Veterinary Behaviour Chat

Episode 57 – Feline Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome   Following on from episode 55, where I spoke about Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome, this episode is dedicated to our senior feline patients and how Feline Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome is absolutely something to consider when living with or caring for an older cat.   In this episode you will learn: 1.       The different clinical scale use...

Episode 56 – The Importance of Enrichment and Behavioural Diversity   Enrichment and Behavioural Diversity are 2 buzzwords that are used quite frequently when it comes to providing our pets with opportunities to express their behavioural needs. In this episode, Ilse and I chat about what Enrichment and Behavioural Diversity actually are and whether the term "enrichment" is appropriate for what we...

Episode 55 – Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome – Does Doggie Dementia Exist?   I love talking about senior pets and this is definitely a topic close to my heart! As our pets age, their behaviours may change, and we need to understand what the causes of those behaviour changes may be. Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome is a neurodegenerative disease, which sadly cannot be cured, but can be t...

Episode 54 – Street Cats – Should we "Rescue" or "Home" them?   This is a big topic with many opinions to consider from different stakeholders. Nora and I chat about our experiences of this topic here in the UAE and about some of the cases we have seen where cats that previously lived on the street were brought into homes and developed Behaviour Problems as a result. We also chat about the unique...

Episode 53 – Separation Anxiety – To crate or not to crate, that is the question   Welcome to the first episode in this second year of The Pet Behaviour Chat Podcast!   This episode was inspired by a Facebook post I saw in one of our local dog groups where an alarming number of people advised the poster, who has a dog showing Separation Related Behaviours to "just get a crate for the dog and put i...

Episode 52 – What we have learned from a year of Veterinary Behaviour Podcast!   I cannot believe that it has been a year since I started The Pet Behaviour Chat Podcast! This has been such a passion project of mine, and I have loved every minute of recording both the solo episodes as well as the amazing episodes with my wonderful guests.   The response to the podcast has been incredible, and I hav...

Episode 51 – Long Term versus Event Medications!   This is one of the topics I get the most questions about - from vets, pet care professionals and pet caregivers alike. What is the difference between long-term, also known as daily or baseline medications, and event or short acting medications? When do I use the one versus the other, can I give them together and, if so, how does that work and what...

Episode 50 – When To Consider Psychopharmaceutical Medication   This is a big topic and certainly the area where, as a Veterinary Behaviour Specialist, my expertise lies! Choosing the right patient, the right medication and having the right support structure in place is of the utmost importance if we want to make positive changes in the patient's and pet caregiver's life so knowing the medications...

Episode 49 – Abnormal Repetitive Behaviours in Dogs – What You Need To Know!   Abnormal Repetitive Behaviours in dogs are challenging to diagnose and treat. Their genetic and heritable nature, the large number of physical medical differential diagnoses and their ritualistic and invariant nature can make them difficult to live with and their treatment really requires the help and support of an expe...

Episode 48 – Cat Resources – What You Need To Know!   This is such a fun episode and a must listen if you are either a cat caregiver or a veterinary professional working with cats in the clinic. Dr Katrin and Nora chat about all the things that are considered important resources in a cat's life, how many of them a cat ideally needs in the home or clinic and how you can design your home to best acc...

Episode 47 – Overgrooming and Pica in Cats – What You Need To Know!   Does your cat overgroom to the point where they have thinning hair in one or more areas of their bodies? Does your cat chew and swallow non-food items? Do you have a pet or patient that has had numerous foreign body surgeries to remove ingested items? Would you like to know what you can do to help and treat these cats? Then this...

Episode 46 – Muzzles and Muzzle Training   Muzzles are an essential part of any dog's toolkit, whether they have ever shown aggressive behaviours or not. Whether for safety or in emergencies, muzzles can be extremely valuable and sometimes life-saving pieces of equipment for your dog. In this episode, Dr Katrin and Ilse chat through real life scenarios, discuss the right kind of muzzle and perfect...

Episode 45 – Feline House Soiling – What You Need To Know!   This is a topic we are SO passionate about. In a study by Salman et. al. (see below), 28% of cats who were relinquished to shelters were relinquished for behavioural reasons, and of those 28%, 43% were relinquished for house soiling. While this is a distressing situation for cats and caregivers alike, we actually have a really good chanc...

Episode 44 – Canine House Soiling – What You Need To Know!   Getting to the bottom of Canine House Soiling problems can take a little detective work and a really solid understanding of normal canine elimination - both physiologically and developmentally -, learning theory, and medical disease processes that can contribute to house soiling. In this episode, Dr Katrin explains her approach to solvin...

Episode 43 – A Veterinary Nurse's Role in Behaviour Medicine – with Nikki McLeod   Are you a veterinary nurse with a love for Behaviour Medicine? Are you a veterinary nurse who would like to know a bit more about the opportunities that Behaviour Medicine can bring with it? Or are you a pet caregiver who would like to know more about how you can make your pet's experience at the veterinary clinic e...

Episode 42 – Fear Free Tips for Cats   Following on from last week's episode on Fear Free tips for dogs, Dr Katrin and Nora discuss their 5 Top Tips for Fear Free Veterinary Practice for cats. This episode is intended to provide feline-based quick wins for all veterinary- and pet care professionals who want to provide a better experience for their feline patients as well as giving cat caregivers a...

Episode 41 – Fear Free Tips for Dogs   As a Fear Free Certified Veterinary Practice, we look at new and innovative ways of delivering patient- and client care literally all the time. In this episode, Dr Katrin and Ilse share their 5 Top Tips for improving your canine patient or pet's veterinary experience as well as the one thing they couldn't live without when it comes to Fear Free Veterinary Car...

Episode 40– Noise Fear and Phobias – What you need to know!   Did you know that up to 50% of our pet dogs suffer from noise sensitivity, fear of noises or even noise phobias? That is a HUGE amount and most of them go undiagnosed and untreated. And that means that many of our pets suffer, either on a daily basis or during specific noise events such as fireworks and thunderstorms. Cats are likely al...

Episode 39   - Brain Health and Behaviour   This episode is all about how brain health affects behaviour. Our brain does not exist in isolation from the rest of our body and so changes in the rest of our body can affect brain health, and therefore behaviour. Physical health, but also genetics, epigenetics, early life development and learning can all affect the brain, the brain's health and, ultima...

Episode 38 – Behaviour Problems in Rabbits   In this week's episode, we are talking to the amazing Dr Isabelle Resch all about rabbit behaviour. Dr Isabelle is not only a fellow resident of Dr Katrin's, but also a member of the Australia and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in both Behaviour Medicine and Internal Medicine and has vast experience in treating small mammals such as rabbit...

Episode 37 – How we became a Fear Free Certified Veterinary Practice   Ahhhh, this is such an exciting episode! Dr Katrin chats to Nora and Ilse about becoming a Fear Free Certified Veterinary Practice, about what motivated this step, what they all learned in the process and how this accolade has massively impacted the team, the clients and, of course, the patients. They chat about the challenging...

Episode 36 – Shelter Puppies – Carol & Marley's Story   How do you know what to expect when you adopt a puppy from a shelter? Puppies born in or taken to shelters at an early age probably face quite a few different challenges to other puppies. Don't get me wrong, puppies bred in large scale breeding facilities and sold via pet shops also face challenges, as do puppies that have altered genetics or...

Episode 35 – Cat-Cat Introductions…What You Need To Know!   We see A LOT of Feline Behaviour Cases here in the UAE and, unlike other areas in the world, we see an over-representation of Inter-Cat Aggression cases, which means 2 or more cats living in the same household showing signs of hostility towards each other or even actively fighting with each other. This is a really stressful situation for...

Episode 34 – Veterinary Behaviour Medicine in Singapore – A chat with Dr Daphne Ang   This is SUCH a great episode packed with information for vets, vet nurses, pet care professionals and pet caregivers alike.   Dr Katrin gets to chat to her fellow resident and good friend, Dr Daphne Ang, about her individual residency journey (because all journeys are different and individual) and how Dr Daphne i...

Episode 33 – Separation Anxiety – What you need to know!   This is a big topic and certainly one that can't be covered in just a single episode. In this first dive into Separation Related Behaviours (find out why this is a much better definition!), we look at causes and underlying motivations for Separation Related Behaviours, how to recognize if your dog is suffering from this (videos will be you...