58 pages • 1-hour read
Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
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Index of Terms
Core Emotional Systems
The core emotional systems are the “blue-ribbon” systems that drive all animal and human behavior. They have been the subject of extensive scientific research, although the author argues that these systems can be better understood and implemented by pet owners, commercial animal operations, zoo handlers, and wildlife researchers. The first core emotional system she identifies is fear. Fear alerts animals to the presence of danger and can keep them safe from predation. It tells animals when they or their young are at risk and can motivate them to either fight or flee. Different animals experience fear differently: A horse may become easily startled by rapid movement in their peripheral vision, while a predatory animal like a large cat might respond to the fear by fighting.
The second system is rage. Animals experience rage when they are caged or confined. Some animals, like dogs that have been crate-trained, might not experience rage in this context , but it is helpful for anyone who owns, studies, handles, or raises an animal to understand how and when an animal is likely to experience a rage trigger.
Panic is the third core emotional system. Animals, including humans, experience panic when they are alone, abandoned, or left behind by their social groups. Farm animals in particular experience panic when their young are weaned, and the author argues that individuals who raise cattle, chickens, and pigs can help their animals avoid distress and trauma by developing industry-wide weaning standards that take the panic system into account.
The last system, seeking, is the most complex and varied. Seeking is the drive to learn, explore the environment, and hunt. For cats, seeking involves exploring new changes in the environment and hunting. Cats’ seeking drives can be kept healthy if they have novel toys to help them explore, as well as toys that simulate hunting. Seeking is also the origin of humans’ interest in learning and in professional growth, goal-orientation, and new relationships.
Neoteny
Neoteny is the slowing or delaying of an organism’s physiological development. The result is an adult organism that retains juvenile traits. The author discusses neoteny in conjunction with domestication and notes that selective breeding of dogs in particular has resulted in modern dogs that retain traits that were once much more common in the puppies of wolves, dogs’ genetic ancestors. Many modern dog breeds have rounded heads, a trait that wolf puppies grow out of by the time they reach physical maturation. Many dog breeds have ears that flop over; although adult wolves’ ears stick straight up, all wolf puppies are born with folded ears.
Dogs also display behavioral characteristics that are more prevalent in wolf puppies than in adult wolves. For example, they are vocal; adult dogs bark to express their emotions and signal danger, while adult wolves are much quieter. Dogs also beg for food and use appeasement behaviors like licking, tail wagging, or body movements to signal submission. Wolf puppies routinely exhibit these behaviors to solicit attention or “appease” their parents, but by adulthood, most wolves abandon these behaviors. However, modern dogs display these qualities because such traits are and have been attractive to humans. Large, cute, “puppy-dog” eyes were seen as desirable, so humans selectively bred those traits into their animals throughout the domestication process. Likewise, smaller body size was more attractive to humans who wished to establish dominance over their pets.
Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is a behavioral modification technique in which desirable behaviors are rewarded with treats, rewards, or positive stimuli. It contrasts with negative reinforcement, a behavioral modification technique in which undesirable behaviors are punished. The author discusses the way in which various species respond to positive reinforcement, explaining that dogs are unique among animals in that their behavior can be modified using social approval alone. Although dogs enjoy treats and treats as a key training tool, they will often increase desirable behaviors based solely on the “reward” of pleasing their trainer. Dogs are domesticated and have co-evolved with humans, and they are highly attuned to human emotions and moods. Cats, by contrast, often require treats before they will modify their behavior.
Although positive reinforcement is often discussed in the context of dog training, the author also advocates for its use in horse training. Understanding the core emotional systems can help all animal handlers and trainers to better understand their animals, and horse trainers in particular can make use of what they know about fear to positively impact training. Horses experience fear of novel objects and of rapid movement. Trainers can habituate them to both by using positive rather than negative reinforcement: Rather than punishing fear, trainers can slowly introduce novel sights and materials, rewarding the horse along the way each time it shows comfort with a potential trigger.
Stereotypies
Stereotypies are abnormal, repetitive motions or behaviors that have no obvious purpose. They tend to present in captive animals rather than wild animals and are interpreted to be signs of stress, distress, and trauma. They are often maladaptive, creating adverse conditions for the animal, and they can even be self-injurious. As an example, the author notes the presence of stereotypies in gerbils. In the wild, gerbils develop large-scale burrow systems, but when they live in cages, gerbils often dig furiously at the corners of their enclosures because they feel insecure in the absence of ready-made tunnels. Grandin argues that by understanding the source of stereotypies, people can better care for their animals. For example, when the gerbils were provided with pre-fabricated burrows, their stereotypies ceased. Other examples of stereotypies can be seen in tigers, lions, and other large predatory animals that pace in captivity because their seeking needs are not being met in these enclosed spaces. While zookeepers cannot give large, predatory species hundreds of miles to roam, they can increase enrichment and alter feeding techniques to better simulate hunting and life in the wild.
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