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

It’s the start of a New Year and the start of some new changes here at CattleDog Publishing. We lost Dr. Yin in 2014 and a core group of her dedicated employees stayed on to manage the company. Our goal was to keep the company running after her death and ensure that projects she wanted to complete were done, as well as secure her irreplaceable legacy of Low Stress Handling™ training and her unique Learn to Earn™ program. Thanks to you and all of Dr. Yin’s supportive colleagues, we were successful in this venture. Now, it’s time for a new

Many advantages and negligible risk to feeding treats in the veterinary clinic. Veterinarians and vet technicians are often impressed when they see the effects of successful counterconditioning on fearful animals: growling dogs stop snapping, and scared animals become more manageable. But as a consultant, the skeptical comment I keep hearing is: “… unfortunately we can’t feed treats because if we need to sedate animals at any time during the examination, feeding might increase the risk of Aspiration Pneumonia…” This is a valid concern, of course. Aspiration Pneumonia (AP) is a very serious disease. But how does the risk of AP

By now, you’ve probably heard all about the Low Stress Handling™ Certification Program. You know it’s got these videos you can watch that are… maybe all lectures or something? There might be books involved, but you know it exists. So, what is it, exactly? For Pet Guardians: This logo signifies that the people you are dealing with have spent a lot of time learning Dr. Yin’s methods for reducing stress in animals. They know how to hold a leash, how to offer treats and countercondition animals to having medical treatment, and the perfect way to do a medical wrap. What

During the course of my undergraduate degree in Animal Science, I quickly realized that working in a vet hospital setting wasn’t going to be my thing – but research was so cool! I discovered that I could study animal behaviour from an applied research perspective instead of becoming a veterinarian. This was in great part due to an incredible mentor, veterinarian, and applied animal behaviourist, Dr Sophia Yin. Not only did Dr Yin let me assist in her research projects and private consultations, she also encouraged me to take on as many outside learning opportunities as I could fit in:

     The gallus gallus domesticus is the Latin name for an animal we all think we know well: the humble chicken. But even an animal humans have been raising and breeding for thousands of years can have some surprising health needs you should know how to check on. From checking the abdomen for being egg–bound, to checking feet, wings, eyes, nose and mouth for health issues, exotic animal specialist, Dr. Susan A. Brown leads Dr. Yin through this examination with CattleDog Publishing’s own stunt chickens, BonBon & Coconut. This is a great resource for the growing population of backyard