Attitudes, procedures, and delivery of behavior services by veterinarians in small animal practice.
OBJECTIVE
To survey veterinarians in small animal practice concerning their attitudes about delivery of behavior services, frequency of common behavior problems, manner in which services were provided, confidence in their clinical ability to treat these behavior problems, frequency of use of pharmacologic intervention, and number of dogs and cats euthanatized specifically because of behavior problems.


METHODS
Cross-sectional mail survey.


METHODS
Random sample of veterinarians in small animal practice in the United States.


METHODS
A self-administered mail survey was sent to a random sample of 2,000 veterinarians. Results were tabulated and statistically analyzed.


RESULTS
It was estimated that approximately 224,000 dogs and cats were euthanatized annually in small animal veterinary practices in the United States because of behavior problems. Although veterinarians seemed unwilling to euthanatize animals for behavior problems solely on the basis of a client's request, many veterinarians did not routinely inquire about animal behavior and often were not confident in their clinical skills to treat behavior problems. Female veterinarians tended to be more proactive in addressing behavior problems and to have more positive attitudes than male veterinarians about the importance of animal behavior.


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts are needed to increase the number of veterinarians who systematically incorporate inquiries about animal behavior into routine clinical practice and to build the confidence of veterinarians for diagnosing and treating animal behavior problems.
Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy, School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
G J
GJ
Patronek
N H
NH
Dodman
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002415:Cats; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004285:Dogs; D004609:Eliminative Behavior, Animal; D037901:Euthanasia, Animal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000523:psychology*