How well do your animals behave?
Written by Ali Gillard Chew BSc(Hons), MEqS, Dip CABC, BHSISM
Are you 100% happy with your animals’ behaviour? Are they always obedient and do what you ask, when you ask, regardless of the distractions going on around you? Does your dog always come back immediately when called? Can you leave a plate of food on the floor and rely on him not to touch it? Does your horse come up to you as soon as you appear at the gate? Can you walk into his field or stable with an armful of hay and not get mugged? Most of us have some issues with our animals’ behaviour, and in many cases all that’s required is a bit more training.
Behaviour problems are common
However, more serious situations where the animal appears to ‘have issues’ are all too common. For example, the dog that won’t allow one of its owners to sleep on their own bed; or the dog that destroys the house every time it’s left on its own; the cat that sprays all over the house or urinates anywhere but in its litter tray; the rabbits that seem to hate each other; the horse that refuses to go in the trailer; or the horse that trots off every time you try and mount; and of course, any species can be aggressive.
These are just a very few of the behaviour problems that many animal owners experience and which very often cause untold stress because they disrupt the owners’ and the animals’ lives. Some owners reproach themselves, some blame their animals, but usually neither one alone is at fault because an animal’s behaviour is the result of a combination of its genes, all its experiences throughout its life and the situations it currently encounters. Something has gone wrong somewhere along the line but it’s not always obvious where and may be a combination of factors. However, with the right approach, in most cases the problems can be controlled and reduced and in many cases cured altogether. This though usually depends on good advice from a clinical animal behaviourist (also known as pet behaviour counsellors) and a suitable level of commitment from the owners.
Solving behaviour problems – the vet’s role
The process of trying to resolve behaviour issues must begin with a consultation with your vet. This is very important because any physical or medical condition which may be contributing to the behaviour problem must either be ruled out or identified and treated. For example, an older dog may become aggressive because it has developed arthritis and the pain means it can no longer tolerate being tugged around by the kids; a cat may ‘forget’ its litter training because it has a urinary infection; a horse may buck every time it goes into canter because the canter transition causes pain. (This could be due to a variety of factors, such as an injury, a poorly fitting saddle, sharp teeth or bad riding – a referral to another professional, such as a physio, saddler or dentist may also be appropriate – a holisitic approach is especially important).
Any contributing physical conditions must be sorted before behaviour modification can work properly. Occasionally, the behavioural issue resolves itself once the physical problem is resolved but, in many cases, by this stage there are also learned elements, and the behaviour has become a habit. So once the vet has investigated possible physical contributors, he can then refer you and your animal to a suitably qualified and insured animal behaviourist, to whom he should send a report of his own investigation.
The behaviourist’s role
You will then meet up with the behaviourist who will, taking the vet’s findings into account, discuss your animal’s history and current behavioural issues in considerable depth. It’s very important to obtain as detailed a case history as possible in order to identify all the factors which may be contributing to the situation and determine, if possible, the cause(s) of the problem. The behaviourist needs to know as much as possible about the animal and its life and may seem to ask endless, apparently irrelevant questions. However, it is not possible to know what is and isn’t relevant until a full picture has been obtained and something which may seem trivial could provide an important clue. For this reason, everyone who plays a significant role in the animal’s life should attend this vital meeting (that could include young children and even other animals) so that they can give their side of the story and also know what they can do to help solve the problem.
Once the behaviourist has some idea of the causes of the issues, they can start to develop, with the owners, a behaviour modification programme. This could include advice on how to manage your animal and its behaviour (such as changes to the environment, changes to the way you communicate with your animals, changes to diet and so on) as well as ways to retrain your animal(s) to change behaviour directly. Occasionally, pharmaceutical intervention may also be appropriate but, although the behaviourist may be able to give an opinion as to whether drugs may be appropriate, only the vet can prescribe them. Medication, where it is useful, should usually only be a short term solution to enable the behavioural modification to start to have an effect.
By the end of the consultation, a plan should be in place to try to resolve the issues. This will be very individual - specific to the problem, the animal and the owners as no two situations are the same. It will have been developed with the owners, according to their circumstances, as they are the ones who will have to implement it.
The behaviour counsellor will then write a report, summarising the history of the case, indicating the potential causes of the problems and detailing the advice given regarding behaviour modification. This will be sent to the owners and to the referring vet. The behaviourist will then monitor progress and give further advice and help as necessary.
The owners’ role
The owner’s role in resolving their animal’s behaviour problems is very important. Firstly they must be prepared to be open and honest when the behaviourist is taking the history of the case so that the real picture can be established. They must also be realistic about how much time they can put into working on changing the animal’s behaviour and how long it might take, as well as how much they might be able to achieve. They will usually need to be open-minded and willing to try different ways of interacting with their animals. And most importantly they will need to be committed to working with their animals, often over a relatively long period of time, to achieve the improvements they want.
Resolving animal behaviour problems can be a long process – ‘quick fix’ solutions rarely solve the problem and will often make things worse. The approach described, however, can be used with any animal and gives the best chance of success. The methods used in behaviour modification though should always have the welfare and safety of the animals and people at their heart – rather than being confrontational, they should aim to motivate the desired behaviour in the animal. The approach of the behaviourist and the attitude of the owners in tackling behaviour problems in animals can have a huge impact on the outcome.
