All in all it was a magical hour and a half. I highly recommend that everyone who visits Chicago visit the Shedd Aquarium. It will give you a new appreciation for the husbandry training that can and should be done in all zoos.

          Narnia Laura Monaco Torello’s ridgeback puppy is having a great time during the handling lab. This weekend featured another successful workshop and low stress handling lab in Chicago at Narnia Pet, a fantastic positive-reinforcement based dog-training facility. While I have held most of these labs for veterinarians and their staff, most of the attendees at this lab were dog trainers, groomers, doggie daycare providers, as well as some veterinary hospital staff. With 9 little dogs and 8 large dogs participating, each team of three to four humans got plenty of practice while keeping the dogs

Presidential Pup’s Trainer Has the Right Idea Back in the Spring of 2009, I remember clearly the drama preceding the announcement of what lucky dog would be appointed to join the Obama family in the White House.  As a dog-loving resident of the DC area, I too was caught up in the excitement swirling around the kind of dog they would get—puppy, adult, purebred, mixed breed, or rescue pup.  But as the president of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, I was much more interested in the kind of training the Obamas would seek for the newest member of their

As of 9/16/10, the Veterinary Public Health & Rabies Control Program has detected 15 rabid bats in Los Angeles County this year, with eight found in the Santa Clarita Valley. In most years, only about ten rabid bats are detected for the entire year. The only other year with a higher number of rabid bats detected was 2007 when 24 rabid bats were identified. This year, most of the rabid bats were found in and around homes, and in two cases, dogs were found playing with the live bat. The pets were  revaccinated against rabies and quarantine at home for

These dogs are displaying appropriate, well-mannered greeting behavior.    You’ve owned dogs for ages, you have pets galore.   You know all the stories, they’re now just a bore.   But have you heard the one about Dennis? Dennis, the Dog Park Menace?    Rumor has it he’s at every park. He comes in many disguises making him easy to miss.     Here’s how he might appear.     The dogs are playing, each a brown or black blur   When off in the distance appears a mass of white fur.  The ball of white bounces, looming larger and clear  Then Splat! A squashed Scottie dog yelps out