Safety training: The elimination of avoidance-motivated aggression in dogs.

Abstract

This study sought to identify the behavioral characteristics and appropriate treatment of a form of instrumental aggression in companion dogs, herein recognized as avoidancemotivated aggression. In Experiment 1, retrospective data on 92 cases of dangerously aggressive dogs demonstrated the avoidance nature of the aggressive response and its intractability to established counterconditioning treatments. In Experiment 2, safety training, a modified avoidance-learning procedure, resulted in complete and permanent elimination of aggression in all of the 36 dogs tested. In addition, it produced extremely extinction-resistant prosocial avoidance responses, significant increases in the.dogs' emotional stability, an avoidance-learning and safety acquisition response set, and improvements in measures of the dog's "carriage." Experiment 3 showed how effective safety training is when compared with other behavior modification techniques that, in theory, should have an impact on avoidance-motivated aggression. Experiment 4 demonstrated the critical importance of using the conditioned safety cue as a positive reinforcement. The relationship of avoidance-motivated aggression to other forms of aggression is discussed. The success of safety training compared with the failure of electrical aversion therapy is analyzed. The theoretical concepts of behavioral balance and an avoidance-learning set are presented. Suggestions to improve the effectiveness of counterconditioning for human avoidance-motivated pathologies are offered.All in all, the data seem to suggest that safety training may create in dogs a sense of control over environmental stressors. By teaching the dogs a behaviorally balanced battery of prosocial "coping" responses, they may be developing the canine counterpart of "self-efficacy" or "courage." It is suggested that this cognitive modification may provide the antithesis of "learned helplessness" and may be of prime importance to the success and stability of the results.

Assessing the effectiveness of descriptive and experimental analyses to identify variables influencing problem behavior in domestic dogs

“…Table 2 presents a summary of several studies for which treatment outcomes for aggression were reported. With the exception of Tortora (1983) and Williams and Borchelt (2003) who list outcome by treatment type, it is not clear which elements of most treatment programs were effective or even necessary.…”

“…An examination of the assessment strategies that have been used in the assessment of dog problem behavior reveals that semblances of some type of informal and incomplete functional assessment has been reportedly used in most studies. For example, indirect assessment is a common means of gathering information about dog behavior problems usually in the form of a behavioral history questionnaire/interview (Appleby, Bradshaw & Casey, 2002;Borchelt, 1983;Cameron, 1997;Knol, 1987;Lindsay, 2001;Line & Voith, 1986;Overall, 1997;Sherman, Reisner, Taliaferro, & Houpt, 1996;Tortora, 1983;Voith & Borchelt, 1982Young, 1982;1988). Such assessments collect information indirectly from owners about specific environmental stimuli (eliciting and reinforcing) associated with the target response, sequences of behavior, the history of the problem, and the medical history of the dog.…”

“…The importance of directly observing problem dog behavior has also been noted (e.g. Tortora, 1980Tortora, , 1983Young, 1988). Often such observations include the manipulation of antecedent conditions hypothesized to evoke problem behavior in home and clinical environments, thus resembling the SDA described above.…”

“…ringing and family commotion) and maintained by food delivered contingent on stalking, the assessment did not systematically manipulate consequences and, therefore, this functional relation could only be inferred. In another paper, Tortora (1983) identified 36 dogs exhibiting defensive (avoidance-motivated) aggression and designed an intervention which included escape from shock contingent on appropriate behavior. The avoidance function of the behavior was hypothesized from descriptive assessments and in all 36 cases the provision of punishment for aggression and escape for appropriate behavior was highly successful.…”

“…The use of a descriptive evaluation to assess problem canine behavior as used here is not entirely new (e.g. Tortora, 1980Tortora, , 1983Young, 1988) constructs. For instance, Stanley (Hug condition) and Elmo both barked when their respective owners hugged.…”