Author Archives: Ilana Reisner
Infant bitten in “unprovoked attack” by family dog: What can we learn?
In the news today is the report that a baby girl in Indiana was the victim of an unprovoked attack by the family dog. It’s not unusual to hear this declaration from victims of bites, parents, animal control officers and … Continue reading
Infant Swings and Dog Bite Risk: National Dog Bite Prevention Week, Post #1
“Newborn killed after dog attack at home” is the headline that came across my desktop today. As always, I read the media reports with care to understand what the circumstances were and to deduce, if possible, what risks those circumstances … Continue reading
Behavioral Kindness to Dogs: 5 Tips
Be patient and count to ten. In spite of the training you’ve done, and contrary to the expectations you might have, your dog is only human. If she picks up your shoe and plays “keep away” (by the way, a … Continue reading
Infant killed by the family dog; What can we learn?
Sadly, there is no lack of news stories about dogs that have killed infants. I try to sift through the media blasts to find any information about the reasons – behavioral, medical, environmental — for each tragic story. In most … Continue reading
Is a behavior club enough for veterinary students?
In today’s news summaries was an article titled “Colorado State’s vet program strives to improve lives through valuable programs,” published in the Rocky Mountain Collegian. It’s impressive that the CSU Veterinary Behavior Club is sponsoring a free symposium for pet owners … Continue reading
A Collection of Tuesday’s Pearls of Dog and Cat Behavior
Each Tuesday, a behavior-related “pearl” is posted on our Facebook page. Here is a collection of the pearls posted since August, 2011, when the page was launched. I will continue to post them here as well on each Tuesday, and … Continue reading
Should young children have their own service dogs?
The story of a 3-year-old girl born with a debilitating lung disease, neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy or NEHI, is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Although this brave, adorable little girl and her parents have to cope with so difficult a situation, … Continue reading
Omitting “NO” From Your Vocabulary
On New Year’s Eve I posted a list of ten resolutions for dog owners and said I’d be elaborating on some of these in future blogs. One of the resolutions was to omit the word “no” from our vocabularies as … Continue reading
Shelter sued after adopted dog bites
A recently adopted dog, breed unknown (and unimportant), bit the nephew of the new owner, and the nephew is now suing the Yonkers, New York, shelter where the dog was obtained. There is some risk assumed when a dog or … Continue reading
What defines animal abuse?
The Colorado legislature has rejected a bill that would require a public registry of convicted animal abusers, similar to sex-offender registries. Such a registry already exists in Suffolk County, NY and makes it possible for the public to view convicted offenders. … Continue reading
