That's odd about the book

I must admit that although I've heard his name over the years, I don't know much about him. However, here is his take on Cesar Millan, this seems rather at odds with the info in the book??

"Cesar Millan's methods are based on flooding and punishment. The results, though immediate, will be only transitory. His methods are misguided, outmoded, in some cases dangerous, and often inhumane. You would not want to be a dog under his sphere of influence. The sad thing is that the public does not recognize the error of his ways. My college thinks it is a travesty. We've written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training back 20 years."

Dr. Nicholas Dodman - Professor and Head, Section of Animal Behavior, Director of Behavior Clinic, Tufts University - Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

Wys
x

I am waiting to see if a meeting I have scheduled on one of these days can be rescheduled so that I can attend.

Dr. Nicholas Dodman is one of the world's most noted and celebrated veterinary behaviourists; a blogger on Ian Dunbar's Dog Star Daily and also at Victoria Stilwell's Positively blog. He grew-up in England and trained to be a vet in Scotland and has written 5 highly acclaimed books including: The Dog Who Loved Too Much, Dogs Behaving Badly and If Only They Could Speak. Internationally recognised and sought after as a leader in his field, Dr. Dodman has also authored two textbooks and more than 150 scientific articles and book chapters. He appears regularly on radio and television.

Here's how the content of his exclusive two-day UK seminars for dog & bone look, which will include clinical case studies and questions on the topics covered:

Dominance versus Conflict Aggression:

Dr. Dodman will address the current controversy regarding the terms dominance and conflict used to describe owner-directed aggression. Clinical signs of both types of aggression will be described and differences between the two will be highlighted. Treatment of owner-directed aggression and the likely outcome of treatment measures will be addressed. Dominance struggles occurring between dogs in the same household, a condition known as sibling rivalry or alliance aggression will also be discussed, including itemisation of a treatment regimen that has proven most successful.

Fear, Territorial, and Predatory Aggression:

Dr. Dodman will address the role of fearfulness and territoriality in generating aggression to strangers both on and off the owner's property will be described with emphasis on the critical importance of early socialisation even before vaccination is complete. Territorial aggression will be discussed as that arriving from fear or dominance or a combination of these two factors and different treatment approaches for both will be outlined. The natural behavior of predatory aggression will be featured toward the end of this talk and its unnatural expression when directed toward people and moving objects. Proper control and treatment of predatory aggression will be discussed.

Canine Fear-Based Behaviours featuring Diagnosis and Treatment of Separation Anxiety:T

he centerpiece of this seminar will involve a thorough discussion of separation anxiety in dogs, how it arises, when it arises, and what can be done about it. Other situational fears will also be addressed in this talk including fear of car travel and veterinary visits including treatment options for both of these latter conditions.

Canine Phobias/Post Traumatic Stress Disorders:

Noise phobia, in particular, storm phobia, will be the main subject of this presentation. The enigma of how storm phobia arises and what factors are involved will be covered, as will effective treatment options ranging from the use of various types of storm capes and wraps to environmental provisions including that of companionship.

Canine Compulsive Disorder: Spinning, Sucking, and Snapping

A leader in canine compulsive disorder research, Dr. Dodman will discuss the cause of these sometimes confusing and difficult to treat conditions. The latest findings regarding the genetic underpinning of compulsive disorders as well as environmental input and the expression of well-known canine compulsive disorders such as acral lick dermatitis and tail-chasing will be detailed. Treatment of the various compulsive disorders will also be described, including what can reasonably be expected in terms of results.

Medical Causes of Behavior Problems: Things You've Got to Know

Dr. Dodman firmly believes that trainers and veterinarians, alike, need to be aware of the possible role of medical conditions in generating what appear to be purely behavioral problems. In particular, he will discuss what is and is not known about the all-to-common state of borderline hypothyroidism and its role in generating aggression, anxiety, and possibly even compulsive disorders. Various types of partial seizure disorder will be described also including how these problems can contribute to a rage-like state of aggression, fly-snapping, indiscriminate eating of inedible objects and even extreme and irrational fear. Canine cognitive dysfunction (canine Alzheimer's will also be discussed, including how the diagnosis is made, what other diagnoses can be confused with it and how to manage it. Nocturnal separation anxiety occurring in older dogs will also be described as an entity and one in which must be recognized by all. Other known conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy, liver problems, and kidney/bladder problems will also be mentioned.

Psychopharmacology of Behavior Problems: What works and why

Dr. Dodman will discuss how and why behavior modifying drugs work and will run through an assortment of them in terms of when they can be applied, how they can be applied, and what are reasonable expectations of their use. Specifically in this talk, pharmacological treatments to modify aggression, separation anxiety, and compulsive disorders, will be detailed, including specifics of titration of these medications and possible side effects.

Well-Adjusted Dogs: Seven Steps to Producing a Happy, Healthy, Well-Adjusted Dog

Dr. Dodman will go through the seven steps that he has enumerated as being something that all dog owners should know and apply in order to maximize the physical and psychological well-being of their dog. The steps include exercise and diet, clear communication, proper leadership, proper control, assuagement of fears, and provision of a suitable indoor and outdoor environment and activities. Each one of these subjects will be gone through in detail explaining why the various interventions work and the resulting improvement that can be achieved.

You are reading it wrong.

He is not suggesting that you actively DO any of these things, they are check boxes for clients to tick to demonstrate to Dr Dodman when and where inappropriate behaviour has taken place.

This is the trouble when you take excerpts out of context.

Wow, that programme looks GREAT!

There are some things I am particularly interested in, such as the medical causes of behaviour and the fears and phobias. Oh and the aggression. And the compulsive disorders

I can't really get to Leeds though, but I know quite a few people who are going and so I am going to beg for notes (and do the same for them sometime )


Wys
x

Aside from his "popular" books mentioned in his CV here Nick Dodman also wrote a textbook on animal behaviour and psychopharmacology (which is pretty well his specialist subject) and has published peer reviewed papers on animal behaviour.

I could not believe he would have suggested deliberately hitting a dog to gauge its response, but of course that is very different to asking an owner, who has used hitting to punish the dog, what it's response to that was, to gain a more information about the dog including its experiences and its responses to those experiences .

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/behavior/staff.shtml

Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, BVMS, MRCVS (Faculty Profile)
Dr. Nicholas Dodman is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, and Professor, Section Head and Program Director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences. Dr. Dodman is one of the world’s most noted and celebrated veterinary behaviorists. He grew-up in England and trained to be a vet in Scotland. At the age of 26, he became the youngest veterinary faculty member in Britain. It was at that time that Dr. Dodman began specializing in surgery and anesthesiology. In 1981, Dr. Dodman immigrated to the United States where he became a faculty member of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Shortly after his arrival, Dr. Dodman became interested in behavioral pharmacology and the field of animal behavior. After spending several years in this area of research, he founded the Animal Behavior Clinic - one of the first of its kind - at Tufts in 1986. He received an additional board certification in animal behavior from the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Dr. Dodman began to see clinical cases in 1987 and since 1990, he has devoted all of his time to his specialty practice of animal behavior. Since the mid 1990s, Dr. Dodman has written four acclaimed bestselling books that have received a tremendous amount of national press. His first book, The Dog Who Loved Too Much (Bantam Books, 1995), was an unqualified success selling more than 100,000 copies as did his second book, The Cat Who Cried for Help (Bantam Books, 1997). His third book, Dogs Behaving Badly (Bantam Books, 1999) was again a bestseller while his latest, If Only They Could Speak (W.W. Norton & Co., 2002) was recently released as a trade paperback. Dr. Dodman is internationally recognized and sought after as a leader in his field.

In addition to his four trade books, he has authored two textbooks and more than 100 articles and contributions to scientific books and journals. He appears regularly on radio and television including: 20/20, Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Dateline, World News with Peter Jennings, Discovery Channel, NOVA, Animal Planet, the BBC and CBC, CNN’s Headline News, Inside Edition, MSNBC, NOVA, NPR’s “Fresh Air” and A&E. He is an ad hoc guest on WBUR’s “Here & Now.” As a former senior editor for [System Edit: Site requires registration to view - which is against our link rules], he is currently a columnist for the American Kennel Club’s quarterly publication, AKC Family Dog, where his column was nominated for 2005 “Column of the Year.” Additionally, he is a Pet Expert for Time, Inc. and also writes a monthly “Expert Advice” column for LIFE magazine that is read by twelve million people. Dr. Dodman is also the editor of Tufts University’s forthcoming Puppies First Steps, which has been sold to Houghton Mifflin (2007). He is a consultant to and official national spokesman for a new line of pet products from Zero Odor LLC for whom he recently completed shooting a 28-minute infomercial that will air up to five times a week on cable television networks beginning the spring of 2006. In addition, Dr Dodman has recently completed a television pilot for a series of his own sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States. Dr. Dodman graduated from Glasgow University Veterinary School in Scotland where he received a BVMS (DVM equivalent). He was a surgical intern at the Glasgow Veterinary School before joining the faculty. He received a Diploma in Veterinary Anesthesia from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists and the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and the American Society for Veterinary Animal Behavior. Dr. Dodman holds ten US patents for behavior modification treatments, including a recent (2002) patent that details a novel treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans. Early work in the Harvard and Yale University Psychiatry Departments confirms the validity of this novel treatment. Dr. Dodman lives near Tufts University with his wife, Dr. Linda Breitman, a veterinarian who specializes in small animals, and their children.

Remember he is also at Amersham!

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