low-stress-book-and-dvd Low Stress Handling® Restraint and Behavior Modification of Dogs & Cats Every day, pets are brought to our hospitals in this state of confusion and fear and we expect them to remain calm and cooperate for procedures. We poke them and prod them and carelessly flop them into various positions when they have no clue what we want. Then, in the name of speed, we react to the struggling pet by imposing some type of “death grip” hold instead of taking a step back and evaluating whether a more thoughtful approach might work better. What’s the

National Dog Bite Prevention Week, May 15 to May 21, 2011, is coming to a close today. I hope you’ve enjoyed the articles and downloads. Here is a listing of the resources we’ve provided this week both on this website as well as on the Huffington Post Blog and Victoria Stilwell’s Positively.com.  We will add a few more related prevention articles in the upcoming two weeks too. So stay tuned! Thirty-second animated Dog Bite Prevention PSA for adults and teens shows the precursors to bites and the result of ignoring them.  Please share this PSA. If we have enough views on youtube we will be

Download these illustrations in our “How to Greet a Dog” poster here. The consensus among animal behavior professionals is that the major cause of dog bites to humans is related to the failure of owners and dog bite victims to recognize when dogs are fearful and know how to approach and greet dogs appropriately. But what exactly is the correct approach and why do so many people fail to do it? One issue is that we humans have an instant gut reaction to the cuteness of some dogs. It’s the same reaction we had as a child when we saw a

May 15–21st is National Dog Bite Prevention Week so it’s a perfect week for a reminder. Over 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year and about 800,000 of those bites are severe enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. Based on my experience as a veterinarian focused on behavior, I feel safe in saying that the majority of people who are bitten think that the bite comes out of the blue or that the dog is just mean or unpredictable. The truth is that the majority of bites are actually due to fear and they occur because

The take home message here is that if you neuter your dog, don’t worry, he can still have sex – if he wants. Most likely he won’t want to. With the lower testosterone levels he won’t have a red hot libido.

Back in 2004 when I first developed the Treat & Train for the Sharper Image (now the MannersMinder sold by Premier Pet), my official  designated use for the product was to solve unruly behavior that dogs exhibit when guests come to the house. But at the time, I had so many thoughts on how I wanted to use this device. Just imagine what you could do if you could finally reward your dog away from you, right as they were performing the desired behavior, and you could set the exact treat rate? And you could basically follow portions of the