Unit name | Unit 4: Stress, welfare and the influence of disease and diet on behaviour |
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Unit code | VETS10009 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Casey |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
The five units of this course will run in sequential order. Students must achieve a minimum of 40% overall for assessments on the study skills unit (Unit1) before attending subsequent units (no compensation). Students must achieve a minimum of 40% on Units 2 and 3 prior to progressing to Units 4 and 5. Students must achieve a minimum of 40% on Unit 4 before commencing Unit 5. Students failing to achieve 40% in units 2-5 will be given the option of resitting the unit before the start of the subsequent unit, or the end of the academic year.
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Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Bristol Veterinary School |
Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
This unit will introduce the physiological processes underlying behaviour, providing an introduction to the basic principles of neuroscience and endocrinology and an overview of the endocrine basis of different forms of behaviour. The unit introduces the mechanisms underlying the stress response as well as the effects of stress on immune function.
Dietary changes are frequently recommended for treatment of behaviour problems in dogs and the scientific evidence for the influence of nutrition on behaviour will also be examined in this unit.
The assessment of welfare in rescue-housed animals is an important role of rehoming centre staff and methods for achieving this will be discussed. The unit examines in detail specific welfare problems for dogs housed in kennels as well as those kept as companion animals and explores solutions to these problems. The development of abnormal behaviour is also covered in this unit. This unit aims to:
At the end of this unit students should be able to:
The unit is made up of 7.5 days of contact time with students (5 days at University of Bristol and 2.5 days at Dogs Trust training centre, Evesham), and the remaining time is, self-directed study and preparation of assessed material. During contact with lecturing staff, teaching methods include formal lectures, however the emphasis is very much on discussion based seminar and tutorial sessions, where material is related to students’ own work-based experiences, and practical sessions where techniques are demonstrated and students are able to develop their skills. Out with the contact periods, students are directed to access materials available on-line, and via existing library resources in order to complete both formative and summative assessments.The distance learning elements of the unit will be facilitated using online materials produced specifically for the students on this course.
As the unit involves a significant proportion of work-based learning, accessible support from tutors and unit organisers will be essential. At the beginning of the course structured access to tutors and unit organisers will be outlined to students. This will specify appropriate means of communication with tutors (e.g. email), in addition to informing the students of how soon they can expect a reply (e.g. 48hrs) and specific times during the week when their tutors will be available (e.g. Monday mornings).
Students will be allocated a personal tutor and pastoral tutor (programme director) at the start of the first unit (Unit1: Study skills).
Formative assessment
Summative assessment
Summative assessments will take place and feedback will be provided prior to the student attending the subsequent unit
Mendl, M., Brooks, J., Basse, C., Burman, O., Paul, E., Blackwell, E. and Casey, R. (2010) Dogs showing separation-related behaviour exhibit a ‘pessimistic’ cognitive bias. Current Biology, 20, 839-840
Physiology of behaviour. Neil Carlson. Pearson Education. New Jersey, USA.
Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroscience (6th Edition). Marc Breedlove, Neil Watson, and Mark Rosenzweig. Sinauer Associates, Hampshire, UK.
Animal Welfare. Mike Appleby and Bo Hughes. CAB International, Oxon, UK.
The welfare of dogs. Kevin Stafford. Springer. Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
The welfare of cats. Irene Rochlitz. Springer. Dordrecht, The Netherlands.