Veterinary Behaviour Chat

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...

Episode 32 – Scaredy Cats – Natasha and Spokie's Story   Following on from episode 31, where Dr Katrin chats about the basic principles of fear, anxiety and phobias, here is a practical case of a cat that is definitely anxious and possibly also fearful in her everyday life. Dr Katrin chats through her multi-modal approach to improving Spokie's behavioural health and Natasha tells us which environm...

Episode 31 – Fears, Phobias and Anxiety   So many of our pets struggle with anxiety or specific fears and phobias. But how can we tell if this is just a normal and adaptive response to the pet's environment or if they are "abnormal" or maladaptive responses that need treatment?   What you will learn in this episode: 1.       The definitions, differences and similarities between fear, phobia, and a...

Episode 30 – Stress and Disease with Dr Gaelle Joanny   This is SUCH a great episode packed with information for vets, vet nurses, pet care professionals and pet caregivers alike.   Listen as Dr Katrin chats with Dr Gaelle about 2 of the most common physical diseases caused or precipitated by stress - gastro-intestinal disease in dogs and cats and FIC (feline idiopathic cystitis) in cats. We can s...

Episode 29 – Stress – what is it and why is it important for our pets?   Stress is a big topic – not only in pets but also us humans and having a good understanding of what it is and how it affects us can be really important. Stress is actually a totally normal and important response, which keeps us safe and working in an optimal state – both physically as well as mentally and emotionally.   Dr Ka...

Episode 28 – Hypervocalisation, Love Bites and more – Faryal and Simba's Story   Does your cat vocalise all the time? Do they keep you up at night with their cries or screams? Are you struggling to know what they want and how you can help them to change this behaviour?   Does your cat nip at you? Or even worse, do they bite or scratch? How can you know if this is exuberant or playful behaviour or...

Episode 27 – The Risks and Downfalls of Punishment Based Dog Training   In this episode, Dr Katrin talks about punishment from a learning theory point of view, how and where it fits into B.F. Skinner's 4 quadrants of operant conditioning, and why it is extremely risky and welfare-negative to use punishment-based training and methods.   Dr Katrin gives her top 10 reasons (although there are many mo...

Episode 26 – Positive Reinforcement and Beyond – A chat with Ilse   We had so much fun making this episode as we got to talk about some of the things that are closest to our hearts – how we can use therapeutic approaches that go beyond the operant to help our patients.   In this episode you will learn all about our "5 Cs": 1.       Calm 2.       Confidence 3.       Connection 4.       Coping Strat...

Episode 25 – Dominant Dogs – Do they exist?   This is a big topic and one that often sparks quite a bit of controversy! Dr Katrin unpacks the sometimes-confusing subject of Dominance Theory and why this does not apply to our domesticated dogs and certainly not to their relationships with humans.   In this episode you will learn: 1.       The difference between the colloquial use of the word "domin...

Episode 24 – Anxious Puppies – Eva and Atlas's Story   What is the right age to start treating puppies with mental, emotional, and behavioural ill health disorders? Well, the answer is that it is never too early. If a puppy had a bacterial infection or was in pain, we would not withhold antibiotics or pain relief, therefore, why would we not do the same when it comes to mental and emotional ill he...

Episode 23 – Is it behavioural, is it physical or is it both?   Physical, mental, and emotional health are intertwined and ultimately affect each other. This is why our company is called Trinity Veterinary Behaviour – because we need to consider, assess, and treat all three aspects to create long lasting and healthy behaviour change.   In this episode, Dr Katrin chats about the importance of physi...

Episode 22 – Diets and Pheromones with Dr Hannah Rowles from SV Animal Health Dubai   This is an episode you won't want to miss if you are looking for products to support your pet's behavioural health without the prescription of psychotropic medication.   In this episode, Dr Katrin chats to the wonderful Dr Hannah Rowles, veterinarian, and Head of Scientific Communications at SV Animal Health, one...

Episode 21 – Supplements versus Behaviour Medication – What's the Difference?   This is a topic that was requested by a listener and I'm sure we can all agree that it can definitely cause a lot of confusion.   What is the difference between over-the-counter calming supplements and Behaviour Medication also known as psychotropic, psychoactive or psychopharmaceutical medication? How do you know what...

Episode 20 – Life in a Multi-Cat Household – Theresia and Shiro's Journey   Multi-cat households can range from 2 cats to over 20 cats and, whilst in many, the cats co-exist in relative harmony, in others, there can be a whole host of behavioural and mental health challenges.   In this episode, we take a closer look at a 6-cat household, we meet the individual cat personalities within the househol...

Episode 19 – The Perfect Litterbox…From Your Cat's Perspective   Is your cat peeing or pooping outside of the litter box? Have you tried everything? Are you at your wit's end? In this episode, you will learn the 7 things your cat wants you to know when it comes to litterboxes! Feline House Soiling (aka peeing outside the litterbox) is the most common feline Behaviour Problem presented to Veterinar...

Episode 18 – The 5 Pillars of a Healthy Feline Environment   In this episode, you will learn about the 5 things your cat needs to be behaviourally healthy in any environment including the home, garden, veterinary clinic, and shelter.   Based on the ISFM/AAFP Environmental Needs Guidelines , Dr Katrin shares the 5 pillars we all need to be aware of to meet our cats' behavioural needs in different c...