When it comes to dog training and animal behavior organizations, it’s easy to get lost in the acronyms. I know about the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) because I am a member — no, I’m not a dog trainer, but I sometimes play one on my blog —  and I know that CDPTs are Certified Pet Dog Trainers who may or may not belong to the APDT, but do more often than not.

I’ve also come across a lot of convincing position statements by the AVSAB (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior), a group of veterinarians and researchers who share an interest in exploring their nominal topic from a variety of perspectives; and am aware that the ACVB (American College of Veterinary Behaviorists) is the exclusive club of vets who have advanced degrees (Diplomates) in animal behavior.

Those are the good guys in my acronym pantheon, the ones who use positive training techniques and who base their practices on science.

Then there are the pain trainers.

I honestly don’t recall the name of the organization I associate with punishment techniques — and I wouldn’t send you to their site if I did — but I thought that there was an “I” in the acronym. I was therefore surprised to learn that Eric Goebelbecker, CPDT, who blogs about positive training at Dog Spelled Forward, was involved with the IAABC.

Turns out I was right about Eric, wrong about the acronym.

If you want to learn about this set of initials, which incorporates lots of the other letters I like, listen to Eric’s interview with the IAABC’s president, below. Then come to AnimalCafe.co Wednesday night at 9PM EST to participate in a live chat about the topic.

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8 thoughts on “The IAABC, Decoded”

  1. 9 pm is pretty late for me, that is 10 pm Atlantic, way past my bed time. But I will do my best to stay up and catch what I can. I have a feeling it is not to be missed!

    1. Blame me — well, actually Frankie — for the lateness. I have to feed him and give him his insulin shot between 5 and 6pm so I can’t get on chat until 6pm. And yes, blame Arizona, because we don’t go on Daylight Savings Time, so that means I’m in the Pacific Time Zone half the year, starting next week. Maybe in November, we can do it an hour earlier.

      I’ve got a lot of blame to spread around, don’t I? 😉

      Well, I hope you can stay awake. I think it’ll be very interesting.

    1. Thank you for saying that, Diane. This is the only feedback I got on the presentation, so I was beginning to think it was weird and offputting!

  2. I listened to the podcast and was interested to find out about a new (to me) organization.

    But I have to wonder what’s with all the acronyms. They can be very off-putting. Couldn’t all these organizations just come up with a friendly and approachable name for themselves? Like Ralph? Or Darla? I’m just saying.

    1. A woman after my own heart! I would join an organization named Darla. It sounds country-friendly.

  3. I don’t think it’s weird…I had the IAABC confused with the org. associated w/ pain training methods…the other one with an ‘I’ in the acronym which I won’t spell out cuz they don’t deserve any advertisement, just sayin’!

    1. Thank you! I genuinely don’t remember the pain trainers’ acronym, just know that there’s an I somewhere in there.

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