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Stereotypies rarely can be traced to a single cause; they generally are associated with a variety of factors, most of which are management related.   However, genetic and medical problems also predispose horses to develop certain stereotypies.  

Stable vices frequently occur to allow the horse to cope with an inadequate environment.   Locomotor stereotypies are typically associated with insufficient contact with other horses, too limited turnout, and other “physical” restrictions.  Oral stereotypies are most likely to be related to foraging frustration (e.g. too little roughage, limited grazing time, too much grain/starch in the diet, etc.). 

Although people suspect mimicry is involved and often isolate horses with stereotypic behaviors, there is no evidence that horses can learn these behaviors by watching other horses perform them.  Some stable vices are learned through inadvertent reinforcement by owners and barn managers.  For example if a horse begins kicking or circling in the stall before meal time, the subsequent delivery of the horse’s food will reinforce the behavior.   

Stable vices can be frustrating and difficult to remedy. The behaviors sometimes persist even when the apparent cause of the behavior is remedied.  Physically preventing the horse from performing the behavior is problematic in that it does nothing to remove the motivation for the behavior.  This approach seldom works and it may cause the animal more distress because the horse is prevented from using its only coping strategy in that environment.   

Environmental enrichment is a good way to improve the horse’s management and hopefully discourage some of these behaviors. General recommendations for locomotor stereotypies include increasing turnout and exercise, and providing social contact.  Recent studies have shown that installing mirrors or a life-sized picture of a horse in the stall can reduce weaving and other locomotor stereotypies. Oral stereotypies may be prevented or improved by increasing forage, allowing more grazing time and reducing grain/starch in the diet.   Many stereotypies can also be remedied by behavior modification techniques designed to teach the horse to perform an alternative, more desirable, behavior in that situation.  This method has the added benefit of providing the horse with additional behavioral choices as opposed to removing or limiting the horse’s choices.   

More specific training, housing and medical recommendations are determined on a case-by case basis. Due to the complexity and medical implications of stereotypic behaviors, consulting a veterinarian is highly recommended to find resolutions for the horse’s behavior.

 Kitten food preferences develop based on influences of genetics, the queen’s diet, and the kitten’s dietary experiences when young.  Kittens can form strong taste and texture preferences by as early as six months of age.  As obligate carnivores, cats’ food sources are restrained by local available prey.   (This compares to dogs which are omnivorous scavengers and show less food neophobia.)   Cats are more likely to develop restricted food choices.  This can present major challenges in the future if your cat requires a diet change or your cat develops an illness-induced food aversion to the only diet its ever eaten!

 The answer:  food socialization in kittens.   Offer your young kittens a wide variety of commercial and non-commercial foodstuffs in small amounts to accustom the kittens to diversity of tastes, odors and textures.  Kittens and cats should be exposed to these variable and novel sources at least 2-3 times per week for the duration of the cat’s life in order to maintain receptivity.

 This simple process will mitigate the headache of future diet changes as well as increase options for training and behavior modification in the event that such are needed or desired.

Implement good litter box hygiene habits:
1. Boxes should be scooped at least once daily — no matter the type of litter being used or the number of cats.
2. Litter preference tests consistently indicate that the majority of cats prefer soft fine grain clumping litters over other types. In general, they also prefer deeper litter (at least 1.5 to 2 inches deep) as compared to shallow litter.
3. Use unscented litter. A recent abstract presentation (AVSAB, 2008) showed that cats preferred a carbon based litter to a baking-soda based litter.
4. Clean the box (and completely change out the litter) at least once per month using warm water and dish soap or some other mild detergent. Avoid bleach, pine based cleaners or cleaners that leave behind a strong smell. If the litterbox itself has an odor, it can be soaked with an enzymatic odor neutralizer. Alternatively this may be a sign that a new litterbox is in order!
5. Automatic litterboxes are a mixed blessing. Some cats find them too small or too noisy. The litters used are often a course grain and therefore less appealing. Additionally, some cats seem to object to the odor from the reservoir. Some cats do very well with automatic boxes.

Make the boxes and the location appealing and accessible to the cat(s):
1. Use large boxes! Large or fat cat + small litterbox = presents outside the box! Clear sweater boxes work well and are economical. There is no such thing as too large of a bathroom.
2. The general rule is to have at least one litterbox for each cat in the house. The more cats there are, the more extra boxes there should be.
3. In multi-story homes, there must be at least one litterbox on each floor of the house irrespective of the number of cats in the home! (No sane person would ever buy a 2 or 3 story home with only one bathroom; in fact we wouldn’t be likely to buy a ONE story home with just one bathroom!)
4. In multi-cat households, boxes should be spread throughout the house — multiple rooms. Ideally rooms with litterboxes should have two entrances so one cat cannot be trapped in the room by another cat. For the same reason, closed boxes may be unappealing because the victim cat does not get adequate warning of the approach of a more aggressive cat. Some cats do feel safer in covered boxes, so the cats should be given different options, particularly in a multicat home.
4. Litterboxes ideally should not be placed near other animals or appliances that might frighten the cat (e.g. washers/dryers, dog cages, garage doors).

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It is Never too Early to Start Training

Puppies begin learning long before you bring them to their new home. They continue to learn every day from every interaction with you and their environment whether you specifically train them or not. Considering this, it becomes apparent how important it is to provide suitable structure and training from the start to prevent your new puppy from learning the wrong lessons. Many behaviors exhibited by puppies are cute and relatively harmless, but these same behaviors exhibited by an adult dog could be dangerous.

Puppies do not “grow out” of poor behavior

Behaviors that puppies exhibit when theyare young will typically persist unless you teach the dog a more acceptable alternative.  Kindergarten Puppy Training classes (often called KPT) and puppy socialization parties can be a good way to get your puppy started. These classes are available in many communities and typically enroll puppies beginning at 8-10 weeks of age. Do not wait until 6 months of age to begin training your puppy. By 6 months of age, your puppy has had 3-4 months to develop undesirable habits that must be corrected before good behavior will be established.

Keep the training sessions short and frequent

Puppies, like young children, do have short attention spans, so training sessions must be short. Short sessions (1-5 minutes) spread frequently throughout the day are more productive than one or two longer sessions. These training sessions should be incorporated into your daily routine and made fun for the puppy. Your puppy should not be able to distinguish real life from training.

Visit our Resource page for more helpful information about puppies and other pets.