Tuesday’s Pearl: When animals (including humans) are frustrated, conflicted or thwarted from performing a behavior because of restraint or inhibition, they may show displacement activities. By definition, a displacement activity is a behavior that appears ‘out of context’ to the stimulus that triggers it. Displacement activities often look like grooming or other self-soothing behaviors, such as self-licking (or, for humans, nail-biting), but they may also take the shape of other motor behaviors. Some examples of displacement behaviors: 1. A dog runs figure-eights in the backyard each day when the school bus stops to discharge children. 2. A cat chatters audibly while watching birds through the closed window. 3. A dog spins in tight circles when his owner puts on an overcoat to leave the house. 4. A stalled horse weaves from side to side while a horse in the neighboring stall is getting saddled up. 5. A dog is picked up after a week of boarding and the owners find a raised, bald spot on his front leg from persistent licking. 6. A dog being walked on a leash spots a running squirrel and turns to tug at her owner’s pant leg. 7. A dog mounts a visitor’s leg as the visitor sits down on the sofa. Displacement activities are sometimes confused with redirected behavior (such as aggression) but are typically unrelated to the behavior the animal is driven to perform. However, just to confuse the issue, some apparent redirected behaviors do seem to overlap with displacement activities (such as the dog tugging on his owners pant leg above). In some cases, the activity is harmless and can be ignored. In others, however, it can develop into a repetitive behavior or “stereotypy” even in the absence of the stimulus. In extreme cases when repetitive behavior consumes a significant amount of time and interferes with the animal’s quality of life, it may be considered a compulsive disorder. Any repetitive and persistent behavior should first be assessed by a veterinarian to be sure it isn’t caused by a physical problem. The most common cause of excessive self-licking in dogs and cats, for example, is allergy or secondary infection. Once a primary medical problem has been ruled out, displacement behaviors can be managed by reducing conflict and stress, or by teaching the animal to perform an alternative, more appropriate behavior on cue. #vetbehavior #vetbehaviordogs
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:34:16 +0000
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