IAABC 2011 Conference Speaker: Jaqueline Munera

Eric Goebelbecker on January 05, 2011

The IAABC Conference speaker interviews continue with Jacqueline Munera, a certified IAABC member who will be participating in an exciting multi-species panel at the conference. Have you picked up your tickets yet? The early bird special ends soon!

IAABC: Who are you?

Jacqueline Munera, CCBC

IAABC: How did you get started in animal behavior?

I began pretty much as soon as I exited the womb! As a child, I 'rescued' every sort of creature from salamanders to horses. Not that I can remember exactly why a salamander required rescuing! My official foray into training and behavior consulting started when my husband and I adopted our first dog as official ‘adults’ with our own household. The pup had some pretty scary behavior and I had no idea what to do to help him. Every resource I found involved choke chains, prong or shock collars, or some other form of punishment or aversive interaction with the dog. This made no sense to me because, although I didn’t know what to do, I did know that the dog was fearful of everything. How in the world would these techniques help my dog feel more relaxed, secure and know that he could trust me?

I was finally referred to a great facility called Courteous Canine, where I learned how to work WITH my dog instead of dominate him into becoming a robot. I was so excited and begged the owner to take me on as an intern.

IAABC: What do you enjoy the most about your work?

I absolutely love pushing the boundaries of what people think cats are capable of!

IAABC: What do you enjoy the least about your work?

Knowing that I can't save all of the cats in the shelters.

IAABC: What do you do when you are not working in animal behavior?

Please explain this concept of 'not working'.

IAABC: What do you think is the most important thing people need to know about their companion animals?

Companion animals have many qualities similar to humans but they also have needs that are unique to each species. If these needs are not met, problems will occur!

Simple example: cats are predators! Obvious, but seems like we sometimes forget what that means for the cats in our homes.

IAABC: What do you think is the most important thing we should teach our companion animals?

I think the most important thing is that they can trust us and that listening to our silly human requests is a worthwhile proposition.

IAABC: What is your favorite aspect of animal behavior conferences?

It is so revitalizing to be around an entire group of animal fanatics, experts presenting new ideas and learning, learning, learning!

IAABC: What was the last conference you attended?

Midwest Veterinary Conference

IAABC: What kind of presentation do you prefer (live animals present, power point, whatever?)

I like all of them, it just depends on what format is most appropriate for the presentation.

IAABC: Tell us about your animals at home

How many pages are we allowed? Ok, short version involves 2 dogs, 4 cats, a husband, teenage son and a brother-in-law. All of which, except for the teenage son, are rescues.

IAABC: What would you most like to convey to behavior consultants and trainers?

Keep an open mind and be courteous of others, even if you disagree with their style.

IAABC: What would you most like to see in our work together?

I would like to see an even more supportive community in order to make more positive changes in the lives of companion animals.

IAABC: What's the strangest consultation you've ever had (or the most challenging?)

Only one? One of the most challenging and most rewarding of my consultations was a case with a diabetic feral cat. The vet understandably recommended euthanizing the cat because it was virtually impossible to regularly test the glucose levels and highly stressful to give insulin injections. The client contacted me as a 'last ditch' effort to save the cat. I taught her how to use clicker training to teach the cat to come on cue, sit on her lap and calmly receive the daily insulin injections. It was so wonderful to help save a cat’s life when many people would have given up on her.