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  • Learn About The Genetics of Canine Aggression with Dr. Jessica Hekman

    • Wednesday, May 20, 2015
    • 7:00 PM (CDT)
    • Monday, May 20, 2019
    • 8:00 PM (CDT)
    • Recorded Webinar
    • 18 registrants
    Register

    presented by Dr. Jessica Hekman

    CEUs: IAABC 1, CPDT 1, KPA 1, PPAB 1

    Why haven't we found a genetic test yet that will predict aggression in dogs? In this presentation Dr. Jessica will  summarize then current approaches that have been taken to answering this problem and explain the pitfalls that researchers have encountered. Dr.  Jessica will  describe some specific findings in dogs and humans and put them in context to explain their relevance to our understanding of canine aggression in the real world. The webinar will also discuss the  future directions of research in this area and give some hope for future results.

    Webinar Objectives

    • List some approaches to finding a genetic test for aggression
    • Explain why finding a genetic test for aggression is difficult and unlikely to happen soon
    • Describe some specific mechanisms for the interaction of genetics and environment to influence aggression in dogs

    About The Presenter
    Jessica is a veterinarian currently pursuing a PhD in genetics. After eleven years working as a computer programmer, she decided to go back to school to research the causes of behavior problems in dogs. She received her veterinary degree from the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts, where she also received a Master's degree for her work on stress behaviors in hospitalized dogs. After graduation, she completed a year-long internship specializing in shelter medicine at the University of Florida Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program. She is now enrolled in a PhD program in genetics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her lab studies a group of foxes (often known as the "Siberian silver foxes") which have been bred over many generations to be friendly to humans. Her ultimate goal is to find genetic causes of fearfulness in dogs, to work with behaviorally challenged shelter dogs, and to help people better understand the science behind dog behavior.

    Jessica is a New Englander at heart, but currently lives in Urbana, Illinois with her husband and two dogs (an elderly golden retriever and a fearful collie-retriever mix). You can learn more about her at www.dogzombie.com.
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  • Learn About The Biology of Socialization with Dr. Jessica Hekman

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2015
    • 8:00 PM (EDT)
    • Monday, October 28, 2019
    • 9:00 PM (EDT)
    • Recorded Webinar
    • 12 registrants
    Register

    presented by Dr. Jessica Hekman

    CEUs: PPAB 1, IAABC 1, CPDT 1, KPA 1 

    We've known for years how important it is to socialize puppies (and, in fact, animals of all mammalian species) at a young age in order to prevent behavior problems such as fearfulness and aggression from cropping up later. In this webinar, we will learn about how the canine socialization period was discovered, and we'll review the current state of knowledge about its timing. In the meat of the talk, we'll discuss some recent research findings about exactly what is going on in the brain which is different in puppies in their socialization window compared to older dogs outside the socialization window. We'll talk about differences in the puppy stress response and where those differences originate; we'll also talk about studies that have used a critical period of eye development to learn about neural wiring differences in the socialization period, and what implications those have for puppies. Finally, we will discuss appropriate ways of balancing a puppy's need for socialization with the dangers of exposing a puppy to other dogs before its immune system is mature.


    Webinar Objectives

    • Describe the timing of the canine socialization window and the methods used to discover it
    • Describe two mechanisms which are known to function differently in the mammalian brain during the socialization period
    • Suggest approaches to satisfying a puppy's need for socialization with the dangers of exposing a puppy to other dogs prior to the end of its puppy vaccine series


    About The Presenter
    Jessica Perry Hekman, DVM, MS is fascinated by dog brains. She is a PhD student at the University of Illinois, training in a genomics lab which studies a population of tame foxes. Her interests include the stress response in mammals, canine behavior, shelter medicine, and animal welfare. You may learn more about Jessica at www.dogzombie.com.
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