Raising Canine

Sophia Yin

Dr. Sophia Yin has one primary goal in life—to improve our understanding of animals and their behavior so that we can care for, appreciate and enjoy our time with them better.

A 1993 graduate of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Yin is the author of three books: The Small Animal Veterinary Nerdbook®, a best-selling textbook for veterinarians, How to Behave So Your Dog Behaves a book for the general public, and her newest textbook Low Stress Handling, Restraint, and Behavior Modification of Cats and Dogs. This latest book is rapidly improving the experience for pets in the veterinary clinic and greatly improving the veterinary staff’s ability to treat patients.

Dr Yin’s undergraduate degree was in biochemistry. She earned her Master’s in Animal Science in 2001 from UC Davis where she studied vocal communication in dogs and worked on behavior modification in horses, giraffes, ostriches, and chickens. During this time she was also the award-winning pet columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Upon receiving her degree focused on animal behavior, Dr. Yin served for five years as a lecturer in the UC Davis Animal Science Department. She taught three upper division undergraduate courses in domestic animal behavior and supervised students in various animal training and behavior research projects. She also developed the Manners Minder positive reinforcement dog training system which is sold by Premier Pet.

Dr. Yin worked at San Francisco Veterinary Specialists (www.SFVS.net), wrote for several veterinary and popular magazines, consulted for several zoos, lectured internationally on animal behavior, and served as a behavior expert for shows such as Dogs 101 on Animal Planet. She was also on the executive board for the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. Dr. Yin passed away in 2014.