AVA Conference Adelaide 2016

As many behavioural problems are caused by stress, management strategies aimed at reducing stress have a positive effect on the behaviour of dogs and cats. The stress response is triggered when animals are unable to predict and control their environment. Setting consistent rules, so that the expectations of the animals are met, increases the predictability of their environment. Several studies have shown that environmental enrichment reduces stress. In practice, environmental enrichment should allow animals to express their natural behaviour and provide them with a safe area. Affiliative relationships with other animals and with humans also reduce the stress response. Some behavioural problems are caused by pain and therefore early identification and treatment of pain will also contribute to preventing behavioural problems. It has been suggested that neutering reduces the likelihood of some behavioural problems, in particular those that are sexually dimorphic, such as inter-male aggression, urine marking and roaming. However, some recent evidence seem to indicate that neutering may increase the risk of other behaviour problems, such as noise fear. The effects of neutering on behaviour will be discussed in the lecture