Center for Canine Behavior Studies, Inc (501) (3) (c)
DogStudies.org
Vivian Zottola, MSc, CBCC | 617.721.8025
In 2017 I joined the Center for Canine Behavior Studies, Inc. (CCBS) as a volunteer research associate. I was over the moon so happy to learn from Dr. Dodman a world renown veterinary behaviorist. He had recently retired from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine where he taught for over 30 years and decided to dedicate his last years to animal welfare. He and Chris Janelli co founded CCBS as a nonprofit public 501(c)(3) organization "to seek canine behavior solutions that reduce surrender and euthanasia". Their mission is close to mine and my life's work. Like Dr. Dodman I seek to improve dog welfare. I have dedicated the past two decades to learning and educating the dog owning public so to improve their understanding and relationships with dogs which I'm hopeful leads to reducing the risk of surrender.
The team is small consisting of a 6 core members, and a board of directors. It is comprised of dedicated professionals with exceptional backgrounds including statisticians, veterinary, behavior and dog training, rescue and shelter. We have recently assembled a rock star team including Victoria Stillwell and child psychology experts to help us with a new educational initiative creating age appropriate multimedia teaching materials to help prevent dog bites to the most at risk ages - children. The initiative is called Be BiteSmart and we are presently seeking funding to actualize proof of concept. See our press release and more about the initiative here.
My role at CCBS changes depending on projects and includes
Working with Dr. Dodman and the team has been a special experience and while I cannot say its been easy breezy all of the time, it has certainly further expanded my academic knowledge about dog behavior. Having one foot in academia and one foot in the trenches keeps me grounded to the reality of how much dogs enhance our lives and how we enhance theirs. Since inception we have produced five studies and I have co authored four. I continue to Click on this link here to visit CCBS website and learn more
CCBS Peer Reviewed Published Studies:
Published in Animals, 2021;
An Investigation into the Impact of Pre Adolescent Training on Canine Behavior. Often, particularly with rescue, puppies don’t reach their final destination until they are close to six months given the process of rescue, foster, and transport. Further, some breeders prefer to place puppies closer to twelve weeks than eight. Are dogs who find their homes after those twelve weeks – and thus start training later at greater risk for less successful long-term results? Click the highlight link to read the simplified version of the paper (The Puppy Training Study) where you’ll also find links to the original paper in published journal
Published in Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 2021;
An Investigation into Treatments for Canine Aggression . So often, those of us who adopt dogs are unaware of the history of our new companion. As such, some dogs may display challenging behaviors because of negative prior experiences, and as dog owners, sometimes we feel at a loss to correct such issues. One particularly disturbing trait is that of aggression – and often, if not managed properly, leads to dogs being returned to shelters, and ultimately euthanasia. In a 2021 study conducted we asked the question of how owners address canine aggression, and the outcomes of these choices was investigated. Click on the link to read a simplified version of the study
Published in Animals, 2022;
Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption. Many adopters of dogs, either from shelters or breeders, set out with certain selection criteria in mind. The question is, how do these preferences affect ultimate satisfaction with their new acquisition? Are people satisfied with their new pet and does it match up to their requirements or preferences? Click the link above to read the simplified version of the paper
Published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 2022;
An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Various Professionals and Behavior Modification Programs, With or Without Medication, for the Treatment of Canine Fears,” This paper seeks to provide guidance to dog owners dealing with fear and anxiety-based conditions exhibited by their dogs. Unlike most prior studies in this field which tend to be very specifically targeted toward the veterinary community, this study was designed to help dog owners determine which course of action might provide the most positive outcome for their respective canine. Additionally, the article provides a reasonable expectation of improvement that one might see. Click the highlighted link to read the simplified version (The Fear & Anxiety Study) of the paper where you’ll also find links to the published journal
The team is small consisting of a 6 core members, and a board of directors. It is comprised of dedicated professionals with exceptional backgrounds including statisticians, veterinary, behavior and dog training, rescue and shelter. We have recently assembled a rock star team including Victoria Stillwell and child psychology experts to help us with a new educational initiative creating age appropriate multimedia teaching materials to help prevent dog bites to the most at risk ages - children. The initiative is called Be BiteSmart and we are presently seeking funding to actualize proof of concept. See our press release and more about the initiative here.
My role at CCBS changes depending on projects and includes
- dog study conceptualization, research and writing submitted for peer review,
- as a subject matter expert on canine behavior,
- providing dog dog, dog people engagement and training videos
- analyzing and interpreting video recordings of dog behaviors.
- contributing monthly to the CCBS newsletter with over 20,000 subscribers.
Working with Dr. Dodman and the team has been a special experience and while I cannot say its been easy breezy all of the time, it has certainly further expanded my academic knowledge about dog behavior. Having one foot in academia and one foot in the trenches keeps me grounded to the reality of how much dogs enhance our lives and how we enhance theirs. Since inception we have produced five studies and I have co authored four. I continue to Click on this link here to visit CCBS website and learn more
CCBS Peer Reviewed Published Studies:
Published in Animals, 2021;
An Investigation into the Impact of Pre Adolescent Training on Canine Behavior. Often, particularly with rescue, puppies don’t reach their final destination until they are close to six months given the process of rescue, foster, and transport. Further, some breeders prefer to place puppies closer to twelve weeks than eight. Are dogs who find their homes after those twelve weeks – and thus start training later at greater risk for less successful long-term results? Click the highlight link to read the simplified version of the paper (The Puppy Training Study) where you’ll also find links to the original paper in published journal
Published in Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 2021;
An Investigation into Treatments for Canine Aggression . So often, those of us who adopt dogs are unaware of the history of our new companion. As such, some dogs may display challenging behaviors because of negative prior experiences, and as dog owners, sometimes we feel at a loss to correct such issues. One particularly disturbing trait is that of aggression – and often, if not managed properly, leads to dogs being returned to shelters, and ultimately euthanasia. In a 2021 study conducted we asked the question of how owners address canine aggression, and the outcomes of these choices was investigated. Click on the link to read a simplified version of the study
Published in Animals, 2022;
Selection Factors Influencing Eventual Owner Satisfaction about Pet Dog Adoption. Many adopters of dogs, either from shelters or breeders, set out with certain selection criteria in mind. The question is, how do these preferences affect ultimate satisfaction with their new acquisition? Are people satisfied with their new pet and does it match up to their requirements or preferences? Click the link above to read the simplified version of the paper
Published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 2022;
An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Various Professionals and Behavior Modification Programs, With or Without Medication, for the Treatment of Canine Fears,” This paper seeks to provide guidance to dog owners dealing with fear and anxiety-based conditions exhibited by their dogs. Unlike most prior studies in this field which tend to be very specifically targeted toward the veterinary community, this study was designed to help dog owners determine which course of action might provide the most positive outcome for their respective canine. Additionally, the article provides a reasonable expectation of improvement that one might see. Click the highlighted link to read the simplified version (The Fear & Anxiety Study) of the paper where you’ll also find links to the published journal
Treatments on Canine Aggression"
Available for free until June 28th
Webinar: Aggression in dogs and effectiveness of behavior modification training
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In this virtual event held on May 17, 2021, world-renowned Veterinary Behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Chief Statistician Ian DinWoodie and Canine Behavior Specialist and Anthrozoologist Vivian Zottola, share their findings from a recent study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, "An investigation into the effectiveness of various professionals and behavior modification programs, with or without medication, for the treatment of canine aggression". The CCBS (DogStudies.org) team discuss the impacts of our research and what it means to trainers, veterinarians, and dog owners.
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