Bridging Ethology and Clinical Practice: A Call for Integrative Training in Veterinary Curricula
: Ethology—the study of behavior in natural habitats—helps clinicians differentiate between normal species-specific behaviors and maladaptive ones caused by stress or disease.
As veterinary diagnostics have improved, veterinarians are now the first line of defense against behavioral pathologies. are now recognized as neurobiological conditions, not training failures.
For decades, veterinary medicine focused almost exclusively on the physiological aspects of health: pathogens, fractures, organ failure, and nutrition. The animal was treated as a biological machine. However, a quiet revolution has been taking place in clinics and research labs around the world. Today, the most successful veterinarians recognize that they cannot treat the body without understanding the mind.
has started hiding under the bed more often? In the world of veterinary science , these behaviors aren't just quirks—they are vital clues to an animal's physical and emotional health [1, 7].
Animal and Veterinary Science, B.S. - The University of Rhode Island