Cats communicate with their body all the time! 🐾 Learn to read their body language for a happier, healthier bond. 😺🗨️ #felinefriends #pettips #catlife
Just like us, pets need their beauty sleep to be their best selves. Lack of sleep can lead to:
😡 Grumpiness
⚡ Hyperactivity
🐶 Destructive behaviours
🤔 Difficulty learning
Did you know cats sleep 16-20 hours a day? 💤 How much does your pet sleep?
Discover how to ensure your pet gets the restful sleep they need in our latest blog post! www.positiveelementsvet.com/is-your-pet-grumpy-sleep-deprivation-could-be-the-cause
#petpsychology #vetbehaviourist #animalbehaviour #vethelp #happypets #PetSleep
Having fun doing mini agility training at home 🎈😁🐕 #vetbehaviouristadvice #positivedogtraining
Having fun doing mini agility training at home 🎈😁🐕
#vetbehaviouristadvice #positivedogtraining
Attention all veterinary clinics! Positive Elements Behaviour Vet, led by Dr. Cathy Lau, a qualifie
Attention all veterinary clinics! Positive Elements Behaviour Vet, led by Dr. Cathy Lau, a qualified veterinary behaviourist with 20 years of experience working with animals and a decade of experience as a veterinarian, is offering in-house workshops and seminars to enhance your clinic's understanding and treatment of animal behaviour. Dr. Cathy has special expertise in cooperative care and low-stress handling, which will provide valuable insights and training for your staff to improve your clinic's services and better serve your animal patients. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from one of the best in the field. Contact us to schedule a lunch & Learn session, workshop or seminar today!
#veterinarybehaviour #animalbehaviour #veterinaryeducation #cooperativecare #lowstresshandling
Myth: Ignore your dog when they are showing anxious behaviour. Otherwise, you will reinforce the a
Myth: Ignore your dog when they are showing anxious behaviour. Otherwise, you will reinforce the anxiety.
Fact: Your dog is feeling fearful and asking for help and support. Ignoring them is essentially withholding information and access to support. It will only increase the fear and sensitise to the trigger(s).
#vetbehaviouristadvice #compassion&kindness #positivedogtraining
Dr Cathy is a Perth-based vet behaviourist, who has expertise in all behaviour problems in all spec
Dr Cathy is a Perth-based vet behaviourist, who has expertise in all behaviour problems in all species!
#vetbehaviouristadvice #compassion&kindness #positivedogtraining #forcefree
Daisy was doing some nose exercises 👃🏃♀️during a behaviour consultation with Dr Cathy @[1661966334
Daisy was doing some nose exercises 👃🏃♀️during a behaviour consultation with Dr Cathy Eaton Vet Clinic. It is a big step for her because she used to be stressed out in the presence of a person she doesn't know well and in a vet clinic.
Enrichment exercise is often part of Dr Cathy's behaviour consultation. It helps to assess the pet's mental and problem-solving abilities, as a calming exercise and to strengthen our bond. A behaviour consultation is usually a fun and rewarding experience for both the pet parent and the pet!
#vetbehaviourist #petsofbunbury
Do you know Dr Cathy sees behaviour cases at Eaton Vet Clinic (6 Cassowary Bend, Eaton) every third
Do you know Dr Cathy sees behaviour cases at Eaton Vet Clinic (6 Cassowary Bend, Eaton) every third Wednesday of the month?
Our next clinic is in 2 days, and we have 1 last spot left due to cancellation.
Head to our website https://www.positiveelementsvet.com/ to book your appointment.
#veterinarybehaviourist #petsofbunbury
📣A free (or cheap) dog enrichment idea suggestion.
Dr Cathy found a clam shell pool at verge collection, and got some plastic pit balls from the local Buy Nothing page. Now Haylee is working hard to find her breakfast. 😃🐶
#petenrichment #positivedogtraining #perthpets #dogenrichment #perthpets #behaviourvet
Lots of snuffle mats!
We now stock snuffle mats made by Snuffle For A Cause. $5 of each sale get donated to wildlife rescue.
We'll be selling them at the coming Larkhill Vets Christmas Market as well. Come see us on 12th December 1774 Mandurah Road. 😊
#snufflemat #perthpets #positivedogtraining #dogenrichment
Another brain and motor skills challenge for little Haylee this morning. I put her breakfast (dry food) in an enrichment toy.
Getting your pet to earn their food from challenging tasks, problem-solving activities and enrichment activities is very important and beneficial to their mental health.
If you want learn more, I wrote an article about enrichment feeding on my website. https://www.positiveelementsvet.com/post/enrichment-feeding-for-pets
#positivedogtraining #behaviourvet #petenrichment
So what did little Haylee do to get the food in the cardboard box?
Shredding and tearing the cardboard box apart is so much fun! This provides an outlet for normal behaviour as well as play time.
It is very important to offer enrichment activities to you pets to keep them sane. 😇
#positivepettraining #petenrichment #perthpets #behaviourvet #perthvets
Dr Cathy is coming to Bunbury this week again!
We'll be at Eat Vet Clinic on Tuesday and Treendale Pet Medical on Wednesday.
We have 2 spots left 😊
Head to our website to book or send us an email.
"It wasn't 'low-stress' it was actually no-stress ;-) (For both me and my dog!) Thanks Dr Cathy." ❤ From Sonya Dog Charming .
Make sure you watch the video with sound ON. You'll hear how happy Sonya (Willow's mum) was. :D
I visited Willow for a cooperative care visit last month.
Willow needs regular blood tests to monitor her heart condition. She found visiting the vet and having blood taken stressful, so her mum arranged a visit with me.
I used the vein on Willow's back leg called "saphenous vein". I put numbing cream on the skin beforehand to minimise the needle prick sensation. I allowed Willow to choose the position she feels comfortable. She also had a choice to walk away if she didn't want to take part in the procedure. I asked Willow's mum to feed her favourite treats - cheese 🧀. There was no restraint needed. In my experience, most dogs tolerate this approach well.
We offer personalised training to vets, vet nurses and vet hospitals for low stress handling.
We also offer Cooperative Care Visits to pet owners. We can teach you how to perform nail clipping, grooming, giving daily medication, dental care, or giving insulin injections with a low stress and positive reinforcement approach.
We can also perform a no stress blood draw like Willow did.
You can visit our website www.positiveelementsvet.com to book online.
#perthpets #positivedogtraining #petbehaviourvet #lowstresshandlingofdogsandcats #positivepetsdogtraining
Last week I visited Doobi for his follow-up appointment. 🐶
Doobi and his humans are working very hard to manage his anxiety when he is alone at home. They have made amazing progress and I’m very proud of Doobi’s parents’ effort and commitment! 👍
During the visit, we talked a bit about cooperative care training. Meaning to teach Doobi to accept body care routine, such as teeth brushing and nail care. I introduced the “scratch board” during the visit. Doobi was a little unsure to begin with. Fortunately, he is very smart and motivated by food, so he learnt to place his paw on the scratch board in a heartbeat!
Nail trimming is usually not a pleasant experience for dogs, cats, or any other animals. Often when people attempt to trim their pet’s nail, physical restraint are use. This took away the control of the pet and escalate their fear. Be mindful every pet responds differently to fear. Some may run, some may freeze, and some may fight. Some pets, particularly those tend to freeze, may appear to be “easy to handle”, but it is not necessarily the case.
If the nail trimming experience caused negative emotions, they form bad memories of the experience. The next nail trimming may trigger a “conditioned” negative response. If it is the case, you’d find it harder and harder to get the nails done.
However, by using positive reinforcement, we allow them to have a choice to engage in the activity, motivate them to perform the behaviour and teach them the experience is positive. ❤️
Think outside the box. “There is more than one way to trim a dog’s nail”! 😎
#perthpets #lowstresshandlingofdogsandcats #petbehaviourvet #positivetrainingdogs
A quick teaching session for Izzy after her surgery. 🐶🐶
I taught Izzy that the Elizabethan collar is not scary. I also taught her to put it on herself. It took us about 1.5 minutes to achieve these by using positive reinforcement. She was hungry after she woke up from anaesthesia, so food naturally gave her motivation to learn.😊 She will need to wear the Elizabethan collar for at least 10-14 days after the surgery. Spending this 1.5 minutes for her to understand the concept that "wearing an Elizabethan collar is fine" is very important for her well-being. ❤️
This exercise also allowed me to assess her recovery and if she was ready to go home, too. After a pet woke up from anaesthesia (recovery period), we often keep them in hospital for a few hours. This allows vets and nurses to monitor the pet's recovery, making sure there are no complications and it is safe for them to go home.
If you are a vet or vet nurse reading this, I want to emphasise that Low Stress Handling does not "take more time". Imagine Izzy hated the Elizabethan collar, got it out and chewed off the sutures. It will end up in another procedure and longer wound healing. The bond and relationships I build with my patients by providing low stress care is the biggest motivation for me to keep doing it.
I wish Izzy a speedy recovery!
#perthpets #lowstresshandlingofdogsandcats #petbehaviourvet #positivetrainingdogs
#perthvets
Pets can suffer from mental health illness too.
We help our clients to manage their pet's mental health problems daily, and a vast majority are related to anxiety disorders.
In this episode of Ted Talks Daily, they discussed what is normal anxiety and what is an anxiety disorder.
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkczIuZmVlZGJ1cm5lci5jb20vdGVkdGFsa3NfYXVkaW8/episode/ZW4uYXVkaW8udGFsay50ZWQuY29tOjgwMjk0?hl=en-AU&ved=2ahUKEwjj4KPOm8TyAhXTbCsKHQVPA2YQieUEegQIBBAF&ep=6
We approach pet's anxiety disorders in a similar fashion to humans'. After all, researchers gain an understanding of human mental disorders and find new solutions by studying animal models.
When people suffer from anxiety, they seek help from their GPs, counsellors, psychologists and/or psychiatrists. When pets suffer anxiety, you can seek help from your regular vet, a referral vet with special interest in behavioural medicine, veterinary behaviourist and qualified dog trainer with the knowledge and skills to perform a behaviour modification programme. We often work together to help you and your pet!
If you love podcasts, make sure to check out this Ted Talks daily episode!
We're coming to Bunbury next week!
Dr Cathy will be doing consultations at Treendale Pet Medical on 24 August Tuesday. Book your consult at https://www.positiveelementsvet.com/ or call us at 0466 447 520.
