The field is increasingly incorporating advanced technology to track and analyze behavior:

According to the CDC, approximately 4.5 million dog bites occur annually in the US, with veterinary professionals at high risk. Recognizing subtle warning behaviors—a cat’s tail twitch, a dog’s “whale eye” (showing the sclera), or a horse’s pinned ears—is a learned skill. A behavior-literate clinician can de-escalate a situation by altering their approach, using sedation pre-emptively, or aborting a procedure, thereby preventing injury.

: Hardwired actions like a spider spinning a web or a squirrel burying nuts.

Clinical ethology—the study of animal behavior in a veterinary context—has transformed how we approach animal welfare. We now know that behavioral changes are often the first clinical signs of physical illness. For example, a cat that stops jumping onto high surfaces may not just be "getting old"; they are likely displaying a behavioral adaptation to the pain of osteoarthritis.