Dr. Kristina Spaulding has a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and a Ph.D. in Biopsychology—the study of the biological basis of behavior—and is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. In addition, she has been in the dog training and behavior profession for over 20 years where she taught family dog training courses and did private behavior consulting.
As part of her graduate training, Dr. Spaulding was formally trained in effective
teaching techniques. She fell in love with teaching people and was honored to receive
an award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. After earning her Ph.D., Dr. Spaulding’s interest in teaching carried over to her applied behavior work. She currently teaches a variety of online courses and webinars on the science of
behavior through her business Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior LLC. In addition to her own courses, she teaches for the IAABC Foundation and is an adjunct professor for Virginia Tech’s graduate program in Animal Behavior and Welfare.
Dr. Spaulding is also the author of The Stress Factor in Dogs: Unlocking Resiliency and Enhancing Well-Being. She is particularly interested in stress, neurobiology, cognition, emotion, and well-being and how to apply these concepts to the prevention, early intervention, and treatment of behavior problems in dogs. In 2019, Dr. Spaulding received the Association of Professional Dog Trainer’s (APDT’s) Member of the Year Award for her work on their education committee. She currently serves as the Vice President of the IAABC Foundation Board.
She can be reached through her website, www.sciencemattersllc.com.