Christine Calder DVM Board-Certified Veterinary Behaviorist

07/16/2025

Cats can learn to associate even scary inhalers with something positive. This is true cooperative care!

Cats with asthma or other respiratory conditions may need to use inhaled medications administered with a spacer and mask. Most cats do not tolerate things placed over their faces, so training them through cooperative care to voluntarily place their nose and mouth into an inhaler mask will reduce their stress. Find out how in this month's Behavior Byte, available now on the blog!

07/14/2025

Management such as avoidance really is the best place to start and yes, it is often free. :)

07/02/2025

Oh wow, a CattleDog Publishing - The Legacy of Dr. Sophia Yin throwback alert! 📸🐔

Fun fact: Back in 2014, I attended Chicken Camp and had the incredible opportunity to meet and learn from the legendary Bob Bailey! It was such an unforgettable experience. I agree with Sophia! It wasn't easy but I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything!

06/26/2025

Yes! Haulin’ Aus, Inc.!! 🐾📚 I am truly honored to help keep Dr. Sophia Yin’s legacy alive, and I know you are too! Her dedication to education, compassion, and science-based training continues to guide and inspire everything we do.

More good things are coming very soon. Education shapes the future, and together we are helping move it forward. 🩺🐶

Unlock a new world for cats and dogs with "The Low Stress Handling®: A Practical Guide to Cooperative Care, Training, and Behavior Modification". This stunning, 180-page spiral-bound book is your go-to resource for transforming animal care experiences. Packed with easy-to-follow, positive reinforcement techniques, this will guide you to ease fear and frustration, build trust and help animals flourish. Ready to make a difference?
https://hubs.ly/Q03pH44m0

06/15/2025

🧠 Clear Language Supports Better Animal Care 🧠

Catchy phrases can be helpful, but they do not always offer enough clarity.

“Force free” sounds appealing, and the intention behind it is often well-meaning and sincere. It is generally understood to mean avoiding physical force and aversive tools. But what does that actually look like in practice?

This is why, in the evidence-based scientific world of clinical veterinary behavior, we rely on well-defined terms such as:

✔ Operant conditioning
✔ Classical conditioning
✔ Positive reinforcement
✔ Desensitization
✔ Counter-conditioning

Interpretations of “force free” can vary. For example:
• Does it include leash pressure?
• Does it exclude withholding food?
• What about slip leads?
• Are head halters considered acceptable?
• Can crate training be included?
• Is a verbal interruption considered aversive?
• Is gently guiding a dog into position with a leash or hand acceptable?
• Is ignoring an unwanted behavior part of it?

Using precise terminology helps us:

✅ Stay objective and avoid assumptions
✅ Understand the true motivation behind behavior
✅ Develop individualized, humane, and effective treatment plans
✅ Set realistic expectations for caregivers and better outcomes for animals

Kindness and clarity are not opposites. They work together. When we speak in well-defined, science-based language, we strengthen communication, collaboration, and care.

06/07/2025

The team at Haulin' Aus takes a science-based approach to behavior and treatment. If you are working with them, you might be asked to fill out questionnaires. These are more than routine paperwork—they are part of a collaborative process grounded in data.

By gathering and analyzing behavior data, the team can tailor treatment plans to each pet’s unique needs and gain a clearer understanding of what is effective and what is not. It is a careful, evidence-based way to support better outcomes for pets and their people.

Get started with us today and find out more what we can do to help you and your pet! 🐕🐈🐎

06/04/2025

The Haulin’ Aus, Inc. team gets to do some pretty cool work, and they work with a wide range of species too. Always something interesting happening with this team!

05/20/2025

Oh no... Sylvie has gone missing! :( If anyone sees her please contact the number in the post.

UPDATE: Sylvie returned to home safe and unharmed. Many thanks to all who helped us!

- SYLVIE - Lost on 2025-05-20 - LOCATION: Near intersection of Rte 69 & Kennebec Rd, Hampden, Penobscot County, ME, US, 04444. ME 04444 - DESCRIPTION: Female, Labrador Retriever, Brown

** Do you have information about this Dog? Please contact the owner directly. Time is of the essence and they might not see your comment here!

For more info or to contact the owner:
https://petfbi.org/api/view/718163/132d97c2

Let's get Sylvie home!

ID:718163

Lost or found a pet? Report it to Pet FBI here: https://PetFBI.org

05/17/2025

Thank you Steve Dale!!

05/13/2025

🐾 Want to help dogs and cats feel more at ease at the vet—right from the start?
Discover stories like Monkey's First Veterinary Visits in Low Stress Handling®: A Practical Guide to Cooperative Care, Training, and Behavior Modification 🐶🐱

Learn how Dr. Shannon Emmons and the team at Eliot Veterinary Hospital helped Monkey build confidence and comfort with his veterinary visits—starting with prevention visits that set the tone for a lifetime of positive experiences. 💙

📘 Start reading today and make a difference from the very first appointment: https://cattledogpublishing.com/product/low-stress-handling-a-practical-guide-to-cooperative-care-training-and-behavior-modification/

04/30/2025

🚨 It’s HERE!! 🚨
Haulin’ Aus, Inc. and I are beyond excited to introduce CattleDog Publishing - The Legacy of Dr. Sophia Yin’s latest release:
Low Stress Handling®: The Practical Guide to Low Stress Handling® and More!

This Practical Guide builds on the Second Edition of Dr. Sophia Yin’s Low Stress Handling® and Behavior Modification of Dogs and Cats. If that edition gave you the "why," this one delivers the "HOW." 💥

💡 Inside this practical, powerful guide:
✅ Positive Reinforcement Techniques
✅ How to structure and run Puppy & Kitten Kindergarten classes
✅ Prevention & Intervention Visits—what they are and how to do them
✅ What Cooperative Care truly is—and how to teach it
✅ 22 hands-on training recipes: from nose targeting ➡️ injection training ➡️ muzzle conditioning ➡️ restraint and more!

📘 Spiral-bound to lie flat, designed to go where you go, and built to handle daily use—this is your new go-to field manual.

Whether you're a vet, tech, trainer, shelter worker, caregiver, or behavior enthusiast—this small but mighty guide belongs in your hands. 🐶🐱💪

03/30/2025

🐶💬 “Why would a dog have metal in their stomach or worn-down teeth?”

Someone asked me this great question this week—and it led to an important conversation I wanted to share.

When we see worn or broken teeth on oral exams, it’s not always “just” a dental issue—it can be a behavioral clue.

🔗 A great article on this: https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/diagnosing-dental-self-trauma/
👉 Diagnosing Dental Self-Trauma – Veterinary Practice News

Dogs may chew excessively due to:
🔹 Separation-related behaviors like confinement anxiety
🔹 Poor frustration tolerance that causes them to redirect on window sills, door jambs, or even leashes when walked

In shelters especially, dogs often redirect their frustration by chewing on metal kennel doors and/or leashes.

💡 Some may try using industrial chew-proof crates or metal leashes and collars. While these might prevent escape or damage to gear, they don’t address the underlying emotional need—and often lead to more harm, especially to teeth.

✅ Instead, let’s build frustration tolerance and support the dog with:

🐾 Pattern Games
🎯 Targeting
🧩 Enrichment such as puzzle and problem-solving toys
🪢 Two soft, or a longer, appropriate leashes
🧸 A toy they can carry in their mouth
🏡 Out-of-crate time when home alone
🛏️ Safe haven training
🧘 Relaxation exercises
💊 And if needed, medication

Let’s focus on the root of the behavior, not just management tools.
Behavior gives us clues—we just have to listen. 🧩