Behaviour: do we switch off?

“He’s just frightened,” she said. “He hasn’t liked it here since he got castrated.”

Yeah right, I thought, as if he would remember being castrated at the practice more than a year ago. He’s just spoilt and has never had to do as he is told.

“I am going to have to muzzle him, I’m afraid, as he just tried to bite me,” I said.

“Oh, he won’t like that,” said his owner.

We pinned the dog, got the muzzle on, eventually, and I managed to examine him and finish the consultation.

This is probably how I would have continued to handle dogs in my consult room and think about their learning at the vets (or, as I believed, their lack of it), had I not met Kendal Shepherd.

I was “old school”. With teachers as parents and plenty of farm animal and equine involved in my job at the time, I believed animals should do as they were told. Those that did not… well they were spoilt or naughty, weren’t they?

The producers of a media project I was involved in, a few years after that dog-wrestling incident, wanted a section for our programme on dog behaviour and wanted me to interview a behaviourist. I started to research the term on the internet and many people claimed to be one.

My experiences with paraprofessionals had not always been positive, so I was pleased when I found the world of behaviourists was regulated better than I thought. The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour sets rigid academic and practical assessments to become a certificated clinical animal behaviourist (CCAB), and the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors only registers CCABs as full members. Dr Shepherd, a vet, is a member.

Eye-opening

Interviewing Dr Shepherd about puppy training was eye-opening – she said the “dominant dog theory” was out of date because people had incorrectly applied concepts of social hierarchy. She also explained the socialisation period and, most importantly, learning theory.

I had never been one for punishing animals, but I had never considered how they might be feeling or thinking, let alone learning. There is probably good reason for that – no one had ever asked me to consider my patients’ mental well-being, as well as their physical well-being; but aren’t we in this to promote good animal welfare? If so, shouldn’t we take into consideration aspects of good welfare other than good physical health?

Swanson (2010), among others, condenses welfare assessment into three concepts:

• feelings-based – examining animals’ emotional states
• biological functioning – assessing their physical health and productivity
• nature-based – ascertaining if they can perform their normal, species-typical behaviour

Veterinarians have always been concerned with the biological functioning concept, such as fixing broken legs and investigating milk drop, but have had less emphasis placed on the other two.

Without sufficient teaching about normal animal behaviour (ethology) and learning theory, and with little importance attached to feelings-based or nature-based welfare concepts, I left vet school with a lack of appreciation for these aspects of animal welfare that affected the way I practised.

This is common – Sherman and Serpell (2008) reported, without education, veterinary students’ attitudes towards animal welfare are largely shaped by previous experience and Serpell (2005) found the cultural context of past experience influenced attitudes to animal welfare the most.

I remember fellow vet students with “old wives’ tale” remedies for physical illnesses that were disproved during our lectures and rotations, but I have also met vets who swear by old-fashioned training techniques because their opinions on behaviour went unchallenged.

No UK survey

Is everyone in the dark as much as I was about behaviour? Who knows. There has never been a published, industry-wide survey into UK vets’ knowledge and attitudes on the subject.

Small studies outside the UK include one by Bergman et al (2002), which examined vets’ knowledge on feline urination problems (Figure 1). Of the 70 vets in the study, fewer than a third knew to differentiate between urine marking on vertical surfaces (a behaviour problem) and inappropriate urination on horizontal surfaces (a medical problem, though one often involving negative emotional states). More worryingly, perhaps, of the vets who did make that distinction, 29% advocated punishing the cat and 54% suggested making the cat live outside.

Da Graça Pereira et al (2014) compared veterinary surgeon, veterinary nurse and owner knowledge on cat behaviour and found, with respect to urination behaviour and factors affecting cat stress, vets statistically knew no more than nurses or cat owners.

The absence of knowledge in these studies is concerning, as unresolved house soiling often results in relinquishment or euthanasia (Patronek and Dodman, 1999) and failure to recognise stress factors in cats not only compromises their welfare, but can manifest itself physically (Westropp and Buffington, 2004).

Patronek and Dodman (1999) examined 879 survey responses regarding US veterinary attitudes to behaviour medicine. Only 36% strongly thought behaviour cases deserved the same attention as clinical ones, only 19.8% strongly considered a vet with behaviour skills an asset to the practice and only 11% strongly agreed it is the vet’s responsibility to discuss behaviour. These results may reflect the age of the study, though, rather than our transatlantic counterparts’ opinions.

Interest and demand

More recent UK research has found a greater interest in behaviour medicine and more demand for support.

An online pilot study by Yeates and Main (2011) found 88% of the 59 veterinarians agreed they should do more to help behaviour cases locally and as a profession. Buckland et al (2014) asked seven independent academic experts how they would prioritise various welfare issues. Inappropriate socialisation (Figure 2) and undesirable behaviour were among the top four concerns.

Roshier and McBride (2013a) considered veterinarians’ perceptions of behaviour support in a small study. Five out of six vets felt unable to meet client expectations regarding behaviour support and four of them felt their training in these areas had been insufficient.

Another study by the same authors (2013b) gives weight to the fact UK vets struggle with behaviour cases. They reported 58 behaviour problems were mentioned in 17 veterinary consultations, but only 10 problems led to further discussion. This information was used by US veterinary behaviourist Karen Overall in her letter to Veterinary Record (Overall, 2013), where she stated it would be hard to imagine only 10 of 58 dogs with enlarged lymph nodes warranting further discussion.

Tami and Gallagher (2009) produced further evidence UK vets would benefit from more help in this area when they reviewed veterinary knowledge of behaviour by assessing canine body language interpretation skills. Study participants, including veterinary surgeons, dog trainers, dog owners and non-dog owners, were asked to comment on various dogs’ behaviour in multiple video recordings. No significant difference existed in the accuracy of behaviour interpretation between the people who worked or lived with dogs and the people who had never owned one.

A lack of understanding of our canine companions may impact on their welfare, but also fail to prevent some dog bite injuries we see at work. Discovering where veterinary strengths and weaknesses lie, interpreting normal behaviour can have a huge effect on a number of issues, including public safety and the safety of owners and veterinary staff (Crowell-Davis, 2008).

Responsibility

Are behaviour problems our responsibility? Most clients seem to think so – Bergman et al (2002) found 74% of owners consulted their vet and Roshier and McBride (2013a) found a similar number – 71%. What happens to clients we don’t help with behaviour problems? The aforementioned papers found owners who did not consult their vet chose instead to speak to breeders, pet shop assistants or gain information from the internet, newspapers and unqualified behaviourists – surely a cause for concern?

Offering behaviour advice or making a veterinary referral to appropriate experts means vets can be involved in all of their patients’ welfare needs, thus bonding the clients closer to the practice – which is good for our patients and good for business. So, when it comes to behaviour, shouldn’t we be switched on?

• The author is surveying UK vets on cat and dog behaviour. Visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/thebigbehavioursurvey to take part. Participants will be entered into a draw for the chance to win an iPad. The deadline for entries is 28 May 2016.