Animal Behavior
What Are We Going To Learn?
Common animal behaviors
 “Wild” animal behaviors
 Unwanted animal behaviors and how to
correct them.
 Training techniques
 Researching behavior

What is Behavior?

Give me your definition!

Definition:
– a : the manner of conducting oneself
– b : anything that an organism does involving action
and response to stimulation
– c : the response of an individual, group, or species to
its environment
– d: the response of an individual or animal to past
experiences and memories.
What Are Some Common
Animal Behaviors?

Happy

Sad

Anxiety

Hunger

Aggression
How Do These Behaviors Relate to
Human Behavior?

Humans share all of the same behaviors!
What Are Other Types of Behaviors?

Living in herds and packs vs. living solitary lives

Two reasons to live in herds or packs:
1. Protection from predators
2. Hunting packs- more efficient at capturing prey.
Solitary Lives:

Why do some animals live solitary lives?
– Some animals live alone because there are not
enough resources to support more than one animal in
the territory (i.e. food, shelter, etc)
Other Types Of Behaviors:
Prey vs. predator behaviors
 Some prey animals react to a predator
very differently from other prey animals.
For example:

Rabbits: Freeze in the presence of a
predator.
Horses:
Run away from predators.
Other Types Of Behaviors:
Predator animals can
either live solitary lives
or live in packs.
 They live in packs not for
protection like prey
animals, but for easier
hunting.
 Some predator animals
do live in social or family
groups (such as a pride
of lions).

What Are Some Behavior
Differences Between Male And
Female Animals?

Female animals: tend to
take care of the young,
some females are the
hunters and gather the
food for their young and
the males.
Male animals: They tend to be viewed as the
dominant animal in the pack, they tend to be
the protectors.
Why Do Wild Animals Have These
Behaviors?
SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES!!!!!
 These behaviors aid in hunting and
protecting the pack or herd and those two
things are vital to the survival of the
species as a whole!

How Did Animals Get These
Behaviors?
1. Genotype - Inherited Traits: These behaviors are part
of the animals genetic makeup and are due the
evolution of the packs overtime.
2. Learned Behaviors: The animals learn from certain
experiences they have had and this can shape how
they act when presented with that experience again.
3. Present Environment: The animals must adapt to
whatever environment they are currently in, in order
to survive.
Back to Domestic Animals!
Why Do We Care?

Why is it important to recognize behaviors?
More Detail on Recognizing
Behaviors

Happy1. Panting, relaxed expression
2. Excited tail wag
3. Play bow
4. Tail thumping on the floor
How Do You Recognize Certain Behaviors in
Domestic Animals?
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Anxiety in dogs:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
One paw raised
Nervous licking
Tucked tail
Barking or whining
Tail drop for curly tail dogs
Urination/defecation
Only wagging the end of their tail.
Anxiety in Cats:
– 1. Swishing tail
– 2. Growling
– 3. Dilated eyes
Recognizing Certain Behaviors Cont.
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Aggression in dogs:
–
–
–
–
–
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1 . Growling/snarling
2. Snapping
3. Aggressive barking
4. Lunging while leashed with snapping
5. Standing still with a wide-based stance and a low head
Aggression in cats:
–
–
–
–
1.
2.
3.
4.
Growling/hissing
Swishing tail
Spitting
Swiping at you with their claws
Some Unwanted Behaviors in
Domestic Animals:

Fear biting: Usually due to the animal
being in a state of panic rather than being
aggressive.
Dog Bites

Who is most likely to get bit?
– Children under 15 years of age.
– Males
– Dog owners.

What type of dog is most likely to
bite?
– Family pets more than strays
– Scared dogs
– Aggressive dogs
– Hungry dogs
– Any dog can bite!!!
How To Prevent A Dog
Bite:
1. Keep dog leashed when in public
 2. Socialize your dog from a young age
 3. Don’t take your dog into situations where it might feel
unsafe or uneasy
 4. Be cautious around unfamiliar dogs
 5. Teach children to ask permission before they pet a
dog
 6. Avoid direct eye contact and do not yell or run.
 7. Keep your arms down at your sides and do not hover
over the dog.
 8. When around an unfamiliar animal talk in a calm,
soothing voice so as not to upset the animal.

More Unwanted Behaviors:

Urinating in the house:
– 1. Fear
– 2. Submission
– 3. Separation anxiety
– 4. New addition to the family
– 5. Marking territory
– 6. Lack of proper housetraining
How To Prevent Urinating
In The House
1. Basic housetraining
– Be sure the dog is outside when it is going to
need to eliminate
– Go out with the dog to be sure it does eliminate
– Reward the appropriate behavior
 2. If a dog is submissive urinating, never scold it
for doing so. Stay calm, try to identify the action
that caused the animal to submissive urinate, and
avoid it in the future.

More Unwanted Behaviors:

Excessive barking:
1. Alert/warning
2. Attention seeking
3. Boredom
4. Lonely
5. Anxious
How To Prevent
Excessive Barking:



1. Stay calm and do not
shout “no” at the dog.
2. Get their attention and
make them sit or lie down,
this will sometimes relax
them.
3. Do not hug or try to
comfort your dog when
they are barking, this will
just reinforce the unwanted
behavior.
4. If they are barking
to get your attention,
ignore them until they
stop and then pay
attention to them.
5. If they are barking
because they are bored,
give them more
enrichment activities
such as toys and chew
bones to keep them
occupied.
More Unwanted Behaviors:

Jumping on people
– Attention seeking
– Excited
– Asserting dominance (least likely)
How To Prevent Jumping On People

1. Teach them from a young age that
jumping is unacceptable.

2. Never cuddle or hug your dog when
they jump on you, this sends mixed
signals to your dog when you scold
them for jumping on someone else.

3. When your dog jumps at you, turn
your body to the side to make them
miss you, and then ignore them so they
know they don’t get attention for
jumping.
How To Train a Dog

There are 2 ways to train an animal:
– Classical Conditioning- A conditioning stimulus
is applied and the unlearned behavior is then
performed.
– Operant Conditioning-Uses consequences to
modify the occurrence of a learned behavior.
– Training
Clicker Training



Is a form of operant conditioning
The clicker is much faster than saying "good dog" and it
can be used with treats to reward a dog for good
behavior.
How to:
– 1. Get a clicker and a handful of your dog's favorite treats.
– 2. Click the clicker and then immediately give your dog a treat,
repeat this several times.
– 3. Try using the clicker when the dog is not paying attention to
you and if he looks at you give him a treat.
– 4. Finally, when your dog follows your command or does
something that deserves a reward, click the clicker and give him
a treat. This makes the dog more likely to repeat the action in
the future.
Crate Training:

Why should I crate train my dog?
– 1. To provide a safe way to transport them.
– 2. To provide a way to keep them confined when you are gone,
if need be, so they don't destroy furniture, walls, etc!
– 3. If there is an emergency and they need to be evacuated or
boarded they will already be used to being in a crate.

How to
– 1. Select a crate that is large enough (should be large enough
for him to stand up and turn around in.)
– 2. Put the crate in a place where the dog spends alot of time.
– 3. Encourage the dog to go into the crate by dropping treats in
there.
– 4. Feed the dog his meals in the crate.
– 5. Gradually increase the time you keep the dog in his crate
(start with 5-10 minutes at a time and work your way up).
Other Training Tools

Many different kind of collars, each for a
specific purpose. You should talk to a
trainer to know which one to use and how
to use it correctly:
Choke collars
Pinch collars
Shock collars
Muzzles
 Halters

– Gentle Leader
– Head or chest and body
Researching Behavior

Anti-Bark Collars
– Citronella Spray Collars vs. Shock Collars
Researching Behavior
A group of dogs that barked excessively were
studied.
 The owners were given both a shock collar and
a citronella spray collar to try out for two weeks.
 Citronella Spray Collar vs. Shock Collars
 Which of the two methods of training do these
collars use?

– Classical Conditioning
– Operant Conditioning
Researching Behavior

Results:
– Most of the owners preferred
the citronella spray collars.
– Half of the owners reported
the shock collar had no effect
on the dogs at all.
– One owner reported liking the
shock collar better.
Why is Research Important?

Research is vital so that we can better
understand how to train and correct behavior
in our pets.

Also, some of the research done on animals
carries over into you and me!
What Did We Learn Today?
Common animal behaviors
 “Wild” animal behaviors
 Unwanted animal behaviors and how to
correct them.
 Training techniques
 Researching behavior
