behaviour

Question 1

how can you prepare horses for future veterinary visits

Answer 1

• Skin pinches
• Syringes
• Touching neck/head
• Raising jugular vein
• Training (eg clicker)
• Use tasty flavoured pastes in worming tubes (icing sugar with water, honey, yeast extract, molases, apple sauce)
• Experience novel tastes - add flavours to damp chaff/hay soaked in herbal tea
• Provide different forage types

Question 2

how can you prepare dogs for future veterinary interactions

Answer 2

• touching body parts
• muzzle training
• lifting onto tables
• visits to the vet practice for fun

Question 3

what are behavioural signs of stress/illness

Answer 3

• lethargy
• inappetance
• weightloss
• isolation
• abnormal vitals
• drooling
• trembling
• wide eyes

Question 4

what should you look for before aproaching an animal to assess musculoskeletal normality/abnormality

Answer 4

• conformation
• behaviour
• body language
• BCS
• posture
• gait
• environment
• muscle tone
• symmetry
• coordination
• spinal curvature

Question 5

what is stress

Answer 5

any situation whihc tends to disturb the equilibrium between a living organism and its environment

Question 6

what are the 2 key components of the stress response

Answer 6

• fight ot flight response (rapid response = acute)
• hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) (slow response pathway=chronic)

Question 7

how can you prevent behaviour problems

Answer 7

• breeding and good physical/mental health
• selecting an appropriate pet for lifestyle
• ensuring that sufficient and appropriate social and environmental experiences occur throughout the animals development to behavioural adulthood
• use of appropriate methods and experiences to train the animal how to behave and live in the environments we keep them in
• apppreciate the world from the animals perspective
• meet behavioural needs
• prepare animals to cope with the environments we put them in
• recognize communication efforts and body language
• considerate handling and methods of restrains
• avoid negative experiences or forming negative associatation
• work to strengthen human-animal bond

Question 8

what is behaviour modification

Answer 8

changing the behaviour of an animal

Question 9

what is habituation

Answer 9

the process whereby an animal is exposed to environmental stimuli and learns to ignore them (traffic, CDs help)

Question 10

what is systematic desensitisation

Answer 10

repeated, gradual exposure to the stimulus that evokes a negative emotional response

Question 11

what is counter conditioning

Answer 11

Counter-conditioning means changing the pet’s emotional response, feelings or attitude toward a stimulus. For example, the dog that lunges at the window when a delivery person walks by is displaying an emotional response of fear or anxiety. Classical counter-conditioning would be accomplished by pairing the sight, sounds and approach of the delivery person with one of the dog’s favored rewards to change the emotional state to one that is calm and positive.

Question 12

what is flooding

Answer 12

exposing the person or animal to a stimulus that is likely to trigger the adrenaline release or initiate a fear response in a manner that there is no such physical consequence.

Question 13

what is reinforcement

Answer 13

eitherpositive or negative where an animal learns to associate a desired behaviour with a command or stimuli over time

Question 14

what is punishment

Answer 14

a negative response to an action that discourages repeat response (physical, verbal, withholding treat and attention)

Question 15

what is associative learning

Answer 15

a style of learning that happens when two unrelated elements (for example, objects, sights, sounds, ideas, and/or behaviours) become connected in our brains through a process known as conditioning.

Question 16

what is desensitisation

Answer 16

the process of reducing a response by presenting the trigger in its least intense form and gradually building up the intensity over time.

Question 17

what is sensitisation

Answer 17

Rather than getting used to something over time
(habituating), a dog reacts more strongly each time it
encounters a stimulus, even if it has no direct effect on them.
Example: A dog becomes increasingly fearful of
firework ‘bangs’ each time it hears them.

Question 18

what is aversion

Answer 18

a strong dislike or disinclination

Question 19

what is pheromonatherapy

Answer 19

using pheremones and chemical signals to reduce anxiety, aggression and can help (particularly with cats) to stop soiling, cat-cat aggression and fear

Question 20

What is clicker training

Answer 20

trainer uses a clicker as a positive signal (usually associated with a reward) and eventually dog will become conditioned to be excited when they hear the clicker regardless of if another reward is offered

Question 21

what are genetic influences

Answer 21

a dogs parents will influence behaviour (nature and nurture)

Question 22

what is prenatal behavioural development

Answer 22

behavioural tendencies influenced in utero (stressed mother = more reactive offspring)

Question 23

what is neonatal behavioural development

Answer 23

(0-2 weeks)
can learn simple associations, stimulation/handling can produce more confident dogs

Question 24

what is transitional period of behaviour development

Answer 24

(2-3 weeks)
open eyes, ear canale, startle response, show interest in solid food, social behaviour with other puppies

Question 25

what is the sesitive period of behavioural development

Answer 25

(3-12 weeks) particularly sensitive to learning about new objects. many associations formed here based on positive and negative experiences, learns how to recognise and interact with the species with which is cohabits (humans, other dogs, cats)

Question 26

what is the juvenile period of behavioural development

Answer 26

(12 weeks-sexual maturity) exploration of environment increases and behaviour responses refined

Question 27

what is the social maturity stage of behavioural development

Answer 27

(reached later than sexual maturity) learning continues, formation of stable relationships with various species

Question 28

what is socialisation

Answer 28

the process whereby an animal learns how to recognise and interact with the species with which it cohabits (puppy classes can help)

Question 29

what is classical conditioning

Answer 29

the process in which an automatic, conditioned response is paired with specific stimuli

Question 30

what is operant conditioning

Answer 30

a method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior

Question 31

what is social learning | `

Answer 31

Animals learn from others

Question 32

what is positive reinforcement

Answer 32

encouraging a behaviour by giving a reward - eg. giving treats after a dog sits when asked

Question 33

what is negative reinforcement

Answer 33

encouraging certain behaviours by removing or avoiding a negative outcome or stimuli - eg. walking a horse, adding pressure to head collar and when horse walks, pressure is released to encourage continuation of movement)