Behaviour

Question 1

What is behaviour?

Answer 1

What an animal does
As movements or responses
Defined based on activity, physiology, purpose

Question 2

What are the canine relinquishment risk factors?

Answer 2

Client expectations
Insufficient counselling
No obedience classes
Failing to neuter
House soiling

Question 3

What are the feline relinquishment risk factors?

Answer 3

Imappropriate client expectations
Lack of research and info
House soiling
Lots of other resident cats

Question 4

What first aid advice for bad behaviour?

Answer 4

Identify stimuli
Avoid situations
Muzzle train where appropriate
Arrange long consultation

Question 5

What is cognitive decline/cognitive dysfunction syndrome?

Answer 5

Altered response to stimuli
Deficits in learning and memory
Confusion/senility
Changes over time - slow decline

Question 6

What are the clinical signs of cognitive dysfunction syndrome?

Answer 6

DISHA
Disorientation
Social interactions
Sleep/wake
House soiling - forgetting known behaviours
Activity

Question 7

What is the typical appraisal response to a stimuli/threat?

Answer 7

Potential threat
Sensory perception
Appraisal of threat
Emotional response
Motor output
Ability to show behaviour

Question 8

What can cause fly-catching behaviour?

Answer 8

Visual hallucinations from visual cortex

Question 9

What can affect sensory perception?

Answer 9

Conditions affecting sense organs eg. hearing, vision
Change in pain perception eg, allodynia
Abnormalities in sensory cortex eg. seizures

Question 10

What can affect stimulus appraisal?

Answer 10

Sex hormones - oestrogen, testosterone

Question 11

What can affect emotional response?

Answer 11

Limbic system - recieves info from sensory nerves quicker than the cortex so can make hasty decisions

Question 12

What behaviour changes can hyperadrenocorticism cause?

Answer 12

House soiling - PUPD
Aggression - increased HR
Restlessness
Irritation
Fear and anxiety

Question 13

What behaviour changes can feline hyperthyroidism cause?

Answer 13

Accelerate metabolism
Vocalisation
Night time waking
Increased irritability
Aggression

Question 14

What compulsive behaviour can cause dermatological signs?

Answer 14

Acral lick dermatitis
Psychogenic alopecia - overgrooming

Question 15

When to suspect an underlying medical problem causing behaviour problems?

Answer 15

Changes suddenly - especially in mature animals
Doesnt fit animal history or environment
No learning related cause
Unpredictable/inconsistent

Question 16

What is the best way to treat behavioural problems?

Answer 16

Combine behavioural and medical assessments

Question 17

What are the different levels of arousal?

Answer 17

Low level - options reviewed, learning can occur
High level - immediate response, interferes with learning

Question 18

What can increase arousal?

Answer 18

Conflict - multiple competing motivations

Question 19

When are displacement behaviours shown? What are some examples?

Answer 19

When arousal increases
Eg. lip licking, yawning, pacing

Question 20

How can you reduce arousal?

Answer 20

Prevention/avoidance - control stimulus, environment
Improve - behaviour modification, training, medication

Question 21

What is the incidences ABC?

Answer 21

Antecedent (what happens before the behaviour
Behaviour
Consequences

Question 22

What is pretraining?

Answer 22

Things to do before training to make it easier
Eg. train useful commands - look at me, touch
Pet control
Markers eg. clicker
Stimulus avoidance

Question 23

What is a settle exercise?

Answer 23

Teach dog to sit and stay
Stroking, relax dog
Then vary locations and times of day

Question 24

What are the basic learning theory principles?

Answer 24

Habituation - get used to situation
Sensitisation - opposite, get more sensitive to situation
Associative learning

Question 25

What are the two different types of associative learning?

Answer 25

Classical conditioning Operant conditioning

Question 26

What is the am of behaviour modification?

Answer 26

Change the animals emotional response to the problem situation Emotional change rather than behavioural change

Question 27

How can you control attention?

Answer 27

Owner starts and finishes all interactions No response to attention seeking Increases consistency

Question 28

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 28

Pavlovian conditioning - action => reaction Associative learning - often associates emotions with triggers

Question 29

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 29

Trial and error - animal does something first then gets a reward Associative learning - associates behaviour with triggers rather than emotion

Question 30

What do you need for operant conditioning?

Answer 30

Need to identify a good reinforcer for each animal eg. food, toy

Question 31

What is counter-conditioning?

Answer 31

Changing emotion not behaviours Classical conditioning The goal of behaviour modification

Question 32

What are the different types of behaviour modification?

Answer 32

Punishment Extinction Habituation Flooding Response substitution Systematic desensitisation

Question 33

Why should you not use punishment in a dog?

Answer 33

May reduce undesirable but does not teach desirable Can increase fear and aggression Ethical concerns, must escalate if ineffective (go from shouting to hitting)

Question 34

What is extinction?

Answer 34

The withdrawal of reinforcement - remove reinforcers until behaviour stops Does not teach desirable

Question 35

What can extinction lead to?

Answer 35

An extinction burst - temporary increase, due to frustration

Question 36

What is habituation?

Answer 36

Repeated exposure to a stimulus that leads to a decreased response Introduce to trigger below threshold and provide no consequence so dog not overstimulated and gets used to nothing happening

Question 37

When should you use habituation?

Answer 37

For low grade fears

Question 38

What is flooding?

Answer 38

Expose to a fear evoking stimulus with no consequence, but prevent escape Stimulus not withdrawn until pet habituated Not recommended for extreme fears or control level Owners use it by mistake - warn them not to use it

Question 39

What is response substitution?

Answer 39

Find a desired behaviour to reinforce as an alternative to existing behaviour Calmly get dog to use a different behaviour Operant conditioning Eg. treats, touch hand, muzzle Good technique to use

Question 40

What is desensitisation?

Answer 40

Gradual exposure to a stimulus at levels that do not provoke fear Pet habituates - progress to new threshold Not easy to implement in real like - have to control everything

Question 41

What type of exposure exercise is real life applicable and what is ideal life?

Answer 41

Response substitution - real life Desensitisation - ideal life