Companion Animal Behaviour – Part 3

This module will look not only into the basics of how general nutrients such as protein levels can affect behaviour but also more wide reaching consequences such as the link between stress and gut disease, fascinating recent developments on the microbiome and the gut-brain axis and obesity. The module is primarily canine based but feline behaviour is included in the obesity section.

Earlier parts of this course included some handouts about the behavioural aspects of neutering. In Part 3 we will look at this in more detail and illustrate it with some case studies where neutering was relevant. We will also look at behavioural changes during adolescence, related to sexual maturity but also social maturity, and the associated structural changes in the brain as recent advances in imaging are providing us with fascinating new information. Whilst on the topic of hormones we will also examine how thyroid hormones interplay with behavioural presentations.

It is not surprising to learn that a condition affecting the brain as significantly as epilepsy may also affect behaviour.  This module will look both at historical aspects such as so called ‘rage syndrome’ as well as more recent advances in knowledge in humans and animals.

This module will teach you about the development of compulsive disorders, how to identify when an ‘amusing’ behaviour such as a dog chasing his own tail becomes something of concern and what potential investigations and treatments can be done. This module is illustrated by several case studies including video footage.

One of the most common issues encountered in feline behaviour is difficulties with the relationships between cats in the same household. In part 1 we learned about general feline behaviour and how to relate this to handling in the veterinary environment. In this module we will return to this foundation in feline behaviour and apply it to the context of multi-cat households and use case studies to examine this knowledge in practice.