An animal psychologist is well-versed in animal psychology and behavior. He or she can assist in the diagnosis of animal disorders and point out unusual behavior. Animal psychologists can often help solve or at least alleviate the symptoms of certain animal disorders or health issues. Zoos and pet owners frequently hire animal psychologists to solve frustrating animal problems or assess animals’ living situations in order to identify potential problems and stresses. Depending on the job, different levels of education are required, but most jobs require some level of higher education.
Animal psychologists are sometimes hired government agencies and businesses to investigate the effects of an external factor on an animal’s natural behaviors. An animal psychologist might be hired a company researching a drug and interested in the effects the drug has on animals. The animal psychologist’s job in this case is to figure out how the external factor affects the normal equation. Drugs and diseases aren’t the only external factors to be concerned about. Organizations are frequently interested in monitoring specific animal populations to ensure that their behavior does not deviate from the norm.
To solve common house-pet issues, an animal psychologist can work as an animal behavior specialist. An animal psychologist evaluates and treats shy or potentially aggressive dogs, cats with obsessive chewing problems, and other animal issues. Unless their efforts land them a television show or work on a movie set, this is one of the less lucrative jobs available to animal psychologists. The educational background required for this type of job varies.
An animal psychologist may work with a zoo or other animal-housing institution to ensure that the animals are kept in healthy environments. Pet psychologists, for example, are usually well-versed in which environments are safe and stress-free for various animal species. Animal psychologists are also frequently tasked with making animal environments more stimulating and healthy for the animals who inhabit them. This can include employing knowledge of an animal’s natural feeding habits to make feeding the animal more natural in an artificial setting.
The educational requirements for becoming an animal psychologist vary widely depending on the type of work one wishes to do. A bachelor’s degree is sometimes enough to get a job as an animal psychologist. However, most jobs in animal psychology necessitate a master’s or doctorate degree. Several sciences, as well as many areas of animal psychology, are studied in the field. Future animal psychologists study subjects such as comparative psychology, sociology, and zoology in school.