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An Sc 378 > Dog Aggression, Fear, Anxiety and Barking > Flashcards

Dog Aggression, Fear, Anxiety and Barking Flashcards

1
Q

Aggression involves what actions

A

Growling, baring teeth, snapping, biting (contact)

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2
Q

When is aggression exhibited

A

During play or aroused states

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3
Q

Can you cure aggression

A

No, but you can manage it

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4
Q

70% of canine problem behaviour deal with the problem of_______

A

Aggression

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5
Q

Males comprise how many of aggression cases, what kind of aggression do males typically display?

A

80%
Dominance or territorial aggression

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6
Q

Most common multiple diagnosis aggression (2 forms combined)

A

Dominance and fear related aggression

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7
Q

When a dog is in conflict with regards to which aggression to display

A

Conflict aggression

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8
Q

What are the six types of aggression towards people

A

Dominance-related
Aggression towards children
Fear-related
Pain-related
Territorial
Abnormal or idiopathic aggression

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9
Q

How do dogs learn aggression? How do they unlearn?

A

Negative reinforcement
Can also use operant conditioning, desensitization and counter-conditioning to unlearn

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10
Q

What is the most common type of aggression

A

Dominance related aggression

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11
Q

Causes of dominance-related aggression? (people)

A

Natural tendencies to attempt dominance
Breed/sex predisposition
Inconsistencies when owner interacts with dog
Owner inability to control dog

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12
Q

How do you prevent dominance related aggression (people)

A

Avoid triggers
Positively reinforce obeying of commands
If one family member has trouble, everyone else ignores dog, that person issues commands/rewards (only source of affection/food)
Castration (?)
Desensitization

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13
Q

Causes of aggression towards young children

A

Baby = negative :
Dog dislikes baby because it takes attention
Owner punishes dog for unfriendly behaviour toward baby

Absent baby = positive :
Owner gives affection/treats when baby is absent

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14
Q

How do you resolve aggression towards children

A

Withhold affection for dog when baby absent (absent baby = neutral)
Give affection/treats in baby’s presence (baby = +)
Social punishment if growls at baby

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15
Q

If you are a dog owner expecting a baby, how can you prepare for the baby’s arrival?

A

Praise dog in presence of life-sized doll (pre-conditioning)

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16
Q

Why might fearful dogs become aggressive?

A

In response to a threat (fight/flight)
A means of coping (drive away person)

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17
Q

What are some fearful behaviours?

A

Hide/run away
Low posture
Tremble
Ears back
Licking muzzle
Tucked tail
Bark while backing away

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18
Q

Who is fear aggression directed towards

A

Specific people or types of people (men)

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19
Q

How does fear-related aggression escalate to biting?

A

Dog will growl to drive person away, if it is not working it may snap then bite

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20
Q

What are the causes of fear-related aggression (people)

A

Fear of people who they have not been socialized to (Ollie = kids)
Mistreatment by type of person
Reinforcement when person leaves

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21
Q

How do we resolve fear aggression (towards people)

A

Social punishment for aggression
Desensitize/counter-condition to subgroup
Avoid spontaneous approaches by subgroup
Avoid physical correction

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22
Q

What is pain-induced aggression

A

Protective/natural response when painful area is handled

23
Q

What animals are stoic in their behaviour when injured

A

Prey animals
e.g. deer

24
Q

Why might an animal continue to show aggression after the once painful area is healed

A

Conditioned response

25
How do we resolve pain-induced aggression
Remove the source of pain Desensitize/counter condition
26
What causes territorial aggression
Absence of habituation to visitors Breed/sex tendencies (artificial selection)
27
How do we resolve territorial aggression
Habituate dogs to visitors using distance gradients Counter condition stranger visits with food/affection
28
What is idiopathic aggression
Episodic or dysfunctional rage - unpredictable, unprovoked - underlying CNS abnormality
29
What breeds are prone to idiopathic aggression
English springer spaniels have potential genetic predisposition
30
What causes idiopathic aggression
Genetic/pathophysiological abnormality Neurotransmitter disorder
31
How do we resolve idiopathic rage
Euthanasia? Safety is primary
32
What are the types of inter-dog aggression (4)
1. Dominance-status aggression 2. Aggression in the absence of a dominance hierarchy 3. Aggression towards strange dogs away from home 4. Predatory aggression toward small dogs (prey)
33
Why might dominance-status aggression alter over time?
If the dominant dog gets older, injured, etc
34
What causes dominance-status aggression (inter-dog)
Dog groups have an established hierarchy
35
How do we prevent dominance-status aggression (inter dog)
Socialize young dogs early (learn facial expressions, body postures, eye contact, growls, snarls, how to avoid fight)
36
How do we resolve dominance-status aggression (inter-dog)
Avoid emotional/exuberant greetings of other dogs Reinforce owner control
37
What kind of response are fears in nature
Adaptive response (avoid danger)
38
Why does being left alone cause anxiety in dogs
Being abandoned is dangerous in the wild
39
When in a new situation, most animals are _______ some are ________
Hesitant, curious
40
How do we prevent dogs from being scared of new things
Habituate them young (thunderstorms, vacuum)
41
Define anxiety in dogs
An emotional reaction often described as general uneasiness connoting a rather vague reaction (not towards something specific)
42
Define a fear in dogs
Emotional reactions related to specific objects, such as loud noises or children
43
Define a phobia in dogs
Fear of objects or situations, which are cognitively understood to be way out of proportion to the actual danger (debilitating, hard to calm down)
44
Reasons why a dog might be fearful
1. Absence of prior habituation to fear-evoking stimulus as a puppy 2. Anxiety/fear that is enhanced by owner when they comfort it (positive reinforcement) 3. Acquired through adverse experience (physical abuse) 4. Physiological. Abnormally low behavioural threshold or abnormally intense fear reaction
45
Some behaviours displayed in a dog with separation anxiety
Digging, chewing, scratching at doors (escape) Howling, barking, crying, urination, defecation
46
Why do dogs display such behaviours when they have separation anxiety
It is a panic response, not it trying to punish owner
47
Before you leave the house, a dog with separation anxiety will be
Depressed, excited, anxious
48
What are the reasons for separation anxiety in dogs
Left alone for first time Lack of habituation to absence After long period of togetherness Change in owners schedule, routine After traumatic event (shelter) Affection prior to departure/after return
49
How do we treat separation anxiety
Arrivals/departures lowkey (food at departure) Article of clothing that smells like you Desensitization in severe cases - getting dog used to being alone - "practice" short absences - positive reinforcement Never punish
50
What are some more general fears in dogs, how would we resolve them
Fears of inanimate object (desensitization) Thunderstorms (desensitization, counter-conditioning in staged sessions) Children/people (desensitization through distance gradient)
51
Why do dogs bark
Relives tension, drives strangers away Separation anxiety (frustration, attention-seeking) Socially facilitated barking (one dog starts, others join) Territorial/protective behaviour, Fears/phobias
52
What are five types of barking
1. Response to environmental stimuli 2. Social facilitation 3. Play-evoked barking 4. Barking towards neighbour dogs (territorial) 5. Learned barking (let dog in when it barks)
53
What are the causes of excessive barking
Breed predisposition Separation anxiety Reinforcement Environmental stimuli Social facilitation
54
How do we resolve excessive barking
Eliminate or treat cause Discontinue reinforcement Screen of provoking stimuli Reinforce non-barking Remote punishment (?)

An Sc 378 (21 decks)

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