Course Description
Diagnosis of treatment of common animal behavior problems.
Athena Title
Veterinary Animal Behavior
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
By the end of the course the student should 1. Be familiar with ethical and legal issues regarding the diagnosis and treatment of behavior problems in companion animals. 2. Know the main principles and terms of ethology, be able to discuss principles as they relate to the understanding of animal behavior encountered in the practice of veterinary medicine and define the relevant terms. 3. Be able to assess and measure behavior using a variety of techniques. 4. Be able to define and describe the various types of learning, including individual processes within a learning paradigm. Understand how those processes can contribute to the development of behavior problems and how those processes can be used to treat behavior problems. 5. Know how to take a behavioral history. 6. Be familiar with concepts of animal welfare and understand how various learning processes affect animal welfare. 7. Know the major classes of psychoactive medications that are used in the treatment of behavior problems of animals, including their mechanism of action, indications, contraindications, and most common and serious side-effects. 8. Know the specific medications that are most commonly used in the treatment of behavior problems of animals, including their indications, contraindications, and most common and serious side-effects. 9. Understand the principles of social organization and communication in animals, and know the specific aspects of social organization and communication that are covered in class. 10. Understand the definitions, diagnostic protocols and etiologies of the most common categories of behavior problems, including anxieties and phobias, aggression, and stereotypic behavior. 11. Know how to research original scientific literature on domestic and applied animal behavior.
Topical Outline
Overview and Ethics Principles of Ethology Measuring Behavior Learning Training techniques and animal welfare Psychopharmacology History Taking and Patient Assessment Social Organization Aggression Anxieties and Phobias Compulsive Disorder Elimination Behavior Problems