Customer Reviews

Clinical Behavioral Medicine For Small Animals, 1e

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I have been looking for good textbooks on this subject for quite some time, as most texts don't have much to offer me. (I have a BS in Animal Science with extensive work in behavior.) The text seems clearly written and well organized. I also like the way the author talks about where we lack on each subject - where more reseach is needed. A very good book for the scholar type. But defintely not for newcomers!

I have consulted with Dr. Overall in the treatment of a dog we rescued who has OCD, and in addition, I have also read her book cover to cover three times. There are a lot of books on this topic -- both for veterinarians and for lay people -- out there, but this one is the best. Dr. Overall, unlike a number of vets (even veterinary behaviorists) truly understands the nature of dog behavior -- and the importance of positive reinforcement in shapingn it. She is my hero, and I recommend this book to anyone who has a serious interest in animal behavior.

Karen Overall, whom I affectionately call the Behaviour Goddess, has allowed her passion for her work to spill over into what could have been a dry tome on the emerging field of veterinary behavioural medicine.

Almost every topic (from epidemiology to pharmacology) is exhaustively covered and she has clearly indentified where further research is warranted.

A must read for any veterinarian, behaviourist or pet owner searching for more information about their pet's normal and abnormal behaviours.

Also recommended: Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson, Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor, The Toolbox by Terry Ryan

This book should be on the shelf of everyone who works with dogs and cats, especially those who work directly with pet owners. The appendix is packed with detailed protocols to help owners manage and change problem behaviors, from dominance aggression to inappropriate urination and back again to chronic leg-humping. Owner compliance is one of the biggest challenges animal care professionals face, and these detailed step-by-step protocols steer sometimes overwhelmed civilians in the right direction.

My only complaint with this book is that you will (I promise, you will,) lose a few pages due to the perforated appendices. It would be nice to see a spiral-bound, easily photocopied edition.

I found this book to be inclusive of a lot of current information, but it is not for light reading. It can be difficult to get through all of the information, or dig out what you may find useful. Her emphasis on some problem behaviors being the consequence of an imbalance in neurotransmitters is not shared by everyone, as a good majority of these animals can be considered normal when evaluated in an ethological sense.

The handouts at the end of the book are very useful in getting a history from an owner, as well as handouts for the treatment of problem behaviors.

I saw galley-manuscripts of chapters from this book a few months before its release. From personal experience (bringing my dog as a patient to Dr. Overall,) I can attest that the author is dedicated, innovative, informed, and informing. She explains things very well in writing as well as spoken, and makes the process very accessible

Overall (pun intended), Dr. Overall's book is a phenomenal compilation. The information is highly valuable for veterinarians, behaviorists, and trainers. Furthermore, the book is formatted well and easy to read, especially considering the breadth and depth of the material. Incontrovertibly, Dr. Overall is a vanguard in the field of animal behavior. Her experience, her education, her creativity, her research, and her passion are evident throughout the book. Dr. Overall is a leader in advancing the belief that in many cases abnormal physiology causes abnormal behavior; thus, training and/or behavior modification alone is insufficient in extinguishing undesirable behaviors and progressing a subject animal toward a more socially acceptable state. Moreover, she supports her theories well regarding the necessity of psychopharmaceutical intervention when designing a complete solution plan for a dog exhibiting "abnormal behavior," especially when a factfinding history determines that the behavior is most likely genetically-based, not acquired via a traumatic experience, environmental observation, or some other form of learning. The book is thorough in assisting veterinarians, behaviorists, and trainers through the timeline of an action plan- from obtaining a detailed history, to diagnosis, to composing a solution plan, to implementing the solution(s), to obtaining client commitment, and obtaining client follow-up, the book provides excellent advice and guidance, as well as outstanding appendices and supplements that a reader can implement in his/her professional practice.

Dr. Overall is brilliant and a trendsetter. Unquestionably, her career has advanced the field of animal behavior.

Nevertheless, overall (pun again) Dr. Overall as a practitioner and author has one glaring fault, which fortunately barely affects this book. Dr. Overall is philosophically and, at times, illogically biased against certain types of equipment and methodologies. Granted, this book focuses on dogs and cats exhibiting behavioral problems, not untrained, out of control, obstreperous animals who are otherwise normal in their brain function and behavior and would act "normally" if they simply learned better manners and some obedience. Moreover, in this book, first authored in 1997, she surprisingly proposes several limited applications for electronic collars. Yet, in other papers/articles authored more recently, Dr. Overall universally disparages certain types of dog training equipment (particularly pinch collars and electronic collars) and lambastes persons who use the equipment as frequently abusive and inhumane. Dr. Overall has written that dogs experiencing even one correction on a pinch or electronic collar are often permanently traumatized. In addition, in an article published by syndicated columnist Steve Dale, Dr. Overall has stated that pet owners should never use a trainer who uses an electronic collar and to avoid using trainers who use choke chains or pinch collars.

I agree with Dr. Overall's basic premise that trainer's should emphasize praise and reward, rather than punishment. Where I get off the bandwagon is in Dr. Overall's absolutism. During my educational tenure, I learned that when standardized exam answers included the words "always" or "never", the response was almost always wrong.

To refute Dr. Overall's logic, Terri Arnold, a renowned AKC obedience competition trainer and an author of some outstanding competition obedience books, frequently trains her Goldens on pinch collars. The dogs are happy, eager to work, and win regularly on a local and national level. They certainly don't appear traumatized or abused. Furthermore, many dogs appear psychologically traumatized and rebellious when first wearing the head halter collars preferred by Dr. Overall. In addition, from my experiences, the no-pull harnesses supported by Dr. Overall rarely work with a large, compulsive-pulling dog; whereas, pinch collars frequently provide satisfaction for frustrated human clients seeking a quick, low complexity improvement in their pet's behavior. Moreover, without the owner figuratively "signed up for the program", committed, and diligent in maintaining consistency and completing homework exercises, very few programs reach successful goal outcomes.

Electronic collars, when used responsibly, have entitled many dogs to have off-leash freedom and a resultant higher quality of life than they would have received otherwise. As the owner of a pet training and behavior company that has had over 35,000 clients, we probably have used the electronic collar on fewer than 250 of the dogs (7/10 of 1%) we have trained. Yet, in the case of a dog who repeatedly gets loose because a young child leaves the front door open and where that dog has a high degree of stimulation across the street (such as a neighbor dog on an invisible fence or children playing) there is nothing that collar will do that is harsher than the front fender of a car. In addition, when an owner would like to take his/her dog hiking off-leash, but the dog bolts and that dog is older and has been previously mis-trained or poorly trained, re-training the dog with food,a new command word, and a long line may be insufficient.

My point is that the best trainers and behaviorists are eclectic. The best trainers complete factfinding as proposed by Dr. Overall, eclectically apply equipment and methodologies that best meet the characteristics and temperament of the animal and the goals, timeline, aptitude, and preferences of the owner, then teach all pertinent parties to use the equipment and incorporate the methodology responsibly, humanely, and effectively. Many times the equipment and methodologies employed will match those professed by Dr. Overall (including use of food, play, and head halters). However, other times they will not, perhaps because of characteristics related to the dog or perhaps due to traits attributable to the owner.

In contrast to an eclectic philosophy, philosophical absolutism is specious, closed-minded zealotry that inhibits progress and advancement in the field of dog training and behavior. Thus, I am disappointed in some of Dr. Overall's more recent writings.

Having said the preceding,which pertains to Dr. Overall's recent position papers more than to this book,Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals contains sparse objectionable material and a cornucopia of worthwhile material. Veterinarians, behaviorists, and trainers should include this book in their library.

My dog training shelf is stuffed with books that assure the reader that if this or that procedure is done just so, then all will be well with the world. Sure. If dogs were so easy to train how come there are so many training books out there? As to this book, it is written by a vet with a bunch of degrees and experience and lots of stories. It is a cut above most of the trade paperbacks out there.

But there are two problems with the book. First, and it is from my perspective more an irritation then a problem, is that Dr. Overall, presents her views on training devices as gospel. I believe that she misrepresents other devices. Perhaps not intentionally, but think she doesn't like them rather than they are inherently "bad." She recommends head halters and makes the case that other forms of leads are more dangerous. I have read in a number of reputable places where head halters have actually hurt a dog because of the unnatural neck rotation when the dog attempts to pull forward, especially if the movement is abrupt.

On the other hand, she recommends that one eschew the "pinch" collar, also known as the prong collar. The claim is that it is dangerous and could hurt the dog. Factually, these collars are used extensively in Shutzhund training which is a series of advanced training techniques that will produce a protection dog. Mostly used on German Shepherd Dogs, the collar provides control under specific conditions without using a metal choke collar which limits the dog's behavior during the bite-training phase. My own experience with these collars is that they provide immediate control of a big dog with tendency to pull. This would be a benefit to a small child who wanted to walk the family mastiff (with adult supervision of course) or a person with a disability. Even better is brief course of leash training so that the dog stops pulling without resorting to the prong collar. But a prong collar is not inherently "bad."

I suppose I should add the following caveat. I have used the collar on Huskies, Goldens, Rotties, Malamutes, Shepherds and mixed-breed large dogs that wanted to drag me down the street. I use these collars only when I initially rescued them. I wouldn't use a prong collar on a Pomeranian, a Chiuaua, a miniature poodle, etc. or any dog with an easily damaged trachea.

As to other collars they all have their uses, but the bottom line here is that, as the author says, the correct usage of the device is the key to it's use. Easy to say, but hard to do. I have seen people using a choke collar on big dogs, little dogs and dogs in between. And I mostly see these people using the collar incorrectly. So it almost doesn't matter what training device you use, if you use it wrong, it won't work.

Which brings me to the most important critique. This is an excellent book, BUT, you get the sense that if you follow the advice you can obtain the results you are looking for. What the book leaves out...and what almost every other book leaves out, is the admonition that, in the words of the ubiquitous tv car commercials, "...performed by a professional, don't try this at home"

Sure, it's a great read, but if you have an aggressive dog, a dog that growls at you, a dog that threatens a member of your family or another pet, get professional help. The book will help you understand the problem. It will give you insight (and give you clues about the veracity of the behaviorist/trainer that you seek out) and it will let you more likely help to identify what the problem is, e.g. food aggression, interdog aggression, dominance aggression, fear biting, etc. But don't expect this book to give you a formula. Don't expect any book to give you a formula. They don't exist. I suspect the target audience is a vet and I think most vets would be using this book to identify the problem rather than attempting to solve the problem.

But, sure, I own it, I have read it cover to cover, and I think it has helped me understand my dogs and dogs that I rescue. But when I had a problem with an abused dog who exhibited fearful behavior, I sought out a trainer with experience working with fearful dogs...and yes, the dog's behavior is much better...it will never be a golden retriever, but she's better than she was.

Think of this. Our children, with all of the advantages they have over our dogs (we are the same species, we used to be them, they speak, more or less, the same language) still surprise us with their behavior which we have varying success rates of improving using various techniques, both positive and negative.

So, I do recommend the book as an excellent source of information on dog behavior, but it's not a cook book. And the book is far better in its information and depth of coverage than most of the books you'll find at your local bookstore.

Finally, as to her use of drugs, especially amitryptaline, like everything else in life, moderation and flexibility are the rule. Sometimes, dogs, for whatever reason, live a more productive life with the benefit of a pharmacological agent. Certainly some of us benefit from these moderating drugs and, if used carefully and in the proper dosage levels they improve the quality of our and our dog's lives...

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I have 6 cats with very different personalities this book helped me in understanding them and actually helped in creating a lot more harmony in the house RECOMMEND!!!