Important information and links on Canine Learning

24 March 2009
If you're aggressive, your dog will be too, says veterinary study

In a new, year-long University of Pennsylvania survey of dog owners
who use confrontational or aversive methods to train aggressive
pets, veterinary researchers have found that most of these animals
will continue to be aggressive unless training techniques are
modified. The study, published in the current issue of Applied
Animal Behavior Science, also showed that using non-aversive or
neutral training methods such as additional exercise or rewards
elicited very few aggressive responses. “Nationwide, the No. 1
reason why dog owners take their pet to a veterinary behaviorist is
to manage aggressive behavior,” Meghan E. Herron, lead author of the
study, said. “Our study demonstrated that many confrontational
training methods, whether staring down dogs, striking them or
intimidating them with physical manipulation does little to correct
improper behavior and can elicit aggressive responses.”

The team from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Penn suggest that
primary-care veterinarians advise owners of the risks associated
with such training methods and provide guidance and resources for
safe management of behavior problems. Herron, Frances S. Shofer and
Ilana R. Reisner, veterinarians with the Department of Clinical
Studies at Penn Vet, produced a 30-item survey for dog owners who
made behavioral service appointments at Penn Vet. In the
questionnaire, dog owners were asked how they had previously treated aggressive behavior, whether there was a positive, negative or
neutral effect on the dogs’ behavior and whether aggressive
responses resulted from the method they used. Owners were also asked
where they learned of the training technique they employed. Of the
140 surveys completed, the most frequently listed recommendation
sources were “self” and “trainers.” Several confrontational methods
such as “hit or kick dog for undesirable behavior” (43 percent),
“growl at dog” (41 percent), “physically force the release of an
item from a dog's mouth” (39 percent), “alpha roll” physically --
rolling the dog onto its back and holding it (31 percent), “stare at
or stare down” (30 percent), “dominance down” —- physically forcing
the dog down onto its side (29 percent) and “grab dog by jowls and
shake” (26 percent) elicited an aggressive response from at least 25
percent of the dogs on which they were attempted. In addition, dogs
brought to the hospital for aggressive behavior towards familiar
people were more likely to respond aggressively to some
confrontational techniques than dogs brought in for other behavioral
reasons.

“This study highlights the risk of dominance-based training, which
has been made popular by TV, books and punishment-based training
advocates,” Herron said. “These techniques are fear-eliciting and
may lead to owner-directed aggression.” Prior to seeking the counsel
of a veterinary behaviorist, many dog owners attempt behavior-
modification techniques suggested by a variety of sources.
Recommendations often include the aversive-training techniques
listed in the survey, all of which may provoke fearful or
defensively aggressive behavior. Their common use may have grown
from the idea that canine aggression is rooted in the need for
social dominance or to a lack of dominance displayed by the owner.
Advocates of this theory therefore suggest owners establish an
“alpha” or pack-leader role. The purpose of the Penn Vet study was
to assess the behavioral effects and safety risks of techniques used
historically by owners of dogs with behavior problems.

Science Daily
March 24, 2009