We’ve heard you and we’re doing something about it! CattleDog Publishing is dedicated to ensuring that your needs as a Continuing Education learner are met and, hopefully, exceeded. Many of you have complained about technical difficulties with progressing through the Low Stress Handling Silver Certification course as it is currently offered through the ProProfs hosting platform. We here at CattleDog Publishing have also noted several technical and logistical deficiencies with the ProProfs hosting platform and have been diligently seeking out a new platform to host the Low Stress Handling Silver Certification course. Good News!! We Found One!! We are currently working

Before dogs became pets, they were wild and lived by preying on animals big and small. Dogs would gather together to chase down an older, younger, or injured animal, grabbing the jugular vein or abdomen, resulting in a kill. So despite domestication, dogs still have an instinctive desire to chase, grab, bite and kill things that look like prey.

Every year hundreds of veterinarians, veterinary technicians, animal behaviorists, and others search for new and better ways to treat and train animals both in the veterinary practice and in the home. A few years ago pioneering animal behaviorist and veterinarian, Dr. Sophia Yin, developed a system for recognizing brewing fear and aggression, while reducing this through specific handling techniques that decrease stress by improving patient comfort and safety. The program: the Low Stress Handling™ Silver Certification. As of October 2016 the program has certified hundreds of individuals, clinics, hospitals, and other agencies. In trying to gauge the success of the Low Stress Handling™ Silver Certification program,

Even before I learned less stressful handling techniques and created a more animal friendly clinic environment, I was always aware of what my technician needed to do to hold an animal, what equipment to gather for a procedure, and I tried not to interfere with them delivering care. The Low Stress Handling™ Certification program solidified this knowledge of communicating with the technician about what tests, exams, or procedures I needed to do before jumping into it. A plan for handling based on reducing stress and pain was determined by both of us, with either the technician or myself leading the process.

I can assure you that we here at CattleDog Publishing are following Dr. Yin’s mission and wishes for taking her legacy forward into the future of animal behavior training.

Have you ever had a patient you wanted to “flip the lip” for a dental exam, but the patient was anxious about mouth handling? Raising the upper lip, also known as “Flip the lip” can be difficult for pets’ who are wary of handling around the head. These situations are challenging, and pose a bite risk to handlers and veterinarians. I try to think of ways to get an exam done while reducing stress and aggression. In one of her lectures, Dr. Sophia Yin demonstrated using pretzel sticks to give rewards to dogs that grabbed at food. If they bit