Veterinary Medical Applications I
Lesson Title: Animal Behavior
TEKS Addressed in Lesson:
130.6. (c)(5)
(B) recognize the common animal behavior problems
(C) identify common animal behavioral protocols and discuss the relevance to veterinary medical staff
(D) demonstrate appropriate methods of handling a variety of animal behavioral situations
Lesson Objectives:
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compare instinctive (innate) and learned behavior
identify ways an animal's instincts and behaviors help it to survive
investigate the connection between environment and behavior
Define the word behavior.
Discuss the role and significance of money as a reinforcer for human behavior.
Recognize the importance of behaviors to the reproduction and survival of any particular
group.
Identify situations in which animal behavioral could reflect health issues
Key Terms/Vocabulary
Behavior- is the range of actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in
conjunction with their environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as
the physical environment. It is the response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs,
whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary.
Ethology- is the study of behavior, and ethologists can make ethograms to record the behavior of a
specific animal.
Conditioning- process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to associate a desired
behavior with a previously unrelated stimulus process of behavior modification by which a subject
comes to associate a desired behavior with a previously unrelated stimulus
Husbandry- The application of scientific principles to agriculture, especially to animal breeding
Stimuli- An agent, action, or condition that elicits or accelerates a physiological or psychological activity
or response
Temperament- person's or animal's nature, esp. as it permanently affects their behavior
Imprinting- A rapid learning process by which a newborn or very young animal establishes a behavior
pattern of recognition and attraction to another animal of its own kind or to a substitute or an object
identified as the parent
Auditory- of or relating to the sense of hearing
Olfactory- of or relating to the sense of smell
Tactile- of or connected with the sense of touch
Homing- relating to an animal's ability to return to a place or territory after traveling a distance away
from it
Visual- of or relating to seeing or sight
Interest Approach/Anticipatory Set
Ask the students to list examples of movements they have completed, things they have said, made or
written during the week. Have students look up the definition of behavior, possible answers might
include:
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Behavior is a response to something in your environment
Behavior is an action you take to do something
Behavior helps you accomplish things you need to do
Show students a video clip of a learned behavior such as Skidboot in the following video. Have students
discuss how this behavior was learned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIRno6dc16g
This video explains both innate and natural behaviors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hREwakXmAo
Teaching Plan and Strategy Presentation of New Material
Teacher PowerPoint that includes the following information:
Explain to students that certain animal behaviors contribute to survival. For example, bears can adapt to
harsh winters by hibernating, and humpback whales migrate from their nurseries off the coast of Hawaii
to feed in the krill-rich waters off of Alaska. Explain that some of these behaviors are instincts, or traits
that the animal is born with, and some are learned behaviors, or behaviors that were taught to the
animal, often by its parent.
Other discussion points may include:
How do the physical attributes of an animal affect its behaviors? Using whales, primates, and bears as
examples, discuss how their physical characteristics affect their instinctive behaviors. Is there any link
between those characteristics and their learned behaviors?
Can an organism's instincts and learned behaviors be related to its environment? (bears hibernating,
bird migrating)
Activity:
Create a list of 20 of your own behaviors throughout the day, such as waking up, brushing your teeth,
walking, eating, or reading. Which of these are learned and which are instinctual? If they were learned,
how did you learn them?
Think about all the actions you've performed in the last few hours (preparing for class, answering
questions, eating, showering, etc.). Have you demonstrated more instinctive behaviors or learned
behaviors? Debate which behaviors are more common in everyday life.
Explain the various ways in which learned behaviors can be learned. For example, how did you learn to
tie your shoes? How did you learn that it's best keep your eyes closed when you're washing shampoo
out of your hair? Brainstorm other Behavior is an organism's response to stimuli
Continue with lesson…
Stimuli can be internal or external
O External - light, gravity, temperature, odor, moisture, etc.
o Internal - thirst, hormones, etc.
Behaviors can be innate or learned
Innate behavior - response to stimuli that is performed spontaneously the first time the stimulus is
encountered (startle response, sucking, crying, etc.)
Activity/Application/Student Engagement/Laboratory
Other suggested student activities:
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/training/animal-behavior-&-learning.htm
Discussion: Have students discuss examples of instinctual and learned behavior such as a newborn
horse/calf taking its first steps or nursing, or animals mating, or knowing how to hunt.
What other behaviors can you think of?
Some examples:
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A chicken knowing to incubate the eggs
Some animals that have babies only at night
Birds migrating
Discuss how knowing/understanding dog/cat behavior is important for vet industry workers.
Have students give examples
What do you do when you first meet someone? How do you greet them?
How do dogs greet – what is a dog's “handshake”? Sniffing
When do both cats and dogs prefer not to be bothered?
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Sleeping
Playing with toys
Eating
Mother with puppies/kittens
Animals' owner not in sight
Signs that a dog may want to be your friend
Dogs that are calm, relaxed, wagging their tail, have their tongue hanging out, and are with
their adult owner may want to be your friend.
What are some things we should do when approaching a dog that isn’t ours? (this includes
approaching a dog while working/volunteering at a veterinary clinic):
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Always ask an owner if you can pet his/her dog. Why?
Walk
Let the dog sniff your hand
Don't jerk your hand away
Pet the dog under the chin or on the side of the neck
Never pet a dog on top of the head.
Talk to the dog in your inside voice
What are some signs that a dog could be fractious?
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Growling
Baring teeth
Cowers behind over
Shakes/shivers
Sounds for Survival Activity:
You will need blindfolds and noisemakers.
OBJECTIVES
Students explore the survival advantages of producing sounds.
MATERIALS
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Blindfolds
noisemakers—one for each student, two of each kind (examples: whistles, clickers, kazoos,
small containers of seeds, two pencils to tap together)
Producing sound is an important behavior for many animals. Many marine mammals use sound to locate
their offspring.
1. Discuss animal vocalization as a behavior. Ask students to infer some survival advantages of creating
sound. (If necessary, prompt students by asking them how individual animals might locate each other in
a dark ocean or on a crowded beach.)
2. Divide students into two equal groups and place them on separate sides of the room or field.
Distribute one of each type of noisemaker to one group, and then distribute matching noisemakers to
the other group.
3. Blindfold students.
4. Students move across the room or playing field making noise. Each student tries to locate his or her
“partner” by listening for the matching sound.
5. When all students have paired up, have them remove their blindfolds and discuss the experience.
How did students find their partners?
6. Repeat the simulation with the following twist: Select one or two students to be blindfolded
“predators.” As the pairs are trying to locate each other, the predators attempt to find (by sound) and
“catch” prey. If a predator locates and tags a student, the student is “out” and must remain silent.
7. Ask students what they can infer about animal vocalizations. Make a list of questions that get raised
during discussion. Ask students to brainstorm ways to design experiments that might further our
knowledge of the role of animal vocalizations.
8. Students use reference materials such as books, periodicals, and the Internet to investigate the role of
vocalizations in mother/pup recognition and mate recognition for various animals. (Research has
increased our understanding of the role of vocalizations in bats, fur seals, and penguins, for example.)
References/Additional Materials/Extended Learning Opportunities/Enrichment
Intro to Veterinary Science, Thompson
http://www.discoveryeducation.com
Other Suggested Activities:
The Science of Ape Intelligence:
http://www.lessonplansinc.com/biology/lessonplans/C124/
College and Career Readiness Standards:
Science
I. B1. (a-g) Design and conduct scientific investigations in which hypotheses are formulated and tested.
III. C 1 (a-c) Presentation of scientific/technical information.
V. D 1 (a-g) Understand that scientists categorize things according to similarities and differences.
VI. E 1 (a-f) Know ways in which living things can be classified based on each organism’s internal and
external structure, development, and relatedness of DNA sequences.