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Welcome to the new version of the Chicagoland Veterinary Behavior Consultants (CVBC) web site at www.chicagovetbehavior.com (you may have been redirected from our old site). We will be upgrading the site and adding new features over the coming weeks. Enjoy, learn and let us know what you think by dropping us a line.

Home Staff

Where to Find Us

2 Wednesdays per month: Veterinary Specialty Center

Tuesdays and alternate Wednesdays: Elmhurst Animal Hospital 

You can also check out the Appointment Calendar on this web site

(Click on "Locations" for info on each location)

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Meet Our Staff


Dr. Ciribassi was born and grew up in Jersey City, NJ, attended Southern Illinois University and graduated with a BS in Biology from the University of Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1984. After graduation he practiced dairy medicine in Pennsylvania along with his wife, Elise, also a veterinarian. In 1988 Dr. Ciribassi returned to Illinois with Elise and they opened the Gary at North Veterinary Center, a companion animal practice in Carol Stream (a western suburb of Chicago). In 1998, he began the process of board certification with the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Soon after he began the Chicagoland Veterinary Behavior Consultants, a animal behavior specialty practice. In 2002 Dr. Ciribassi, along with Elise and another veterinary classmate (Dr. Marty Johnson) purchased the Carol Stream Animal Hospital merging with the Gary at North Veterinary Center. In October of 2006, Dr. Ciribassi passed his boards to become a board certified veterinary behaviorist. He has served as President of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association as well as President of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB). He lives in Carol Stream with Elise and his daughters Danielle and Rebekah.

 

Patricia Rattray is a native of eastern Ohio but has lived in Illinois for most of her life. Previously involved in Human Relations, she took an interest in training when she got her first dog and was disenchanted with the number of aversive trainers in the Chicago area. She became associated with Narnia Pet Behavior and Training in Naperville where she learned more positive reward based techniques. She then took the DOGS course at Purdue University with Dr. Andrew Luescher (a board certified veterinary behaivorist) whereshe learned the principles of behavior modification. She began working for the Chicagoland Veterinary Behavior Consultants in 2002. He duties with CVBC include initial telephone conversations with pet owners, schedulingappointments, managing the various forms which need to be completed before the appointment, and handling most of the behavior modification training with the owners and their pets. Pat is also involved in a Boxer Rescue Group called Bailed Out Boxers.

 

Animal News

animal behavior news from mongabay.com
  • Fear and conservation
    How does fear shape the behavior and conservation of deer, moose and antelope, not to mention carnivores such as wolves, bears, and even tigers? What is the natural state of wildlife, and how do animals know or learn which species to ignore or fear? Should we reintroduce predators to former habitats, even though the prey animals may be unprepared for their return?
  • Why do different species of bird lay different numbers of eggs?
    Clutch size varies greatly between bird species. Researchers now have a better idea why. Analyzing data on clutch size, biology, and habitat for 5,290 species of birds, a team of biologists — Walter Jetz (UC San Diego), Cagan H. Sekercioglu (Stanford University), and Katrin Böhning-Gaese (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität) — developed a model to predict variations in the number of eggs a species lays. They found clutch sizes are consistently largest in cavity nesters and in species occupying seasonal environments. The findings add depth and complexity to previous research that has shown short-lived species — ones that face high predation or have low survival rates among offspring — tend to lay more eggs than longer-lived species, which invest more resources in raising their offspring.
  • Insect intelligence: paper wasps display strong long-term memory
    A recent study in Current Biology finds that paper wasps are capable of remembering rivals a week after initially meeting. As a highly social insect, the discovery proves that the paper wasps' social interactions are based on applied memory rather than simple instinct. The finding overturns many ideas about the intelligence of insects.
  • Mediterranean bluefin tuna originate in the Gulf of Mexico
    Researchers have discovered a previously unknown migratory route for the northern bluefin tuna, proving for the first time that the species' Mediterranean and North American subpopulations interact. According to the paper published in Science the two groups meet as juveniles then return to their birthplace to spawn. For a critically-endangered species that is still heavily fished, the new finding has large conservation and management implications.
  • For Australian beetles bigger is better; while American beetles don't care about size
    Researchers have discovered a dung beetle that may be evolving into separate species in a few decades rather than thousands or millions of years. Separated geographically, sub-populations of the species show large differences in the size of their genitalia and horns. Such distinctions could create new species in a short time, because beetles with largely different genitalia cannot successfully mate.
  • When in season, wolves choose salmon over deer
    The popular image of hunting wolves is a pack bearing down on a deer, working in concert to make the kill. However, new research has discovered that when available, wolves largely forgo hoofed mammals for salmon.