small animal welfare

Question 1

what are the 5 freedoms

Answer 1

1) freedom from hunger and thirst
2) freedom from discomfort
3) freedom from pain, injury or disease
4) freedom to express normal behaviour
5) freedom from fear and disease

Question 2

what % of dogs are overweight

Answer 2

55% - 60%

Question 3

enforcement bodies in companion animal welfare

Answer 3

• police
• RSPCA (can enforce law)
• Local Authority Trading Standards (breeding and selling)

Question 4

Welfare charities

Answer 4

PDSA
RSPCA
DOgs trust
Cats Protection
International Cat care

Question 5

advice/education/campaign organisations

Answer 5

Kennel Club
Dog COntrol Coalition
Canine and Feline Sector Group
Advisory Council on Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding
All Parlimentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group
BVA

Question 6

Who has powers in relation in animals in distress

Answer 6

• inspector or constanbe can immediately alleviate the animal’s suffering
  Vets can give permission to PTS

Question 7

Mutilations banned under act 2006

Answer 7

Tail docking
Dew clwa removal
Ear cropping
Declawing cats
Devocalisation
(exceptions: dew claw removal = anaesthesia or before eyes opem , or tail docking approved breeds)
working dog exemptions: spaniel, terrier or hunt point retrieve breeds can be docked . Need to apply and get a certificate from DEFRA . Puppies have to be under 5 years of age

Question 8

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 vets importance

Answer 8

have to identify dangerous dogs breeds and if banned have to decide to PTS
not legally obliged unless under law
if seized used to have to put to kennel until PTS or until exemption, can be years in kennels = guidance for dogs in kennels
now not mandatory for dog to stay in kennels, stay at home whilst waiting for court process
against law to rehome a banned dog, but cases where it has happened

Question 9

issues with early neutering

Answer 9

increase risk of cancers, orthopaedic issues and behavioural problems

Question 10

first signs of dog stress

Answer 10

yawning, blinking, nose licking
turning head away
turning body away, sitting, pawing
walking away,
creeping, ears back

Question 11

middle signs of dog stress

Answer 11

standing crouched, tail tucked under
lying down, leg up,
stiffening up, stare

Question 12

latest signs of dog stress

Answer 12

growling
snapping
biting

Question 13

what is classical conditioning for dog behaviour

Answer 13

make assosciations
e.g. pavlov and the bell (produced saliva as bell when food produced)

Question 14

what is operant conditioning for dog behaviour

Answer 14

animal interacts with envrionment
reinforcement = behaviour increase
positive = add something to environment of animal
negative = something is take away from the environment of the animal
positive reinforcement = give something to increase behaviour
negative punishment = grounding.., taking away something to stop bad behaviour
positive punishment = giving dog something to stop bad behaviours ? (e.g. spray collar, if barks spray goes)
negative reinforcement = something stops when dog does good behaviour (e.g. choke collar stops pulling when dog stops pulling)
often together
negativ reinforcement + positive punishment = most common combination?

Question 15

training equipment to stop dog pulling

Answer 15

head collar
choke collar
spray collar
prong collars = very bad, prongs go when dog pulls

Question 16

types of training

Answer 16

• reward based = reinforces behaviour liked and withhold rewards for bad behaviour
• leadership = mainly positive punishment for bad behaviour, remove punishment when dog does right behaviour
• balanced = rewards and positive punishment
  add punishment into fearful situation = escalates fear response

Question 17

dog exercise

Answer 17

subjective
half an hour for small breeds
ethical as way perceive dogs changes how much exercise

Question 18

symptoms of stress in cats

Answer 18

spraying
self-mutiliation
over grooming
feline lower urinary tract disorder (pee in shower or places shouldn’t)
pica = eating things it shouldn’t
aggression

Question 19

how to recognise signs of stress in cats

Answer 19

solitary species = won’t show signs as obviously
- inhibition (quiet)
- disruption (destroy kennel)
- defensive

Question 20

relaxed cat signs

Answer 20

neutral body posture
ears alert and relaxed position
eyes open looking at observer
whiskers out and relaxed
neutral sloping tail

Question 21

defensive cat signs

Answer 21

body hunched and tense
tail close to body
paws flat on surface
ears alert and open

Question 22

how to help multi cat house holds

Answer 22

enrichment
- places to hide
- places to get up high
- make sure plenty of resources
- different private areas
- feeding separate
- separate litter trays

Question 23

rabbit welfare issues

Answer 23

• most cruelly treated pet
• small hutch
• no exercise
• poor diet (hay and grass should be 80-90% , pellets not muesli)
• overgrown teeth
• loneliness
• fly strike (maggots)
• lack of vaccination
• diarrhoea as not enough roughage

Question 24

bird welfare issues

Answer 24

• aggression to owners = often rehomed
• inappropiate diets (should be vegetarian)
• sociable and emotional = affected by what’s happening at home

Question 25

signs of stress of birds

Answer 25

• plucking feathers
• stress bars in feathers (areas of poor development that create flawed/weak segments in feather that are vulnerable to break)
  due to :
  malnutrition
  dehydration
  disease
  medications
  emotional stress
  environment stress (overheating, changes..)

Question 26

issues with labradors

Answer 26

hip dysplasia

Question 27

issues with shar peis

Answer 27

entropian (droopy eyelid)

Question 28

issues with small bull breeds

Answer 28

casesarians

Question 29

issue with squashed face dogs

Answer 29

BOAS

Question 30

issues with calviers king charles spaniels

Answer 30

mitral valve disease
and syringomyelia (shake head, scream = brain stem doesn’t fit in skull)

Question 31

breeding legislation

Answer 31

animal weflare (licensing of activities involving animals)
liscense to breed even if not selling,
reduced to 3 litters per year (from 5)
need to have 5* rating after system
sale of puppies and kittens under 8 weeks prohibited
no 3rd party sales under 6 months (only supposed to sell with parents)

Question 32

negatives of puppy farming

Answer 32

more fear, separation anxiety, aggression and rivalry

Question 33

changes to pet travel scheme

Answer 33

puppies can travel at 15 weeks instead of 10 months (surge in re-homing of oversea dogs)
proposing that puppies must be 6 months before importing

Question 34

overseas rescue dogs

Answer 34

lots of health conditions
wrong legislations
poor welfare during transport
infectious disease carried across
behaviour issues as used to autonomy

Question 35

covid 19 impacts on dog behaviour

Answer 35

• increase in internet sale of puppies and prices = puppy farms
• dog routine changes
• new behaviour problems (separation anxiety)
• aggression to children
• dogs being clingy

Question 36

age welfare issue with dogs

Answer 36

• perceptions when dogs age = actually getting disease,
• vets can help improve quality of life and stop disease progression

Question 37

end of life welfare

Answer 37

can improve quality of life
need dialogue of owner,
can use assessments to notice subtle changes
consider euthanasia

Question 38

role of vets with welfare

Answer 38

• educate (sourcing, husbandry, diet, medicine, end of life care)
• least aversive training methods advise
• monitor for signs of chronic stress
• good and timely death
• low stress handling when at vets