Thanks to those to of you who have commented on this issue. It is such an important one, and I value the conversation we are having. For what it's worth, here's what I think: First off, I think that the most important factors related to who is qualified to treat a behavioral problem is their KNOWLEDGE and ABILITY, not their degrees or credentials. I am not dismissing the value of credentials, believe me, I busted my tail for my Ph.D. and I am very proud of it. I have tremendous respect for others with advanced credentials, and describe some of the vets that I work with as walking on water. I also add CAAB after my name with pride, just as I have tremendous respect for DVMs who are Board Certified in Behavior. But that said, who do you want helping you rehab a rescue dog who growls at Read More
Are Behavioral Problems Medical Problems?
I'm not going to answer this question yet, because I want to know what you think. This is an issue because the veterinary practice acts in some states have been re-written to say that only veterinarians can treat "mental conditions" in animals. The argument of some veterinarians is that 'mental conditions' include any and all behavioral problems, that behavioral problems are thus medical problems and anyone treating them who is not a vet is breaking the law. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. After you join in, I'll add my opinion to the mix. Meanwhile, back at the farm: The humidity broke for a few days, and how glorious it was. Regrettably most of the time I was stuck in a skanky-smelling hotel, but Friday evening was glorious. Saturday morning I reveled in picking Read More
Secondary Emotions in Animals
I'm working on an article for The APDT Chronicle on what are called "secondary emotions" in non-human animals. I have an article in the latest issue (May/June 2009) about "primary emotions" like fear and anger, and am following up with a smaller one about emotions like jealousy, guilt and empathy. I guess it's obvious from my last big book, For the Love of a Dog, that I'm fascinated by the topic of emotions in other animals, and equally fascinated by our perception of them. Almost by definition, primary emotions are accepted as occurring in a wide variety of species; and yet, I've had numerous people disagree with the concept that animals can experience some of them, with the most concern about attributing anger to non-humans. (As I've written earlier, anger is an extremely primitive, Read More
Send Podcast Questions!
We are soon going to tape the pilot of a potential podcast and would love some questions from dedicated readers. Each podcast will have an interview with an author or professional of interest (we have Temple Grandin and Karen Pryor lined up first, how fun is that?) and the answers to two to four questions about behavior or training, and that's where you come in. We'd love to get some real questions from you... we could make them up (that is VERY common by the way on lots of shows) but would much rather get them from you. So here's your chance... send in a question you'd like us to consider for the podcast. The good news is that we might use it on the show and you'll get your question answered. The bad news is that you'll send in a question and never hear a thing in response. That will Read More
Angst for R. Alexandra
Please don't run Rachel Alexandra in the Belmont. If you don't follow horse racing, that request if meaningless. If you do, you know that the Belmont is the third race in the Triple Crown, the be-all and-end of American Thoroughbred horse racing. You also know that "fillies" rarely win horse races (could we call her a mare, please?) and that Rachel's win yesterday in the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown was historic. What you may or may not know is the depth of controversies that currently runs rampant (pun intended) in the world of horse racing about the welfare of the horses involved. My knowledge of the arguments for and against horse racing have recently been enriched by the term papers written in the class I teach at UW- Madison. Each student has to write two papers about the biological Read More
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