In spring of 2011, the headlines in western Finland blared; “Man bludgeoned with hammer by four thugs and left in the forest to die”. Against all odds the victim was found by a woodsman and miraculously made it to the hospital where he was stabilized. It wasn’t a random incident; the man knew his attackers and the police were quickly able to take the four into custody. The police then coaxed the location of the weapon out of the suspects and found the hammer where the suspects said it would be—in a river, which would be walled

How do you handle examining a snake? Unlike a dog or a cat, snakes can be problematic to hold in place. Dr. Yin introduces her colleague, Dr. Brown, who shows how to work with the snake to keep it calm and safe. Working with Pearl, our 1-year–old Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, Dr. Brown covers body condition and looking inside the mouth to check the teeth and the quality of the mouth and gum tissue, among other things. If you’ve ever wanted to know how you give a snake a shot, or where to find the lungs or the vent, then this

Floyd, a 3-year-old bearded dragon, needs a health checkup. But how can we give him one in a way that minimizes stress and keeps him safe? Dr. Yin introduces her colleague, Dr. Susan A. Brown, noted exotic animal medical specialist. Dr. Brown demonstrates safe handling with Floyd the Bearded Dragon, covering basic, Low Stress Handling examination techniques. She covers nutritional needs, light requirements, pupil reactions, skin – a whole range of basic health checks that work for many lizards. This 17-minute tutorial is a great beginning look at the care and handling of lizards for animal enthusiasts of all levels.

This method of enrichment was very successful based on how readily the penguins interacted with the devices to acquire the food inside the floating devices. The birds went after the balls eagerly. They were so interested in the hamster balls, in some cases, the birds would spend hours manipulating the balls to get fish from them. This was particularly exciting because this extent of foraging for food is more reflective of wild penguin swimming behavior.

An interview with Amber Taylor, RVT. Broad Ripple Animal Clinic & Wellness Center has staff members that are trained animal behaviorists to offer comprehensive behavior services. They’ve decided to do this for the same reasons that CattleDog Publishing and DrSophiaYin.com were born: seeing so many animals put to sleep because of behavioral problems rather than disease or injury. They created a school for dogs called Bark Tutor, where they work with owners and their pets to help them be successful. Last year, Dr. Yin had the pleasure of conversing with Amber Taylor, RVT and practice manager, about their puppy program. 

NEW DVD! Desensitization and Counterconditioning: Teaching Dogs to Willingly Accept Medical Procedures Dr. Sophia Yin’s passion was helping people understand animal behavior in an effort to bring people and their pets closer. She envisioned her Low Stress Handling techniques becoming the standard of care for anyone who works with animals. Her commitment to helping people communicate with their pets in a positive and scientifically sound way led her to create a suite of Low Stress Handling labs focused on the critical skills required to improve animal training and the experiences they have in medical procedures. This most recent release is the