Laura Donaldson Dr. Laura Donaldson is a retired Ivy League professor (Emeritus, Cornell University) who has also been a dog trainer and canine behavior specialist for over 15 years. She holds a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary humanities (her favorite course to teach was called “Gone to the Dogs: The Canine in Literature and Culture”) and has done graduate work in applied animal behavior. She is a certified dog behavior consultant through the IAABC; a Karen Pryor certified training partner; and a certified Control Unleashed instructor. Laura owns Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting LLC, located in the Fingerlakes region of Ithaca, New York. In her currently full-time behavior consulting practice, she focuses almost exclusively on dogs struggling with dog-dog and dog-human directed aggression issues. She teaches both in-person and online Control Unleashed classes. She is also a published writer on dog behavior and is very proud that her essay, The Cognitive Revolution and Everyday Dog Training: The Case of Look at That, won the 2018 Maxwell Medallion Award for best magazine article on dog training and behavior. This article, along with several others, is part of a forthcoming book titled Slow Thinking is Lifesaving for Dogs™: New Approaches for Canine Aggression. Laura’s aim in this book is to bring the emergent research on canine cognition to the everyday practices of dog training and particularly, of canine aggressive behavior. Both the book and her session at Geek Week explore more productive and effective ways to address canine aggression (and other behavior issues).
Laura lives with her husband and three dogs, and her background includes working Border Collies and a flock of Navajo Churro sheep.
Tamsin Durston Tamsin “Tam” Durston is a clinical animal behaviorist (mAPBC/ABTC), an accredited dog training instructor (mAPDT), and a registered veterinary nurse. Currently studying for a master’s in psychology (human behavior), Tam has a special interest in establishing empathetic communication as a foundation for trusting, enriching relationships – whether handler-dog, the owner-dog-animal welfare professional triad, or within teams of people working collaboratively. Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, and Tam manages their veterinary engagement team. The team design human behavior change interventions aimed at influencing positive welfare outcomes for dogs through embedding an understanding of canine behavior within veterinary settings.
