Companion Animal Behavior Counseling

Small Animal/Exotics

20TH ANNIVERSARY

Compendium August 1999

Highlights and Horizons in

Companion Animal Behavior Counseling Gary M. Landsberg, BSc, DVM Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behavior Doncaster Animal Clinic Thornhill, Ontario, Canada onsidering the paucity of behavior training for veterinary students before 1980, dramatic strides in the scope and type of behavior services provided by practitioners have been made in the past 20 years. Despite many advances in the field of animal behavior, including recognition by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 1993 and the licensing of new behavioral drugs, many veterinary colleges still do not provide adequate training in veterinary behavior and many practitioners offer limited or no behavior-counseling services. The importance of behavior counseling to pets, pet owners, and veterinarians was clearly illustrated by the results of two recent studies1,2 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. These studies found that the most common risk factors for pet relinquishment include insufficient behavior advice, failure to neuter, and such behavior problems as house soiling.1,2

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A New Veterinary Specialty The field of companion animal behavior was formally introduced to the veterinary profession with the establishment of the American Society of Veterinary Ethology in 1975. A few veterinary colleges, such as the University of California, Davis, offered undergraduate courses in veterinary behavior as far back as the 1960s. For the most part, however, few veterinarians received training in the field 20 years ago, except perhaps in courses covering animal restraint and handling. At that time, our understanding of the behavior of dogs and cats was limited to a few landmark publications by Drs. Michael W. Fox (psychologist and veterinarian), Konrad Lorenz (psychologist and renowned ethologist), Paul Ley-

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ANNIVERSARY

1974 1975 1978(?) An article The American Society The first all-day recommending a of Veterinary Ethology seminar at an proposal for animal is established; in American Animal clinical psychology 1985, it changes its Hospital Association counseling is name to the conference is published in American Veterinary scheduled on Society of Animal companion animal American Behavior behavior problems Psychologist

Gary Landsberg, BSc, DVM

hausen (ethologist), and John Paul Scott and John L. Fuller (both psychologists), along with several important studies on canine and feline behavior. In 1978, Drs. David Tuber (psychologist), David Hothersall (psychologist), and Victoria Voith issued a wake-up call for the emerging field of clinical animal psychology with an article that proposed animal clinical psychology counseling.3 In fact, in 1978 1980–1985 The first veterinary textbooks devoted to clinical behavioral issues in companion animals and the diagnosis and treatment of behavior problems are published

19 1985

1980 1983

1979

1981

1982

1983 The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine offers the first residency in animal behavior

1984

19

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20TH ANNIVERSARY

this work directly inspired Drs. Daniel Tortora and Peter Borchelt (both psychologists) to open the first animal behavior clinic at The Animal Medical Center in New York City. By the early 1980s, various veterinary colleges had added to their curricula courses on normal canine and feline behavior as well as on the prevention and treatment of behavior problems. These colleges and their instructors were instrumental in introducing the concept of applied animal behavior as a core subject and helped to pave the way for establishing a new veterinary specialty. Among the most active and influential at the time were Dr. Ben Hart (University of California, Davis), Dr. Bonnie Beaver (Texas A&M University), Dr. Katherine Houpt (Cornell University), Dr. Voith (University of Pennsylvania), Dr. R. K. Anderson (University of Minnesota), and Dr. Don McKeown (Ontario Veterinary College). Articles by Drs. Hart, Beaver, and Voith and by William Campbell, who has been an active promoter of veterinary involvement in applied animal behavior, began to appear with more frequency in the popular veterinary press. In addition, at that time, Campbell’s textbook Behavior Problems in Dogs4 was the principal reference for many practitioners and veterinary students. Although it was somewhat unusual for veterinary conferences to include behavior topics in their programs, attendee interest and attendance were always high when behavior sessions were offered. Attitudes and interests began to change as the 1980s progressed. In 1985, the American Society of Veterinary Ethology, in part to have the

field of veterinary behavior recognized as a more clinically oriented specialty, changed its name to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB). With the support of the AVSAB, a group spearheaded by Dr. Beaver soon began to present the case for veterinary behavior certification to the AVMA. In 1993, the AVMA granted recognition to the field of veterinary behavior, with eight veterinarians given charter diplomate status. In 1995, the American College of Veterinary Behavior (ACVB) offered the first examination for board certification. At present, 20 veterinary behaviorists are board certified in the ACVB, and seven veterinary colleges offer residency programs in the field.

Educational Opportunities During the past 20 years, more veterinary colleges have added behavior courses to their curricula, with a few even offering informal residency programs. Behavior training continued to be limited, however, not only because of the lack of qualified instructors and educational material (textbooks) but also because of a lingering attitude that animal behavior was not a legitimate field of veterinary study. The first veterinary textbooks devoted to clinical behavior in companion animals were written in 1980 by Dr. Beaver5 and in 1982 by Drs. Houpt and Thomas Wolski,6 and the first veterinary textbook on the diagnosis and treatment of behavior problems was tackled by Dr. Hart and Lynette Hart7 in 1985. Not until the mid-1990s, however, did a substantial number of textbooks, other publications, and training aids become available for both

Small Animal/Exotics

OWNERS’ OUTLOOK ■ Dog owners are taking advantage of professional help to resolve their pets’ misbehaving ways. When it was founded in 1993, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers had 70 members. Today, the organization boasts more than 3000 professional trainers, who not only teach dogs the more traditional obedience training that includes how to use proper manners but also tackle tough behavioral cases of bad temperament, house-soiling, fearfulness, and separation anxiety. In addition, many local chapters of the Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) have animal behavior hotlines for those really critical or emergency cases of misbehavior. Source: Dr. Ian Dunbar, Director, Center for Applied Animal Behavior, Berkeley, California, 1999.

practitioners and undergraduate training markets. In 1995, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) published a practitioner manual by Drs. Wayne Hunthausen and Gary Landsberg8; and a 1997 handbook by Drs. Landsberg, Hunthausen, and Lowell Ackerman9 described various canine and feline behavior problems. Some client-oriented educational tools designed to help veterinarians advise pet owners on various behavioral topics became available in 1997 and 1998, including a set of behavior brochures on client education published by the AAHA,10 a book entitled Instructions for Veterinary Clients by Dr. Stefanie Schwartz, 11 and a diskette of client handouts by Drs. Landsberg and Debra Horwitz.12 In

1992 1995 987 1998 1994 1991 986 19891993 1997 Mid-1980s Consumer demands for behavior-counseling services are heightened, and head halters are introduced for reinforcement training as an alternative to choke devices

1990

1993 The American Veterinary Medical Association recognizes the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB)

1995 The first certification examination in animal behavior is offered by the ACVB

1997 The first International Conference on Veterinary Behaviour Medicine is held in Birmingham, England

1998–1999 The FDA approves two veterinary formulations of human behavioral drugs (1998); after their release in 1999, extensive media coverage portrays the role of behaviormodifying drugs in companion animal medicine

1999

Small Animal/Exotics

addition, veterinary publishers devoted a number of journal issues and books to the field of companion animal behavior, including most recently a book edited by Drs. Voith and Borchelt containing behavioral articles13; an entire journal issue covering companion animal behavior14; and a journal symposium on puppy socialization, housebreaking, and chewing problems.15–17 With the rapid advances occurring in the field, Dr. Karen Overall recently authored a comprehensive text on behavior counseling for veterinarians18; whereas Drs. Nick Dodman and Louis Shuster coedited a book devoted entirely to animal behavior psychopharmacology. 19 Today, almost every major veterinary association now includes behavior lectures in their continuing education programs, and meeting rooms are often full or overflowing. In fact, at the annual AVMA conference, two full days of general behavior topics are scheduled in addition to a full-day specialty session.

Behavior Counseling in Clinical Practice Before 1980, very few practitioners offered much in the way of behavior-counseling services, possibly because they lacked appropriate training or possibly because there was less demand for counseling services at the time. Today, a greater number of canine behavior problems might actually exist than did 20 years ago, perhaps in part because of a lack of conscientious breeding practices by some breeding facilities. In addition, veterinary recommendations, such as social isolation from parks and from other dogs until after vaccinations have been completed, have been implemented because of the emergence of potentially fatal diseases (e.g., parvovirus). Many puppies are being isolated from other dogs and new environments at a time when primary socialization is

20TH ANNIVERSARY

most critical. However, the most likely reason for the increasing need of dog and cat owners for behavioral advice is the change in lifestyles and attitudes toward pets during the past 20 years. Societal changes (e.g., increasing number of two-income and singleparent families), the practice of housing pets in high-rise or multiplefamily buildings, and busier or more programmed daily schedules may contribute to the increasing number of separation-anxiety cases or other forms of destructiveness (e.g., house soiling or excessive vocalization) seen in pets today. Because urbanization fosters a more concentrated pet population into an environmentally small area, pet–pet and pet–human conflicts may be increasing. Such smaller living quarters and busier lifestyles may also be the reason for an increasing number of single-pet households, which could lead to impaired social skills with conspecifics. Cats and dogs that may have been allowed to roam more freely or spend more time outdoors are today more likely to be housed indoors, thereby prompting behavior (e.g., marking, elimination habits, scratching, chewing, climbing, scavenging, prey catching) that might have been acceptable or unnoticed when the pets were housed outdoors but problematic for indoor pets. In addition, many pet owners of the 1990s have begun to expect and demand more extensive specialty services because they are now available in human medicine. It is also possible that the pet–owner bond and the personal needs that the pet fulfills have changed owner commitments and thus encouraged better pet care.

Changing Attitudes One of the primary sources of advice on canine behavior has always been the dog trainer; whereas advice on feline behavior was usually addressed by breeders, psychologists, or

Compendium August 1999

self-professed cat experts. With certification of veterinary behaviorists, more extensive training of veterinarians and their staff, and certification of behaviorists in such other areas as applied ethology, the trend of relying on others as the source of all behavioral advice is slowly changing. Unfortunately, in many cases training continues to center around owners being assertive and authoritarian with their dogs by using various pinching, choking, and prong devices when they refuse to obey. Inadequate understanding of canine behavior and the principles of learning and behavior modification has made it difficult for trainers and veterinarians to achieve improvement. Through his books, seminars, and leadership, Dr. Ian Dunbar has been one of the major forces in educating trainers and veterinarians in understanding the reasons pets behave the way they do and in practicing humane, effective methods of properly rewarding, shaping, and modifying canine behavior using reinforcement-based techniques. An important innovation that has helped owners to use reinforcement-based training techniques rather than punishment has been the introduction of head halters and collars. Both were first developed in the mid-1980s and have become increasingly popular in the 1990s as a kinder, gentler alternative to neck collars.

Advances in the Field In December 1998, the FDA approved two veterinary formulations of drugs formerly used to treat humans only: selegiline hydrochloride (Anipryl®; Pfizer, Exton, PA) for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction syndrome and clomipramine (Clomicalm®; Novartis, Greensboro, NC) for the treatment of separation anxiety. Sponsorship from major corporations (e.g., Friskies, Novartis, and Pfizer) has greatly increased veterinarians’ awareness of the importance

Small Animal/Exotics

20TH ANNIVERSARY

of behavior services and why such services can and should be offered by veterinary practices. Many new products have also been developed for behavior management, including citronella spray devices used for retraining and a synthetic cheek gland pheromone that reduces urine spraying. Practitioners, veterinary students, and trainers are gaining a better understanding of basic canine and feline behavior; the principles of learning and behavior modification; the proper use of rewards for training; and the concept of shaping. Greater awareness should eventually lead to a shift from assertive, disciplinary, and punishmentbased training methods, which are often unsuccessful and sometimes counterproductive or inhumane, to reinforcement techniques. Perhaps the greatest advances in the field of animal behavior are the increasing willingness and ability of veterinarians to offer behavior-counseling services— from pet selection counseling to geriatric counseling and from puppy and kitten preventive counseling to consultations on behavior problems.

References 1. Patronek GJ, Glickman LT, Beck AM, et al: Risk factors for relinquishment of cats to an animal shelter. JAVMA 209(3):582–588, 1996. 2. Patronek GJ, Glickman LT, Beck AM, et al: Risk factors for relinquishment of dogs to an animal shelter. JAVMA 209(3):572–581, 1996. 3. Tuber D, Hothersall D, Voith V: American clinical psychology: A modest proposal. Am Psychol 29:762–766, 1974.

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4. Campbell W: Behavior Problems in Dogs. Santa Barbara, CA, American Veterinary Publications, 1975. 5. Beaver B: Veterinary Aspects of Feline Behavior. St. Louis, Mosby, 1980. 6. Houpt K, Wolski T: Domestic Animal Behavior. Ames, IA, Iowa State University Press, 1982. 7. Hart B, Hart L: Canine and Feline Behavior. Philadelphia, WB Saunders Co, 1985. 8. Hunthausen W, Landsberg G: Practitioner’s Guide to Pet Behavior Problems. Denver, American Animal Hospital Association, 1995. 9. Landsberg G, Hunthausen W, Ackerman L: Handbook of Behaviour Problems of the Dog and Cat. Oxford, England, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1997. 10. Schwartz S: Instructions for Veterinary Clients. Philadelphia, Mosby, 1997. 11. American Animal Hospital Association, series of 10 behavior brochures, Denver, 1997–1998. 12. Landsberg G, Horwitz D: Custom Care on Diskette. Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Lifelearn, 1998. 13. Voith V, Borchelt P (eds): Readings in Companion Animal Behavior. Trenton, NJ, Veterinary Learning Systems Co, Inc, 1996. 14. Progress in companion animal behavior symposium. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 27(3):427–697, 1997. 15. Horwitz DF: Counseling pet owners on puppy socialization and establishing leadership. Vet Med 94(2):149–156, 1999. 16. Melese P: How to stop chewing problems in puppies. Vet Med 94(2): 157–163, 1999. 17. Horwitz DF: A practitioner’s guide to housebreaking puppies. Vet Med 94(2):165–168, 1999. 18. Overall KJ: Clinical Small Animal Behavioral Medicine. St. Louis, Mosby, 1997. 19. Dodman N, Shuster: Psychopharmacology of Animal Behavior Disorders. Malden, MA, Blackwell Science, 1998.