Our New Research on Puppy Temperament

This time around, I would like to hand over the writing to a guest blogger, a former student of mine, Lauren Robinson. Lauren has gone on to graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh, but we have continued to pursue a project that she began back here at the University of Washington. As she will… Read More

“Predatory Drift,” Revisited

I received an email the other day from a reader of my blog entry “Modern Animal Behavior: A Lot Has Changed in the Last Few Decades.” He said, “I am a volunteer assisting in the training of staff as animal handlers at a dog day-care facility. I am having a difficult time addressing the predatory… Read More

Using Shelter Dogs in Therapy Situations: Not a Good Idea

It is well known that dogs, and other companion animals, can provide a great deal of solace to humans in need of calming, constancy, and contact. The scientific evidence for the physical and mental calming effects of appropriately behaved dogs is now overwhelming, and includes both physical and psychological effects across short and long time… Read More

Fishing in the Florida Keys, Part 2

So back to fishing the Keys: aquatic applied animal behavior in action! In the Keys for a fishing-immersion, 50th birthday trip, I described the offshore trip in my last blog. But what I was really looking forward to was the flats-fishing: two mornings, out before sunrise (ouch!), and in position on a 2-3 foot deep… Read More

Fishing in the Florida Keys: Aquatic Applied Animal Behavior, Part 1

I just got back from a three week vacation in the Florida Keys. Even on vacation, I am involved in animal behavior. I grew up in the Keys and left there when I was about 14 years old, returned several times in the ‘70’s while I was in college on the East Coast, but in… Read More