Behaviour

NORMAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE DONKEY

The donkey evolved to live in an environment with sparse food supply and limited access to water, which has not only affected its dental structure but also its behavioural repertoire. The sparse, arid environments of the domesticated donkey’s ancestors have created behaviour that is significantly different from that of horses or ponies. A common mistake when working with donkeys is to treat them as though they are small horses and look for similar body language cues to try and assess their levels of fear and distress.

The donkey’s body language is subtler and its coat length may prevent a clear reading of many aspects of communication such as muscular tension, eye wrinkling or muzzle tension that are clearly visible in horses and ponies. For this reason, it is important to view the animal as a whole, looking for signs of tension and fear across the body, ear position, tail clamping, tail swishing, and general speed of movement in order to make an accurate assessment of the animal’s experience.

The donkey has both the flight and fight instincts of horses. However, because in the wild, donkeys often live on their own, in pairs or in small groups, fleeing is often not the best defence mechanism, meaning fight behaviours are more strongly established. This leads to the donkey showing more territorial behaviour towards other donkeys and livestock and potentially more defensive behaviour towards human handlers.

LEARNING TO BE FEARFUL

When the differences in behaviour between donkeys and other equines are misunderstood it can lead to donkeys becoming extremely averse to procedures, including dental examinations and treatment. In much the same way as any equine, donkeys can be classically conditioned to pain and fear. This means that once they experience painful or fearful treatment they immediately recognise the conditions that predict that treatment in the future, and their bodies will prepare for the fight-flight response at the sight, sound or smell of the professional that was previously involved with the painful or fearful experience.

If the donkey is in a fearful state it will become defensive and try to use its natural problem-solving abilities to avoid this threatening situation. The donkey will naturally use avoidance and try to escape from a fearful situation. When escape is prevented by a headcollar or physical restraint, the donkey will escalate its flight attempts. If these escape responses don’t succeed then its defence mechanism is engaged, resulting in increasing levels of fight response combined, possibly, with rearing, kicking, bucking and even biting.

Through the escalation of its natural flight or fight behaviours, the donkey often succeeds in preventing treatment and so reduces its perceived threat and fear levels. This ‘escape’ from fear and discomfort reinforces the donkey’s behaviour through the process of negative reinforcement, which in turn leads to increasing escape and avoidance behaviours during future treatments.

While it is not the professional’s job to train a donkey, mule or horse, it is important to recognise that the best way to provide effective, calm, and safe dental treatment is to engage in a course of specific training combining counterconditioning and systematic desensitisation with positive reinforcement to ensure the donkey is best prepared for future treatments. Wherever practical, strong recommendations should be made to the owners to engage the services of accredited behavioural professionals to provide support and detailed training programmes to prepare donkeys for future treatments.

PREPARING FOR EXAMINATION AND TREATMENT

As an equine professional it can become easy to focus purely on an area of expertise and on giving successful treatment in just that area. Focusing purely on the treatment may result in completing the treatment, but may result in an animal that is traumatised and extremely reluctant to receive treatment in the future. If this is the case then we could not consider that treatment to have been truly successful, as the animal’s ability to receive future successful treatments has been compromised.

If we consider the concept of ‘giving the donkey a good experience’ as a guiding principle of all treatments, all those involved can become focused on treatment and the experience of the animal, ensuring that everybody is working to the same outcome.

There are three separate elements to giving a good experience during treatment and all need to be considered as much as possible during interactions with donkeys.

The environment

Ensure the environment is calm, safe and familiar to the animal. Give the donkey time to settle into the environment and ensure that there are other familiar equines present. Environments that contain a lot of noise and distractions may already be producing a fear response in the animal before treatment commences.

The human

The attitude of the humans present will contribute hugely to the experience of the animal. Calm, relaxed handlers who take their time and are prepared to use positive reinforcement to shape the behaviour of the animal are much more likely to give the animal a good experience. Handlers that rush the animal and are impatient will create a fearful response, leading to an escalation of the donkey’s behaviour, which will normally be met with increasing levels of restraint and physical strength to control the animal. It is important that the clinician and other professionals are prepared to consider delaying treatment in order to allow some training to take place. This may mean, just delaying the treatment for 30 minutes while some desensitisation and shaping can take place to relax the animal and prepare it for the treatment.

The training

The clinician and other professionals should remember that donkeys will learn from every experience and therefore any treatment or examination can be considered to be training. If the animal is in the correct environment and the human is in the correct frame of mind to spend an extra 5 to 10 minutes shaping the desired behaviour, this can be hugely beneficial not only to that treatment but to subsequent treatments as well.

Shaping is simply the process of breaking down a final desired behaviour, such as that required for an oral examination, into small chunks or steps that stretch the animal’s comfort zones slightly. Shaping is an essential element of any interaction with animals. Accurately observing the animal’s comfort zones is crucial, and these can be identified through the animal’s body language and behaviour. The comfort zone is simply the point at which the animal is taken beyond its threshold for fear and has to engage its flight or fight mechanism. Staying under this threshold by not stretching the comfort zones too far at any point is essential to safety and to ‘giving a good experience’.

A SHAPING PLAN FOR THE FEARFUL DONKEY

Taking the concept of ‘giving a good experience’ as a guiding principle of working with equines, the safest and most effective way of providing dental examination and treatment is to follow a routine that works through various stages of the animal’s hierarchy of fear so that its fear can be diminished, often with rapid results.

It’s important to note the role of relaxation in this process. Time should be taken to allow the animal to relax between each of the steps. Allowing the animal to return to calm before progressing may take a little longer, but it will pay dividends both during the current examination and in future ones. If the clinician rushes the animal and does not allow relaxation to occur between steps, the animal’s flight response will increase until it reaches a threshold, at which point the donkey will engage either its fight or flight mechanism in an attempt to escape from the situation. Ears forward, lowering of the head, softening of muscle tension, still and relaxed tail, soft muzzle and generally relaxed demeanour all combine to signal the animal’s level of relaxation.

The following approach is recommended:

1. If possible, establish the animal’s history including previous experiences with veterinary, dental and farrier treatments. Previous bad experiences or extreme reactions would indicate that serious consideration should be given to using sedation as an early intervention if immediate treatment is required. Sedation should be considered before other restraint methods escalate the animal’s fear levels to a point where sedation may be less effective. Treatment can then be given and a training plan implemented before the next treatment is required. If the donkey has no adverse history then treatment preparation can continue.

2. If the donkey has a bonded companion/s, the companion should be in close proximity to the animal being treated. Ideally, the animal being treated should be able to see its companion. Separation from a bonded companion may lead to an increased stress response before treatment has even begun.

3. Ensure the environment is safe and familiar to the donkey. Working with the animal within an environment that is already comfortable will reduce the stress response before treatment begins. If the donkey needs to be moved to a different location for treatment, it will need time to settle and become familiar with its new surroundings before treatment takes place.

4. Take time to approach the animal without any equipment or surgical gloves. This time can be used to make an assessment of the animal’s behaviour and create positive associations towards the professional. Vigorous wither scratches can promote relaxation in the donkey and positive associations towards the human. Food rewards can also be considered if suitable during this assessment of behaviour as they provide a positive association between the handler and animal. During this assessment it is advisable to lift up and stroke the donkey’s head to assess the animal’s acceptance of having its lips and muzzle handled. Positive reinforcement through wither scratches or food rewards can be used to mark the desired behaviour of standing still and calmness.

5. Practise raising the donkey’s head, while scratching and reassuring them. If the donkey is comfortable having their head raised they are more likely to stand still and accept treatment.

6. Approach the animal calmly with surgical gloves and equipment. Allow the animal time to relax, before repeating step 4. If the animal remains calm, then the dental gag can be fitted at this stage.

7. Fitting the dental gag can be broken down into smaller steps and should not be rushed. Pausing to allow relaxation between each step of fitting the gag will reduce the chances of a dangerous reaction in the animal.

8. Provided the animal is calm, examination and treatment can take place.

9. Some donkeys may be more relaxed with just one person, especially if their regular handler is tense or nervous. Consider asking the regular handler to step aside during treatment. It may help if the donkey is positioned alongside a wall to reduce its movement options and encourage it to stand still.

10. During the examination, if the donkey shows signs of escalating fear, be prepared to take regular breaks from examination or treatment. Have a familiar handler provide wither scratches during treatment as a distraction and calming association.

11. Once examination and treatment are completed, spend time reassuring the donkey with scratches, offering food rewards as a means of providing a positive experience and making positive associations for future treatments.

It is often tempting to continue to attempt a procedure even when the donkey demonstrates high levels of the flight or fight behaviours. However, the situation can become dangerous for handlers and the animal and is likely to lead to worse behaviour next time. Therefore it is advisable to withdraw and reconsider the need for immediate intervention.

The essential points to remember are:

• Allow any anxiety to reduce between each step.

• Ensure the environment is familiar.

• Ensure bonded friends are present. If the donkey has no pair bond, ensure another calm donkey is present.

• Remember donkeys are different; look for the signs of stoical behaviour.

• Be prepared to withdraw before behaviour escalates to dangerous levels.

If the donkey’s behaviour escalates but treatment cannot be deferred until further training has been completed, consider other restraint techniques or sedation.