Predation Flashcards
What is it?
Feeding
Who is the person who studied the wolf predation sequence?
David Mech
What is the predatory sequence according to D mech
Search - eye orientate
Stalk
Rush/Chase
Grab/bite
Kill
Disect
Consume
Why do dogs stalk?
To get closer to their prey - it’s cheaper than chase
Do wolves do one kill bite?
No they do many
Where is danger inherent in the predatory sequence?
Grab/bite
Do all dogs do all or most of these behaviours?
No
Why don’t dogs do the whole predatory sequence?
Selective breeding
Drifting - selection pressure is relaxed on dogs
Which of the sequence bother people as behaviour problems
Rush/chase
Grab/bite
Kill
Why do dogs not commonly kill?
Too slow
Don’t have opportunity
Don’t have that “chip”
If a dog has a history of killing small critters/cats more dangerous to their families?
No. Predatory aggression is different to feeding behaviour. They have different motivations
What a good analogy for clients regarding feeding behaviours
Have you ever bitten cake?
Are you then a danger to Buffy!!!
Why should we spend time on why in predation
The dog isn’t going to hurt you. It’s a natural food acquisition behaviour.
OMG the horse is eating grass!! = behaviour problem
Why do we get freaked out about predatory behaviour
Sharp teeth
What can we say to help clients understand routine chase around wildlife
isn’t that interesting!
What is the difference between fight/flight and predatory motivation?
Goal fight/flight - getting rid of stimulus = go away
Goal predation - feeding acquiring stimulus = want it!
Why do people get confused about motivation in fight/flight vs predation
Want & go away look the same
Lunging
Biting etc
How do we diagnose when the motivation isn’t perfectly clear?
More information
Is the Fight/flight dog upset
yes
Is the predation dog upset?
no
What are our options to decrease predation?
DRI and/or P-
Why don’t we use DS/CC for predation?
They already think it’s tremendous!
Why don’t we use DS/CC for predation?
They already think it’s tremendous!
Why don’t we use DS/CC for predation?
They already think it’s tremendous!
Can we tell the motivation by eyeballing the dog?
NO! both look the same and more than 1 thng can be going on e.g. curious and uncomfortable
What is sheltie syndrome?!
More than 1 reason to bite you!!
I’m curious ……..
I’m a bit uncomfortable
It’s interesting
It’s a critter
It’s moving
How can we diagnose if they are uncomfortable or predatory
History
If it’s directed at dogs first Q….
How’s the play
What if there is no play history?
Muzzle & put him in with experienced players
Why do we need to know how play is?
We need to know if he’s upset or predatory
What if the history is cats/critters
Money on predation [horses/zebras] until proven otherwise
What if the dog has grab/shakes or fatalities in the history
Manage. No more critters/dogs under certain size for that dog
Why do we manage dogs who have a grab&shake history
Social playmate is being seen as food. It’s like JD biting me at the cinema!
Very real risk of fatality
What is a good rule of thumb for big & little dogs?
If you could picture the dog picking up & shaking the little dog keep then apart
What is JD bias on this?
Very conservative
Is there a gold standard on managing big/little dogs
No. but it happens. develop your own bias.
What are the usual presentations of predation
Disobedience around wildlife (recall falls apart)
Chasing & nipping (movement sensitive)
Chasing, killing & harassing wildlife
Drift
Which behaviours in predation have higher stakes?
Chasing, killing, harassing - legal ramifications
What is drift during play?
social behaviour turning into predatory behv. normally because one dog squeaks/panic/strugggle which triggers the other dog to think he’s food! triggering the predatory behv. impossible to predict.
Can you predict which dogs will drift?
no
Which predatory presentations should you train &/or manage
Disobedience
Chasing
Which predatory presentations would you emphasise management
Chase, killing & harassment
Why do we manage chase killing & harassing
The stakes, we can’t have a failure because failure = death
Why do we manage chase killing & harassing?
The stakes, we can’t have a failure because failure = death
Do we train or manage predatory drift?
Manage - failure = fatality
What strategies can we use for training with drivey dogs
Get them hooked on our stuff, proactive channel to appropriate stuff (find their drug of choice)
What are some drivey dogs
BC
JRT
Mally
GSD
Fox terrier
ridgeback
what does drivey mean?
predatory!
What have working lines dogs been selectively bred to do (e.g. BC)
Compulsive disorder, obsession. addictions!
What strategies can we use if we have an existing problem, rather than a new drivey pup
DRI/P-
Premack (headstart for the squirrel!)
What do you need for training in predation cases. R+ wise
equal value R+ to the distraction. Not always possible.
What is the prereq for employing premack
Willing to grant access to the distraction e.g. squirell
When would premack be off the table?
Unwilling to allow chase of the wildlife
What are some mgmt options for predatory dogs
Lead
Harness
Fences
Drive somewhere else
What is our job with predation?
Give the client the truth and options. Don’t buy into their its soo hard
When could we use habituation with predatory behv?
Its a very specific solution for a very narrow type of problem
How do we build a DRI for predation?
TB - define terminal behaviour
IP - identify parameters
IP - incremental plan
TS - train, split as needed
What is an example of a terminal behv for a DRI for predation?
turn on a dime on first cue, any place, any time and recall any distance with any number of deer in the immediate environment
Include the gory details!
What is a bad DRI Terminal behaviour for predatory behv?
Sit!
Too fluffy! We can’t pick out the parameters from this
What did JD say about people who start with no 4 - training?
Don’t bring shame on the family!!
Is a DRI for predation any different from a normal training plan?
No! it’s not a zebra! Follow the same formula!
What is the first question we ask ourselves when we’ve never had a case like this before?
What is it I want the dog to do? If you’ve done OC before you’ve had a case like that before!!!
Is there a trick for training predation
NO! do it properly & then put in the reps
Nipping at moving children - mgmt
Supervision
What is a good terminal for nipping children?
When the kids are playing, fido will work on a kong or lie nearby on his mat (no nipping or chasing)
Parameters for the nipping kids TP
Duration
Location
Number of kids
Activity level
When would we incorporate P- for nipping at moving kids
say step 15 of a 22-step plan (for example!)
Premack plan for predation
1- Standard premack exercise
2 - Freeze dried liver in a bag
3 - Steak
4 - kong
5 - toy
6 - cat (!) in a carrier
7 - hamster (in a ball!!)
8 food on the counter
Keep changing the picture a little until the dog is unstumpable then go outside
9 - bushes
10 - dog
11 - smell
Use longlines
What does Premack type training teach ……..
Teaching the dog to go in the opposite direction of what he wants! Weird physics - the universe is not what I thought! Sometimes you have to move away from stuff to get it!!
Why do we use long lines in premack?
Making sure the dog doesn’t win before he checks in wt us
What are the first steps when training premack when you get to the critter stage
1 - distance parameter. on lead. wait until 10/10 on the first cue then decrease distance
Will the dog jump the prompt in premack off squirrel
Yes, as long as you get the order of events right
When do you go off-leash on the premack plan?
when at end 20/30 foot line wt little tension & recalls off critters.
What do we do if the mess up offlead premack?
Back on lead
Why do we go back on lead on premack failure?
We don’t want the learn they can chase before recalling
Why are cats different in regards to dogs amd critters?
Dogs often live wt cats so can become habituated and can also direct social behaviour towards the cat!
Can dogs be habituated to cats but not bonded?
Yes! cats boring, like furniture!
Can dogs be scared of cats?
Yes
Can dogs view cats as prey?
Yes
Can dogs be socialised to some cats and not others
Yes
What is habituation
1 event change. stimuli means nothing much. Getting used to something so it gets tuned out.
Can habituation work on a predatory adult dog I.e. buffy with cats?
yes! management is important though. cat tv!!
What are the steps in a cat habituating plan?
1 - allowed to watch behind the gate (unless annoying/barks etc P-)
2 - wait for self breaks
3 - you can go in the cat area on a leash-down stay. breaks t/out
Kittens habituating at this point
4 - when bored & fluent you can investigate (on leash) any sudden moves or intense looks (t/out)
Impulse control to aid habituation.
5 - you can stay in the cat area IFF you are polite
