Dog Training Methods and Related Animal Welfare Issues Focusing on Behavior - Coursework Example

Dog training methods and related animal welfare issues focusing on behavior/ethology Introduction: Among animal trainers historically, negative reinforcement are widely used to gain the desirable behavior in animals. However, nowadays positive reinforcement is becoming more and more popular among trainers. Studies have shown that negative behavior is often a result of anxiety that the animal gets from hostile handling. EF Hiby, NJ Roony, JWS Bradshaw of Anthrozoology Institute, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol in an article “DOG TRAINING METHOD: their use, effectiveness, and interaction with behavior and welfare” recommends positive reinforcement technique to the pet owning society when training their pets (EF Hibby et al 2004). Understanding animal behavior is an important factor in training dogs and many other animals. Those who want to have considerable success in dog training would benefit from understanding animal behavior. Since huge part of human populace is keeping dogs for one reason or another, it is important that the safety of these creatures be put into serious consideration. It is only typical that dog owners think of training their pets upon arrival in the house; trained pets give delight to their owners. Pets, especially dogs do contribute many positive things in human lives; they are excellent companions of people with disabilities, they are great herding buddies, and they are pure source of pleasure for people who love pets around them, but in order for both the owner and the pet to live peaceably, dog training is required. Pets are required to learn basic house hold rules like defecating and urinating in the proper place. Pets must learn not to chew the sofa, the rubber shoes, etc, etc. In other words, pets must be taught to behave inside and outside the house. All of these can be done through proper training. The question is what does proper training entails? What is being done by the industry and scientists to address behavior? Proper training and animal welfare need not to be two separate entities, the two should be together. There are many studies today that connect the understanding of animal behavior to the success of dog training. According to Dr. Temple Grandin, Associate Professor in Colorado State University, Department of Animal Sciences in an article “Animals are not Things” – A View of Animal Welfare Based on Neurological Complexity, animals are like humans in a sense that they feel pain like humans do (Grandin 2002). Even though owning animals and owning things are somewhat the same at least under the U.S. legal system for both are referred to as properties, under the law you cannot treat animals the same way you treat lifeless things such as screw driver. It is true that both can be acquired and sold if so desired by the owner. However there are some distinctions between the two. A person can be liable under the law if found guilty of animal abuse, but when referring to objects like screw drivers there is no word as object abuse. It is clear that animals are distinct from any lifeless objects though animals like other objects are referred to as properties. This is the very reason there are specific laws that protect animal rights. Dr. Temple Grandin in his article “Animals are not Things” points out that animal’s behavior is simultaneously connected to the way it is being handled by people. This has been observed in cattle slaughter plants and feedlots. According to scientific research animals and mammals feel fear and fear has negative impact to animal’s behavior. It is important according to him that animals be shielded from fear. Dogs and other animals should have healthy environment. To prove his point he quotes Melzack (1954) and Burns (1955) who both found that puppies kept in barren kennel are hyper excitable, with higher EEG patterns which indicates over the limit stimulation. Dog is known to be a man’s best friend, if this is true it is only fair to treat this creature with respect, and not to subject them under any fearful and stressful experiences during training. Methods of Training: Aversive technique - Traditional training applies aversive or negative reinforcement stimuli to achieve the desired behavior in the animal; that means the trainer would apply punishment every time the animal displays negative behavior. The goal is to discourage the animal to repeat the same behavior (Lieberman 1999), but the use of aversive stimulus according to research is detrimental and poses a grave danger to the overall health of the animal resulting aggression towards other animals (Beerda et al 1997, Roll & Unshelm 1997, Melzak 1954, Burns 1955). Observation has been made personally by the writer that aversive technique is not a very good technique when considering the overall safety of the animal. In the past, the writer has been given opportunity to work with two dog trainers. Both were good at what they were doing even though they applied different methods in their training. One applied aversive methods while training dogs in basic obedience. In some dogs he was successful, however there was one particular dog that did not respond well and became aggressive; however this same dog responded well with the positive reinforcement used by the other trainer. Punishment has been used in the training of animals since time immemorial. Until today it is widely used, but this does not necessarily mean that it is the only way to go. Here are some of negative outcome that may arise as a result of training that is using punishment as a tool: Increasing the dogs fear or anxiety about the situation in which it is used Decrease the dog’s ability to learn Associate other, coincidental events with a fear provoking event Inhibit behavior, but leave the underlying emotional response unchanged increasing the chance of future problems Induce a new avoidance, or aggressive response Cause confusion as to which behavior is required Cause physical injury (http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/implications-of-punishment.php) The problem about punishment technique is that there seem to be no line to tell it is enough. The moment the dog displays unwanted behavior the punishment may go from mild to severe. Punishment as many observations would affirm is not an effective cure for unwanted animal behavior. The worst part of it is that in the long run this may also back fire. Anxious and high strung animal can do crazy things, just like human beings do. If it does, what would be the next move, putting it to sleep? It is probably high time already to switch from aversive way of training to positive reinforcement method for it promotes healthy environment for the animals. Positive Reinforcement Method of Training: The use of positive reinforcement through giving of rewards has more positive outcome. In fact, it is already being widely used in training regime by many dog organizations like Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, and groups that train dogs to detect illegal substances (Johnston 1995 & Adams and Johnson 1994). According to Karen Pryor dogs respond better through positive reinforcement like giving food rewards, giving the dog its favorite toy, and praising or petting the dog. Positive reinforcement is something that encourages the doer to repeat its good behavior. “Reinforcers are relative and not absolute” says Pryor. In order for the reinforcement to be effective, the subject must want the item being given. By giving rewards like favorite piece of food every time your dog performs the desired behavior, you’re instilling the animal that good behavior is equivalent to good experience. If the things that you want him to do are associated with pleasant experiences for him then he is more likely to do what you want. The Humane Society of United States in its article in 2009 “Dogs: Positive Reinforcement Training says that positive reinforcement is one of the most powerful tools one can use to capture the heart of a beast into obedience. By giving of rewards like praise, pat or a treat of favorite snack, the animal is almost sure to repeat the behavior associated with the reward. Proper timing is the key factor in positive reinforcement training. Reward must immediately follow within seconds after the demonstration of a good behavior. This will make it clear that rewards and good behavior go together. For instance, you have commanded the dog to sit and rewarded it after it stood back up the dog would think that the reward is given because it stood back up and not because it sat when it was commanded to do so. Another important thing to remember is to give orders in short but clear and distinct manner. Consistency of commands among the members of the family is another factor in positive reinforcement. Establish word patterns that everyone would use when issuing command to the dog. Be always generous and ready to give praise, pat and any appropriate reward after each display of good behavior (http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/implications-of-punishment.php). Understanding the impact of positive reinforcement method of training is remarkable and can be noted as one great breakthrough in the history of human-animal relationship. Conclusion: There are ethical issues involved in dog training that needs to be addressed. Physical and verbal punishment incorporated in dog training methods are found to be painful and stressful to the dogs being trained. Hiby et al has proven that the people who are using negative punishment in their dog training are no more successful than those who are using positive reinforcement. The dogs under this method of handling are no more obedient than those who are being trained in a positive environment. To stress even further dogs that are subjected to punishment are more prone to developing aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior in animals is clearly a result of anxiety they get from punishment under training (Askew 1996), which often leads to the owner giving up the dog (Serpell 1996). Due to this obvious detrimental effect of punishment to the animals Hiby highly recommends positive reinforcement as the more preferable method of dog training because it promotes animal welfare; after all dogs have indeed many positive contributions to mankind. References: Adams GJ and Johnson KG 1994 Sleep, work and the effects of shift work in drug detection dogs, Cannis familliaris: Applied Animal Behavior Science 41:115 -126 Askew HR 1996 Treatment of Behavior Problems in Dogs and Cats. Blackwell Science: Oxford UK Beerda B, Schilder MBH, van HOOFF, JARAM and de Vreis HW 1997Manisfestations of chronic and acute stress in dogs. Applied Animal Behavior Science 52:307- 319 Grandin T 2002 Animals are not Tings “ Aview on Animal Welfare based on Neurological Complexity” Date accessed: April 18, 2010 at http://www.grandin.com/welfare/animals.are.not.things.html Hiby EF, Rooney NJ, and Bradshaw JWS 2004 DOG TRAINING METHOD: their use, effectiveness, and interaction with behavior and welfare p1 PDF Animal Welfare 2004, 13:63-69 Johnston B 1995 Harnessing Thought, Queen Ann Press: London UK Lieberman D 1999 Learning Behavior and Cognition. Wadsworth: London Melzack, R. 1954. The genesis of emotional behavior: An experimental study of the dog, J. Comp. Physiol. Psych. 47:166-188. Melzack, R. and Burns, S.K. 1955. Neuropsychological effects of early sensory restriction, Exp. Neurol. 13:163-175. Pryor K 2004 Don’t Shoot the Dog: the new art of teaching and training. pp 1-3 Roll A and Unshelm J 1997 Aggressive Conflicts among dogs and factors affecting them. Applied Animal Behavior Science 52:229-242 The Humane Society of United States“Dogs: Positive Reinforcement Training” Accessed April 18, 2010 at http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/implications-of-punishment.php Read More