Advanced Dog Behavior Solutions with Michele Wan, PhD, CAAB

20/03/2023

In order to focus my time and energy better, I will be taking an extended break from social media. I am still offering dog training and behavior consultations in Fairfield County, CT. You can message me via this page, but the best way to reach me is through my website at dogbehavioranswers.com.

19/02/2023

Flooding won't lead to a dog 'realising everything is fine' and losing their fear. When a dog emotionally shuts down, they give up trying to get away and remain still waiting for it to be over, despite the fear still being there. Even worse, that stillness may be mistakenly identified as 'good' and calm behaviour, when the reality couldn't be any further from the truth.

13/11/2022

A great reminder that it's common for dogs to be selective about their dog friends. Graphic by Lili Chin and EverydogAustin.org.

21/10/2022

Halloween Safety Campaign:
https://doggonesafe.com/Halloween-Safety

18/09/2022

Is your dog an early riser? Some practical tips here by Eileenanddogs on how to train your dog to sleep in: https://eileenanddogs.com/blog/2022/07/29/how-i-taught-my-puppy-to-sleep-later-in-the-morning/

When my teenage puppy Lewis first came, he was ready to get up at 5 or 6 in the morning. Here's how I changed that without punishing, fussing, or ignoring.

28/08/2022

In case you missed it, recordings of the talks and panel on prevention and management of stress in animals from the 2022 Animal Behavior Society Public Day are now available. Watch anytime at: https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/2022/program-public-day.php

The ABS annual conference will once again include the traditional Public Day event. Please view the recording from the panel below. The 2022 Public Day was held on Saturday, July 30, 2022, in an online format. This event was free and open to all. No registration required. The Public Day will include...

28/07/2022

Come to the ABS 2022 Public Day this Saturday, July 30, 2022! Learn all about preventing and managing stress in animals during this free online event. No registration required. Recorded talks and live panel at 4 PM EDT will be available here: http://bit.ly/ABS2022PublicDay

06/07/2022

Free virtual event on Saturday, July 30th: "Stressing Out: Preventing and Managing Stress in Animals" https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/2022/program-public-day.php

03/07/2022

If you're working on a improving a dog behavior problem, you should probably consider implementing management measures. This article by Zazie Todd of Companion Animal Psychology explains what management is and how to use it in combination with training and behavior modification exercises.

Staying Safe: Management for Fearful Dogs By Zazie Todd PhD Click Here for original post What is management in dog training? Management means making changes to the environment that help to solve behaviour issues. Sometimes management is the solution in itself, such as when you put a lid on the trash...

04/06/2022

Excellent training plans here for jumpy, mouthy shelter dogs: https://www.thepetrescueresource.com/training-jumpy-mouthy-shelter-dogs

In many cases management of jumpy/mouthy behavior is enough to allow safe movement and handling of shelter dogs. For example, many dogs who exhibit jumpy/mouthy behavior in a shelter setting do not in a foster home. However, training decreases the need for constant management & can make the dog mor

21/05/2022

Check out this free online course from the University of Edinburgh: The Truth About Cats & Dogs. I particularly like that dog body language is covered! https://www.coursera.org/learn/cats-and-dogs

Offered by The University of Edinburgh. What is your cat revealing to you when she purrs? What is your dog expressing when he yawns or wags ... Enroll for free.

30/04/2022

A recent study published in Science by Morrill et al. suggests that breed is an unreliable predictor of the behavior of individual dogs. Katherine Wu at The Atlantic explains: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/04/dog-breed-personality-characteristics/629707/

Breed doesn’t have that big an effect on a dog’s personality.

10/04/2022

A review of studies on dog bite prevention strategies found that leash laws and other restrictions applied to all dogs were effective in reducing dog bite rates. https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2022/04/06/injuryprev-2021-044477

Background The prevention of dog bites is an increasingly important public health topic, as the incidence of serious injury continues to rise. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to prevent dog bites and aggression. Methods Online databases were searched (PubMed, Cochrane Libra...

21/03/2022

A study published in Scientific Reports in 2020 found that more than 70% of pet dogs exhibit at least one form of canine anxiety, according to owner reports. Companion Animal Psychology explains here: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2020/03/most-pet-dogs-are-fearful-or-anxious.html

A Finnish study finds that 72.5% of pet dogs show at least one form of canine anxiety..

27/02/2022

A recent study finds several behavioral changes in surviving dogs after the death of a dog from the same household. Provide support for the surviving dog by continuing to offer opportunities for enrichment, exercise, and social interactions.

Behavioral and emotional changes exhibited by dogs after the death of another dog in the same household could be indicative of grief, according to a survey of 426 Italian dog-owners published in Scientific Reports.

13/02/2022

Zazie Todd from Companion Animal Psychology explains some common dog training mistakes.

The common mistakes many people make when training their dog.

31/01/2022

Wondering what your dog is trying to tell you? Check out this site to learn more about dog body language: http://www.ispeakdog.org/

iSpeakDog aims to strengthen the bond between dogs and their people by teaching how to read dogs' body language to understand their emotional states and why dogs do what they do.

16/01/2022

Monitor your dog's body language when they're interacting with other dogs and people. Interrupt interactions if your dog is showing signs of stress/fear, such as those depicted on the right side of this image. Drawings by Lili Chin.

18/12/2021

Some helpful suggestions here by Companion Animal Psychology for dog owners who think their dogs are stubborn or spiteful

Pets aren't little people, so if you're going to apply labels like that, ask yourself these questions first to help resolve their behaviour issues.

27/11/2021

Is your dog afraid of visitors? Excellent advice here from Dr. Jen Summerfield. Remember to toss treats from a distance, instead of luring the dog to you outside his comfort zone. https://avsab.org/scaredy-dogs-and-strangers-part-1/

Scaredy Dogs and Strangers – Part 1 By Dr. Jen Summerfield Click for original post Today, I want to talk about dogs who are afraid of visitors. This is one of the more common behavior issues that I’m called to help out with – but fortunately, it’s also a relatively easy one to address, in a ...

13/11/2021

A new study finds that dog owners underestimate the fear and stress experienced by their dogs in response to common household items like vacuum cleaners and smoke detectors. https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/common-household-noises-may-be-stressing-your-dog

UC Davis researchers have found that common household noises may be making dogs anxious. Owners may be underestimating their dog's stress.

30/10/2021

On night, Do you have a plan to help your pup/s be successful ? Now is a good time to practice! Think about trick-or-treaters, ringing doorbell’s, lots of candy, costumes etc.

👻 Are you going to be passing out candy? What might that look like? Where will your dog be? What can you do to set them up for success? Perhaps block the windows or put the shades down to decrease your dog from seeing all the action passing by. Thinking it through and planning ahead for such a big fun night is important for everybody to be successful and safe.

👻 Bonus tip: At our house we started setting up all the lights and decorations at the front of the yard, so we greet people at the front of our yard rather than having people come to our door. This helps to minimize the amount of opening of the door, ringing of the doorbell and potential escapes.

If you can’t do this, you can put your dog in a safe room/space, turn on a fan to create some extra noise, a white noise machine, close the blinds etc. 😊

17/10/2021

Study finds improvement with daily fluoxetine administered to dogs exhibiting behavioral symptoms of hypersensitivity-hyperactivity syndrome, "an ADHD-like syndrome": https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787821000435

Hyperactivity in dogs is discussed as being increasingly linked with human Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The French veterinary psychiatry …

03/10/2021

This free online workshop may be of interest to animal behavior professionals and researchers. Learn to measure and identify animal facial expressions: https://www.animalcomputing.com/facsworkshop

Facial expressions are widespread in the mammalian order, but have only recently started to be studied systematically in non-human animals. The Facial Action Coding System (FACS), which has been developed for different animal species, is an objective tool to identify and code facial movements. When....

12/09/2021

A great reminder to be kind to yourself if you have a dog with behavioral issues and to be kind to others with such dogs, as well: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/decoding-your-pet/202109/why-do-we-blame-ourselves-our-pets-behavior

Pets develop problems for many reasons that may have little to do with us.

14/08/2021

A big thank you to Elliot Smilowitz of Washington Post for interviewing me for this fun article about dog owners pretending to be their dogs and talking in their dogs' voices: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/interactive/2021/voices-dog-human-connection/

Many dog owners fill loaded silences with what they think — what they know — their dog is saying. And that's how some households get dogs with not only voices, but also elaborate plotlines and three-dimensional backstories.

08/08/2021

In case you missed it, here are the recordings from "Building Relationships with our Animals," an event hosted by applied animal behaviorists from Animal Behavior Society for the conference : https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/2021/program-public.php

The ABS Applied Animal Behavior group will once again host the traditional Public Day event at the ABS Virtual Congress. This event is free and open to all. No registration required. All presentations are pre-recorded and available here below. Animal Behavior Society Public Day 2021 - Building Relat...

24/07/2021

Just adopted a dog? Check out these helpful training tips from Companion Animal Psychology. https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2021/04/how-to-prioritize-training-for-new.html

So you brought home a new shelter dog. Here are some tips for welcoming and training your new rescue dog.

27/06/2021

It's that time of year, folks! Check out this detailed guide by Karolina Westlund about what to do if your dog is afraid of fireworks or thunderstorms.

30+ proven techniques to deal with noise phobia

13/06/2021

Looking to get a dog? Consider adoption first, but if you have your heart set on buying a puppy, look out for these red flags: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/fellow-creatures/202006/why-its-buyer-beware-when-it-comes-puppies

Don’t buy a puppy on impulse and look out for warning signs of a puppy mill.