The Pet Behaviour Chat

Episode 100 – Welcome to The Veterinary Behaviour Chat

Welcome to the very first episode of The Veterinary Behaviour Chat Podcast, the evolution from The Pet Behaviour Chat!

In this first episode of The Veterinary Behaviour Chat, I talk about the journey behind this re-brand and re-launch, and my vision for the future of the podcast.

This is a space for Vets, Vet Nurses and Pet Care Professionals, anyone who works in the pet care industry and wants to learn more about Veterinary Behaviour Medicine.

I am very...

Episode 99 – Tanya and Bruno’s Story

This is one of my favourite patient- and client stories!

From the beautiful island of Samos in Greece to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, Bruno has had a very varied and sometimes challenging life.

Tanya reached out to me when Bruno became increasingly sound sensitive after arriving in Abu Dhabi, to the point where he hid under a storage rack in the basement for 23 hours per day.

After seeing Tanya and Bruno for an emergency consultation, I designed a comprehensive treatment plan f...

Episode 98 – The 4 Pillars of reducing Fear, Anxiety and Stress in the Veterinary Clinic

Improving emotional safety and the patient experience in the Veterinary Clinic is such a passion topic of mine and I loved recording this episode on the 4 main areas I focus on when it comes to reducing fear, anxiety and stress in our Veterinary Patients.

Here are the 4 main areas you’ll learn about:

1.      Reading Body Language, Facial Expressions and Emotional State

2.      Creating a Calm, Safe Environment

3.      Gentle Handling and Cooperative Care Techniques

4.      Usin...

Episode 97 – Risk Assessment

Comprehensively assessing the risk of a Behaviour Case can be one of the most important things to do when you are first presented with a patient.

Whether you’re a GP vet faced with a tricky situation, a Vet or Veterinary Nurse with an interest in Veterinary Behaviour Medicine, or a non-Veterinary Behaviour practitioner, it is always really good practice to perform a risk assessment and have an open conversation with the caregiver based on this risk assessment

In this episode, I tell you my top 3 risks...

Episode 96 – The Veterinary Behaviour First Aid Kit

How many times does it happen that a patient presents with a Behavioural Presentation that you don’t feel fully equipped to deal with?

Or the client just happens to mention at the end of a consultation – as they’re walking out of the door – that their cat has been urinating outside of the litter box or that their dog has been recently aggressive to a family member.

What on earth should you and can you do in these situations?

This is wher...

Episode 95 – What’s New in FIC in Cats

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis is such a fascinating disease from a Veterinary Behaviour Medicine perspective as it poses the perfect intersection between physical and behavioural health.

It is a diagnosis of exclusion, is mainly seen in younger cats under 10 years of age (2-7 years is most common), and can be triggered or exacerbated by stressful events.

Often referred to as “bladder migraine”, this inflammatory psychoneuroendocrine disease can be very uncomfortable for cats, may cause them to “block” and can have recurrences over time, which ca...

Episode 94 – Client Education and Managing Expectations

Wow, this turned into a bit of a philosophical episode… because these are topics I have been thinking about and contemplating a lot lately.

What is it that actually creates a positive outcome in the Veterinary Behaviour Medicine World?

Of course, behaviour change in the patient is an important part, but what about a shift in the expectations, beliefs and understanding of the caregiver? How important is this in creating a successful outcome?

In this episode I touch on managing expectations and ho...

Episode 93 – Side Effects from Psychotropic Medications

Side effects are something we ALL think about when prescribing any medication for our patients, not just psychopharmaceuticals.

But for some reason, whether it’s because these meds are still so unknown to many in the industry, or because of experiences we have heard from people – friends, family – who have been prescribed these medications, conversations around side effects from psychotropics seem more difficult to navigate.

In this episode, I unpack the 2 most common caregiver concerns I encounter when talking about psychotropic medications as well as what side...

Episode 92 – Pica and GI Disease in Dogs and Cats

What a fascinating topic and one I’ve been thinking a lot about in recent weeks.

We have seen a spike in foreign body surgeries at my clinic in Abu Dhabi in recent weeks – as we all know, these things tend to come in 3s – and this, together with the publication of the below paper in JAVMA, has really had myself and my team thinking about best protocols when it comes to pica – the ingestion of non-food items – and resulting foreign body retrieval.

...

Episode 91 – Open Concept

I absolutely love pushing the boundaries of what is possible in Veterinary Medicine and indeed the Veterinary Industry.

In this thought-provoking episode, Nora and I chat about our newly embraced “Open Concept”, which allows for more transparency, owner presence and owner contribution to their pets’ health and treatment.

I totally understand that this may be a challenging concept for many in the Veterinary Industry, however, I feel that there are so many benefits to be gained from thinking outside the box and embracing different ways of approaching pet health.<...

Episode 90 – Preparing for an Aggressive Dog Consultation

As Veterinary Behaviourists, safety is an extremely important part of our practice – safety for ourselves, our teams, safety for third parties and safety for the caregivers as well as the patients. Safety is especially important when we regularly see patients that are being presented for aggressive behaviours and that have a bite history.

Safety is something I learned about very early on in my residency, but also something that I review and re-evaluate on a regular basis to ensure that safety protocols are fit for purpose and u...

Episode 89 – Holiday Choices for Cats – Home or Cattery?

We all want what is best for our feline friends and that includes ensuring their happiness, safety and behavioural health while we are on holiday or traveling.

But what IS actually best for them?

·         To stay at home in their familiar surroundings and territory?

·         To stay in a cattery where they will have company and be monitored at all times?

·         Or, should they even travel with you where possible?

The answer is, there is no “one size fits all approach” when it...

Episode 88 – Serotonin Syndrome - What you need to know!

Serotonin Syndrome, also known as Serotonin Toxicity, is the most severe side effect of serotonergic medication and can potentially be fatal if not treated and managed.

Therefore, understandably, many vets are very cautious when it comes to prescribing serotonergic agents and especially when combining serotonergic agents such as an SSRI and, for example, trazodone.

·         But, how frequent is this side effect in practice?

·         What are the signs you should be looking out for?

·         What can you teach your caregivers to do in terms of m...

Episode 87 – The importance of sleep in our pets – a conversation with Dr Carrie Tooley

Sleep!!!!

Honestly, this is a topic I have been thinking about so much lately and this amazing conversation with Dr Carrie Tooley just reinforces how important sleep is to the mental and emotional health of our pets and patients!

What you’ll learn in this episode:

1.      How sleep plays a role in emotional arousal and emotional regulation in our pets and patients.

2.      How long our pets should actually be sleeping every day (this will sur...

Episode 86 – Behaviour Signs and Neurotransmitters

When I first started out in Veterinary Behaviour Medicine, knowing which Behaviour Medication to choose for any given patients was a real struggle. I didn’t really know what to base my choices on, often reached for the same medication over and over again without really knowing why and just hoping that I’d made the right decision.

Sound familiar?

As I progressed through my residency, I started to understand how behavioural signs are correlated with neurotransmitters in the brain and how to make really smear medicat...

Episode 85 – Setting Up a Behaviour Service with RVN Nikki McLeod

Veterinary Nurses are INVALUABLE when it comes to promoting Behavioural Health within Veterinary Practices.

In this episode, I chat to RVN, Nikki McLeod about her current exciting journey of setting up a Behaviour Service within the practice she works in, what her challenges have been, what her wins have been and what she has learned along the way!

This is such a great episode for vets and veterinary nurses around the world to gather top tips and inspiration on how they can...

Episode 84 – Assessing and Managing Inter-Cat Tension & Aggression Cases

This week, I saw a 2-cat, a 4-cat and an 8-cat home, all with diagnoses of inter-cat tension or inter-cat aggression.

These cases can be really complex to work up and understanding the fine nuances of cat-cat sociability can be really challenging.

In this episode, I share the things I think about and the questions I ask when I go into a multi-cat home with inter-cat tension or aggression.

You’ll hear me talk about severity of behaviour, covert and overt felin...

Episode 83 – We are what we eat. A conversation about Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in dogs and cats - with Dr Gaelle Joanny

This is SUCH an epic episode. The quality of conversation with Dr Gaelle Joanny always blows my mind and I am so grateful to be able to share this with you.

I have spoken about Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in dogs and cats before – check out episodes 55 & 57 of this podcast for more background information.

However, in this episode, we take a deep dive into the nutritional ways we can support our patie...

Episode 82 – How young is too young to start Behaviour Meds?

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll grow out of it…”. A phrase that makes my heart sink when it comes to young dogs with obvious behavioural diagnoses.

Now, what do I mean by “young”? We’re talking about dogs somewhere between 6 and 12 months of age and yes, it is absolutely possible that these youngsters already have a behavioural diagnosis based on genetics, epigenetics and early life learning experiences.

Should we wait to treat them?

Absolutely not!

In this episode, I cha...

Episode 81 – Janice and Robbie’s Story

Robbie is probably one of the most anxious dogs I have seen in my 6 years working as a Veterinary Psychiatrist.

His behaviour got so bad that his lovely caregiver, Janice, had to sleep on the sofa with him for several weeks, neither of them getting much sleep.

When I first met him, Robbie would pace, pant, patrol the home, lick walls and cupboards, and paw at the floor to try to make himself feel a little better.

The relationship with his housemate dogs becam...

Episode 80 – The Business of Behaviour

In this episode, I chat to Jo and Vicky from Canine Business Academy, (guys, I had a blooper when I introduced Jo & Vicky’s business – It is Canine BUSINESS Academy, not Canine Behaviour Academy – sorry, my bad…), a company based in the UK, dedicated to helping Pet Behaviour Professionals create successful and profitable businesses.

We talk about the stigma around actually earning money as Behaviour Professionals, and how this is the only way we can actually serve our clients and patients.

I share about the struggle...

Episode 79 – PSYCHOACTIVE Launch

I am so excited to present this course to the world!

An online course dedicated to teaching you what you need to know to get started on your Veterinary Psychopharmacology Journey!

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

... and so much more... like regular LIVE GROUP ZOOM CALLS with me so you can ask your burning questions, and we can disc...

Episode 78 – Supporting Pets and Caregivers on their Medication Journey

What are some of the conversations I have with caregivers when it comes to deciding if psychotropic medication in an option for their beloved pet?

And what do I discuss with them about the “onboarding” process?

How do I manage their expectations and concerns?

And what are some of their most frequent worries and how do I address these?

Find out all this an more in this ep

Episode 77 – Considerations for Multi Cat Households with Lisa Sinnott

Multi Cat Households can be challenging environments for the cats that live in them and also the caregivers that live with those cats, especially if there are hostile or aggressive events between the cats.

In this episode, I chat to non-veterinary behaviourist, Lisa Sinnott about the types of cases she sees in the UK compared to my UAE based caseload and what some of things are that we need to consider when providing optimal environments for multi-cat homes.

In th...

Episode 76 – Choosing Your Psychopharmacology Patient

Would you know which of your patients Behaviour Medication might be indicated for?

What are the presentations that could benefit from Behaviour Meds?

What are the contexts or situations that might also benefit from the safe and effective use of psychopharmacology?

Have a listen to this episode as I chat about some of the things I think about when evaluating my patients for the potential use of psychotropic medication.

Episode 75 – Talking all things Pain with Veterinary Colleagues, Dr James Hunt and Dr Katie Smithers

In this episode, I have the absolute privilege and pleasure of chatting to Dr James Hunt and Dr Katie Smithers, both leading veterinarians when it comes to pain recognition and management in our pets.

We talk about the newest approaches to pain management and how being part of Canine Arthritis Management’s Telehealth team allows them to help more and more patients globally.

I have been using Telehealth in my Behaviour Practice for a number of years...

Episode 74 – How to Administer Medications to our Pets

Giving tablets to our pets is not always easy, and cats especially are notoriously difficult to administer oral medication to!

The problem with not being able to give medication is that this may interfere with your pet’s medical care and have a detrimental effect on their physical or mental and emotional health.

One of the most important things I stress in this episode is to ask for help from your vet or pet care professional if you are struggling to give oral medic...

Episode 73 – Children and Pets Part 2

In this episode, we turn things around and think about the best approach for adding a pet to your already existing human family.

As a mom of 2 young girls as well as 2 cats, Nora gives us her top tips on the things that are most important to her when it comes to considering life with children and pets.

Nora and I chat about the things you should consider when thinking about adding a furry family member including species, breed, age and, most importantly, temperament.

Episode 73 – Children and Pets Part 2

In this episode, we turn things around and think about the best approach for adding a pet to your already existing human family.

As a mom of 2 young girls as well as 2 cats, Nora gives us her top tips on the things that are most important to her when it comes to considering life with children and pets.

Nora and I chat about the things you should consider when thinking about adding a furry family member including species, breed, age and, most importantly, temperament.

Episode 72 – Toilet Training Your Puppy

How do I toilet train my puppy?

This is probably THE most frequently asked question I see from new puppy parents on social media groups and at my veterinary clinic.

And it’s so easy when you follow a few important steps that I will guide you through in this episode and on our downloadable worksheet:

https://katrin-jahn.mykajabi.com/toilet-training-guide

In this episode you will learn:

1.      Development of normal puppy elimination.

2.      At what age puppies gain control ove...

Episode 71 – A conversation about Telehealth with Dr Hannah Capon and Evie Tummon, RVN

In this episode, I chat to Hannah and Evie from Canine Arthritis Management, a UK based organization that is world leading in canine pain recognition and management, about the importance of Telehealth.

I have been using Telehealth in my Behaviour Practice for a number of years and seen the many benefits it brings to our patients and clients across the world.

Being able to support and help more caregivers and pet care professionals is just one of the man...

Episode 70 – Learn To Speak Cat

As a Veterinary Behaviourist, there is educational information and advice that I give to most of my clients, regardless of the behaviour problem their cat presents with.

This is usually to do with normal feline behaviour, the emotions cats can experience, feline sociability and the importance of creating an optimal feline environment and resources.

It is information I believe every feline guardian and every feline care professional, whether vet, vet nurse, trainer, groomer, dog walker or non-veterinary behaviourist should know.

And that is w...

Episode 69 – Learn To Speak Dog

As a Veterinary Behaviourist, there is educational information and advice that I give to most of my clients, regardless of the behaviour problem their dog presents with.

This is usually to do with normal canine behaviour, the emotions dogs can experience, how dogs communicate with us and how they learn.

It is information I believe every canine guardian and every canine care professional, whether vet, vet nurse, trainer, groomer, dog walker or non-veterinary behaviourist should know.

And that is why I have crea...

Episode 68 – Dog Walks – What You Need To Know!

Dog walks are supposed to be a fun and enriching activity for everyone – dog and walker.

But sometimes, they just aren’t.

And sometimes, walks are not necessary or appropriate, for example, if your dog is fearful, injured or ill or if the weather won’t allow for safe or comfortable walks.

In this episode, I dispel the social myth that dogs MUST be walked numerous times per day to prove good dog guardianship and welfare, in fact, in some cases...

Episode 67 – Canine Adolescence – The Terrible Teens

Is your lovely puppy changing before your very eyes?

Are they showing behaviours you have never seen before and are, quite frankly, challenging and disturbing?

Are they pushing boundaries and taking more risks?

Are they growing into larger and stronger dogs that are becoming difficult to handle?

Is this putting a strain on your relationship with them?

The reason? Adolescence.

Just like human children, young dogs also go through a developmental period known as adolescence and ju...

Episode 66 – Solutions for Puppy Biting, Nipping and Mouthing

Are you the proud parent of a new puppy who is driving you crazy with their constant biting, nipping or mouthing?

Are your remote controls, flip flops, expensive shoes or handbags being chewed to bits?

Are your ankles and wrists showing the marks of tiny, sharp puppy teeth?

Are you and your kids having to jump onto the sofa to rescue yourselves from your little puppy-shark?

The reason you are feeling overwhelmed is because you don’t unders...

Episode 65 – Collaboration between Trainers and Veterinary Behaviourists – A Chat with Lottie Hanks

I cannot stress enough how important it is for Veterinary- and other Pet Care Professionals to collaborate for the well-being of our patients.

Sadly, there is still a divide and an unwillingness in both camps to come together and share unique areas of expertise for the sake of the pet.

In this episode, I chat to dog trainer and all-round amazing human being, Lottie Hanks, on how we have successfully collaborated on a number of cases, something that is not t...

Episode 64 – Children and Pets Part 1

Are you an expecting parent waiting to bring a new baby into a home with existing pets?

Or perhaps you are a pet care professional looking for the best advice to give to new or expecting parents about introducing a new baby to their pets?

The reason you are worried about this is because you’re not sure of the best way to approach this.

And the reason you are feeling stressed and anxious is because you feel guilty about disrupting your pet’s...

Episode 63 – Preparing your Pet for Air Travel

Air travel can be a stressful experience for both pets and owners, but, with some thoughtful preparation and by following my 5-step approach for Pet Air Travel Preparation, we can manage the stress for the pets, which will also help pet owners feel more comfortable.

During my veterinary practice ownership in the UAE for the last 16 years, I have prepared around 300 pets ANNUALLY for Air Travel, which means I have been able to gather a wealth of knowledge and expertise when it comes to all...

Episode 62 – Deep Dive into The Veterinary Behaviour Consultation

Join me for a deep dive into some of the unique aspects of The Veterinary Behaviour Consultation and learn more about some of the really useful skillsets required to dig deep and really help bring about behaviour change.

Here are some of the things you’ll take away from this episode:

1.      How to remove some of the barriers that might be holding you back from offering behaviour consultations in YOUR practice.

2.      That behaviour consultations don’t have to be super lengthy in o...