Fear Free Flashcards
What is FAS and frustration?
FAS stands for fear, anxiety and stress.
FAS and frustration are negative emotions that many shelter animals experience. Animals express these emotions through both active and passive communication, and it is the caretaker’s job to recognize and decrease the level of FAS and frustration that the shelter inhabitants experience.
What are the four F’s?
The four F’s are fight, flight, fret/fidget and freeze.
The four F’s are generalized categories of behavior that an animal may display when they are experiencing FAS and frustration.
The four F’s should be taken into consideration before approaching an animal. They can also be used to determine what triggers an animal and what measures can be taken to alleviate that animal’s FAS and frustration.
What are the three M’s?
The three M’s are motivation, management and modification. The three M’s are used to address and alter problem behaviors.
Ask the questions:
- What is motivating this animal to behave this way?
For example, are they experiencing FAS or frustration? What triggers cause them to feel this way?
- What can we do to manage this behavior?
For example, if an animal is experiencing fear when people pass by and/or is displaying signs of barrier aggression, we can put up a visual barrier or move them to a lower traffic area. - What can we do to modify this behavior?
For example, a reactive dog may be tossed a treat from people walking by so that they have less time to focus on being reactive and have a more positive association with people passing by. Or an animal that is afraid of the hose may feel less nervous after a few sessions of systematic desensitization.
What is operant conditioning and what are the four types of operant conditioning techniques?
Operant conditioning is a common training methodology that pairs behaviors with consequences. The four types of operant conditioning techniques are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment.
The shelter environment is already a highly stressful place for an animal and it is recommended to only use positive reinforcement when training them.
Positive reinforcement: A behavior that the handler wants the animal to repeat will receive a positive consequence, such as a tasty treat.
Negative reinforcement: A behavior that the handler wants an animal to repeat will cause a negative experience to stop, such as the pressure of a prong collar easing up when the animal stops pulling.
Positive punishment: A behavior that the handler does not want the animal to repeat will receive a negative consequence, such as being sprayed with a spray bottle for jumping on furniture.
Negative punishment: A behavior that the handler does not want the animal to repeat will cause a good experience to end, such as the handler leaving if the animal begins jumping up for attention.
What is classical conditioning and what is classical counterconditioning?
Classical conditioning is a way of altering an animal’s expectations of an event by pairing it with an experience that is not normally related. The most well-known example of this is Pavlov’s dogs associating a bell being rung and food being served, two events that, prior to him running the experiment, would have had no connection. Classical conditioning can be both accidentally introduced through the natural routines that a shelter has or it can be used intentionally as a training methodology. Classical conditioning can cause both positive and negative association between events. For example, an animal may begin to associate the door opening with an eruption of barking from their neighbors. This barking may scare them and inadvertently cause them to experience an increase of FAS when the door is opened.
Classical counterconditioning is a way of taking an experience that an animal is already afraid of, such as the sound of a vacuum, and causing it to be associated with a more positive experience, such as being fed their dinner or receiving praise while the vacuum is running. Classical counterconditioning is often best paired with systematic desensitization so that while you gradually desensitize an animal to a trigger, you also reward them with a positive experience.
What is systematic desensitization and sensitization?
Systematic desensitization is a training methodology that attempts to decrease an animal’s reaction to a certain object or event through low level exposure to that event. For example, to decrease an animal’s FAS around vacuum cleaners, the trainer might regularly run the vacuum cleaner from a distance on a low setting (ensuring that the animal does not experience any more than a low level of stress) and gradually move closer to the animal until the animal no longer reacts to the vacuum cleaner being run. Systematic desensitization is best paired with classical counterconditioning so that whenever the vacuum cleaner is run, the animal also experiences something positive like eating treats.
Desensitization can occur unintentionally if an animal starts to recognize that an event is not something they need to be fearful of. For example, if they get to go on a walk every time someone puts a harness on them, they may begin to be less sensitive to, or even start to enjoy, when someone puts the harness on them.
An animal can also be unintentionally sensitized to an event or object. For example, if the animal experiences a high level of FAS during grooming session, they may develop a fear of the grooming area.
What is the “flooding” training methodology and why is it not a recommended practice?
Flooding is a training methodology that gives an animal intense levels of exposure to something they are fearful of.
This methodology has no scientific backing and usually only manages to worsen an animal’s FAS next time they are exposed to that event or object. Imagine that you are terrified of spiders and someone shoved you into a room full of thousands of them. Being surrounded by so many spiders against your will would only make you more fearful of them!
What is habituation?
Habituation occurs when an animal starts to recognize that an event has nothing to do with them, and thus, eventually stop reacting whenever that event takes place. Habituation most often occurs with events that are part of the daily routine. For example, every day a shelter associate fills their water bottle around the corner. If nobody approaches the animals whenever that sink is running, they will eventually stop reacting to sound of the sink being turned on.
What is active and passive communication?
Active communication occurs when an animal communicates how they are feeling through their actions, body language and vocalizations. An animal will wiggle towards you, bark, growl, avoid eye contact and use other types of intentional body language to display to you what they are thinking. An animal that bounces off the walls with a high-pitched bark may be expressing frustration and showing signs of poor emotional heath, while an animal that engages in play is likely displaying signs of good physical and emotional health.
Passive communication can be interpreted when we observe an animal’s inactions and physiologic changes. Noting when an animal is not playing, grooming, socializing or otherwise engaging in normal activities can give us valuable insight into how they are feeling physically or emotionally. Watching for physiologic changes, such as pupils dilating, excessive shedding or rapid breathing, can also help us interpret what an animal is trying to communicate.
Why should we change to a Fear Free culture?
Some of the primary reasons to adopt a Fear Free culture includes:
- Fear Free practices reduce stress in animals, staff, volunteers and patrons
- Reduced FAS and frustration results in a decrease of illness, problem behaviors and health conditions in shelter animals, and ultimately reduces the risk of euthanasia due to these complications
- Reduced FAS and frustration increases the adoptability of shelter animals
- Adopting a Fear Free culture helps build better relationships with the patrons and local community
What are the four cornerstones of Fear Free?
The four cornerstones of Fear Free are:
- Recognize that FAS and frustration are serious problems that we must recognize and treat
- Positive communication is essential for success
- Always use a Considerate Approach (CA) when interacting with animals and people
- Always provide care using Gentle Control (GC) instead of harsh restraint
How long should we implement Fear Free techniques with an animal?
We should be implementing Fear Free techniques from the moment of initial contact throughout an animal’s entire stay. You can even expose the adopter to Fear Free techniques they can implement at home.
What are an animal’s physical needs?
Before we can tend to an animal’s emotional needs, we must first ensure we are meeting their physical requirements including shelter, nutrition, grooming and basic medical care.
What are the signs that an animal has good emotional health?
In short, an animal with good emotional health is content and resilient. Specifically, the animal can function, learn and adapt in everyday life; is able to cope and bounce back after a briefly stressful situation; and generally displays positive emotions such as joy, playfulness, relaxation and excitement.
What are an animal’s emotional needs?
An animal’s emotional needs include:
- Opportunities for social interaction with humans and other compatible animals
- Space in their living environment for functional areas to eliminate, rest and eat
- The opportunity to hide and rest without being disturbed
- The ability to change locations within their environment
- Ability to engage in species specific behaviors, such as scratching for cats and chewing for dogs
- Have regular opportunities to play, exercise and engage in mentally stimulating activities
Note that individual animals have a variety of specific needs depending on their species, genetic makeup, personality, prior socialization and past experiences.
