Module 12 Flashcards
animal behaviour
What may be the cause of abnormal and stress-related behaviour of horses
- Social (e.g. isolation from other horses) they are herd animals
- Environmental (e.g. excessive confinement, lack of exercise)
- Learned (e.g. punishment during training)
- Medical (e.g. inadequate diet –not covered here)
- Intrinsic (e.g. genetic –not covered here)
What are the fearful body language of horses
can see whites of eyes, mouth tense (upper lip protruding past lower), tail out and back, ears back if threat close or underneath
What are the aggressive body language of horse
ears back, threatening bite, threatening kick, tail out and back
What human causes that create stress behaviour of horses
Telling them to do things that they naturally would not want to do
Not accepting handling or complying with the wishes of the handler e.g. not accepting bridle or saddle, bucking, rearing, balking and rushing fences
What is the state of learned of helplessness in horses
When horses experience constant fear
• Standing with head lowered and unresponsive to external stimuli except for command from handler
• Occurs with flooding and desensitisation during immobilisation
Numb of surrounding
Why do horses seen doing actions that are rarely seen in wild horses
excessive stress, coping with stress built up
What is crib biting
Biting onto a solid surface and sucking in a gulp of air then expelling it
What may be the cause of continuous pawing in horses?
Stress of abdominal pain
What facial expression and head movement horses make during stress
Tongue displacement and sucking, lip licking, head swaying, shaking, tossing, nodding and bobbing
What are the horses stereotypic behaviour
Crib biting
stomping, pawing or kicking
stereotypic head movements
Locomotor
Self mutilation
What are the stress-related behaviour of dog
fight or flight
freeze
fiddle
to preserve the function and life of the animal in adverse stressful situations
Fearful body language of dogs
Fear behaviours –crouching and lowering of body and head, tail tucked under, ears back and down, averted gaze (not making eye contact) or angled gaze (whites of eyes visible), not sniffing, eyes large, pupils large, withdrawal or freezing (stiffening body, not moving), hackles raised, barking, urinating, defecating, anal gland expression Danger signal for handling. Do not corner.
Dog anxiety behaviour
displacement behaviours (lip licking, yawning), panting, pacing, shaking, holding one front paw up, loss of appetite, unable to settle (hypervigilance), whining or crying
Aggressive body language of dogs
Goes in order unless is predatory aggression
Barking > Growling/baring teeth > Snapping > Biting
Defensive aggression of dogs
starts with fear body language then when cornered or cannot escape begins to show the ladder of aggression
Offensive aggression of dogs
starts with signs of anxiety then moves towards target and begins to show ladder of aggression
Compulsive behaviour examples (stereotypies) of dogs
repetitive behaviours with no apparent function –circling, fly snapping, overgrooming, running
Human related stress behaviours in dogs
Appeasement behaviours due to perceived or expected anger in owner (not guilt)
Freezing
• Learned helplessness due to punishment
• Coping behaviours trained out of dog
• E.g. loss of growl response in ladder of aggression
• Can also be normal coping response unrelated to humans
What behaviour is it when a dog eyes show a white crescent shape, facing one direction but looking at the other, huddling of the body?
Fear
What is a pathological behaviours?
Behaviours affected by physical or mental disease. Anxiety related problems like classical conditioning
What are the pathological behaviour involving anxiety related problems for dogs?
- Separation anxiety
- Phobias (extreme fear of noise, object, animal, surface etc.) e.g. thunderstorm or fireworks phobias
- Aggression (to dogs, people etc.) due to fear or anxiety
- Canine obsessive compulsive disorder (stereotypical behaviours)
- Other (e.g. depression, overactivity)
What are the pathological logical medical related problems for dogs
- Cognitive dysfunction (like senility)
- Urinary tract infection
- Skin conditions
- Hormonal conditions
What the the learnt behaviour problems
• Incomplete housetraining • Pulling on lead • Jumping up • Rough play etc
Is it good to have fear or anxiety?
no, it is a negative emotion
What are the pathological behaviour often created by?
From human, related to punishing the dog by yelling
What might the dog be feeling when they seemed “nasty” or “fearful”?
They are scared of something or someone.
What is important when dealing with treating an animal abnormal behaviour?
Identifying the cause of the behaviour
What is the fiddle behaviour
Displacement behaviours
Compulsive disorders
What social situation that may cause the stress and abnormal behaviours of cat
Intercat-aggression or crowded territory
What environment situation that may cause the stress and abnormal behaviours of cat
excessive confinement, lack of exercise, noises
What medical situation that may cause the stress and abnormal behaviours of cat
hormonal disease
What learned situation that may cause the stress and abnormal behaviours of cat
punishment or substrate aversion
What intrinsic situation that may cause the stress and abnormal behaviours of cat
genetic
What are the fearful body language of cats?
–Dilated pupils, withdrawal, crouched, tail close to body, head low, motionless, ears flattened and back, whiskers back, piloerection, vocalising
What are piloerection?
raising of the hairs, goosebumps
What are the aggressive/ reactive body language of cats?
from more confident and offensive above (body higher, side on, pupils smaller, ears up and forward) to more defensive and fearful below (ears back, pupils larger).