Dr. Myrna Milani

In addition to her behavior and bond practice, Dr. Myrna Milani writes and presents seminars on the practical implications of the interaction of animal health, behavior and the human-animal bond. She also writes a bimonthly column for the Canadian Veterinary Journal and serves on the editorial board of the Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative.

Articles by Dr. Myrna Milani

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Human-companion animal behavioral rituals

  Human-companion animal behavioral rituals follow a similar pattern every time the animal displays them…

  Thursday, December 03, 2020

• Ethology and veterinary practice: The HIREC effect and companion animal behavior

  Despite its lack of notoriety like some animal behavioral concepts, human-induced rapid evolutionary…

  Wednesday, October 07, 2020

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Client perceptions of animal behavioral problems

  When veterinarians begin integrating the treatment of behavioral problems into their practices, it may…

  Friday, August 07, 2020

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Human beliefs about animal medical vs. behavioral problems

  Ethology, by definition, is the study of animal behavior in the animal's natural environment. For the…

  Wednesday, March 11, 2020

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Ethology- vs. problem-based behavioral histories

  Despite the growing concern about the limitations of the problem-oriented approach and the restrictive…

  Tuesday, January 14, 2020

• Zugunruhe and companion animal behavior

  Prior to migration, animals that migrate experience multiple physiological and behavioral changes. Ethologists…

  Thursday, November 14, 2019

• The companion animal behavior implications of R- and K-species orientations

  Can wild animal ethology concepts like R and K species help us understand better companion animal behavior?…

  Friday, September 13, 2019

• Ethology and veterinary practice: When bonds that worked no longer do

  One of the basic tenets in ethology reminds us that we can say nothing about what an animal’s behavior…

  Wednesday, July 03, 2019

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Seasonal companion animal behaviors

  With the arrival of spring, the number of calls regarding animals displaying problem behaviors often…

  Wednesday, May 01, 2019

• Ethology and veterinary practice: The behavior-territory-history connection

  It's difficult to analyze any perceived problem behavior without recognizing the role the animal's territory…

  Thursday, March 28, 2019

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Shadowy feline behaviors, continued

  Last month's brief considered two normal behaviors that create problems for some people. It began with…

  Thursday, February 07, 2019

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Shadowy feline behaviors

  My first encounter with an animal displaying shadows of normal behavior occurred early in my veterinary…

  Wednesday, January 16, 2019

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Behavior and bond challenges in multi-dog households

  Last month’s article considered the inverse relationship between the amount of energy an animal expends…

  Thursday, December 06, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Behaviorism vs. companion animal ethology

  One of the most challenging aspects of my work is surmounting the communication challenges created when…

  Tuesday, November 06, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: The (pseudo-)protective dog

  Say the words "protective dog" to most companion animal veterinary practitioners, and most will know…

  Wednesday, October 03, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Multipurpose puppy behavioral packaging

  When animal lovers even think about puppies, most can feel themselves getting softer. For some that may…

  Tuesday, September 11, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Those confounding variables!

  If you read a lot of animal behavioral studies, you quickly discover that researchers and veterinary…

  Wednesday, August 08, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Ethology of feline play

  The play that occurs in cats with behavioral problems may differ from that which occurs in dogs. However,…

  Tuesday, July 03, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Ethology of canine play

  Unless they think about it, most people feel convinced that they recognize animal play when they see…

  Tuesday, June 05, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Rock hounds

  If you practice veterinary medicine long enough, chances are you’ll encounter at least one rock-eating…

  Thursday, May 03, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Nocturnal behavior

  ​Just as clients may think medical problems occur out of the blue, some may perceive behavioral ones…

  Monday, April 09, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: The worst of times for transport ethology

  ​​Last month's brief began a discussion of the ethological challenges practitioners may see thanks…

  Thursday, March 08, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: The best of times for transport ethology

  For veterinary practitioners with an interest in companion animal behavior, these are the best of times…

  Monday, February 05, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: How much space does a cat need?

  ​Many people new to sharing their homes with dogs or cats will turn to their new pet's veterinarian…

  Tuesday, January 09, 2018

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Specialists and generalists

  ​Ethologists who study wild animal behavior use the terms generalist and specialist to describe two…

  Friday, December 01, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Comprehensive behavioral analysis

  ​In his latest book, "​Behave: The Biology of Humans at our Best and Worst," neuroendocrinologist…

  Monday, November 06, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Companion animal behavior-related vocabulary

  ​In Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass," Alice and Humpty Dumpty become involved in an unproductive…

  Monday, October 16, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Emotional contagion

  The quality and intensity of the human-animal bond plays a much more significant role in the analysis…

  Monday, September 11, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Animal communication evolving

  ​​Last month's article considered some general features of animal communication. This month's piece…

  Monday, July 31, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Key features of animal communication

  Although the behavioral repertoires members of each animal species use to communicate with their conspecifics…

  Thursday, July 06, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Animal behavior and human perception

  In previous articles, I've mentioned that we can say nothing about what an animal's behavior means unless…

  Tuesday, June 06, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Feline maternal-human mismatches

  ​​Last month's brief opened with a scenario common to many practitioners: the client who rescues…

  Friday, May 05, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: More than mother’s milk

  This is the time of year when veterinarians, shelter workers and animal control folks often get more…

  Thursday, April 06, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Transport behavior-related trends

  ​Thoughts about the status of contemporary dog behavior elicits thoughts of Janus, the mythological…

  Thursday, March 02, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Telltale signs of human fear

  ​Think about normal and problem companion animal behavior. Of all the biological variables that contribute…

  Monday, January 30, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Human emotions and animal behavior

  Changes in animal behavior often trigger human awareness of existing or impending animal medical problems.…

  Thursday, January 05, 2017

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Implications of Russian fox studies

  ​Much of what we know about the physiological and behavioral effects of domestication comes from the…

  Friday, December 02, 2016

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Behavioral variations on an anatomical theme

  ​As I learned more about the interaction of animal behavior, health and the bond, my disenchantment…

  Monday, October 31, 2016

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Canine and feline sexual politics

  ​Even though practitioners readily acknowledge that gonads aren't the only source of male and female…

  Thursday, September 29, 2016

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Tricky treat dilemmas

  A fairly common event in my behavioral practice involves clients who handle their animals' timid or fear-based…

  Tuesday, August 30, 2016

• Ethology and veterinary practice: Effect of person

  Why could putting a "Watch!" or "Aggressive!" label on a patient file backfire if the file included no…

  Wednesday, July 27, 2016

• Nonverbal animal communication: The fear fight response

  ​The fear-fight response appears last in the discussion of fear responses, even though the possibility…

  Tuesday, June 28, 2016

• Nonverbal animal communication: The fear flight response

  Whereas fear freeze responses seek to limit physical activity as much as possible, the goal of the flight…

  Tuesday, June 07, 2016

• Nonverbal animal communication: The fear freeze response

  Fear plays such a crucial survival function in all animals — including humans — that the physiological…

  Monday, May 09, 2016

• Nonverbal animal communication: The homecoming

  Imagine yourself interacting with an adorable but apprehensive puppy brought in for a first examination.…

  Tuesday, April 05, 2016

• Companion chemistry: When the ‘rescue’ bond has a negative charge

  Practitioners routinely sprinkle their client communication with words that carry a particular emotional…

  Monday, March 21, 2016

• When veterinary science ‘bytes’ bite back

  Most veterinarians recognize that science is an ongoing, often dull and repetitive process during which…

  Tuesday, March 08, 2016