Cooperative Care
Animal husbandry is the practice of raising and caring for animals. This practice has been around since the Neolithic Revolution and has significantly changed the way humans have lived. Cooperative care plays a very important role within animal husbandry. It involves training animals to actively participate in care routines rather than relying on physical restraint or coercion. This is very beneficial for both the animals and their handlers. Cooperative care can reduce stress, strengthen the human- animal bond, and enhance safety for both animals and their caregivers. Examples of cooperative care can include veterinary procedures, grooming, and medication administration.
Specific end goals when practicing cooperative care methods are to ensure the animal is a willing participant, stress is reduced during procedures, clear communication is achieved, increased confidence for the animal and caregiver, and reduce the risk of injury for both parties involved. Cooperative care training also emphasizes the importance of consent with the animal and withdrawing their participation when they show signs of fear, stress, and anxiety. These goals can be applied to companion animals, animals in an agricultural environment, and animals in zoo or aquarium environments.
Cooperative care training methods with domesticated companion animals can be used in a home and veterinary office. Training should start in home as soon as possible using positive reinforcement to minimize stress, fear, and anxiety during events. Some examples of training can include foot/body handling to prepare for exams/procedures the veterinarian’s office or grooming at home, chin rests for muzzle desensitizing for emergency injuries or reactive behavior, laying on their side to help with nail trims or accessing an injury, and training calm behavior to help with staying still during exams, procedures, or grooming practices.
Training methods for animals (livestock) in an agricultural environment or animals in a zoo or aquarium are similar and still use the concept of positive reinforcement to achieve reduced stress in the animal for overall well-being, enhanced animal-caregiver relationship, and improved efficiency to make procedures faster. Some examples used in agriculture are training a horse to stand still for grooming, injections, or foot trims, training a pig to stand still for ear tagging, deworming, or treating an injury, and training cattle to move through specific gates or into designated areas. A few specific examples used with zoo or aquarium animals include training hippos to hold their mouths open for dental procedures, training lions to offer their tails for blood draws, gorillas to sit still for an ultrasound, and training marine mammals to volunteer for injections or x-rays.
Implementing cooperative care training in animal husbandry is very beneficial for the animal and caregiver. It is recommended to start with a gradual introduction to increase success, use positive reinforcement to encourage desired behaviors, and be consistent with training sessions to build strong associations between behaviors and rewards. Always adapt any training plan to the individual animal, they are all unique and have different learning styles. Consult with a qualified trainer or behaviorist if there are any questions regarding the implementation of any training plans. The overall goals of cooperative care training are to improve the well-being of animals reducing fear, stress, and anxiety while giving the animal a choice, improving caregiver-animal bond, and increasing safety during procedures and exams.