Behaviour Flashcards
Behaviour problems
Aggression
Anxiety (fear & phobia)
Attention seeking
Compulsive & stereotypic
Withdrawal (depression, learned helplessness)
Learned helplessness
State of giving up & tolerating everything
Most behavioural problems in domesticated farm animals caused by…
inappropriate management,
inappropriate husbandry,
inappropriate social groupings,
or disease
Behaviour problems in cattle
Navel sucking
Tongue rolling (hungry?)
Aggression
Change of behaviour patterns
Behaviour problems in poultry
Feather pecking
Vacuum behaviours (eg seem like they’re dust bathing but there’s no dust bath to do it)
Aggression
Cannabilism
Behaviour problems in pigs
Tail biting
Aggression
Bar chewing
Laying on piglets
Behaviour problems in sheep
Fear & panic
Aggression
Changes in pattern of behaviour
Behaviour patterns in companion animals dont include what?
Emotional states or their consequences eg fear aggression
2 groups of causes of behavioural problems in companion animals
- Social/environmental
- Medical/clinical
Social/environmental causes in dog
- Socialisation: sensitive period when taken away from mother (8 weeks) & 4-16weeks
- Attitude to resources & control
- Trauma (eg separation anxiety)
- Frustration
- Breed tendency
- Handling
- Learned/trained
- Over/under stimulation
Which breed is prone to tail chasing when in frustration
German shepherd
Which breed is prone to rage syndrome
Cocker spaniel (cocker rage)
Social & environmental causes in cat
- Inappropriate/inadequate/breached core territory eg smell of another cat
- Trauma/threat/change
- Relationships
Key points in core territory of cat
High scratching poles
Water bowl fair distance away from food bowl
High up
Clinical causes of behavioural problems in cats & dogs
- Pain (animals fear it)
- Dietary sensitivity (microbiomes in gut can change nerve signals going to brain depending on diet)
- Hormonal (sex)
- Hormonal (endocrine): hyperthyroidism (cats), hypothyroidism (dogs), hyperadrenocorticism/cushings
- Neurological
- Urogenital tract
- GI tract
- Sensory
- Hepatic eg liver shunt
- Cognitive dysfunction
- Iatrogenic
When taking history and making diagnosis of issue being a behavioural problem, consider:
- Temperament
- Experience
- Severity of potential eliciting cause
- Context of potential eliciting cause
Why might motivation be behind animals jumping up on people
May be reinforced behaviour becoming attention seeking
How to deal with attention seeking behaviour with mouthing behaviour example
DONT do punishment or physical deterrent
DO:
-stop all interaction & passively ignore eg mouthing beviour
What might be motivation for puppies behind chewing/stealing
Exploration
Teething
Attention seeking
Pica (deprived appetite)
How to deal with chewing/stealing behaviour
Try to establish motivation
Provide a variety of substrates
Increase mental stimulation
Do not offer substitutes
Use gentle “distant” distraction
Stop attention/walk out
Distractors for dangerous/valuable
items
Address pica! Although it may not be
pica….
What is aggression
Interaction between dog/cat & other person/animal initiated by dog/cat, which has resulted in or could result in injury/fright/trauma
Safety aspect of treating aggression
• muzzles
• gates
• headcollars
• avoidance
• the law
• Soft paws?
Management of aggression involves what 3 principles
Avoidance
Timing
Control/handling