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
What 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
What is SHAPE programme
Programme to get animals to understand & feel secure with owners
(S)HAPE programme acronym
Safety & shelter
S(H)APE
Height: keep height advantage i.e no attention to dog unless it has 4 feet on ground
SH(A)PE
Access: access to food conditional eg stand/sit/wait
No rewards except for new behaviour
No scraps unless at mealtimes
If Aggressive: do not give bone
Attention seeking: should be ignored
SHA(P)E
Punishment:
Verbal commands and no negotiations
Don’t give commands that wont be obeyed
Time out as punishment
Social isolation
SHAP(E)
Exercise:
Avoid physical games
Start & finish games
Physical control
Why does stress occur
When animals coping mechanisms are taxed
Factors affecting ability to cope with stress
➢Concurrent stressors
➢Concurrent disease
➢The intensity of the stressor
➢The duration of the stressor
➢The ability of the animal to be able to escape from the stressor (or do something actively to avoid it or lessen its impact)
Coping strategies for dogs and cats against stress
Dogs:
• SHAPE
• Dens
• Training
• Avoidance
• Relaxation
• Play
Cats:
• Core territory
Treatment of anxiety once animal feels secure
Desensitisation
Relaxation therapy
Environmental enrichment
Counter conditioning
Drugs (last resort)
Explain the steps of desensitisation and one rule which must be kept whilst doing this
- Reproducing the stimulus in a way that animal is convinced its the real stimulus (but it isn’t) without installing extreme fear into them
- Find their “lowest level” with dealing with the fear they have
- Slowly increase if possible, until they’re desensitised
While desensitising, animals shouldn’t be exposed to the real fearful stimulus during this time
Explain steps of relaxation therapy
- Find what the animal likes
- Condition to the phrase or whatever action you give before the relaxation starts, eg saying sit and ill pet you, before starting to perform action causing relaxation, and they will automatically start to relax
- Some animals dont allow owners to relax them, in this case need something like SHAPE programme & a bit more bonding
What is counter conditioning
Counter conditioning: training animal to do something else that’s very easy eg sit down and when they are conditioned and respond to it eagerly this can counter the negative condition they have (eg if they are afraid of spiders and see one, telling them to sit will counter the fear they are about to feel for the spiders
Example drugs given to cope with stress
Pheromones
Supplements
Behaviour modifying meds
Sedatives/tranquilisers
Difference between fear and phobia
Fear is a natural response to a perceived or actual threat, while a phobia is an extreme, persistent, and irrational fear of something that’s not a real threat, it is maladaptive
What are some anxiety problems which animal might have that MAY look like separation anxiety but actually aren’t
Opportunity: eg owner leaves so now they can bark all they want
Toilet training: might not be toilet trained
Mimicry/communication eg with neighbouring dog
Under/over exercise stimulation
What signs might real anxiety present with
Hyper attachment; both owner and animal attached to one another
Over attachment; one sided dog attached to owner
Failure to develop coping strategies; eg during Covid animal was unable to develop coping mechanisms such as sleeping on couch where owner usually sits, when they’re gone so now struggle when owner away
Fear of being alone; animal might associate bad things happening with owner being away eg thunder striking
Adverse events when alone; same as above
How to approach dealing with separation anxiety
- first find the time of their anxiety, is there a time limit (can be left alone for an hour and no more or anxious straight away as owner is leaving)
- If no time difference, start looking at SHAPE programme, desensitise to the cues that tell dog you’re leaving
Separation anxiety meds licensed in UK
Clomipramine
Selegeline
Floexetine
What else can be used to deal with separation anxiety:
Sedatives but only short term
Companion animal
What does a horse look like when relaxed
Ears forward
Head low/shouler level
Sclera not showing
No flaring nostrils
Tail relaxed
No tension lines in neck muscles or chewing muscles
What does horse look like when excited
Ears pinned forwarded
Brow furrowed
Tail slightly raised
Some sclera showing
Muzzle tense
Nostrils flared
What does horse look lie when nervous
Ears perked towards source of concern
High head carriage
Tension around eyes/sclera visible
Flared nostrils
High tail carriage
Similar to excited
What does horse look like when stressed/defensive
Ears BACK
Brow furrowed
Tense neck and muzzle
Tail high or swishing
Nostrils flared
What are stereotypies:
Arise from:
How to prevent:
Repetitive actions or sounds
Often arise from stress responses or boredom
Keep horse stimulated and in non stressful environment
Basic needs for horses to prevent stress/boredom
The 3 Fs:
Friends- mutual grooming
Forage- 16hrs a day eating
Freedom
List stereotype behaviour in horses & explain them
—Yawning (horses with colic might do this too)
—Crib biting: horse bites something like stable door
—Wind sucking: horse crib bites & gulps in air (causes ^ risk of colic)
—Box walking: walking constantly in circles may cause lamenes
—Weaving: rocking motion side to side, leaning weight over each foot & bobbing head over stable door
How to prevent stereotypies
Ensure interesting environment:
Friends
Forage
Routine
Toys
Mirror
Mental/physical stimulation
List of bad behaviours as perceived by owners
Bucking
Rearing
Napping
Spooking
Girthy
Bucking
Rearing
Both associated with:
1: horse kicks out with back legs
2: horse brings itself up onto its hindlegs
Associated with: pain, lameness, being ‘fresh’ (horse been in stable too long and has more energy than usual, rider error
Napping
Associated with:
Resisting bit/bridle when ridden, not moving in direction rider is requesting
With: neck pain, lameness, dental pain, rider error, fear, miscommunication
Spooking
Associated with;
=bolting when frightened
Inexperienced horse, tense rider, pain, poor vision, loud noise/sudden movement nearby
Girthy
Associated with:
=when girth tightened on the saddle and horse is reactive
(Girth= band of material that fastens saddles so it doesn’t move)
Gastric ulcers & musculoskeletal pain
Equine learning theory
-Positive
-Negative
Positive: owner gives horse a treat as soon as horse stands still, horse learns to stand still and calm so forms positive association with standing
Negative: pain when injected so knows to get away when sees needle
4 ways to respond to action to try and create a learned response, which to use and which not to use
Positive reinforcement eg clicker training a horse to stand still for injections
Negative reinforcement eg releasing pressure on rope when horse takes step forwards
Positive punishment eg striking out or shouting at horse that wont stand still
Negative punishment eg removing food from horse that kicks out when eating
