When Love Means Letting Go: A Look at Behavioral Euthanasia with Trish McMillan and Sue Alexander

In this episode, we navigate through the difficult topic of behavioral euthanasia in aggression cases. Our expert guests Trish McMillan and Sue Alexander share their expertise in animal behavior, sheltering, and the incredible support group they co-founded, Losing Lulu. We also explore the caregiver burden, the impact it can have on a family, and how to deal with criticism from those who do not understand the situation.

The Aggression in Dogs Conference

The Aggression in Dogs Master Course

The Bitey End of the Dog Bonus Episodes

About Sue:

Sue has over 25 years experience training and handling dogs, both her own and those of her clients.  Sue has been teaching dog obedience lessons since 1993.  She has participated in a wide variety of dog sports including obedience, tracking, retrieving, Schutzhund, nose work, and agility with her own dogs and those of her clients.  In the past year, Hawkeye has joined Sue as her most recent canine partner.  Outside of the dog training world, Sue is an avid outdoorsman, participating in camping, hunting, fishing,  and canoeing and she is also an enthusiastic equestrian athlete.  Sue enjoys riding her gelding, Kahless, and learning the finer points of dressage.    Sue founded Dogs in the Park and she was a student at the University of Guelph, and she co-owns that with her husband John.  Sue is particularly interested in the rehabilitation of aggressive dogs and the resolution of behavioural problems with dogs in family homes.  In 2003, Sue passed the Certificate of Professional Dog Training and in the fall of 2004, she was accepted into the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants as a clinical member.  More recently she passed the Certificate of Behaviour Consulting Canine, Knowledge Assessed.    Sue is a well respected speaker, both on line and in person and has delivered programming in Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom and Ireland.  Sue has delivered webinars, seminars and lectures on Applied Behaviour Analysis, Resolving Behaviour Problems and Working with Clients. 

https://www.dogsinthepark.ca/

About Trish:

Trish McMillan is an internationally-known speaker on the topics of animal behavior and sheltering. She holds a master of science degree in animal behavior, and is a certified professional dog trainer.  Trish  first walked into a shelter in the mid 90’s and has been hooked on shelter behavior ever since. She worked for the ASPCA for nearly eight years, first as director of animal behavior at their NYC shelter, and then with the field team, helping assess and rehabilitate dogs from cruelty cases, dogfighting and hoarding situations. Trish owns McMillan Animal Behavior in North Carolina, where she lives in a tiny house on her farm, Pibble Hill. Trish currently shares her life with many animals of five species.  Trish’s professional work includes training and behavior modification work with dogs, cats, and horses. She speaks and consults nationally and internationally on animal sheltering issues, dog, cat, and horse behavior, dog aggression, and defensive handling. She also runs a popular online shelter dog behavior mentorship and other courses through the Shelter Behavior Hub, and is one of the founders of the behavioral euthanasia grief support group, “Losing Lulu.” Support the show