All about canine ethology: What is and what is it for?

Most people love having a dog as a pet. However, it is important to be aware of the responsibility of having a canine at home. You must feed it, take care of it, give love, attention, train and educate it. It is also relevant to highlight that there are cases in which it is not so easy to educate a dog and that it can have strange behaviors or behaviors. But you should not despair if it is your case. The good news is that you don't have to be alone in that process. We tell you that they exist Doctors specialists in dog behaviors. This branch of the Behavioral biology It is called canine ethology. An ethologist is a veterinary specialist who deals with the behavior, communication and needs of dogs.

Origin of Ethology

The meaning of this science is literally "Custom Science”And, like all science, it also has an origin. Ethology is a branch of experimental psychology that analyzes the behavior of animals in their natural environment, Unlike behavioral, which focuses its studies on laboratories or artificial media.

At the beginning of the 20th century comparative psychology originated, which studied the psychological behavior and abilities of animals. But it was in 1973 when ethology began to be considered as a science itself, thanks to studies on the behaviors of animals carried out by scientists and brilliant Ethologists Karl R. von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz, and Nikolaas Tinbergen. Research that in turn made them creditors of a Nobel Prize. From there, comparative psychology became an integral part of this new science. Also in Europe the investigation of animal behavior was developed highlighting field studies and instinctive behaviors and, in the United States, the Research on him animal behavior, this time in controlled media. This study focused on learned behaviors. From there the behaviorism was born. Already previously, in 1951, Niko Tinbergen I had published one of his studies known as "The Study of Instinct (the study of instinct)”, In which he raised the four questions on which this science is based: The causes, Development or ontogenetic, Evolution and The phylogenetic. In that same study shows the distinction between comparative psychology and ethology.

Bases of Ethology

There are questions that ethologists are raised to analyze the different behaviors of animals, these are:

Causes: An ethologist tries to rule out the direct cause generated by the animal's behavior, and can be internal or external causes.
Sustainable development: It is tried to analyze the behavior of the animal caused by previous situations.
Evolution: With this question we try to answer the benefits it represents for a certain behavior and what evolutionary advantages implies to adopt it.
Phylogenetic: This aspect seeks to discover at what time certain behaviors appeared, based on the evolutionary history of the animal and its species.
Learned and innate behaviors: This science also deals with addressing the problem about the basis of behavior, if it is merely genetic or comes from learned behaviors. Although there are opinions found in this regard by ethologists and scientists, they finally concluded that regardless of the origin, the behavior may be motivated by both reasons "requires learning or innate knowledge for its correct development."
Consciousness in animals: Expert scientists in the field argue that animals have high levels of consciousness, so this science has dealt with the demonstration of their existence.

When to go to an ethologist

Sometimes, human beings usually make the mistake of believing that those beloved four -legged friends feel, think and reason as a human being and, therefore, do not pay the necessary attention to understand what they really want. Therefore, when your dog needs it, it is advisable to seek the help of a specialist who guides you to understand what your faithful friend really means.

The reasons why a dog Manifest problematic behaviors They are varied. In general, they originate from a bad education, the lack of socialization or wrong punishment methods that include aggression. For these causes a dog can adopt inappropriate behaviors as fear, problems with other dogs, phobias, eating disorders, hyperactivity, anxiety, stress and even aggressiveness. However, there are cases in which These behaviors can manifest itself due to natural mental problems. In any of these situations you must go to request the help of an ethologist. The specialist will diagnose the dog's behavior to rule out the possible causes and prescribe the proper treatment. An important aspect that you should keep in mind is that the specialist must work personally with the dog and, usually, in their natural environment, which in the case of domestic canines is the home in which they live. This is the only way to correctly diagnose the animal. Therefore, you must be attentive and not let yourself be fooled by anyone who offers your distance services. On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that certain situations of bad behavior can be avoided if you educate your pet properly and provide the necessary attention and care.

How to select a good ethologist

If you want your canine to learn to live ordered and balanced, both with human beings and with other animals, then you must know The importance of Clinical Ethology and their need in an environment where people and animals coexist. You must always be attentive to certain aspects at the time of choosing a Ethology Professional To treat your beloved and faithful friend. For example, that has a valid title in the place where you exercise the profession, you should not charge you in advance for the treatment, they usually offer you a budget according to the dog's clinical case; And, very important, you must investigate the praxis I use for diagnosis and cure. In no case should you use some form of aggression, punishment or torture towards the helpless animal. Other curiosities that may interest you:

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