This seminar dvd can be found at www.tawzerdog.com FROM LEASHES TO NEURONS:How dogs think, why this matters, and what we can learn from them about becoming more humane Psychopharmacology has become a popular, and sometimes mandatory addition to treatment regimes for canine and feline patients with behavioral problems; however, clients and practitioners should be dissuaded that behavioral drugs are 'quick fixes'. Veterinarians should only prescribe psychotropic medication when they have a specific idea of how the mechanism of action of the drug will affect the target behaviors associated with a specific diagnosis. The diagnosis must be treated rather than non-specific signs. Newer psychotropic medications demonstrate the extent to which truly abnormal behaviors are dysfunctions of neurochemistry; synaptic or cellular metabolism; or genetic encoding and 'learning', or LTP, hence there is a clear role for the interaction of neuropharmacology and behavioral and environmental modification. Future advances in treatment in behavioral medicine will be pharmacological and neurophysiological. As the field of behavioral medicine expands, its paradigm will enlarge to include combination therapy and the implementation of neuropharmacological intervention as a diagnostic tool. At present, the veterinary practitioner can effectively aid many common behavioral problems using extant drugs to treat animals with true behavioral pathology. Rational pharmacological therapy requires complete medical and behavioral histories, requisite laboratory work, complete client understanding and compliance, and an honest and ongoing dialogue between the client and veterinarian that includes frequent follow-ups and re-examinations. ? 2001 Harcoun Publishers Ltd

Sponsor:TAWZER DOG LLC
Speaker(s):Karen Overall, MA, VMD, PhD, DACVB

Contact: Alta F Tawzer
 Email: alta@tawzerdog.com
 Phone: 888-566-3003
 Web: http://www.tawzerdog.com/