Animals are known to have emotions just like humans and the range of emotions that they display is also as diverse as humans. Which brings us to the crucial question, that do animals like human beings also suffer from emotional upheavals and problems in life, just like the way humans do? It has been proved by researchers in various experiments that animals do experience a range of emotions right from joy and happiness to grief and depression, probably when they lose a partner or mate.
Emotional problems among animals can arise from psychological occurrences that compel animals into acting in a particular manner whether it is escaping from someone or some situation to attacking in a specific situation. Emotional problems may also induce tremendous grief which can paralyze their ability to move or think rationally.
Problems in diverse animal species may be in the form of several unacceptable behaviors including spraying of urine in cats and hierarchical violence in dogs (Borchelt and Voith 1982). These types of emotional problems in animals need to be analyzed from a behavioral or therapeutic approach the emphasis of which will be on the background in which these animals exist and behave (Mills 1997).
Emotional problems may basically shoot from several reasons, the prime being anger. In an incident in Tezpur in India, a troop of about a hundred monkeys had blocked the traffic of the area to a halt when a baby monkey was hit by a car. After encircling the area for some time, the monkeys ultimately departed, but not before they created quite a nuisance and fear in the area. This proves the fact that akin to humans, animals do get irked by the instances and occurrences of the surroundings in which they live.
According to an article on BBC Wildlife Magazine â âThe depths of feelingâ, a study was conducted on a group of chimpanzees. Jane Goodall, who has studied chimpanzees for more than forty years, examined that a baby chimp lost its mother following which it stopped feeding completely. The extent to which Flint was emotionally disturbed was evident from the fact that Flint stayed near the motherâs body for some hours and then ultimately died of heartbreak. This incident throws light on the fact that emotional problems in animals stem from their attachments to their own kith and kin as well as the surroundings in which they survive.
An example, of an emotional problem in the behavior of two pet dogs, was highlighted when a lady consulted the Animal Behavior Clinic for help regarding her two male dogs which had begun to fight each other since they were nine months old. The younger dog attacked the older one and ceased to initiate the attack in spite of constantly being defeated by the older sibling following which the younger dog to stay away from the older sibling and would appear to be âdepressedâ. The owner was extremely concerned by the emotional behavior displayed by the younger dog.
It was explained to the owner that the emotionally disturbed behavior was probably a result of insecurity and jealousy. The owner was also asked to encourage the dogs to play games like âtug-of-warâ so that the younger dog would come to accept that the elder dog would win the game by virtue of its size.
The results after two weeks were quite encouraging as the owner reported that there had been only one fight in the week that followed the therapy. The owner reported that there was an absolute cessation of fights in about eight month’s time. This case study proves that, like humans, animals too have numerous emotional problems which can be resolved by studying the cases and using the appropriate therapies.
References
BBC Wildlife Magazine â âThe depths of feelingâ, 2002.
Borchelt P.L., Voith V.L., (1982) Classification of Animal Behavior Problems. In: Voith V.L., Borchelt P.L., (eds) Veterinary Clinics of North America (Small Animal Practice) 12: 571-586.
Cooper J.J., Mills D.S. Welfare considerations relevant to behaviour modifications in domestic animals In: Mills D.S., Heath S.E. Harrington L.J. (eds) Proceedings of the First International Meeting on Veterinary behavioural Medicine, UFAW, Potters Bar 164-173
Mills D.S. (1997) Separating a dogâs bite from its ownerâs problem: – conceptualizing behavior problems. In: Mills D.S., Heath S.E. Harrington L.J. (eds) Proceedings of the First International Meeting on Veterinary behavioral Medicine, UFAW, Potters Bar 7-9.