Clinical Animal Behavior Conference

26/09/2025

We are so grateful to our sponsors for making the 2025 Clinical Animal Behavior Conference possible! 🐾✨

Thanks to their generous support, we’ll be gathering October 17–19, 2025 at Anti-Cruelty in Chicago to share knowledge, connect with colleagues, and advance the field of clinical animal behavior.

💙 To our sponsors: thank you for investing in education, collaboration, and the future of animal behavior care. We couldn’t do it without you!

25/09/2025

🌟 Meet Our International Speaker: Jessica (RVT, VTS-Behaviour, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP) 🌟

Jessica is a Registered Veterinary Technologist, co-owner of Companion Veterinary Clinic—a Fear Free Certified Practice in Edmonton, Alberta—and a leading advocate for the physical and emotional well-being of animals.

She is a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behaviour, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, and a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner. Recognized for her leadership and compassion, Jessica was named the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association’s Veterinary Technologist of the Year in 2020.

At our event, Jessica will bring her expertise and passion for cooperative care and prevention-focused training through engaging sessions (not limited to):

🐾 Starting Off on the Right Paw: Behavioral Prevention for Canine Patients
Learn how to support puppy patients and their families from the very first veterinary visit. Jessica will share strategies for setting puppies up for lifelong success, identifying high-risk cases early, and preventing common behavior concerns.

🐾 Getting Consent at the Vet: How to Transfer Cooperative Care Training
Discover how to successfully bring pets’ cooperative care skills from home into the clinic setting. This session covers tools, communication strategies, and case studies that help ensure positive outcomes for patients, clients, and veterinary teams.

Jessica is passionate about helping pets feel empowered and supported, and about teaching veterinary teams and pet guardians how to connect with animals using positive, science-based training methods.

👉 There's still time to register for the Clinical Animal Behavior Conference, October 17-19 in Chicago Anti-Cruelty in-person or on-line at https://avsab.org/annual-cabc-conference/

24/09/2025

🌟 Meet Our Speaker: Kiki Yablon, MA, KPA CTP, CPDT-KA 🌟

Kiki is a highly respected trainer, educator, and faculty member with the Karen Pryor Academy, holding a master’s degree in applied behavioral science from the University of Kansas. She has presented at leading conferences including APDT, IAABC Foundation, and ClickerExpo, and collaborates closely with veterinary behaviorists and behavior science leaders like Dr. Susan Friedman, where she currently TAs in the Living and Learning with Animals course.

At our event, Kiki will share her expertise through two engaging sessions:

🔎 More Than “Management”
Explore the power of antecedents—the “other end of the ABC”—to better understand why animals behave as they do, and how to design effective, humane interventions that go beyond simple management.

🎯 Upping Your Shaping Game
Revisit the classic “shaping game” with fresh insight into how thoughtful use of antecedents can improve training, teaching clarity, and success for both humans and animals.

Kiki’s presentations are designed to inspire trainers, veterinarians, and pet professionals to think deeper, train smarter, and create lasting change.

👉 There's still time to register for the Clinical Animal Behavior Conference, October 17th-19th at Anti-Cruelty in Chicago! In-person or online registrations are available at https://avsab.org/annual-cabc-conference/

23/09/2025

🌟 Meet Our Speaker: Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior) 🌟

With over 20 years of experience in veterinary medicine, Monique brings unmatched expertise in animal behavior, client communication, and team training. She’s passionate about helping veterinary professionals and pet guardians build stronger, more cooperative relationships with animals—while also making veterinary practices more effective and sustainable.

At our event, Monique will share her insights through dynamic sessions, including (but not limited to!):

🐾 Timing Matters: Practical Use of Food (and More) for Cooperative Care
Learn how to use food, toys, and tactile rewards to reduce stress, support cooperative care, and make husbandry and veterinary procedures smoother for both pets and professionals.

💡 Bright Ideas: How to Lead Change in Veterinary Practices
Discover strategies for overcoming resistance, inspiring your team, and successfully implementing change—whether from the top down or the bottom up.

💰 It’s Not About the Bling… Cha-Ching! Or Is It?
Explore the business side of veterinary and animal-care services, and how financial stability and efficiency can go hand-in-hand with compassionate, high-quality care.

Monique’s sessions blend practical tools, communication skills, and compassion—equipping you to make meaningful change for animals, clients, and veterinary teams alike.

👉 There's still time to register for the Clinical Animal Behavior Conference, October 17th-19th at Anti-Cruelty. In-person or online registrations available at https://avsab.org/annual-cabc-conference/

08/09/2025

SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT!

Mindy Waite, Ph.D., M.S., CAAB

Mindy is a clinical assistant professor in the Animal Behavior Program at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI and instructor at Virginia Tech in the Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare program, where she is also on several graduate student committees. She is a board-Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB). In addition to teaching and consulting as a legal expert witness, Mindy engages in research on companion canine behavior. Her early studies focused on the prevalence, function, and function-based interventions for mouthing behavior in dogs. Recent studies focused on developing and validating owner-implemented protocols which can be autonomously carried out by animal caretakers, including a food/treat preference assessment for dogs, as well as the development and validation of a protocol offering
asynchronous teaching to caretakers autonomously training their dogs to cooperatively engage in an ear cleaning procedure. Current studies focus on the efficacy of Calming Caps and window film for dog “reactivity”, with many ideas for future studies on animal behavior. Her research has received several awards, including the Marian Breland-Bailey Award and Fear Free Award, as well as competitive funding from Fear Free. She received her BS in Genetics
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD in Molecular Biology (mouse brain development) from the University of Michigan, and MS in Behavior Analysis from Marquette University.

At this year's conference, Mindy will be presenting on:
- Animal Behavioral Interventions: Validated Versus “Science-based” Procedures
- Applied Animal Behavior Analysis: Terminology, Contributions, and the Future

Visit us at https://avsab.org/annual-cabc-conference/ for more information on this year's conference and for registration details. We hope to see you there!

(If you have already registered, you can still sign up for the giveaway! If you win, we will reimburse you for the registration fees you paid!)

17/08/2025

AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM PRN PHARMACAL!

In partnership with the work that you do for the improved relationships between dogs and their owners, PRN® Pharmacal is pleased to offer complimentary registration for one lucky winner to attend the 2025 Clinical Animal Behavior Conference, held on October 17-19, 2025. Please follow the link below to be redirected to our conference page where you can access conference details and sign up for this exciting giveaway!

(If you have already registered, you can still sign up for the giveaway. If you win, we will reimburse you for the registration fee you paid.)

https://avsab.org/annual-cabc-conference/

11/08/2025

Hello CABC supporters!

Can you believe we are only 2 months away from our 2025 conference??? Us either! The CABC Committee and our 2025 Speakers are so excited to show you all what we have been working so hard on over the past year.

We wanted to take a moment to thank our amazing sponsors for this year's conference. Without our loyal sponsors, we would not be able to bring you this conference each year, so to them, we are forever grateful! If you recognize any of these sponsors, show them some love, if you don't recognize them, take a moment to look and see what they do for our amazing profession!

Still needing to register? Visit us at https://avsab.org/annual-cabc-conference/ for more conference details and to access our registration page.

23/07/2025

A special thanks to our amazing Speaker Chair, Debbie Sykes, for creating our beautiful 2025 Agenda!
Please find all other conference information (ie. location, sponsors, hotel block, etc.) at https://avsab.org/annual-cabc-conference
Early Bird Pricing only available until the end of July!

26/06/2025

Hello CABC Supporters!

We are so excited about our 2025 lineup and we cannot wait to see you all in-person and via live-streaming for another fun and educational, BEHAVIOR FILLED, weekend!

Now SHARE SHARE SHARE!!!

01/06/2025

Hello CABC Supporters!

Its official, Registration for our 2025 conference is now OPEN!!! Register now to take advantage of the early bird special! Please follow the link below to be redirected to our registration page.

15/05/2025

Hello CABC Supporters,

Happy Friday! Here is your May Sophia Yin fun fact:

She wrote the Small Animal Veterinary Nerdbook—a revolutionary handbook for veterinarians. It was the first of its kind.

The Small Animal Veterinary Nerdbook is a helpful resource to support veterinary students, veterinarians, and veterinary technicians throughout their careers. The Small Animal Veterinary Nerdbook is a resource full of essential information for those new to the practice of veterinary medicine, and a valuable reference guide for those who may need an occasional refresher.

13/05/2025

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT 📣

Registration will be opening this week! Stay tuned in for this announcement along with details on our early bird discounts!

2025 CABC Meeting

Theme: Expanding Your Behavior Toolkit

Save the Dates: October 17-19 at Anti-Cruelty Society, 157 W Grand Ave. in Chicago, IL.

Our Amazing 2025 Speakers:

Mindy Waite, Ph.D., M.S., CAAB

Kiki Yablon MA, KPA CTP, CPDT-KAKPA Faculty Owner and Trainer

M. Leanne Lilly DVM, DACVB

Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior)

Jessica Benoit RVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT, KPA-CTP

Our 2025 Topics:

Animal Behavioral Interventions: Validated Versus “Science-based” Procedures – Mindy Waite, Ph.D., M.S., CAAB

Applied Animal Behavior Analysis: Terminology, Contributions, and the Future – Mindy Waite, Ph.D., M.S., CAAB

More Than “Management” –Kiki Yablon MA, KPA CTP, CPDT-KAKPA Faculty Owner and Trainer

Upping Your Shaping Game (interactive) – Kiki Yablon MA, KPA CTP, CPDT-KAKPA Faculty
Owner and Trainer

Ins and outs of Feline Elimination Problems – M. Leanne Lilly DVM, DACVB

Beyond the Box- Non Elimination Behavior Problems – M. Leanne Lilly DVM, DACVB

Starting Off on the Right Paw: Behavioral Prevention for Canine Patients (lecture) - Jessica Benoit RVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT, KPA-CTP

Evidence Based Handling of Felines – M. Leanne Lilly DVM, DACVB

Two part series on just psychopharmacology for cats (Feline Psychopharmacology Meds for Now and Later) – M. Leanne Lilly DVM, DACVB

The Spectrum of Cooperative Veterinary Care – Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior) & Jessica Benoit RVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT, KPA-CTP

The Spectrum of Cooperative Veterinary Care (interactive) – Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior) & Jessica Benoit RVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT, KPA-CTP

Timing Matters: Practical Use of Food (and more) for Cooperative Care- Cooperative – Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior)

Bright Ideas: How to Lead Change in Veterinary Practices – Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior)

Getting Consent at the Vet: How to Transfer Cooperative Care Training – Jessica Benoit RVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT, KPA-CTP

Not About The Bling… Cha-Ching! Or is it? – Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior)