All subject areas to be covered at a minimum of Honours degree level. Individual species should be studied in depth before acquiring supervised clinical experience of, and subsequently taking cases of, that species. Teaching and research to be conducted in a relevant research-active environment.

1. Principles of ethology. Domestication: the process and its effects on behaviour. Ethology of domestic companion animals, including perceptual abilities, communication, maintenance and social behaviour. Behavioural ontogeny; to include sensitive periods, socialisation and attachment. The interactions between biological and evolutionary influences and the domestic environment, and their role in behavioural disorders. Interactions between animals and man, to include the role of animals in human society and artificial selection.
   

2. Animal welfare science: ethological, psychological and physiological concepts, including stress, suffering, coping strategies; environmental predictability and control; physiological and behavioural indicators of welfare in vertebrate animals, including stereotypies; methods of assessing welfare, motivation and demand; effects of artificial selection on welfare; welfare considerations in management, welfare issues in training and in clinical practice.

3. Theory of animal learning: associative and non-associative learning: habituation; sensitization, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, integration with emotional processing and resultant behavioural organisation. Animal cognition: insight, social learning and the concept of consciousness. Theories underlying learned problem behaviour. The ability to use a range of behaviour modification techniques appropriately, to include systematic desensitization, operant and respondent counter conditioning and habituation and structure behaviour modification programmes to facilitate learning. An understanding of a broad range of training techniques and training aids and the rational assessment of treatment and training options based on the principles of learning theory.
   
   

4. Functional anatomy and physiology of the vertebrate nervous and endocrine systems and their role in mediating behaviour; specific receptor mediated control mechanisms, the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and nociception in animals. Neural plasticity and the development of the nervous system. Psychopharmacology: theory; mode of action of major classes of drugs used in clinical animal behaviour and critical evaluation of their role in the treatment of behavioural disorders; to also include the role of nutrition, pheromones.
   
   

5. Clinical procedures - principles, procedures and practice: a) Clinical principles: human and family psychology, including attitude theory, processes of inter-personal relationships, grief and bereavement. Counselling skills; facilitation and maintenance of behavioural change; to include interpretation of client behaviour and attitude. Methods of effective communication and collection of information, assessment of understanding. Communication with professionals; to include methods for resolving deficiencies in information gathered, or client understanding and critical appraisal of information gathered, the owner/pet relationship and provision of appropriate feedback. Ethical issues: professionalism in relationships with clients and others. Human attitude towards animals; to include animal abuse, abandonment, animal-hoarding.
   b) Clinical procedures and practice: taking case-histories and effective communication and liaison with clients. Including; History taking techniques, including open questioning, interpretation of spoken and unspoken language and communication. Devising and effective delivery of structured treatment regimes, assessing effectiveness of communication, client understanding, compliance and efficacy of treatments. Approaches to extended treatment and follow-up Applying principles of ethology and learning to techniques for diagnosis and treatment of all common problems. Identification and critical evaluation of contributing factors, role of environmental factors, differential diagnosis.
   In addition, students should have experienced animal orientated counselling sessions run by recognised and suitably qualified and skilled clinical animal behaviourists, and are recommended to experience and participate in human orientated counselling sessions where possible.
   

6. Animal law and ethics: Animal law and ethics sufficient for effective clinical animal behaviour practice. Including: ethics of animal use; national and European legislative frameworks, and their operation. Legal obligations and safety concerns of those working with or owning animals (e.g. owners, veterinary surgeons, paraprofessionals and others providing animal related services); legal implications of providing behavioural advice, professional liability.
   
   
7. Interaction between health and behaviour in vertebrate animals: Signs of ill-health and common conditions influencing behaviour and associated veterinary terminology. Understanding of the behavioural consequences of medical disorders. Medical differentials in behavioural disorders. The role of nutrition in health and behaviour. The role of the veterinary surgeon and paraprofessionals in the treatment of behavioural disorders.
8. Research skills: Display an understanding of research methods, experimental design, qualitative and quantitative analysis and critical evaluation of data, as evidenced by both formal instruction and a research project or dissertation on a relevant topic, that has been examined with a successful outcome at a level commensurate with at least undergraduate 3rd year Honours (i.e. level 6).