NAVC Institute

I just have to write about last week when I was at the NAVC Institute doing a behaviour course with my idol, Dr. Karen Overall, a board certified veterinary behaviourist. I had taken this course five years ago and thought it was time to take it again. It was even better than the last time. We did behaviour cases, got introduced to new behaviour modification protocols and new medication protocols. It was all I could do to stay seated, I was so excited.

I’ve included a link so you can see what I was doing. What the schedule doesn’t tell you is how much extra time was put in. When the other courses were finished after dinner, we would head back into the room at 7pm for another few hours of work. I did get to bed at a normal time on Wednesday night since we were off “early” for the banquet.

I had been emailing Dr. Overall about a rather complex case and that evening she told me that I was going to present it to our course and the instructor of the neurology course as well as his students. Let’s just say that I didn’t get to bed cause I needed to make a proper case presentation. I haven’t done one of those since vet school. Luckily I was able to jazz it up a bit because I was able to email the owner for some photos. I will be forever grateful for her taking the time to send the pictures. I am also very glad my Mom made me do public speaking in 4-H. I was able to “turn it on” and get the answers we needed.

The next night another attendee presented how he’s changed the way he practiced general medicine so his hospital was more behaviourally aware. I am so glad not to be the only vet who sits on the floor if it makes the dog or cat feel more comfortable.

We were also lucky to have two attendees from Norway. They did a lot of search and rescue work and all the animals are trained with only positive methods. When Dr Overall as you to do a presentation, you do it, so she presented how they trained and were tested. Just amazing!!! I also loved the fact that both of her English Cocker spaniels had their beautiful tails.
In addition to being in class and madly taking notes, we also got to work on “bratty” dogs that were referred by local trainers and vets. While everyone else was adjusting equipment, I found a puppy that had been brought in for socialization. The focus on this 12 week old German Shepherd puppy was breathtaking. I grabbed a clicker and some treats and away we went. Willow would have jumped through a flaming hoop if I’d asked.

I also had a blast with the true behaviour cases. One dog had noise phobias and the other had fear aggression. I loved watching their body language and how the specialists work with them and their suggestions to the owners.

Check out the course at this link