Title: The importance of consistency in the training of dogs'
1The importance of consistency in the training of
dogs.
- Gry Eskeland
- Randi Helene Tillung
- Morten Bakken
2Background
- Research has shown that use of physical
punishment is related to higher level of problem
behaviours - Dog training, general dog owners e.g. Hiby et
al, 2004 - Electric training collars, everyday life
situations Schalke et al, in press - Experimental psychology, e.g. Gray, 1987, Azrin
and Holz, 1966 - Treating behaviour disorders in humans e.g.
Lerman and Vorndran, 2002
3Background
- Rule structure is an important tool in the
upbringing of children and dogs - Behavioural control Rohner and Kaleque, 2005
- Learn to earn, Nothing is for free- concepts
in dog training
4Background
- The use of reward is related to higher degree of
obedience - Dog training, dog owners e.g. Hiby et al, 2004
- Child rearing, Mazur, 2006, Webster-Stratton, 2007
5Aim of study
- Is punishment a risk factor for problem
behaviours? - How is reward, punishment, rule structure
(permissiveness-strictness, consistency) in
combination related to obedience and specific
problem behaviours? - In addition, is there a difference between men
and women in how they train dogs?
6The concept of rule structure
- Refers to dog owners attempt to regulate and
manage their dogs behaviour - Involves the extent to which parents insist on
compliance with their demands and rules - Rule structure does not, however, imply anything
about the manner of how owners enforce their
rules, i.e. whether they use punishment or reward.
7How was rule structure measured?
- I see to it that my dog knows exactly what he/she
may or may not do - I always tell my dog how he/she should behave
- I believe in having a lot of rules and sticking
to them - I give my dog as much freedom as he/she wants
- I try to insist that my dog does exactly what
he/she is supposed to do - I tell my dog what to do all the time
- I let my dog do anything he/she wants to do
- I want to control everything my dog does
8Materials and methods
- 935 replies
- Online open questionnaire (217 questions)
- Demographics
- Owners rule structure (PARQ/Control Rohner and
Khaleque, 2005) - Owners training methods (physical punishment and
reward) - Dogs behaviour (obedience and behaviour
problems) (CBARQ Hsu and Serpell, 2003)
9Results
- Rule structure and reward correlates positively
with obedience and negatively with training
problems
10Results
11Effects of rearing method, combined
- The dog owners were divided into six groups of
rearing methods, 2 mainly punishing (P1, P2), 2
mixture of punishment and reward (PR1, PR2) and 2
groups mainly rewarding (R1, R2)
12Main result
- The two groups with the lowest score on rule
structure (R2, PR1) is associated with lowest
obedience and highest level of problem behaviours
13Results in detail
- P1 - owners
- No participants
- P-Intense, high frequency, unfair, unpredictable,
inconsistent - R- low frequency
- Rule structure - low
14- P2 - owners
- 14 participants
- P-Intense, low frequency, fair, predictable,
consistent - R- low frequency
- Rule structure - firm
- P2 dogs
- More
- Activity/Stereotypes
- Non-social fear
- Fear handling
- Obedience
15- R1 - owners
- 83 participants
- P-none
- R-High frequency
- Rule structure - moderate/firm
- R1 - dogs
- More
- High trainability
- Obedience
- Less
- Stranger-directed aggression
- Training problems
- Dog-directed aggression
16- R2
- 141
- P-none
- R-High frequency
- Rule structure low
- R2 dogs
- More
- Stranger-directed aggression and fear
- Non social fear
- Attention-seeking behaviour
- Less
- Activity/stereotypes
- Obedience
17- PR1 - owners
- 21 participants
- P-Low Intensity, Low frequency,
Unfair,Unpredictable, Inconsistent - R- Medium frequency
- Rule structure - low
- PR1 dogs
- More
- Training problems
- Owner-directed aggression
- Less
- Obedience
18- PR2 - owners
- 185 participants
- P-Medium intensity, low frequency, fair,
predictable, consistent - R-High frequency
- Rule structure moderate
- PR2 dogs
- More
- Barking
- Social towards strangers
- Less
- Chasing
- Medium obedience
19The two groups with the lowest score on rule
structure (R2, PR1) is associated with lowest
obedience
20The two groups with the lowest score on rule
structure (R2, PR1) is associated with highest
level of problem behaviours
21Gender effects
- The men and women trained their dogs differently.
- A two-step Cluster Analysis revealed 4 clusters.
- Low score on rule structure is associated with
low obedience and high level problem behaviours.
22(No Transcript)
23Low score on rule structure is associated with
low obedience
24Low score on rule structure is associated with
high level problem behaviours.
25Conclusion
- High score on rule structure and owners
consistency was correlated with higher level of
obedience and less behaviour problems - Which factors contribute as cause and effect, are
not clear - If lax rule structure is a cause of low level
obedience and higher level of behaviour problems,
and punishment lead to higher level of problems,
this have implications for how dog owners should
be instructed to train their dogs from a welfare
point of view, as well as to increase the quality
of the human-animal relationship
26References
- Azrin N H, Holz W C, 1966, Punishment, in Honig W
K (ed) Operant behaviour Areas of research and
application, Prentice Hall, New Jersey - Gray J A (1987) The psychology of fear and
stress.(2nd ed) Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press - Hiby E F, Rooney N J and Bradshaw J W S 2004 Dog
training methods their use, effectiveness and
interaction with behaviour and welfare. Animal
Welfare. 13 63-69 - Hsu Y Y and Serpell J A 2003 Development and
validation of a questionnaire for measuring
behavior and temperament traits in pet dogs.
Journal of American Veterinary Medical
Association. 223 (9) 1293-1300 - Lerman D C, Vorndran D M, 2002, On the status of
knowledge for using punishment Implications for
treating behaviour disorders. Journal of Applied
Behaviour Analysis 35, 431-464 - Marks I M 1987, Fears, Phobias and rituals,
Oxford University Press, New York - Mazur J E, 2006 Learning and Behaviour (6th ed.)
Pearson Prentice hall, New Jersey - Rohner R P and Khaleque A (Eds.). 2005 Handbook
for the Study of Parental Acceptance and
Rejection (4th ed.). Rohner Research
Publications, Storrs, Connecticut, USA. - Schalke E, Stichnoth J, Ott, S and Jones-Baade R
Clinical signs caused by the use of electric
training collars on dogs in everyday life
situations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science
(2006), doi10.1016/j.applanim.2006.11.002 - Webster-Stratton, C, 2007 The incredible years
(7th ed.), Gyldendal, Oslo