About me
I'm Dr. Rachel Malamed
Veterinary psychiatrist, board-certified in veterinary behavior medicine (DACVB) by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.
I grew up in Toronto surrounded by animals, became a veterinarian in Canada, and spent years training to understand why pets behave the way they do. Today I help families with anxiety, aggression, compulsive disorders, and the behavior problems that threaten the human-animal bond.
My goal is simple: keep pets in their homes, where they belong.
Dr. Rachel Malamed
The path
How I got here
01Toronto, CanadaWhere it began
I grew up in Toronto surrounded by animals: hamsters, birds, rats, cats, and a dog. Watching how they behaved, and wondering why, made me want to be a veterinarian before I knew what the word meant.
02Guelph & OVCBecoming a veterinarian
I earned my BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Guelph, then my DVM at the Ontario Veterinary College. During a behavior medicine rotation with Dr. Gary Landsberg, I saw how stress shapes medical illness, and that treating behavior mattered as much as treating the body.
03Los Angeles & UC DavisBecoming a specialist
In 2007, I completed a one-year rotating veterinary internship in Los Angeles at Animal Specialty Group, Inc., working alongside specialists in neurology, internal medicine, surgery, emergency and critical care, ophthalmology, and oncology. This experience reinforced what I had already come to realize: an animal’s emotional health is connected to every body system. I then completed a three-year residency in clinical behavioral medicine at the University of California, Davis, where I again worked alongside world-class veterinary specialists across disciplines. This multidisciplinary environment shaped my approach to behavioral medicine and deepened my understanding of the connection between physical health, emotional well-being, and behavior. In 2010, I published my clinical research in the Equine Veterinary Journal and passed a rigorous three-day board examination to become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.
04Beyond the clinicExpanding the mission
Over the years, my work grew beyond the exam room. I contributed chapters to veterinary references, including Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult and the ACVB’s Decoding Your Cat, and lectured widely to help veterinarians treat behavior as medicine. In 2024, I completed an MBA focused on responsible business at California State University, Monterey Bay. My capstone became Pet Psychiatry Hub, a venture that won first place in the 2025 Social Impact Competition.
05TodayWhy I do this
Behavior problems break the human-animal bond, and they are one of the leading reasons pets lose their homes. My goal is simple: keep pets in their homes by giving families answers that actually work.
Why it matters
What you get when we work together
Behavior medicine is one of the smallest specialties in veterinary medicine, which is why most families have never had access to this kind of help.
As a veterinarian, I evaluate behavior alongside physical health. Pain and illness hide behind many behavior changes.
Fear Free certified. No coercive or confrontational methods, no quick-fix gimmicks, just science and compassion.
"The best behavior plans aren't the most sophisticated, they're the ones a tired human can actually do on a Tuesday night."