Rivalry and Decision-Making in Dogs

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Rivalry and Decision-Making in Dogs

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The relationship between two household dogs affects their decisions, according to new research.

If you have more than one dog, you might have noticed that if one goes over to sniff a particular spot, sometimes the other dog will also go over there. It’s called local enhancement, in which one dog (we call them the ‘demonstrator’) draws the other dog’s attention to a specific location. It’s a type of social learning that is found in many species.

Dr. Christy Hoffman and Dr. Malini Suchak (Canisius College) investigated whether local enhancement is affected by rivalry between dogs that live in the same household. The dogs were classed as either low- or high-rivalry based on their owners responses to questions on the C-BARQ.

The dog rivalry questions assessed how likely the dog is to be aggressive towards the other dog in the household, or to be aggressive when the other dog approaches when they are sleeping, eating, or playing with a toy.

After conducting two experiments, the scientists found that,

“When allowed to make a decision quickly, low-rivalry dogs were more heavily influenced by dog and human demonstrators than high-rivalry dogs, but this difference between high-rivalry and low-rivalry dogs disappeared when dogs were forced to wait 5 s before approaching the plates. Because the demonstrator and observer dogs lived together in the same household, the pre-existing social relationship between the dogs is particularly likely to have influenced how attentive they were to the dog demonstrator dog and, as a result, their performance on the task.”

Dogs from two-dog households were tested in their own home. Within a pair, the dogs did not necessarily have the same rating for rivalry (i.e. it could be two high, two low, or one high and one low-rivalry dog).

Fifty dogs took part in the first study. The experimental set-up involved two paper plates on the floor, to which a research assistant added some food. Under the watchful eye of one dog, the other dog (the ‘demonstrator’) was allowed to walk up to one of the plates, scoff the food, and was taken out of the room.

Then the dog was allowed to approach one of the plates. Would they go to the – now empty – plate the demonstrator dog had gone to, or would they go to the plate with the food on?

Photo: Dima Zverev; top, Bill Anastasiou (both Shutterstock.com)

It’s worth noting first of all that the human holding the dog’s leash had their eyes closed and faced the other way so they would not see which plate the demonstrator dog went to (and so could not influence the dog).

And also – very importantly – whichever plate the dog chose to approach, the empty one or the one with food on, they were allowed to eat the food that was left.

The results showed there was an effect of rivalry. Dogs who scored low on rivalry were more likely to go to the empty plate than those who were rated as high-rivalry.

Interestingly, this was also the case in a human control condition, in which only one dog was in the room, and the human research assistant removed the food from one of the plates.

The scientists say,

“These results suggest that low-rivalry dogs, as compared to high-rivalry dogs, may be more susceptible to local enhancement and, therefore, more likely to copy other dogs’ and humans’ actions.”

However, when there was a 5 second delay before the dog could choose which plate to go to, then the low-rivalry dogs were also more likely to go to the plate with food on instead of the empty plate.

The delay condition always happened after the condition in which dogs could make an immediate choice. This meant it was possible, even though the dogs got the food anyway, they had learned to get the food faster.

So the scientists conducted a second experiment with a new set of 24 dogs. In this experiment there was always a 5-second delay before the dog could go to one of the plates.

This time, rivalry was not linked to any effects; both low- and high-rivalry dogs were more likely to go to the plate with food on. This suggests that it is in fact the delay that caused the local enhancement effect for low-rivalry dogs to disappear.

The researchers made a video about their research that explains what they found:




Of course, we cannot say what was going on inside the dogs’ heads when they took part. But it seems that for low-rivalry dogs, the lack of food on the plate did not affect their decision to go to that plate first. Perhaps for the high-rivalry dogs, because they were not as tolerant of the other dog, they did not pay as much attention to where it went.

One of the nice things about this study is that it looked at how dogs behaved in a situation with another dog they were very familiar with. The scientists say,

“understanding the nature of established dog–dog relationships needs more attention from researchers. This study constitutes a first step toward better understanding that dynamic.”

You can read my interview with Dr. Christy Hoffman about her research, foster failures, and what makes Anthrozoology so exciting. You can also follow the Canisius Canine Research Team on Facebook.

P.S. Please check out our beautiful t-shirts that raise funds for my local branch of the BCSPCA.

Reference

Hoffman, C. L., & Suchak, M. (2017). Dog rivalry impacts following behavior in a decision-making task involving food. Animal Cognition, 1-13.

Potential Causes of Problems in Pet Store Puppies

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Potential Causes of Problems in Pet Store Puppies

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A review of the research finds pet store puppies are more likely to be aggressive as adults, and considers the reasons why.

Amy Laurel Photography (Shutterstock)

Several studies have found puppies that come from commercial breeding establishments (CBEs) have a higher rate of behaviour problems than those from responsible breeders. A new review by Frank McMillan looks at the evidence from seven published studies, and then turns to the literature on puppy development to consider the possible causes of these problems.

Essentially, many different stresses at a time when puppies really need to have positive experiences are the likely culprit.

Puppies need to have lots of positive experiences during the socialization period (from 3 until 12 – 16 weeks) to help prepare them for later life. If they are in a commercial breeding establishment, it is not preparing them for life in a family home. But puppies from commercial breeders are also exposed to other sources of stress that may negatively impact their behaviour.

The main behaviour problem associated with pet store puppies is aggression, whether to family members, strangers, or other dogs.

McMillan writes,

“the data from 7 published studies using surveys of dog owners suggest that dogs sold through pet stores and/or born in high-volume CBEs have an increased frequency of a variety of undesirable adulthood behaviors compared with dogs from other sources, particularly noncommercial breeders. The most common finding (6 of 7 reports, or 86%) was an increase in aggression directed toward the dog’s owners and family members, unfamiliar people (strangers), and other dogs.” 

The solution, McMillan says, is to reduce stress at all early stages of the puppy’s life, including the prenatal stage (reducing the mother’s stress levels).

In addition, McMillan says, all puppies should have a socialization program:

“A high quality social and stimulus exposure program should be instituted for puppies beginning no later than 3 weeks of age and continue through the end of the socialization period during which the puppy will pass through the hands of the breeder, the pet store staff, and the new owner at 12-16 weeks.” 

What’s wrong with puppies from pet stores? 

Puppies sold in pet stores are typically sourced via a broker, and come from large commercial breeding establishments. They are often referred to as puppy mills or puppy farms, because they are like battery farms for dogs.

Talya Photo (Shutterstock)

Commercial breeding establishments vary a lot, and while some are clean, others are dire.

McMillan writes,

“CBEs are characterized by large numbers of dogs, maximal efficiency of space by housing dogs in or near the minimum space permitted by law, breeding dogs spending their entire reproductive lives in their cages or runs, group and solitary housing, dogs rarely if ever permitted out of their primary enclosures for exercise or play, no toys or enrichment, minimal-to-no positive human interaction/companionship, and inadequate health care.  

Commonly reported conditions present in many but not all CBEs include cage flooring made of wire mesh, accumulation of feces, ammonia odor, no windows and poor ventilation, inadequate protection from inclement weather and temperature extremes, insufficient or contaminated water and spoiled food, serious untreated medical conditions (e.g., advanced dental disease), extensive matting of hair, commonness and apparency of stereotypical behaviors, evidence of starvation, and presence of deceased adult dogs and puppies.” 

Sources of stress for puppies from puppy mills 

The paper considers the different possible sources of stress for a puppy from a CBE, as stress in the early stages of a puppy’s life may be linked to later behaviour problems.

Genetics 

Some behaviour problems, including fear of loud noises, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and dog-dog aggression, seem to have a genetic component. But this is typically not taken into account when breeding dogs. McMillan reviewed the trade magazine for most commercial breeders and found no references to breeding for temperament in the last ten years.

Prenatal Stress 

Stress during pregnancy is linked to several problems in the offspring, including fear and a reduced ability to cope with stress. Although the research on this has not looked at dogs, there is no reason to think dogs would be different from other species.

Early Life Experiences 

 Adverse experiences in early life can have a profound impact later on. McMillan says stress during the first few weeks of life can have long-term effects, including stress during the neonatal period (up to 12 days). Although much of this research is on other species (including humans), there are some studies on dogs, including Scott and Fuller’s classic work.

The Socialization Period 

The sensitive period for socialization starts at 3 weeks and continues until about 12 weeks of age (some sources say 16 weeks).

During the sensitive period, puppies should have happy, positive experiences with anything they might encounter later in life. For example, all kinds of people, children, other dogs, cats, horses, other animals, different kinds of sounds from dishwashers to vacuums to loud noises (N.B. at a level they are comfortable with – never terrify a puppy). If you think about all the things a dog might encounter, it’s a long list.

If a puppy is in a commercial breeding establishment or pet store, they obviously have a limited environment that is very different from a home. For example, McMilllan says lack of physical contact with the puppy’s mum and fellow puppies, as well as with humans, could be responsible for the finding that puppies from pet stores are more likely to be sensitive to being touched.

Weaning and being separated from mom 

Puppies in CBEs are suddenly taken away from their mother, instead of a gradual weaning process. McMillan says this separation is stressful in itself, may affect the puppy’s ability to cope with other stresses, and also removes the puppy from an environment in which a lot of early learning takes place. For example, play with other puppies teaches bite inhibition and how to interact with other dogs.

Transport and being in the pet store 

Being transported from the CBE, either to a pet store or direct to the person who is buying the puppy, is probably also stressful. Being in a pet store may be a frightening experience for a puppy, including handling by staff and the presence of lots of unfamiliar people and other animals. If the puppy does not sell quickly and spends a long time there, this may make things worse.

The importance of education 

Finally, McMillan points out there are no standards for the information given to puppy buyers. A responsible breeder will want to educate prospective owners on how to care for their puppy, whereas pet store staff may not have the knowledge or experience to do this. A couple of studies have found educating people on how to care for their new pet makes a difference to behaviour in the longer term, so this may be another factor that disadvantages puppies from pet stores.

McMillan does not look at the possibility that people who get puppies from responsible breeders may be more knowledgeable about dogs and canine behaviour. He acknowledges lack of information about differences between homes is a possible limitation of the paper. It’s worth noting that one of the studies included in his review (Pirrone et al 2016) did not find any effect of owner factors, but more research is needed.

Summary 

In sum, this paper finds research consistently reports puppies from pet stores / CBEs have more behaviour problems as adult dogs, particularly in the form of aggression.

Since the studies are correlational, they do not prove causation. However, the many additional stressors pet store puppies face provide a plausible explanation for the development of problem behaviours.

What this means to you 

Of course, some readers will right now have a dog on their settee who originally came from a commercial breeding establishment. If so, hopefully it has worked out well; remember these studies only show an increased risk, so problematic outcomes are not guaranteed. In addition, even when dogs do have issues as a result, as with dogs that were previously used for breeding, they can still be loving pets. If you need help with a behaviour problem, seek help from a qualified dog trainer.

Obviously, it's best to get puppies from a responsible breeder, or from a shelter that looks after the puppies in a foster home.

Common advice on how to choose a puppy includes that you see the puppy suckling from the mom. One study not included in this review found it’s better if people see both the mum and dad before purchasing a puppy (Westgarth, Reevell and Barclay 2012). If people had not seen either parent prior to purchase, the adult dog was 3.8 times more likely to have been referred for a behaviour problem.

Puppies sold over the internet typically come from CBEs. One warning sign is if the seller agrees to meet you in a convenient location such as a parking lot, rather than letting you go to see the puppy in their home.

Incidentally, older advice used to be just to see the mom, but a BBC documentary in the UK found some puppy sellers get round this by borrowing a female dog of the same breed to be a fake mom. More recent advice includes seeing the puppies actually suckling from the mom, so unscrupulous breeders can’t get away with saying mom is resting in the other room.

This shows just how difficult it can be for people to know if they are avoiding a puppy from a mill or not. If you’re getting a puppy, check the advice in your area in order to be up-to-date on what to look for, and remember that shelters also sometimes have puppies.

It’s possible the exact length of the socialization period varies with breed (Morrow et al 2015), making the puppies early weeks even more important.

Whenever you get a puppy, remember to ask “What are you doing to socialize the puppy?” If you don’t get a good answer, keep looking. And then ensure your puppy has lots of lovely, happy experiences with anything they might meet later in life.

You might find my posts on how to choose a puppy and why you need to socialize your puppy useful.

This paper shows how important it is both to reduce stress for puppies (and their moms), and to ensure good socialization experiences.

Learning More 

McMillan’s paper is open access so you can read it in full.

If you want to know more about the importance of socialization and the problems of stress during puppy development, I recommend chapter 5 in John Bradshaw’s book Dog Sense (which happens to be the Companion Animal Psychology Book Club choice for this month), and chapter 6 in James Serpell’s edited volume The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions with People (2nd edition).

If you are interested in the effects of stress in early life on people, you might like Bruce Perry's book, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog.

I have previously covered several of the studies included in McMillan’s review (including this one, and this survey on aggression in dogs). You might also like my posts on why people choose certain dogs and the role of emotions in people's choice of four small dog breeds. Stay up to date and subscribe to Companion Animal Psychology.



References 
McMillan, F. D. (2017). Behavioral and psychological outcomes for dogs sold as puppies through pet stores and/or born in commercial breeding establishments: Current knowledge and putative causes. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research.
Morrow, M., Ottobre, J., Ottobre, A., Neville, P., St-Pierre, N., Dreschel, N., & Pate, J. L. (2015). Breed-dependent differences in the onset of fear-related avoidance behavior in puppies. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 10(4), 286-294.
Pirrone, F., Pierantoni, L., Pastorino, G. Q., & Albertini, M. (2016). Owner-reported aggressive behavior towards familiar people may be a more prominent occurrence in pet shop-traded dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 11, 13-17.
Westgarth, C., Reevell, K., & Barclay, R. (2012). Association between prospective owner viewing of the parents of a puppy and later referral for behavioural problems. Veterinary Record-English Edition, 170(20), 517.

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People Mistakenly Think Anxious Dogs Are Relaxed Around Baby

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People Mistakenly Think Anxious Dogs Are Relaxed Around Baby

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Dog owners are even worse than non-dog owners at interpreting canine body language in interactions with children, according to research.

Young children, in particular, are at risk of getting bitten by dogs. According to the AVMA, between 2010 and 2012 359,223 children in the US were bitten by dogs. Younger children are most often bitten in the home by a dog they live with (Reisner et al 2011). To prevent dog bites, it's best not to let a child approach a dog that is lying down or sitting still, and to closely supervise all interactions between children and dogs. But what if people don't know what to look for?

A recent study by Dr. Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas (Ankara University) et al asked people to observe three videos of interactions between a young child and a medium or large dog.

In one video, a baby crawls towards a Dalmatian who is lying down next to a ball; in another, a toddler walks around and touches a Doberman; and finally, a Boxer follows and licks the face of a crawling baby.

In all three cases, the interactions were risky, as the dogs were obviously showing anxious or fearful body language.

But that’s not how most people rated the dogs. Most people said the dogs were relaxed (68%) and confident (65%).

It made no difference whether or not people had children, but there were differences between the people who owned dogs and those who did not. Far from being better at reading dog body language, the dog owners were more likely to say the dog was relaxed, and it was the non-dog owners who were more likely to recognize the dog had an anxious emotional state.

The authors suggest several possible reasons for this, including that dog owners may be more likely to assume a dog is friendly, non-dog owners may be more cautious and dog owners more confident in their assessments, or dog owners may have less knowledge about aggression in dogs in this context.

The study also found that people (dog owners or not) tend to give overall assessments of the dog’s emotional state, rather than pointing to particular aspects of body language. They gave examples such as “the dog is happy” or “the dog knows that it is just a small child.” This kind of overall assessment was more common in people without children.

Every participant referred to tail wagging as a sign of positive emotions. This is worrying because in fact only some tail wags are a sign of happiness. Tail position and wagging speed, breadth and direction can all vary. Look for a lovely wide wag with a nice loose body in a happy dog; a narrow, rapid wag with the tail held high is a sign of a threat.

Other behaviours people often commented on were moving the ears back (recognized more by dog owners) and avoiding eye contact.

Photo: debasige; top, brickrena. Both Shutterstock.

The researchers say that even when people were able to recognize the dog’s emotional state, this would not necessarily have been enough to prevent a dog bite. People were still likely to describe the interactions between dog and child as playful or friendly.

The authors say, “This finding shows the importance of bite prevention programs aimed at teaching both the correct description of canine body language and the early signals of aggression, to equip adults with the necessary knowledge to safely supervise child–dog interactions”

The online survey had 71 participants and took place in Turkey. The small size of the survey is a drawback, but the findings suggest more research into how people interpret (or fail to interpret) interactions between dogs and children would be very helpful. Sometimes social media seems to be full of videos of very risky interactions followed by many comments describing them as cute.

And that’s one of the nice things about this study: the dogs in the videos did not show more obvious signs such as growls or air snaps that more people would have easily recognized. Instead they showed the more subtle signs dogs give that they are uncomfortable, such as lip licking, looking away, or moving away from the child.

While it’s not a surprise that most people did not recognize these signs, it is alarming, and shows more needs to be done to educate people about canine body language and safety around dogs.

This is not the only study to find people tend to assume safety around dogs. Westgarth and Watkins (2015) found a belief that dog bites “won’t happen to me.” But especially where children are concerned, we need to be aware that any dog can bite, and learn how to recognize signs of stress, anxiety and fear in dogs.

You will find some useful resources at stopthe77.com. Reisner Veterinary Behaviour Services often provides educational deconstructions of dog bite incidents on Facebook and is on my list of the pet people to follow in 2017.

If you like this post, why not subscribe to Companion Animal Psychology.

You might also like: Educating children reduces risky behaviour around dogs.



Reference
Demirbas, Y. S., Ozturk, H., Emre, B., Kockaya, M., Ozvardar, T., & Scott, A. (2016). Adults’ Ability to Interpret Canine Body Language during a Dog–Child Interaction. Anthrozoös, 29(4), 581-596. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08927936.2016.1228750

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The Ultimate Dog Training Tip

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The Ultimate Dog Training Tip

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The one thing every dog owner should know about how to train a dog.

There’s a lot of incorrect dog training advice on the internet, which makes it hard for people with dogs to sort out which advice is good and which is not.

Does it matter? Some of the time, despite using methods that aren’t recommended by professional organizations, you can get away with it. Maybe you will have a well-trained dog or maybe you will muddle along. Maybe your dog will actually be a bit afraid but you won’t notice (people aren’t very good at recognizing fear).

But unfortunately, for some dogs, there will be issues. And perhaps, instead of blaming the method, you'll blame the dog.

Here’s what one scientist concluded after reviewing the evidence on dog training methods (Ziv, 2017):

“it appears that aversive training methods have undesirable unintended outcomes and that using them puts dogs’ welfare at risk”

Dog training is not regulated and so trainers do not have to be transparent about how they describe their methods. Typically, they don’t call them aversive even if they are.

But there is one piece of information about dog training that will help many people start sorting out the good from the bad. Granted, it’s not the only thing – when it comes down to it, dog training can be quite complicated – but it is a vital thing to know.

But first of all, can you guess what it’s not?

What’s not as important in dog training as some people think

Even though some people still believe it to be the case, dominance, being the pack leader, or being the alpha (however you want to phrase it) is not the most important thing in training a dog. In fact, it's not even important at all.

One of the problems with dog training based on ideas of dominance is that it can lead to the use of confrontational methods (such as alpha rolls). Confrontational methods risk an aggressive response (Herron, Schofer and Reisner 2009) and aversive techniques may affect the dog-owner relationship (Deldalle and Gaunet, 2014). A review of the scientific research (Ziv, 2017) says these methods are not recommended because of concerns about animal welfare.

Another problem with dominance dog training is that it can mean dogs miss out on fun learning opportunities. And it is simply a distraction from people learning about modern dog training methods.

I won’t go into details here because it’s not the focus of this article. But if you want to know more, including what scientists think about dominance, see my article on problems with dominance training.

So if dominance isn’t as important as people think, what is the thing that matters?

Photo: Africa Studio; top, Kellymmiller73 (both Shutterstock.com)

The one thing every dog owner should know

The one thing every dog owner should know about dog training is this: Use food.

It sounds very simple, doesn’t it? And it’s not exactly a secret: Modern dog training uses food.

Use food to reward your dog for doing things you like, such as sit or wait or drop it when you ask.

I’m not saying food is the only reward you would use with your dog. There might be times when you use a game of fetch, tug on a rope, lots of lovely petting, or even life rewards like the opportunity to go chase a critter.

But for most dog training situations, food is the easiest way to deliver positive reinforcement because it is so quick and efficient. And scientists have found that food is a better reward than petting or praise (Fukuzawa and Hayashi, 2013; Okamoto et al 2009).

The reason I wish more people would know to use food is that it would make it easier for people to find a good dog trainer and to weed out bad dog training advice.

For example, if you go to a dog trainer and they recommend a prong collar, well, a prong collar is not food.

A shock collar is not food.

A leash correction is not food.

Yet these are all methods some dog trainers will say are “kind”, “humane”, or even “gentle”, even though from a technical perspective there is no way to describe them other than as aversive (positive punishment or negative reinforcement).

Stuff about relationships and respect and energy is also not food.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of weasel words used to describe dog training and it makes it difficult for dog owners, because one thing we can safely say about dogs is that everyone has their own opinion.

But we can see with our own eyes whether these methods use food or not.

So if you go to a dog trainer, or you’re reading dog training advice on the internet, and the advice does not involve using food, think about it very carefully even if it is described as kind.

If you’re using food in dog training, you are avoiding some of the biggest mistakes you can make, and you’re using modern, reward-based training methods (Yay!).

The ways we use food in dog training

There are two main ways that we use food in dog training, and they relate to how dogs learn.

We use food as positive reinforcement in operant conditioning, which is when we are teaching a dog to do a behaviour. The dog does the behaviour and we reward them quickly with the food, so that next time we ask for the behaviour they are more likely to do it again. (If they don’t do it, they don’t get the food, and we try again – maybe going back a step in the training plan to make it easier).

The other way we use food is in classical conditioning, when we want to change how a dog feels about something. For example, the dog is afraid of the brush, but we want to teach them to be groomed. Dogs love food, so we can help them learn to like the brush by quickly following every presentation of the brush with lots of yummy food. With a gradual training plan, and being very (very) careful to only work at the dog’s pace, we can help the dog learn to like the brush. (Note that, in contrast to operant conditioning, the dog doesn’t have to do anything – it’s the brush that predicts food).

Those of you with fearful dogs will know that trying to get rid of fear is a long, slow process that may not be completely successful. It’s better to try to prevent fear in the first place, if possible.

What you need in order to use food in dog training

Strictly speaking, all you need is some pieces of food hidden away in your hand. Having it on your person makes it easier to deliver food quickly – although there may be occasions when it’s more appropriate to run to the fridge for it.

Little cubes of cooked chicken are an ideal food reward, but there are lots of other choices. Find something your dog likes and that you are happy with. Kibble is generally not the best idea for training; something that is tasty and adds variety to the dog’s diet will be more motivating.

Photo: Kellymmuller73 (Shutterstock.com)

If you’re going to be doing a lot of training, it will make life easier to get a treat pouch of some sort. You can get one that is literally just for the food rewards, or one that has extra pockets for your cellphone, keys, and poop bags.

You might also want a clicker. For some types of training (when you need to reward fleeting movements) it is essential to use a marker – which could be a verbal marker or a clicker – because it marks the exact moment of the behaviour and buys you time to get your food reward out. But for most basic obedience, it’s up to you whether you use one or not. (Some people love to use the clicker, some people don’t. One study found no difference between use of a clicker, verbal marker or neither (just food rewards) (Chiandetti et al 2016) and this is something we are likely to see more research on in the future).

But really, that’s it. The most important thing is the food.

Some of the technical aspects of dog training…

Of course, it’s not as simple as just using food. But nonetheless, behaviours that are reinforced will get repeated, so if you keep rewarding your dog for a particular behaviour (like sit), the frequency of that behaviour will go up.

When we talk about technical aspects, we can mean something as simple as the speed of delivery of rewards. It’s important to deliver the reward very quickly (or mark it, if you are using a reward marker such as a clicker), so the dog knows which behaviour is the one that earned the reward. Have you ever trained a very bouncy dog whose bottom only briefly touches the ground when you ask them to sit before they jump up and start bouncing around again? If you were too slow, you could be rewarding them for the wrong behaviour, like bouncing.

And while we’re talking about speed, another thing you can do in a dog training session if you’re using food rewards is a lot of repetitions (e.g. ten a minute). Of course it depends on the dog, but if you’ve got the level of the training plan right, that’s what you should aim for (yep, ten a minute – try it! If that’s too tricky, just try to fit more repetitions in than you were doing before).

A few of the technical things we need to get right are covered in my article on positive reinforcement (scroll down to the section on ‘why isn’t positive reinforcement working?’).

Photo: Pelle Zoltan (Shutterstock.com)

Following a training plan will also really help. A very common mistake is to proceed too quickly for the dog, and expect too much of them all at once. That can get frustrating for both of you. If you follow a plan with gradual, incremental steps, you will actually make faster progress.

Luckily, there are some excellent books that will help you get started. If you want to learn more about the technical aspects of how to train a dog, I recommend Culture Clash and Train Your Dog Like a Pro by Jean Donaldson, and The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller.

You may also like to find a good dog trainer and take a class or private lesson.

A couple of caveats

By now, some of you are probably thinking “what about no-pull harnesses?” They aren’t food, and they are okay.

They are indeed okay: a study found that dogs on flat collars or on no-pull harnesses did not show signs of stress (Grainger, Wills and Montrose 2016). So a harness is a great choice for walking your dog, and may even mean you don’t have to train loose-leash walking. Where does food come in? Well, the first time (or first few times) you use one, you might like to use food to help your dog like the harness. You could also use food to train your dog to walk nicely on a harness, if the harness itself doesn’t do the trick.

And what about those dog trainers who sometimes use food and sometimes use corrections? They are often referred to as ‘balanced’ trainers. Well, they get the food part right, but unfortunately not the other part. If you want to know more, read my article about problems with balance in dog training.

Presenting a united front on dog training methods

Have you ever seen someone ask for advice about a dog training problem on the internet, and the discussion quickly descends into lots of conflicting information and maybe even name calling? There is typically also no way of knowing the level of expertise of those giving advice.

To someone who is trying to learn about dog training, and also to the person who was seeking advice, it must be very confusing. Maybe it sometimes even seems like dog trainers don’t know what they are talking about.

We can help by encouraging and supporting good advice. Anyone who is using food to train their dog is trying to do things the right way. They deserve praise for this, even if they are not perfect. (None of us are perfect).

Photo: AndrejLV (Shutterstock.com)

We can help by sharing useful resources that get things right.

We can help by recognizing that sometimes someone needs a dog trainer or behaviourist (rather than internet wisdom) and pointing them in the right direction when they ask for advice.

We can also help by making it clear that when we are talking amongst ourselves about technical things (like the use of no reward markers or food lures), we are still on the same side: we still all support the use of food as a reward in dog training.

We can help by pointing to the scientific research on dog training methods and the position statements from organizations such as AVSAB and the Pet Professional Guild to show this is an evidence-based approach.

And we can help by talking about what we love about training with food – the beautiful way our dog looks at us, the happy anticipation when the treat pouch comes out (“Yay!! Another training session!!”), and how much fun it is, for us and our canine best friends.

Because one of the most delightful things about training with food is how much we and our dogs enjoy it.

I think everyone loves their dog and wants to have fun with them. Using food helps make dog training fun.

What if everyone knew to use food to train dogs?

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in a loop in which people (including random strangers) are always saying, “but you have to be the pack leader”, “isn’t it bribery?” and “my dog does things out of respect!” Doesn’t it get tiresome?

If only all dog owners knew the value of using food in dog training, many things would be better.

Imagine if you walked into a pet store and saw walls of different types of treat pouches, instead of aisles with shock collars and prong collars. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Dogs would not be subjected to aversive techniques that run the risk of making them fearful or provoking an aggressive response.

When people saw you using food to help a fearful dog in a tricky situation, they wouldn’t yell at you and insist on approaching; they would give you distance and think, “Good for you!”

And instead of being stuck on very basic dog training topics, more people would be able to devote time to learning how to get the basics right and how to use more advanced techniques.

It would be better for dogs, better for our relationship with dogs, and therefore also better for us.

That’s why I think the most important thing to learn about dog training is simply to use food. Yes, there’s a lot more to learn after that, but if you get that basic thing right you can go from there.

To learn more about dogs, cats, and the science of our relationship with pets, subscribe to Companion Animal Psychology. And if you like this post, please share.

If you could only give one piece of dog training advice, what would it be?

References

Chiandetti, C., Avella, S., Fongaro, E., & Cerri, F. (2016). Can clicker training facilitate conditioning in dogs? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 184, 109-116.

Fukuzawa, M., & Hayashi, N. (2013). Comparison of 3 different reinforcements of learning in dogs (Canis familiaris). Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 8(4), 221-224. 

Grainger, J., Wills, A. P., & Montrose, V. T. (2016). The behavioral effects of walking on a collar and harness in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 14, 60-64. 

Herron, M. E., Shofer, F. S., & Reisner, I. R. (2009). Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 117(1), 47-54.  

Okamoto, Y., Ohtani, N., & Uchiyama, H. (2009). The feeding behavior of dogs correlates with their responses to commands. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 71(12), 1617-1621.  

Ziv, G. (2017). The Effects of Using Aversive Training Methods in Dogs–A Review. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research.  

For additional references, follow the links in the text.

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It's Not Just Catnip: Olfactory Enrichment for Cats

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It's Not Just Catnip: Olfactory Enrichment for Cats

Comment  

The olfactory enrichment cats love but you’ve (probably) never heard of.

A new study tests domestic cats with four different types of olfactory enrichment: catnip, silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle and valerian. Tigers and bobcats were also tested. The results show almost all domestic cats love at least one of these.

These compounds are safe and not addictive, meaning owners have an easy way to provide enrichment to their cats (provided they can get hold of them).

First author, Dr. Sebastiaan Bol told me in an email,

“This research gave us insight in how many cats in the USA go crazy for catnip and plants that can have a similar effect on cats. Catnip was loved by many, but so was silver vine, a plant that is very popular in Japan, stinky valerian root and the wood of Tatarian honeysuckle. Sadly, about 1 out of every 3 cats doesn't like catnip. It's not a choice; it's genetically determined. The good news is that this study demonstrates that most of these cats WILL LOVE one or more of the other, SAFE, plant materials that were just mentioned.  

“These plant materials are a lot of fun for your cat at home, but they may also be helpful when socializing scared cats, for trap-neuter-return programs, training (e.g. redirecting scratching behavior) and possibly even for reducing stress during for example medical procedures (e.g. giving a pill), transportation and (medical) boarding. So much research that needs to be done!  

“The results from our small survey learned us that most veterinarians in the USA, including ones specialized in cats, do not know about the existence and effects on cats of these plants. This is why we love to reach out to people who care about the well-being of cats.  

“Finally, also for cats who DO like catnip, it can be super exciting to receive something new that they may like. If you enjoy drinking a glass of red wine, that doesn't mean you won't like a glass of champagne, does it? It probably depends on the moment. It's the same for cats. The best thing about being a cat in this particular case is that you don't have to worry about becoming an alcoholic or getting a hangover; all these plant materials come without any known negative side effects.” 

So whether or not your cat likes catnip, it’s worth giving these a try.

Zappa loving a silver vine wood stick. Photo: Sebastiaan Bol.

Sebastiaan Bol says his cats love silver vine, as you can see from the photo of Zappa enjoying her silver vine stick.

"Pretty much every day I see how much two of our six cats love the silver vine wood sticks. Multiple wood sticks are available to them all the time, but they really seem to pick their moment. It's adorable to watch and it makes me so happy to see them enjoy it so much."

The study tested 100 domestic cats with all four of these compounds. The cats were mostly moggies and they included cats at a sanctuary, waiting for adoption at a rehoming centre, at a cat-friendly veterinary practice and cats in their own homes. Five of the cats were adopted before completing the study, so the final sample was 95 cats.

The compounds were presented in two ways: in a sock, or on a piece of carpet. If the cat did not notice the arrival of the compound, it was moved one time to see if it would attract their attention, but cats were not chased with the items – it was up to them whether to interact with it or not. An empty sock was used as a control, but the person coding the responses did know which substance it was.

You have probably seen the classic kitty response to catnip, which includes licking, sniffing, drooling, rubbing the head or chin on the catnip, rolling, and raking (bunny-kicking the back legs). But not all cats respond to catnip, and this study found that about a third of cats did not respond to it.

Silver vine was a favourite, with 80% of the cats responding to silver vine. About half of the cats responded to valerian, and half to Tatarian honeysuckle. In fact, only six of the cats did not respond to any of the smells.

Reproduced from Bol et al (2017) under Creative Commons licence CC4.0

Young and old cats were equally likely to respond. The scientists also found similar responses in cats considered friendly, shy, or somewhere in between. This suggests that this olfactory enrichment is suitable for all cats.

The study was conducted because there are anecdotal reports of cats responding to these substances (and to a fifth one, Indian nettle root, that was not tested). In Japan, silver vine is popular for cats and is known as matatabi. However, the scientists asked 38 vets and 6 vet techs who specialize in cats if they knew about this, and almost all said no. So you can be forgiven for not knowing about it too.

The chemical which causes the effect in catnip is called nepetalactone. Silver vine contains six compounds that are similar, and one is also found in valerian.

Silver vine is available in different forms, including wood sticks, powder, normal fruit, and fruit galls (where midge larvae have matured). The scientists found cats were more responsive to the fruit galls than the normal fruit. Unfortunately this makes it more difficult to commercially prepare silver vine on a large scale, since not very much is known about the silver vine gall midge and it also requires another plant as part of its life cycle. If you are looking to try it with your cat, the powder (which is the powder of the silver vine fruit galls) is probably the best place to start.

Tatarian honeysuckle is available as sticks or as blocks of wood. It will last forever, although you may need to wash it from time to time (after your cat has drooled on it a lot). If your cat stops responding to it, you can shave a bit of wood off to give it a fresh edge again.

Valerian root is available in some cat toys.

Catnip, of course, is available as plants for your garden, as a dried herb (including with additional scents), and in many different cat toys.

The scientists tested catnip and silver vine on nine tigers at Big Cat Rescue, where keepers gave it to the animals. One tiger had a little interest in catnip, but the others were not interested. Four tigers were not interested in silver vine – and five of them took an active dislike to it. So it does not make good enrichment for tigers.

They also tested bobcats. Four bobcats responded to silver vine, and one to catnip, and their response was similar to that of the domestic cats. If you take a look at the paper (which is open access), you can see a photo of a bobcat rubbing her chin and cheeks on a paper bag that contains silver vine.

The video below, which was made several years ago, shows some of the cats at Big Cat Rescue responding to catnip.



A chemical analysis of all four substances shows the concentration of the chemical compounds which cats are probably responding to.

All four of these substances cause euphoria in at least some cats, with most cats responding to silver vine. So it is worth trying them out to see if they make your cat happy too.

The scientists conclude that “Olfactory enrichment using silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle or valerian root may, similar to catnip, be an effective means to improve the quality of life for cats. Nearly all cats responded positively to at least one of these plants.”

The paper is open access, and you can follow the first author on twitter and Facebook.

Have you tried any of these alternatives to catnip with your cat?

More cat stories: Enrichment tips for cats (that many people miss) and what kind of scratching post do cats prefer?



Reference
Bol, S., Caspers, J., Buckingham, L., Anderson-Shelton, G. D., Ridgway, C., Buffington, C. T., ... & Bunnik, E. M. (2017). Responsiveness of cats (Felidae) to silver vine (Actinidia polygama), Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and catnip (Nepeta cataria). BMC Veterinary Research, 13(1), 70.  Open access here.
Photos: HHelene (top) and itakephotos4u (Shutterstock.com). Photo of Zappa, Sebastiaan Bol.

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New Literature Review Recommends Reward-Based Training

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New Literature Review Recommends Reward-Based Training

Comment  

A review of 17 papers concludes that reward-based dog training has fewer risks and may even work better than aversive methods.

The review, by Dr. Gal Ziv (The Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences) looks at the scientific literature on dog training methods. Seventeen studies were identified that include surveys of dog owners, intervention studies, and reports from veterinarians.

The paper identifies some methodological issues with the literature, but the conclusion is that people should use reward-based methods to train their dogs.

Ziv writes,

“Despite the methodological concerns, it appears that aversive training methods have undesirable unintended outcomes and that using them puts dogs’ welfare at risk. In addition, there is no evidence to suggest that aversive training methods are more effective than reward-based training methods. At least 3 studies in this review suggest that the opposite might be true in both pets and working dogs. Because this appears to be the case, it is recommended that the dog training community embrace reward-based training and avoid, as much as possible, training methods that include aversion.”

Ziv also writes,

“it is perhaps time to pursue a different focus and approach of research. This new line of research will examine how humane, reward-based methods can be improved to facilitate better communication between humans and dogs.”

The review considers four different areas of research, starting with comparisons. Five surveys that compare different training methods found that people who use aversive techniques (positive punishment and negative reinforcement) report more behaviour problems including fear and aggression. One of these studies found that inconsistent use of different methods was linked to aggression. Although these studies rely on owner reports, three other studies that directly observed dogs also found that canine welfare and behaviour may be affected by the use of aversive techniques.

These studies are correlational and do not prove causation. However, although experimental research might be warranted, Ziv notes there are ethical issues that would need to be considered, given these findings.

The second area Ziv looked at was the effects on dog-dog aggression. Here, there was only one study, a questionnaire which found dogs who are trained by being hit or shaken are more likely to be the perpetrator in aggressive dog-dog interactions, whereas dogs whose owners think training should be fun, or who shouted and gave clear commands, were more likely to be victims. This study is a little hard to interpret.

The third section looks at shock collars, electronic containment systems and bark collars. Studies here include surveys, observations and an experiment. Although there are some methodological issues, including with the interpretation of cortisol levels, the results suggest that electronic shock collars, containment systems and bark collars may be painful and/or frightening for dogs. Ziv notes that even when trainers are experienced at using shock collars, dogs may come to associate the shock with their trainer or handler due to classical conditioning. As well as having detrimental effects on welfare, this may also affect performance.

The fourth section considers the effects of aversive training techniques on a dog’s physical health. Ziv notes that most studies so far look at acute stress, i.e. at the time of the dog training session, and more research is needed to investigate whether aversive training techniques are linked to chronic stress, which can affect physical health. Two case studies showed negative effects of specific techniques, one being a case in which a dog had to be euthanized after being hung by a choke collar for 60 seconds.

Ziv says there are likely more such cases that are not recorded in the literature, and encourages veterinarians to write them up. I think there may well be a file drawer effect here, in that once it is known this is possible, future case studies are probably less likely to be published. Ziv also says that hanging dogs from collars should be made illegal.

Ziv recommends the use of LIMA (Least Invasive Minimally Aversive) techniques, but he also notes that competence may be an issue here. Given the importance of timing, consistency and other competence issues, he recommends regulation.  He writes, “Handlers’ competence should be defined, regulated, and assessed by relevant regulating agencies based on the recommendations of accredited and experienced animal behaviorists.”

The paper makes many useful recommendations for future research, and I would particularly like to see more research on how to improve the teaching of reward-based training methods.

The implications for dog owners and professionals are that aversive techniques (positive punishment and negative reinforcement) should not be used to train dogs because of the risks to animal welfare. Most professional organizations already recommend the use of reward-based dog training methods because of this risk.

Many (although not all) of the studies referenced by Ziv have been previously covered on Companion Animal Psychology. You will find a list of research on dog training methods and articles about those studies by a range of writers on my dog training research resources page, which has everything you need to satisfy your inner dog training geek.

You may also like my user-friendly guides to using positive reinforcement in dog training, and how to choose a dog trainer.


Reference
Ziv, G. (2017) The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs – a review. Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, 19:50-60.
Photos: Duncan Andison (top) and studiolaska (both Shutterstock.com).

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