Innovations in Veterinary Education Applied Animal Behavior and Obedience Training Course: A Model for Veterinary Curricula

Animal behavior problems often have detrimental effects on the relationships between pets and their owners and are one of the most frequently given reasons for canine relinquishment. The stressful environment of animal shelters can exacerbate behavior problems; yet most shelters do not have the staff necessary to address this issue adequately. Veterinary students may provide an untapped resource for solving this dilemma. As a service component of the curriculum, veterinary schools can join with local humane societies to expose students to behavioral issues and concurrently build relationships within the community and per-haps even offer shelter animals a better chance of successful adoption. The following paper describes a “hands-on ” undergrad-uate animal behavior and obedience training psychology course, created as a model to address these needs. BACKGROUND Behavioral problems are one of the most frequently given reasons for canine relinquishment.1, 2, 3 Animal behavior problems often have detrimental effects on the relationships between pets and their owners,4 and consequently, function as important determinants in relinquishment decisions.5 The stressful environment in animal shelters can exacerbat