What do the experts recommend?

These position statements were developed through the cooperation of the members of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) and reflect the opinion of the association on a variety of topics including:

Puppy Socialization - Humane Dog Training - Dominance - Positive Vet Visits

If your dog is struggling with separation anxiety check out this website by Malena DeMartini-Price. She is renowned in the dog training world for her expertise in dog separation anxiety issues. She is the author of the books Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs, as well as Separation Anxiety in Dogs – Next-Generation Treatment Protocols and Practices.

There are online courses and virtual Certified Separation Anxiety Trainers available to help you.

To habituate your new puppy to novel sounds or for use with a sound desensitization program you can download or purchase the Sounds Good Audio - Puppy Habituation CD or you can download the Pup School App from the App Store or Google Play.

For specially designed, clinically tested music that eases anxiety you can purchase the Through a Dog’s Ear CD.

In recent years there has been a movement to improve the veterinary visit experience for pets by reducing fear, anxiety and stress. Dr. Sophia Yin introduced Low Stress Handling techniques and Dr. Marty Becker has developed an entire program to train and certify veterinarians as Fear Free professionals.

We use these techniques to design our center and inform our approach to canine veterinary care during our wellness visits.

Puppy Socialization is such a critical part of your dog’s development. By exposing your pup to a wide variety of positive experiences you are creating a learning history that can help to prevent problem behaviors down the line.

Check out this video to learn more about why proper socialization is the most important thing you need to teach your puppy.

Take a look at this checklist by Dr. Yin to make sure that you are offering your dog a wide range of experiences.

Clicker training is an animal training method developed by Karen Pryor that is based on behavioral psychology and relies on marking desirable behavior and rewarding it.

It is extremely effective for teaching new behaviors and is utilized around the globe in a variety of settings to train dogs, zoo animals, horses, aquatic animals and more.