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New Orleans. . . Does
your dog seek refuge long before the first rumble of thunder? Are
jingling keys enough to send your puppy over the edge? Is your cocker
spaniel using your favorite aunt as a spring board?
Now,
for the important question: Are you effectively communicating with
your four-legged friend? Much like children who need direction from
their parents, dogs require training and understanding from their
owners. They don't innately know right from wrong or what is expected
of them. There's no quick fix for undesired or just plain bad behavior,
say veterinary and animal behaviorists, but there are many success
stories.
"Most
dog-person relationships are re-affirmed by exchanging
communicative signals," John Wright, PhD, said at the 136th annual
convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in New
Orleans, July 10-14.
"Dogs,
as well as people, need to learn which canine signals and
behaviors are associated with dominant and subordinate roles," he said.
Dr. Wright, a certified applied animal behaviorist and psychology
professor at Mercer University in Macon, Ga, presented "Canine
Communicative Behavior and the Development of Role- Relationships." He
has also recently authored a book, The Dog Who Would Be
King: Tales and Surprising Lessons from a Pet Psychologist.
To
have a successful relationship with their pets, owners have to put
themselves in their dog's paws. "Interpretation of a dog's emotional
state, such as anger, fear, or excitement, is based on recognition of
visual signals, or what a dog does with his ears, tail, eyes, and other
parts of his body," Dr. Wright says. An owner's awareness of these
signs helps determine what the dog will do next.
"In
many cases, a dog's behavior can be managed through a reward-and-
punishment system," said Gary Landsberg, DVM, a small animal
practitioner in Ontario, Canada, and one of 20 board-certified
veterinary behaviorists in North America. "Positive reinforcement can
enhance a pet's trainability. If traditional punishment is too strong,
a pet may fear the owner or even become aggressive. If it is too weak,
the problem behavior may actually be reinforced."
Punishing
a pet physically is never advocated because of the potential
for injury to a pet or owner and, as Dr. Landsberg says, it could also
lead to fear of the owner. Conventional correction methods involve
verbal commands, leash training, or audible deterrents, such as an air
horn or shake can. Today, owners have a myriad of creative products
available for behavior control, from ultrasonic trainers to
remote-control motion detectors and citronella spray collars to an
artificial arm and hand that is used to assess a dog's response to
physical handling.
A
few behaviors are treatable only to a certain extent, such as in the
case of territorial barking, a strong, in-bred trait that is difficult
to deter and often inadvertently encouraged by owners who want a watch
dog.
"There
are many unrealistic expectations out there on the part of the
owner," said Sharon Crowell-Davis, DVM, PhD, a board-certified
veterinary behaviorist at the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching
Hospital. "Many people want a protective dog that can read fine
nuances. What they've got is a dog that goes berserk, one that barks at
everyone who goes by and tries to bite the daughter's boyfriend or the
bridge club member."
Behavior
modification, Dr. Crowell-Davis says, can result in an
obedient, controllable dog that is likely to react to a truly dangerous
situation.
"All
dogs can be trained, so long as they have normal functions," said
Dr. Crowell-Davis. But who hasn't heard the adage, "you can't teach an
old dog new tricks"? Age, in and of itself, isn't a factor in dog
training, she says, citing the case of Prince, a 12-year-old dog that
learned to understand hand signals as he was going deaf.
"The
ability to learn is tremendous, for both animals and people," Dr.
Crowell-Davis said. "Would you tell a 40- to 50-year-old person that
there's no point in learning?"
At
times, dogs have to "unlearn" their behaviors. To treat thunder
phobia, Dr. Crowell-Davis commonly recommends a desensitization and
counter-conditioning approach using a realistic tape recording of a
thunderstorm. The owner plays with the dog or gives it treats while the
recording is played at a very low level. If the dog shows any fear or
anxiety, the owner's activities stop immediately. This continues for
many sessions, until the dog eventually learns to remain calm while the
thunderstorm tape is played loudly.
"Animal
behaviorists treat the fear," Dr. Crowell-Davis said. "If we're
able to stop a dog from being afraid, then we can prevent the behaviors
that are a consequence of being afraid."
Another
avenue in behavior modification is operant conditioning,
wherein a dog is affected by the immediate consequences of his
behavior. A dog that likes to jump on visitors should be told to "sit"
and then be petted or given a treat. The act of jumping, according to
Dr. Wright, is a sign that a dog wants to interact socially. The dog
knows that jumping is an attention getter that will elicit some form of
contact, even if the result is just being pushed down.
What
if a dog can't bear to be separated from his owner and has an
anxiety attack at the sound of jingling keys? Simple, says Dr.
Crowell-Davis. The owner has to repeatedly pick up the keys and jangle
them while staying at home, but pick up the keys quietly when he plans
to leave.
"How
a pet responds to each method or product," Dr. Landsberg said,
"depends on its character makeup, previous experiences, sensitivity to
the stimulus, and motivation to perform the behavior. Timing and
consistency are essential in behavior management, no matter what
techniques are used."
The
AVMA is a professional organization of more than 62,000
veterinarians. More than 300 seminars were presented during the 136th
annual convention, which is one of the largest gatherings of
veterinarians in North America. The next annual convention, "Pioneering
the New Millennium," will be in Salt Lake City, July 22-26, 2000.
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