AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS: ASSESSMENT OF AN INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
The internship assessed in this research involved participation in the operation of a commercial animal kennel. The animals housed in this kennel were exclusively companion animals, or pets. Thus, the purpose of this assessment is to theories of animal behavior to the aggressive behaviors of some companion animals that were observed by this writer during the internship at a kennel.
A striking behavior observed during the internship was a tendency by some animals to become aggressive, sometimes violently so, when confined in cages. After reviewing the animal behavior literature related to aggression, the thesis developed by this writer is that the aggressive behavior exhibited by some animals at the kennel, while triggered by being confined in cages, was not caused by the act of being confined in a cage. Rather, the thesis developed drawn by this writer is that the aggressive behavior observed in these animals was caused by a combination of fear and insecurity. Both fear and insecurity in these animals was induced by placing them in an alien environmentùthe kennel. Placing the animals in cages once in this alien environment then triggered a response wherein the animals attempted to regain some degree of control over their situations.
The findings of the animal behavior literature relevant to the thesis developed is presented in the remainder of this assessment. In some instances, the literature is related to animals other than companion animals. In such instances, the relationship theories or conclusions presented in this literature to companion animals is stated.
Animals have been companions to humans since prehistoric times, yet relatively little empirical research has been conducted on the sources of the behavior of these animals. One third to one half of all households in the English-speaking world have pets, and in most cases, the...