Presentation Details
| Veterinary Clinic Referrals to Canine Trainers and Veterinary Behaviorists Steffanie V.Burk1, Bennett Grooms1, Maddy G.Gaber1, Elizabeth Feltes2. 1Otterbein University, Westerville, OH, USA.2The Behavior Clinic, Olmsted Falls, OH, USA |
Abstract
Veterinarians often advise clients regarding canine behavioral issues. A survey was emailed to 881 Ohio veterinary clinics, with 72 responses. Of responding clinics, 80.6% referred clients to dog trainers, and 57.5% referred to veterinary behaviorists. Of referring clinics, 25.0% referred solely to trainers who use aversive training methods, 37.5% referred to both trainers who use aversive training methods and those who use positive reinforcement, and 37.5% referred solely to trainers who use positive reinforcement. Food rewards (91.9%) and petting/verbal praise (95.2%) were more likely to be marked as “strongly favored” or “somewhat favored” by veterinary staff than chain collars (12.9%), prong collars (15.9%), or electronic collars (3.2%). A large proportion of respondents neither favored nor opposed chain collars (32.3%), prong collars (23.8%), or electronic collars (25.8%). Most respondents (62.9%) “strongly favored” or “somewhat favored” correcting undesirable behaviors. Additional education is needed to better align veterinary referrals with the position statement of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, which discourages the use of aversive training methods.
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