Dr. Lauren Vaughan
Hi there! I’ve been a dog and cat general practice veterinarian since graduating from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2019. My mission is to help pet parents meet all of their dogs’ and cats’ mental, physical, and emotional needs without sacrificing their own. I passionately believe in practicing evidence based medicine AND in the evidence based idea that influencing behavior is most successful and most humane when we use force free techniques.
It’s no surprise I love animals. But…I like people too! More specifically, I like teaching people. During the fast paced days in the clinic, I’m always wanting one organized collection of resources to send my clients. I don’t want them to feel stressed about remembering everything I say. And I want them to be empowered to explore on their own, feeling confident they’re consuming trusted information. This website is that resource. I hope you enjoy it!
Philosophy
I passionately believe that we can care for our pets and modify behavior without force or punishment. Punishment includes verbal corrections like “no,” spray bottles, prong/electronic collars, loud noises, leash corrections, choke chains, and more. If you feel like using one of these aversive methods is the only way you’ll successfully follow through with your vet’s recommendations or live harmoniously with your dog or cat, I encourage you to explore the resources on this site. Even better yet, if you can, employ the help of a certified behavior consultant or LIMA trainer.
Inspiration
I’ve organized these resources into the framework of animal needs created by the incredible team at Pet Harmony. The descriptions for each need are paraphrased from their article “Dog Enrichment Categories Explained.”
“All animals are learning all the time. All the training does is...help our animals learn the appropriate behaviors...that will make them successful...in our environment.”
“What we’re not saying is, you can never set boundaries...The point of this type of...philosophy...is that we listen to what they’re telling us, we honor their needs, and work to meet their needs, and that builds up an enormous amount of trust, like in a bank account. So that...when we have to do a thing [that the animal is not prepared for] we can afford to make that withdrawal without really harming the trust account. ”
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should...If you wouldn’t do it to a tiger...don’t do it to your Pomeranian.”
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”