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 anxiety.

2. How to tell if this is an adaptive or maladaptive response to the pet’s internal or external environment.

3. What causes and contributes to these presentations?

4. How you can help your pet or patient if you suspect they may have an anxiety disorder or are suffering form fears and phobias.

There is so much in this episode and will set listeners up for following episodes that diver deeper into specific presentations such as separation anxiety and noise phobias.

We really hope you enjoy this episode; it is packed with so much information!

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!

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 see time and time again how physical and mental/emotional health are intertwined and these two presentations are perfect examples of this.

Dr Gaelle chats about some of the diets the Hill’s Pet Food has developed to help support both stress-related gastro-intestinal disease as well as FIC.

What you will learn in this episode:

1. How stress affects physical health and vice versa.

2. What you can do to treat or prevent stress-related GI disease with diets and probiotics.

3. The pathophysiology of FIC in cats and how stress is a contributor in 75% of cases under the age of 10 years.

4. How diets can contribute to the treatment and long-term management of FIC in cats.

Here are the links to the scientific studies mentioned by Dr Katrin and Dr Gaelle in this episode:

1. Marion, M., Lecoindre, P., Marlois, N., Mège, C., Béata, C., Sarcey, G., & Muller, G. (2017). Link between gastric chronic diseases and anxiety in dogs. Dog Behavior, 3(3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4454/DB.V3I3.63

2. Beata, C., Beaumont-Graff, E., Coll, V., Cordel, J., Marion, M., Massal, N., Marlois, N., & Tauzin, J. (2007). Effect of alpha-casozepine (Zylkene) on anxiety in cats. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2(2), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2007.02.002

3. Beata, C., Beaumont-Graff, E., Diaz, C., Marion, M., Massal, N., Marlois, N., Muller, G., & Lefranc, C. (2007). Effects of alpha-casozepine (Zylkene) versus selegiline hydrochloride (Selgian, Anipryl) on anxiety disorders in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2(5), 175–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2007.08.001

We really hope you enjoy this episode; it is packed with so much information!

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!

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 Katrin explains the physiological stress hormone cascades and how they can be dysregulated to cause “toxic” or “chronic” stress, which can be detrimental to overall health.

She also chats about the “stress bucket”, a visual representation of what she hopes to achieve when putting together a treatment plan and a really tangible way for pet caregivers to look at stress in their pets.

We really hope you enjoy this episode; it is packed with so much information!

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!

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 if this is aggression driven by negative emotions such as fear or frustration?

Well, have a listen to this episode where Dr Katrin chats to Faryal about her kitty cat Simba who, in the past, showed just such behaviours. Dr Katrin explains how she helped Faryal and Simba overcome these behavioural challenges with a tailor made treatment plan.

Another super interesting aspect of this episode is the fact that Faryal works with behaviourally challenged children and she chats about how these skills helped her understand Simba’s behavioural challenges better and how she was able to transfer some of her knowledge to better understanding and showing empathy for Simba in this situation.

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 health?

We really hope you enjoy this episode; it is packed with so much information!

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!

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 more) why punishment-based training it NOT the way we want to go when working with our animals and why it is not sustainable or what we should be doing from a quality of life and welfare point of view.

Dr Katrin also talks about what to look out for when choosing or recommending a trainer, because we definitely DO NOT want to be using or recommending aversive based trainers, shock trainers or “Balanced Trainers”.

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!

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 Strategies

5. Cognitive Abilities

We use these not only to treat but also to monitor our patients to make sure they are progressing in the way we want them to.

Emotional wellbeing and safety are extremely important to us, especially in the patient demographic we see, and we have found that using the “5 Cs” as guidelines in our treatment approach has made a world of difference to these patients!

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did making it!

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!

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 “dominance” and its technical definition in ethology.

2. How our domestic pet dogs differ from wolves in so many ways.

3. Early wolf experiments by biologist David Mech and how these have influenced training methodologies.

4. Why dominance and aversion-based training can be SO harmful for our pet dogs.

5. Better ways of looking at the value of resources and how associative learning plays a big role.

Here are the papers and references Dr Katrin mentions during the podcast:

1. Bradshaw, J. W. S., Blackwell, E. J., & Casey, R. A. (2009). Dominance in domestic dogs-useful construct or bad habit? Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 4(3), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2008.08.004

2. American Veterinary Society on Animal Behavior. (2008). Position Statement on the Use of Dominance Theory. 1–4. https://avsab.ftlbcdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Dominance_Position_Statement-download.pdf

3. Dominance in Dogs – Fact or Fiction, Barry Eaton, Dogwise Publishing

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!

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 health?

In this episode, Dr Katrin chats to Eva, whose lovely boy Atlas was just such a puppy, about their journey together and how Atlas is doing now.

Listen as they talk about:

1. Early life influences.

2. Being committed to behavioural health.

3. Understanding that there are good days and not so good days in any behavioural journey.

4. How psychopharmaceutical medication helped Atlas be less fearful and reactive and grow into a wonderful, well-adjusted adult dog.

Here is the paper Dr Katrin mentions during the podcast:

McAuliffe, L. R., Koch, C. S., Serpell, J., & Campbell, K. L. (2022). Associations Between Atopic Dermatitis and Anxiety, Aggression, and Fear-Based Behaviors in Dogs. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, 58(4), 161–167. https://doi.org/10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7210

If you liked this episode of the show, The Pet Behaviour Chat, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!

Facebook Group: Join The Pet Behaviour Community on Facebook

You can CONNECT with me:

Website: Visit my website

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Instagram: Follow Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on Instagram

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour Facebook: Join us on Trinity Veterinary Behaviour's Facebook page

Trinity Veterinary Behaviour YouTube: Subscribe to Trinity Veterinary Behaviour on YouTube

LinkedIn Profile: Connect with me on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in!