior topics that behavior consultants will find interesting. For example, she developed a measure of canine personality that focused on amicability as the key to a successful human–companion dog relationship, and wrote about the traits of an ideal companion dog in Australia.