The Academy Blog
Dig In: Summer Reading for Dog Lovers
We love books. And we love dogs. This summer has been...well, if not the summer of our discontent, certainly arduous and fraught. But being at home this much has given some of us the time and space to crack open a book, sit back in the patio chair and read,...
Sound Sensitivities and Unexpected Parameters: A Case Study from Academy Grad Kathryn Boccia
Graig and Ashley, an Army Corp engineer and a special education teacher, are in their mid-30s with two young sons, ages five and two. They live on a 27-acre lot in rural western New York. In February of 2009 Graig rescued two Malinois / Husky puppies living in a...
Staying The Course With A Nervous Nellie
by Toni Clarke, CTC “She’s afraid of the hall again,” my young client said, her voice tense. “And she’s also flinching when she hears the elevator. She’s regressing more and more!” “She” was Nellie, a 5-month-old Rottweiler mix who had been rescued from an abandoned...
The Difference Husbandry Training Can Make to Vet Visits
Many people delay vet visits because their dog won’t like it – but training your dog can help. By Zazie Todd, PhD I’ve never forgotten the time we took my late dog Bodger to the vet for a paw injury. We had recently adopted him, aged 2 and a half, and to say he had...
Taking a Seat at the Table: Co-operative Veterinary Care, Professional Practices, and Dog Training
by Kristi Benson Recently, I started using the term care team with those clients who have dogs fearful enough to be referred to a veterinarian or veterinary behaviourist. These dogs often need an integrated approach: the veterinarian takes medical history from the...
Skeletons (Quite Literally) in my Closet: Dog Training, Anthropology, and the Zeitgeist of “I’m Sorry”
by Kristi Benson Ah, those were the days! I remember the first few years of my university degree in anthropology (and my chosen sub-discipline, archaeology) back in the early holocene—I was purple-haired and fresh-faced, and felt like I was on the cutting edge of all...