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Why do we need to be concerned with animal behavior?
- may be a sign of disease
- to restrain correctly
- to prevent problems
- to provide correct husbandry
- problems cost money
- problems may result in death of the pet
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Why can behavior problems result in the death of a pet?
- owners may take the animal to the vet to euthanize
- turn animals loose
- take them to a shelter where they will more than likely be euthanized
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Do animals do things for no reason?
no
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Are most behavior problems, problems for the animal? Who are they problems for?
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What is the number one reason why people own animals for pets?
companionship
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What are other reasons besides companionship that people own animals for pets?
- health
- assistance
- therapy
- working
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What is the organization that specializes in behavior for veterinarians?
American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB)
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What are the organizations vet techs can join to become a specialist in animal behavior?
- Academy of Veterinary Behavior Technicians (AVBT)
- Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicans (SVBT)
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Which vet tech organization for animal behavior requires a certification?
AVBT
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Which vet tech organization for animal behavior is open to everyone, even students?
SVBT
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What is the organization for obedience training for dogs?
Association of Professional Dog Obedience Trainers
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What society is not just limited to DVMs but people with master degrees and PhD's can join?
American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB)
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What society certifies animal behaviorists?
Animal Behavior Society (ABS)
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How many veterinary schools have behaviorists on staff?
8 out of the 28 schools
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Which schools are the closest to us?
Penn and NC State
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Many behavior problems are...
- underdiagnosed
- inadequately treated
- left to non-DVMs to resolve (obedience trainers)
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Why are dogs usually given up?
- moving
- landlord issues
- cost
- no time
- inadequate facilities
- too many pets
- pet illness
- personal problems
- biting
- no home for littermates
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Why are cats usually given up?
- too many in the house
- allergies
- moving
- cost
- landlord issues
- no home for littermates
- house soiling
- personal problems
- pet illness
- inadequate facilities
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What are specific complaints people have about the behavior of their pets?
- aggression
- house soiling
- destructive inside
- escapes
- too active
- too vocal
- not friendly
- afraid
- jumps on people
- pesters to go out
- chases people and cars
- coprophagy
- pica
- destructive outside
- wants attention
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Dogs are less likely to be given up if they have had _____ and _____.
- veterinary care
- obedience training
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Cats are less likely to be given up if they have had _____ and _____.
- veterinary care
- owner reads more about normal animal behavior
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What is behavior?
the way an animal responds to stimuli in its environment
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Is a stimulus needed to elicit any behavior?
yes
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What is a stimulus?
any change in an animal's internal or external environment
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What is behaviorism?
- a branch of psychology
- stresses importance of learning behavior
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What is ethology?
- study of animal behavior in the wild
- stresses instinct
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What are the 2 expressions of behavior? Which one do we have more control over?
- genetics and envirnoment
- environment
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What is the physiology behind animal behavior?
animal's receptors must be sensitive to the stimulus and it must exceed the animals threshold
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What are the different receptors that affect behavior?
- touch
- pressure
- sound
- sight
- taste
- odor
- temperature
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Describe the route through the body that the animal picks up the stimuli.
- receptor picks up stimulus
- impluse is sent to CNS
- info is integrated in the cerebrum
- impulses from the cerebrum to the hypothalamus or muscles
- a behavior is then seen
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What are neurotransmitters?
chemicals which carry impulses fromo neuron to neuron within the CNS
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What are the different types of neurotransmitters?
- Dopamine
- Serotonin
- Acetylcholine
- Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)
- Norepineephrine
- Oxytocin (hormone)
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How does the endocrine system affect animal behavior?
involved in sustained, cyclical behaviors, moods, and attitudes
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Describe the physiology of how the endocrine system affects an animals behavior.
- Hypothalamus is part of both CNS and endocrine systems
- sends impulse to pituitary gland (hypophysis)
- trophic hormones from pituitary gland go to the adrenal, testes, and ovaries
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What are different types of communication animals exhibit for their behavior?
- visual cues
- olfactory cues (odor)
- verbal cues
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What are some visual cues animals give us to warn us about their behavior?
- body position
- facial expression
- marks in environment (urine)
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How may animals exhibit pain?
- aggression
- overgrooming
- lack of grooming
- inactivity
- hiding
- hunched posture
- eating less or not at all
- vocalizing
- increased respirations
- overdrinking
- tooth grinding
- self mutilation
- regurgitation
- vomiting
- salivation
- seizures
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What are pheromones?
odiferous chemicals that animals release into the environment
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What is reproductive behavior regulated by?
endocrine system
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What types of reproductive behavior does the endocrine system regulate?
- puberty
- estrous cycles
- ovulation
- breeding behavior
- gestation length
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What are the two types of ovulation?
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What is parturition?
the act of giving birth
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What are the three stages of parturition?
- uterine contractions
- passage of the fetus
- expulsion of the placenta
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What are the two types of neonatal behaviors?
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What is an altricial young?
born very immature and depends on the mother for everything (example: dog)
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What is a precocial young?
more mobile and can walk and move around (example: horse)
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What is imprinting?
when babies learn what kind of animal it is and how to act
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How does stress on a neonate benefit its development?
speeds up the development of the CNS
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What is a wild animals concept of space?
- home range: area where they travel, hunt, and search for water
- territory: animal will defend and mark
- flight distance: how close an animal will allow a human to come before running away
- critical distance: how close an animal will allow a human to come before attacking
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What are the different types of stressors in an environment?
physical and psychological
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Define stress.
the effect of physical, physiologic, or emotional factors that induce an alteration in the animals homeostasis of adaptive state
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Which body systems help an animal adapt to stress?
CNS and endocrine
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Which nervous system is affected by acute stress?
sympathetic nervous system
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What is an alarm reaction?
acute stimulation
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What can chronic stimulation cause?
exhaustion and problems
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What is chronic stimulation?
continually exposed to the same stress
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What mediates the reaction to stress in the body?
hypothalamus
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What levels in the body will increase if an animals is stressed?
glucose
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What is released in the body due to chronic stimulation?
ACTH - releasing factors stimulates the pituitary and ACTH is released
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What are some examples of chronic stressors?
- lack of stimulation
- overcrowding
- barriers to normal behavior
- unable to escape fearful stimulus
- unpredictable stimulation
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What is stress syndrome?
- cortisol normally allows an animal to adapt to stress
- over stimulation causes exhaustion which leads to disease, death, and behavioral effects
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What are some different types of behaviors animals exhibit due to being stressed?
- anorexia
- overactivity
- destructive behaviors
- inappropriate displacement
- excessive vocalization
- aggression
- unexplained housesoiling
- psychogenic problems (vomiting and diarrhea)
- fearfulness
- escape and/or running away
- excessive grooming
- self mutilation
- sterotypies - nonfunctional repetitive behaviors (pacing)
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What are some signs of stress in dogs?
- shaking
- excessive dandruff
- dilated pupils
- excessive blinking
- excessive shedding
- loss of appetite
- diarrhea
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What are some signs of stress in cats?
- clinging
- dilated pupils
- excessive shedding
- defensive vocalizations
- listlessness (not doing anything)
- restlessness
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What is biophilia?
people need to be in contact with nature and animals in order to reach their optimal potential
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What medical benefits do animals give people?
- increased survival after a heart attack
- decreased recurrence of coronary disease, BP, stress, medical visits, anxiety, pre/post op, analgesic use in hospital
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What are the pyschological benefits do people with pets have?
- reduce feelings of loneliness
- eases times of stressful transitions
- increases feelings of comfor, happiness, security, and self worth
- contributes to sense of well being
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What social benefits do pets provide their owners?
- provides social support and identity
- offers extended social networks and social interactions
- source of recreation
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What effects do human contact have on animals?
- physiology
- health
- emotional status
- research on many species
- effects positive if socialized, young, and gentle
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What are some physiological effects do humans have on neonates?
- increased CNS development
- increased weight loss
- improved immune response
- more resistant to stress
- learn faster
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What are some effects animals especially cows have when interacting with people?
- increased milk yield
- increased reproductive success
- decreased pain and fear reactions
- slows signs seen with aging
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What are some health effects do animals have who interact with people?
- decreased post-surgical mortality
- decreased severity of atherosclerotic lesions (chicken)
- decreased death and pericarditis due to E coli (pig)
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What factors influence of the effects of contact with the animal?
- quality and type of contact
- socialization
- genetics
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What must the quality and type of contact be in order for their to be a positive result?
- gentle
- negative effects if the contact is rough
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What happens if an animal is not socialized?
will see fear and aggression
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How do we implicate positive contact in practice?
gentle contact before, during, and after illness, injury and surgery
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