Online Postgraduate Programme in Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare

📆 Join the PGCABW online info session: 9 June or 25 August | 8 PM CEST

Learn more about the our science-based, academically accredited online courses for careers as:
- Animal Behaviour Technician
- Clinical Animal Behaviourist
- Veterinary Behaviourist

👉 Visit the course website: https://www.odisee.be/en/postgraduate-programmes

🔗 Register now! https://formulier.odisee.be/en/registration-online-infosession-postgraduate-courses-cab-vb-and-abt-2026

📆 Join the online info session: 9 June or 25 August | 8 PM CEST

To learn more about the PGCABW science-based, academically accredited online courses for careers as:
- Animal Behaviour Technician
- Clinical Animal Behaviourist
- Veterinary Behaviourist

🔗 https://www.odisee.be/en/postgraduate-programmes

🐾🩺What makes a behaviourally aware vet team so valuable?🌟

👩‍Caregivers rely on veterinary professionals not just for physical health, but also for guidance on behavioural wellbeing.

When a vet team has the skills to spot and respond to behavioural needs:
✅ Vet visits become less stressful for everyone
✅ Problems can be spotted early — and prevented
✅ The whole team knows what to do and say when behavioural enquiries come in
✅ There are solid plans for in-house help or referrals
✅ Clients feel supported

Want to build a behaviour-aware vet team? 🙌
👉Visit the PGCABW course website to learn more about our flexible, online, science-based programmes for the roles of:
• Animal Behaviour Technician
• Clinical Animal Behaviourist
• Veterinary Behaviourist

And register for the online info session:
📆 9 June or 25 August 2026 - 8 PM CEST

Link to course website
🔗 https://www.odisee.be/en/postgraduate-programmes

Link to register for the info session:
🔗https://formulier.odisee.be/en/registration-online-infosession-postgraduate-courses-cab-vb-and-abt-2026

🐶 Does a puppy consultation prevent undesirable behaviour?

Many puppy owners are unfamiliar with typical puppy and adult dog behaviour, which can lead to unrealistic expectations and difficulties in addressing undesirable behaviour.

📑🩺A study assessed the effect of owners receiving advice on raising a puppy during the puppy’s first visit to a veterinarian.

👨Forty-six owners received advice from a veterinary behaviourist during a one-hour consultation during the time of the first vet visit, while forty-three did not. The owners were interviewed again about their dog’s behaviour at the time of the 1-year booster vaccination appointment.

🤝Dogs whose owners received advice exhibited fewer undesirable behaviours, such as inappropriate elimination, non-stop playing, begging for food, aggression towards unfamiliar people and dogs, mouthing of people, and mounting behaviour.

Some examples of the behavioural advice provided during the consultation included:
💡 How to develop a good relationship and be a good educator.
💡 Understanding sensitive periods in development.
💡 Understanding canine communication and reacting appropriately to it.
💡 Emphasizing the importance of play and providing an enriched environment.
💡 Teaching basic training skills, including understanding the role of classical and operant conditioning, the use of reinforcers and the negative effects of positive punishment and negative reinforcement.
💡 Highlighting the importance of intra- and interspecies socialisation programmes.
💡 Methods for housetraining a puppy.
💡 Techniques for gradually teaching a puppy to stay at home alone.

🎓 Want to learn how science-based behavioural advice improves animal welfare in practice?
Discover our Postgraduate Programme in Companion Animal Behaviour & Welfare and join the online info session 9 June or 25 August 2026 – 8 PM CEST.

To visit the course website:
https://www.odisee.be/en/postgraduate-programmes

To register for the online info session:
🔗 https://formulier.odisee.be/en/registration-online-infosession-postgraduate-courses-cab-vb-and-abt-2026

Reference: Gazzano et al. (2008). The prevention of undesirable behaviors in dogs: effectiveness of veterinary behaviorists’ advice given to puppy owners. Journal of Veterinary Behavior – Clinical Applications and Research, 3, 125-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2008.04.004