Many people have behavior concerns with animals, either in their homes or where they work. I’m often contacted on issues relating to problem behaviors, quality of life, and how to change behavior. It always starts with us as their caretakers.
Is it a Medical or Behavioral Concern?
Behavior doesn’t lie, meaning it tells a story of their history, history before us, and current situation. The question is, can you identify a behavior concern? Most people would say yes, my dog jumps on everyone as soon as they walk in the door. What about the other not-so-obvious behaviors, such as lethargic and not moving around as much as an animal should be for its age and species? These are key indicators of health, lack of mental stimulation, or other underlying medical or behavioral concerns.
First, always make a veterinary appointment to rule out medical behaviors. If the animal gets a clean bill of health and the behavior concern is still there, now it’s time to dig deeper into the history of reinforcement for the behavior concern. The history of reinforcement is the length of time the behavior concern has been reinforced.
What is the Reinforcer for the Behavior?
The reinforcer for the behavior concern also needs to be identified. There is not one behavior any animal does for no reason, including us. Whatever you are doing, anytime throughout the day, there is always a reinforcer behind why you are doing what you are doing. To practice identifying reinforcers, ask yourself throughout the day, “Why am I doing this?” even if it is something you are doing and don’t want to be doing. Your answer is the reinforcer. “Why am I doing laundry? I hate doing laundry.” Your answer is likely because you have nothing left to wear or you don’t want to wear dirty clothes. These answers are the reinforcers behind your behavior.
These are the same for any animal behavior, desired or undesired. All behavior serves a purpose for us and our animals, whether those behaviors are desired or undesired by us. The dog jumps for a reason. Likely it is being reinforced by the person it is jumping on.
What is the Purpose of the Behavior?
A pacing animal is always a behavior concern of mine. A monkey pacing from the front to the back of its enclosure numerous times at certain times of the day, is a red flag to me as far as behavior is concerned. This behavior serves a purpose for this animal. This behavior is not functionless. This behavior has function for the animal. Many people would say the animal does it for no reason. Wrong! It may be an undesired behavior to us but it does serve a purpose for the animal or it wouldn’t perform this behavior. What purpose is it? Lack of mental stimulation, stress, a coping mechanism? These are all potential reinforcers behind the behavior.
We need to identify the reinforcer behind the behavior to better be able to change it. The key here is detail through observation. Here are a few questions to ask yourself about any behavior concern.
- When does the behavior happen?
- When doesn’t the behavior happen?
- Does the behavior happen at a certain time(s) of the day?
- Does the behavior happen with a certain person/animal?
- Does the behavior happen when no one is around?
- How long does the behavior happen?
- What happens right before the behavior happens?
- What happens after the behavior happens?
- What do you want the animal to do instead?
These are just a few of the questions I would answer when identifying a behavior concern and before putting a behavior modification plan in place. I won’t stop trying to change an undesired behavior of an animal in my care, or when consulting with other organizations or individuals when working on changing behavior concerns.
What is the Replacement Behavior?
When wanting to change a behavior, you will need a replacement behavior. In order for one behavior to cease, another behavior needs to take its place. I know. I do this all of the time with a wide variety of species of animals from parrots, wolves, primates, to alligators. What I watch is not the species of the animal, but the behavior. What purpose does this behavior serve for the animal? Is it impacting its welfare or quality of life? What do I want the animal to do instead?
Some behavior issues are more severe. Any abnormal repetitive behavior (ARB) I consider severe. These include any repetitive behavior, excess grooming, swaying, spinning in circles or rhythmic head or body movements. When I’m observing an ARB, I’m watching for finite details such as if the hand, feet, or fingers have to touch the same object in order to complete the repetition. These more finite details often can tell you more about the length of time the behavior has been reinforced, aka history of reinforcement. Also, in my experience, the longer the behavior has been practiced, usually the longer it will take to change, but not near as long as the behavior was reinforced to get to the point it is today.
No matter the age, sex, or species of the animal, please don’t stop trying to change a behavior concern. I see a lot of behavior concerns from animals as a result of stress and trying to find ways to cope with stress. If you need help, please feel free to contact me. I give every animal, and the people that care for them my all. When we know better, we do better for the lives of the animals in our care.
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