BEHAVIOR

• Biologists and veterinary specialists – study of animal behavior – ethology.

• Ethology – the study of animal behavior.• Term originally meant ‘the science of character ’ in the 19 t h

century.

• Greek philosopher, Aristotle.• Many observations made; none could be supported or tested.• Naturalists – natural scientists.• The scientific method was developed in 19th century.

THE STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

1

Aristotle

Devise - plan/elaborate

Meticulous – precise

Accumulated - to gather

DEFINITIONS

Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)• British scientist.• Graduated from Cambridge University 1831.• He began to doubt his observations while on his expedition.• “The book that shook the world”, On the Origin of Species .

• It was about the theory of evolution; characterizes all related organisms as descended from common ancestors.

• Species – classification of animals.• Natural selection – the process that awards survival and

reproductive success to individuals and groups best adjusted to their environment.

• Classical ethology – ethological approach stating that much of what animals know is instinctive or natural.

CLASSICAL ETHOLOGY AND THE ROLE OF INSTINCT

• Appropriate responses lead to survival.• Less successful responses lead to death.

• Innate behaviors are behaviors that animals exhibit that they did not learn.

• Nobody teaches them to do their behaviors. Just born knowing how to do it. Genetically programmed.

Examples of innate behavior:• Digger wasps.• Monkies/apes/humans grasp things with their feet/hands.• Kittens are born knowing how to stalk and pounce.• Sea turtle hatchlings dig out of their hatching hole and wait till it’s safe at

night, then they make their way out to sea w/o any parent telling them to.• Puppies drinking milk from mother.

• VIDEO - How do they know that?

• High supporters of classical ethology have suggested that all new behavior patterns observed in animals simply result from maturation.

• That classical view states… birds don’t learn to fly, the baby bird simply delays flight until it’s strong enough to support itself in the air.

Charles Darwin

DEFINITIONS

Asserts - states a fact or belief confidently

Innate - inborn; natural

Stimulus/Stimuli/StimulantWhen an activity/reaction is elicited from an organism by a factor/thing, then it’s known as stimuli. Known as stimulus if there are more than one factor.

Stimuli/Stimulus: if can evoke a response in an organism/living being.

Stimulant: if things are capable of creating a stimuli/stimulus.

Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936)• Russian physiologist.• Was studying the process of digestion when…

• He discovered his lab animals salivated automatically at the sight of food.

• Salivation was an involuntary/unconditioned response.• Unconditioned Response – a simple reflex behavior, like the

knee-jerk reflex, hammer tap on knee.• Unconditioned Stimulus – something that produces an unconditioned

response (tapping hammer on knee)• Example; sight of food caused the stimulus, resulted in the response.

• Rang a bell each time he offered lab dogs food.• Dogs salivated eventually by sound of bell alone.

ANIMAL PSYCHOLOGY & THE ROLE OF GENETICS

PAGES 4-6

Ivan Pavlov

• Conditioned Stimulus – sensory input unrelated to a simple reflex behavior.

• Behaviorism – ethological approach that states behavior is learned rather than genetically programmed.

• American psychologist, John B. Watson.• Established psychological school of behaviorism.• Stimulus-response theory – all complex forms of behavior* are complex

muscular and glandular responses that can be observed and measured.*including emotions, thoughts, and habits.

Conditioned Learning• Two categories; classical and operant conditioning.

• Classical Conditioning – the association of stimuli that happens at the same time or the same area.

• Based on Ivan Pavlov’s experiments.• Examples of Classical Conditioning• More Examples• VIDEO - Classical Conditioning Basics

• VIDEO - More Basics.• VIDEO - Funny Classical Conditioning Example• VIDEO - Another Funny Example• VIDEO - Classical Conditioning, that was easy.

John B. Watson

Classical Conditioning Example

CONDITIONED LEARNING CONTINUED…

• American psychologist, B.F. Skinner – expert on operant conditioning.

• Operant Conditioning – associating an activity with punishment or reward.

• Skinner taught a rat to press a bar for food.• He trained the rat.

• Examples of operant conditioning: the reinforcements and punishments…explained in “terminology.”

• VIDEO - Sheldon 1.• VIDEO - Sheldon 2.• Trial-and-error learning is mostly called…

• Instrumental learning.• Their “owner” is operant conditioning.• So, instrumental learning is operant conditioning, combined with classical

conditioning.

B.F. Skinner

Remember, the previous terms (conditioned, unconditioned, responses, stimulus) are a part of animal psychology.

DEFINITIONS

Rigorous – accurate

Inevitably - certain to happen, unavoidable

All-encompassing - circling everything

Torrent - sudden, violent & copious outpouring of objects…feelings

Slates - plan or designate; schedule

Subsequent - coming after something in time

Classical Conditioning:• Ivan Pavlov – Russian physiologist.• Involves placing a neutral signal before a reflex.• Focuses on involuntary, automatic behaviors.

Operant Conditioning:• B.F. Skinner – American psychologist.• Involves applying reinforcement or punishment after a behavior.• Focuses on strengthening or weakening voluntary behaviors.

• Detailed Explanation

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?CLASSICAL CONDITIONING VS. OPERANT CONDITIONING

• Ethologists realize now that some behavior patterns may have been shaped partially by learning and environmental influences.

• Some young members of a species can adopt some appropriate behaviors with very litt le experience, while…• the behaviors crucial to their survival may take or require a longer and

larger learning process.

• Sociobiology – the study of social organization in animals.• Sociobiologists theorize that complex social patterns arise,

develop, and sometimes even disappear based on their survival value.

SOCIOBIOLOGY

Contemporary - existing, occurring, or living at the same time

Broad – wide

Extensive - covering or affecting a large area

DEFINITIONS

• Inherited characteristics have a huge impact on animal behavior.• Every SPECIES displays a range of behavior patterns typical of

its members.• Ex: Individual species of birds have different courtship songs to identify

and recognize members of their own species quickly and easily.• For other types of behavior, they are quite similar among related

species; majority of birds fly; big range of birds feed young when pecked at beak.

• Early ethologists referred to stereotypical or predictable behaviors as fixed action patterns . (innate)

• They assumed the patterns to be the same among all members of the same species.

• Early classical ethologists proposed that the above statement proved the hypothesis that certain behaviors were instinctive.

THE ROLE OF GENETICS

1. Instinct – inherited or genetically coded responses to environmental stimuli.2. Instinct – a complex of unlearned responses characteristic of a species.

• Permits animals to perform complex behaviors without learning them through trial-and-error.

• VIDEO - Instinctive Behavior• VIDEO - Types of Animal Behavior• VIDEO - Fixed Action Patterns

DEFINITIONS

Placid - not easily upset or excited

Predisposition - tendency to act a certain way

Positive Reinforcement• Refers to any immediate pleasant occurrence that follows a

behavior.• Used to reinforce desired behaviors.• If used properly, you’ll be rewarding good behavior.• For reinforcement to be effective, the pleasant event (reward)

must take place within 20 seconds of the behavior.• Right example: You tell dog to sit, he sits. You will praise the

dog. Sit behavior is now positively reinforced. • Positive reinforcement is accidentally used for undesired

behaviors.• Wrong example: You feed your pet while eating dinner. Each

time you eat, the pet will beg for food. You have positively reinforced begging behaviors in the wrong sense.

TERMINOLOGYF O R A NI M A L L E A R N I N G & T R A I N I N G

Negative Reinforcement• Refers to any immediate unpleasant occurrence used to create

a desired behavior.• Following the behavior or before the behavior to prevent it, (water

gun).

• Requires removing something to increase the desired behavior.• Goal is to make animal avoid the unpleasant event.

Example: • Dog receives a small shock. Learns area where it won’t be

shocked.• Note to self: give sticky note shock collar example.

• VIDEO - Negative Reinforcement Examples

TERMINOLOGY CONTINUED…NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

Positive Punishment & Negative Punishment• Negative reinforcement and punishment (+, -) differ; negative rein

increases behavior, punishment decreases behavior .• Positive punishment adds an undesirable occurrence to decrease

a behavior. (add something pet don’t l ike to get desired result of lessening that behavior)• Ex: Dog is digging. Put balloons in hole that it digs so when it pops, it

scares dog. Dog doesn’t dig anymore.• Ex: Squirt gun to cat.• Ex from example below: Each time dog begs, it gets a shock from a collar.

• Negative punishment removes a desirable occurrence to decrease a behavior.• Ex: Dog is begging at dinner table. Owner doesn’t give anything, ignores.

When dog stops begging, owner gives dog a treat as a reward.• Ex: Time out. Taking away their freedom.

TERMINOLOGY CONTINUED…PUNISHMENT

• Punishment can develop aggression if used in the wrong way.

RULES OF PUNISHMENT:• Must occur every time the behavior occurs.• Must be applied immediately.• Must have appropriate intensity.• Must not be associated with owner.

• VIDEO - Skip to punishment part• VIDEO - Volleyball Example

• +R, -R, +P, -P are all a part of “operant conditioning.”

TERMINOLOGY CONTINUED…

Reinforcement

Increase Behavior

Punishment

Decrease Behavior

Positive stimulus

(something added)

Positive Reinforcement

Add something to increase behavior

Positive Punishment

Add something to decrease behavior

Negative Stimulus

(something removed)

Negative Reinforcement

Removing something to increase behavior

Negative Punishment

Removing something to decrease behavior

• Community question about reinforcement/punishment

Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (1903 – 1989)• One of the founding fathers of modern ethology.• Fixed action patterns.• Discovered young animals follow their parent (caretaker)

because of auditory and visual cues. • Imprinting – a rapid learning process that enables the very

young to recognize and bond with its caretaker.• To survive in the wild, young animal must recognize its own

parent and escape from any different creature, adult species may be capable of kil l ing the young if it’s not of its own offspring.

• Sensitive Period – period of time/specific stage early in life when imprinting occurs.• Starts second or third week, lasting to the 12th week of birth.

• Socialization – the process of adapting to contact with others.

STILL UNDER THE ‘TERMINOLOGY’ SUBTITLE…

• Animals adapt poorly if not socialized properly.

DEFINITIONSInadvertently - unintentional; accident

Acquisit ion - an asset/object bought or obtained

FINALLY DONE WITH THAT TERMINOLOGY

Critical Socialization Period• Animals learn how to interact with their species, other

species, and caretaker. • Puppies begin 4 weeks to 14 weeks of age. Total of 10 weeks.• Kittens begin two to eight weeks of age. Total of 6 weeks.

Puppies• Two fear periods in the socialization period.• At the age of eight to ten weeks old & near puberty.• Pain, punishment, hostile attention on the puppy during these

fear periods can cause permanent damage and permanent fearful behavior.

UNDERSTANDING NORMAL BEHAVIORSOCIALIZATION

PA G E 1 5

15

• Aggression – a behavior caused by an impulse to harm another being.

• Normal behavior to an extent.

• Early socialization and learned fear can be the cause of aggression.

• Fear-induced aggression.

• Castration (spaying) can help reduce risk of some aggressive behaviors.

AGGRESSION

• Eliminate – expel bodily wastes, pee/poo.• Be patient and don’t be so quick to get mad at the puppy when it

eliminates in the house.• Don’t infl ict punishment or negative stimuli for it damages the pet-

owner relationship.• Use posit ive reinforcement.• If improperly potty trained or not at all, animal can be abandoned

by owner or euthanized.• Read the proper elimination steps on page 16 last paragraph.

• Cats eliminate then cover it up with a substrate.• Litter should be scooped daily and changed weekly.• Litter box must be easily accessible and private.• Have a l it ter box for every cat in mult iple cat households.

ELIMINATION

Adverse - preventing success/development; hostile

Castration - loses function in private parts; fixing/spaying

Inflict - impose something unwelcome on

Implementing - put into effect

Substrate - a substance or layer that underlies something

DEFINITIONS

• Even though cats adapt with humans during early socialization, they sti l l remain self-sufficient.

• Animals continue to adapt throughout their adult l ife; instrumental learning.

• Small rodents have very short socialization periods. Predisposed to group living.

• Birds will respond well if imprinted early on. Hand-feeding is important.

BEHAVIOR PROBLEMSPAGE 19

19

• Cruelty or neglect during the sensitive period causes problems later on.

• Different species have different problem behaviors.

• A vet tech educated in animal behavior can be a valuable resource to client’s questions about nonmedical related questions.

• Find out the reason of problem behaviors. (why does the pet have this problem behavior?)

COMMON BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

• Separated from owner, feel anxiety.• Affects younger dogs generally.

• Some dogs develop it later in life.• Dogs from animal shelters are more prone to this condition.• Older dogs.

• Possible signs of separation anxiety:• excessive vocalization, destructive behavior, inappropriate elimination,

anorexia, hyperactivity, or inactivity. vomiting or diarrhea.• Rules out other causes of inappropriate behavior first; identify

the problem.• Dogs with separation anxiety will only show above signs when

owner is away.• VIDEO - 3 ways to make it worse• VIDEO - Dealing with it

CANINE SEPARATION ANXIETY

• Most common problem reported in dogs; occurs in cats too.

• Aggression was considered a desirable trait when dogs were first domesticated.

• Important types of aggression: Conflict-related, fear-induced, predatory, pain-induced, inter-male, territorial, and other aggressive behaviors.

AGGRESSION

• Occurs when a dog is not comfortable with a stimulus.

• Avoidance conditioning – learning to act out on a behavior to avoid that unpleasant stimulus.

• In this case, the dog uses aggression to lower its fear of the stimulus to avoid it.

• Avoidance Conditioning Help

• Conflict-related aggression – unstable environment or home – punishment training methods/improper training – results in aggression to avoid a stimulus it finds threatening.

CONFLICT-RELATED AGGRESSION

• Common in animal hospitals.

• Occurs when an animal can’t escape from something frightening them. Loud noises, children, specific people.

• Owners reinforce fear behaviors (positive reinforcement) incidentally by withdrawing from the pet when they display that behavior.

• They don’t know how to fix it?

• VIDEO - Fearful Dogs Barking• VIDEO - How to train your dog

FEAR-INDUCED AGGRESSION

• Animals don’t give a warning (growl/threats).

• Stalks prey until f inally pouncing and attacking it.

• Ex: Cats

PREDATORY AGGRESSION

• Protective instinct when it comes to pain.

• Dog fights ongoing.

• Punishing the dogs that are fighting intensify the fight more.

• Problems? Animal in pain continues to show aggression even when painful stimulus is gone.

PAIN-INDUCED AGGRESSION

• Male species display aggression against another male.

• Natural instinct.

• Eliminated by castration. Medication is used if castration doesn’t lessen the problem.

INTER-MALE AGGRESSION

• Dogs more aggressive toward strangers not of household.

• Cats more aggressive toward other cats in their territory.

• Aggressive problems that seem like territorial aggression aren’t always that.

Examples:• Dog eating out of another dog’s food bowl – growls/snaps.• Around dog’s toy basket area – jumps on basket protecting it.• Further Explanation• VIDEO - Dog Nanny• VIDEO - What is and why?

TERRITORIAL AGGRESSION

• Maternal aggression after giving birth.

• Normal instinct.

• Protect young from dangers.

• Other aggressive problems are learned and developed.

• Taught how to be aggressive and mean.

• Owners unwittingly propose behavior problems.

OTHER AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIORS

Reasons for soiling:• House soiling – urinating or defecating inside the home.• Can be caused by a medical problem; see vet before correcting

soiling behavior.• Males spray to mark their territory at 7 or 8 months of age.

• Neutering solves this problem and the issue of unwanted puppies.• Both genders may spray when new pets or people are introduced

into home.• Inside the house too much :: give dog time outside.• *Submissive behavior :: behavior modification techniques.• *Fear :: stimulus that caused fear gets removed; b.m.t.• Chronic fear :: retraining.• Fear and Chronic Fear Examples• VIDEO – Cats * not an elimination behavior problem

ELIMINATION BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

Last paragraph of Page 24:

"as a deterrent against house soiling, experts recommend cleaning and drying the soiled area, leading the dog to it, and making the dog lie there for awhile."

1. Is this considered a punishment?This can be classified as a punishment - Some behavior specialists will argue that this will not work.

2. Is the soiled area any area that the animal eliminates at or is it saying there is one soil area?This sentence refers to the most recent area of soiling.

3. Is the dog suppose to know that he soiled there after it's cleaned and he is laying there?That is the reason that most behavior people do not think this works.

4. What does making the dog lay there for a while do?In my opinion this does nothing BUT the theory is that this will make them aware they are not to soil in the place that they lay down.

Last paragraph of Page 24:

"since urine and feces typically serve to mark the outer limits of their territory, dogs generally avoid soiling areas where they know they'll be spending a good deal of

time."

1. 'serve to mark the outer limits of their territory'; what does outer limits mean?Marking the territory that the animal feels is his/hers.

"thus, if a dog consistently soils while its owner is away from home, it's best to confine the animal to its crate or to the room where it eats or sleeps."

1. Is that room where the animal soils also?

2. Why would the owner confine the animal in one place...because the animal soils everywhere in the house?

Put the animal in a crate - big enough that it is comfortable but correct size so that the dog will not defecate where it is laying down - The behavior folks would be able to give more details for all of these questions.

Eradicate - put an end to; destroy

Manifest - display or show

Alleviate – lessen

Perceived - become aware of something

Defecate - to poopoo; have a bowel movement

Ample - plentiful, enough

Submissive - gentle, obedient

Deterrent - intended to discourage someone from some act

DEFINITIONS

Birds• Fewer problems to soiling or household damage because

birds spend most of their time in cages.

• If birds poop in their water bowls, change it to a bottle like rodents use.

Most common problems:• Persistent screaming/squawking• Biting

BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN EXOTIC PETS

• Screams at dawn and dusk; normal.

• Signs of distress if persistent noisemaking.

• Screams to the stress of noise around them; environmental noise.• Loud television, stereo system, noise from outside of window.

• Screams to alert owner of empty food and water bowl.

• VIDEO - How to Stop Parrots from Screaming

SCREAMINGBIRDS

Three reasons birds bite :• Fear• Excitement• Aggression

• For fear and excitement , the bird is responding (biting behavior) to environmental stress. Behavior lessens when bird is soothed or environmental cause is removed.

• Owners usually return the bird to its cage after it bites. Birds see this as a reward. Owner unwitt ingly reinforce this behavior. So now bird will bite whenever it wants to be returned to its cage.

• Birds put pressure on an arm or finger to test its stabil ity before stepping on it. Holders mistake this as a bite sometimes.

• For aggression, birds bite if they weren’t socialized to humans, or were abused by human hands.

• Hardly any way to f ix this situation. Persistently aggressive birds make bad pets.

• VIDEO - Stop My Biting Parrot

BITINGB I R D S

Most common problems: • Bit ing• Aggression towards other rodents

Biting:• Bites when handled too quickly or roughly.• Unfamil iar with hands.• Start le while sleeping.• Young rodents bi te out of curiosity.

Aggression to other rodents:• Rodents in the same cage.• Same gender together in same cage; male hamsters.• Females usually incompatible.• Aggressive play.• Rol l together in a t ight bal l .

RODENTS

Subside - become less intense, violent

Incompatible - incapable of living together, existing together

Reconcile - restore friendly relations between

DEFINITIONS

Behavioral Case History• Taking behavioral history is a screening tool that can help

identify behavior problems and aide it before it gets worse and life threatening.

• Much more detailed form when problem behavior is found.

Treating Problem Behaviors• It depends on the species, breed, and nature of the problem

behavior to appropriately resolve the problem behavior.• Basic factors for all treatment methods:

• Trust• Reward• Reprimand• Consistency

BEHAVIOR COUNSELING AND THERAPY

PAGE 29

29

• The animal must trust its caretaker ’s ability to command.

• People attempting to correct/modify problem behavior must have self-confidence.

• The essential goal of resolving problem behavior is to establish a rapport that both the animal and its caretaker can trust.

TRUST

Two kinds of reward:• Edible – food is vital to an animal.• Vocal – also an effective reward if encouraging and soothing.

• Trainer must reward appropriate behavior immediately after to link the desired behavior with the sensation of physical comfort.

• Begin in distraction-free environment with 5 minutes training sessions and gradually increase length and adapt them in public areas.

REWARD

• Remain calm when administrating a reprimand.

• Avoid getting annoyed, angered, or abusive (spanking, pop on nose).

• It’s the behavior that’s being punished, not the animal.

• The goal for any type of reprimand is to startle, not punish the animal.• The activity (the startling activity) must be made to seem unpleasant,

not the owner’s response to it.

• Immediately reprimand after unwanted behavior so animal can associate the reprimand with their last action.

REPRIMANDS

• Irregular intervals of rewards for good behavior confuse the animal.

• Animals will behave well only if the modification program is followed consistently.

• Letting inappropriate behavior slide without reprimand even once, gives the animal permission to repeat the behavior without fear of punishment. Not okay.

• Be consistent.

CONSISTENCY

Suffice - be enough or adequate

Cornerstone - an important quality/feature on which something depends or is based on

Rapport - a close and harmonious relationship

Imperative - necessary, of vital importance; crucial

Precede - come before something in time

Intermittent - not steady; irregular intervals

DEFINITIONS

• Choosing the correct behavior modification, take these into account: the cause of the problem, the species, breed, age, gender of the animal, and the abil ity of the owner to perform the behavioral therapy.

Common treatment techniques:• Command-response-reward• Clicker Training• Extinction• Aversion Therapy• Avoidance Therapy• Habituation• Punishment• Counterconditioning• Desensitization

TREATMENT TECHNIQUES FOR DOGS AND CATS

• Environmental modification• Surgery• Medication

• Used to modify behavior or train an animal.

• Give a command; start off with simple ones before progressing to more difficult ones.

• Animal will respond to command, hopefully in the desired way.

• No punishment is used for this technique.

• Give reward immediately after animal responds correctly to the command.

• Repeat until pet responds consistently.

COMMAND-RESPONSE-REWARD

• Used as a behavior modification or training technique.

• First associate the sound of the clicker with a reward.

• When food can’t be given, the clicker can be used to reward the dog in place of food/treat.

• Delay Example• VIDEO - What is clicker training?

• Clicker is used to signal to the animal that it performed the right behavior and will receive a reward.

CLICKER TRAINING

• Involves eliminating the problem behavior by completely removing the reinforcement for the behavior.

• Extinction Example• VIDEO - Example

EXTINCTION

• Aversion – a strong dislike: “an aversion to exercise”.

• A type of behavior therapy designed to make the animal give up an undesirable habit by causing them to associate it with an unpleasant effect.

• Used to keep the animal away from a particular object or area.

• Detailed Explanation• Story Example• VIDEO - Aversion Therapy

AVERSION THERAPY

• Used to discourage the animal from displaying a particular behavior.

• Involves the use of negative reinforcement to diminish a problem behavior.

Examples: • Dog is excessively barking. Spray him with a hose to startle

him, but be sure not to be seen by him. • Cat jumps on couches. Squirt him with a water gun, hiding at

the corner of the hall.

AVOIDANCE THERAPY

• Used to treat minor behavior problems.• Involves putt ing the animal with the st imulus causing the problem, unt i l the

animal is accustomed to that st imulus and is no longer afraid of i t .• I f the st imulus/st imul i causes aggressive or moderate fear behavior on the

animal, this therapy can’t be used. I t wi l l only worsen the behavior that is already severe.

Day 1 : You open your f ron t door to see a deer feeding 200 feet away. The moment you open the door, i t t akes one g lance at you, turns and runs away.

Day 2 : You open your f ron t door to see the same deer feeding 200 feet away. Because noth ing happened las t t ime - no shout ing , no chas ing, no harm to i t - the deer may be less concerned. The deer looks up, and t ro ts o f f i n to the woods .

Day 3 : You open your f ron t door to see the same deer feeding 200 feet away. Th is t ime, i t s tops feed ing , looks a t you , and keeps watch on you whi le you wa lk ou t to get the morn ing newspaper. I t does no t run away.

Day 4 : You open your f ron t door to see the deer feed ing in the yard 200 feet away. Th is t ime, i t looks up once a t you , then resumes feeding .

Day 5 : Th is t ime, you open the door and the deer i s 100 feet away. I t bare ly not ices you as you walk ou t to get the mai l .

A t th is po in t , the an imal i s habi tuated - i . e . i t does no t change i t s behav ior in response to your presence.

HABITUATION

PUNISHMENT

• Should never be used to treat aggression or behavior problems.

• Negative reinforcement is used to create a desired behavior. Punishment is used to eliminate an undesirable behavior.

• Punishment can create more undesirable behaviors if used inappropriately.

• Must occur when the behavior occurs, be applied immediately, and be of appropriate intensity.

• Pet shouldn’t connect the owner to the punishment.

• Aversion therapy is more effective at treating behavior problems than direct punishment.

Counterconditioning

• Can replace an undesirable behavior with a desirable one.

• Used with Desensitization.• Explanation

Desensitization

• Involves lessening a particular behavior by gradually exposing the animal to the stimulus that produces the inappropriate response.

• Community discussion about habituation/desensitization

• Another discussion

• You can change the surroundings or environment for the animal having problem behaviors.

• Consists of improvising, replacing, or changing.

• Explanation

ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATION

• Many behavior problems can be treated by surgically neutering the pet.

• It can treat females who vocalize excessively during fertil ity.

• Also treats dogs and cats that roam or fight.

• Best to be neutered at a young age – less than one year.

• Little success in neurosurgery area to treat behavioral problems in animals as it has been done in humans.

SURGICAL APPROACHES

• Medicine can treat separation anxiety, inappropriate elimination, sexual behaviors (mounting, f ighting, roaming), and more.

• Medication is only considered if other methods of behavior modification have failed. Why? Possible side effects.

• Hormonal therapy is the most common pharmaceutical therapy given.

• Other medications are used concurrently with other methods of behavior modification to make the pet more responsive to treatment.• Dog being treated for aggression is also taking mild sedatives to allow owner to

work more effectively with the dog.

• Medical therapies are for short term use only.

PHARMACEUTICAL THERAPY

Acclimated - become accustomed to a new climate or to new conditions

Erroneously – mistakenly

Diminishing - make or become less.

Estrus – fertility.

Concurrently - overlapping in duration.

Amenable - open and responsive to suggestion; capable of being acted upon in a particular way.

DEFINITIONS

Squawks and screams:• Environmental modification.

• Owner can move cage to different room.• Can cover cage with towel for 5 or 10 minutes. Soothes stressed bird.• If bird is left alone for long periods, give a variety of toys to play with to

occupy its attention.• Allow bird to investigate hand before removing them from cage.

• Biting is often a fright reaction.• Explore with their tongue. Shouting or pulling away when the

bird ‘nibbles’ either startles or rewards the bird (sense of power over its owner/handler).

• To correct a biting habit use the wobble technique.• Drop your hand a few inches after bird bites.

• Bird will lose its balance and let go of grip.

TREATMENT TECHNIQUES FOR BIRDS

• Read the steps to calm a nervous or skittish animal.

TREAMENT TECHNIQUES FOR RODENTS