Comparison of two antibarking collars for treatment of nuisance barking

Alarm or emotion? intranasal oxytocin helps determine information conveyed by dog barks for adult male human listeners

BACKGROUND

Barks play an important role in interspecific communication between dogs and humans, by allowing a reliable perception of the inner state of dogs for human listeners. However, there is growing concern in society regarding the nuisance that barking dogs cause to the surrounding inhabitants. We assumed that at least in part, this nuisance effect can be explained by particular communicative functions of dog barks. In this study we experimentally tested two separate hypotheses concerning how the content of dog barks could affect human listeners. According to the first hypothesis, barks that convey negative inner states, would especially cause stress in human listeners due to the process called interspecific empathy. Based on the second hypothesis, alarm-type dog barks cause particularly strong stress in the listener, by capitalizing on their specific acoustic makeup (high pitch, low tonality) that resembles to the parameters of a baby's cry. We tested 40 healthy, young adult males in a double-blind placebo controlled experiment, where participants received either intranasal oxytocin or placebo treatment. After an incubation period, they had to evaluate the (1) perceived emotions (happiness, fear and aggression), that specifically created dog bark sequences conveyed to them; and (2) score the annoyance level these dog barks elicited in them.

RESULTS

We found that oxytocin treatment had a sensitizing effect on the participants' reactions to negative valence emotions conveyed by dog barks, as they evaluated low fundamental frequency barks with higher aggression scores than the placebo-treated participants did. On the other hand, oxytocin treatment attenuated the annoyance that noisy (atonal) barks elicited from the participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these results, we provide first-hand evidence that dog barks provide information to humans (which may also cause stress) in a dual way: through specific attention-grabbing functions and through emotional understanding.

Integrated clinical animal behaviour

In this paper I outline the drawbacks with the two main behavioural approaches to animal behaviour problems and argue that each alone is insufficient to underpin a field of clinical animal behaviour. Applied ethology offers an interest in an animal’s spontaneous behaviour in natural contexts, understood within an ecological and evolutionary framework but lacks an awareness of mechanisms that can be manipulated to modify the behaviour of individual animals. Behaviourism in the form of Applied Behavior Analysis offers a toolkit of techniques for modifying the behaviour of individual animals, but has seldom been applied to non-human species, and often overlooks phylogenetic aspects of behaviour. Notwithstanding the historical animosities between the two fields of animal behaviour they are philosophically highly compatible — both being empiricist schools stemming ultimately from Darwin’s insights. Though each individually is incomplete, I argue that an integrated approach that synthesizes the strengths of each holds great promise in helping the many animals who need our assistance to survive and thrive in human-dominated environments.

Operant avoidance learning in crayfish, Orconectes rusticus: Computational ethology and the development of an automated learning paradigm

Research in crustaceans offers a valuable perspective for studying the neural implementation of conserved behavioral phenomena, including motivation, escape, aggression, and drug-sensitive reward. The present work adds to this literature by demonstrating that crayfish successfully learn to respond to spatially contingent cues. An integrated video-tracking system automatically delivered a mild electric shock when a test animal entered or remained on a substrate paired with punishment. Following a few instances of shock delivery, crayfish quickly learned to avoid these areas. Comparable changes in substrate preference were not exhibited by yoked controls, but locomotion differed significantly from both pre-conditioning levels and from those of their masters receiving shock in a contingent fashion. The results of this work provide valuable insights into the principles governing avoidance learning in an invertebrate system and provide a behavioral template for exploring the neural changes during associative learning. Serving as a case study, this project introduces a new computer framework for the automated control of learning paradigms. Based on routines contained within the JavaGrinders library (free download at iEthology.com), it integrates real-time video tracking with robotic interfaces, and provides a suitable framework for implementing automated learning paradigms.

Evaluating a humane alternative to the bark collar: Automated differential reinforcement of not barking in a home-alone setting

The aim of this study was to develop a humane alternative to the traditional remote devices that deliver punishers contingent on home-alone dog barking. Specifically, we evaluated the use of remote delivery of food contingent on intervals of not barking during the pet owner's absence. In Experiment 1, 5 dogs with a history of home-alone nuisance barking were recruited. Using an ABAB reversal design, we demonstrated that contingent remote delivery of food decreased home-alone barking for 3 of the dogs. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that it is possible to thin the differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior (DRO) schedule gradually, resulting in a potentially more acceptable treatment. Our results benefit the dog training community by providing a humane tool to combat nuisance barking.

The use of electronic collars for training domestic dogs: estimated prevalence, reasons and risk factors for use, and owner perceived success as compared to other training methods

Background

The use of electronic training devices for dog training is controversial. The aims of this study were to give an indication of the extent to which dog owners use these devices in England, identify factors associated with their use, and compare owner report of outcomes. A convenience sample of dog owners in England was used to identify numbers using electronic training devices and identify reasons for use. Factors associated with use of remote e-collars only were determined by comparing dogs trained using these devices with two control populations matched for reason of use (recall / chasing problems). Comparison groups were: those using other ‘negative reinforcement / positive punishment’ training techniques, and those using ‘positive reinforcement / negative punishment’ based methods. A multinominal logistic regression model was used to compare factors between categories of training method. Owner reported success for use was compared using chi-squared analysis.

Results

For England only, 3.3% (n = 133) owners reported using remote activated e-collars, 1.4% (n = 54) reported use of bark activated e-collars, and 0.9% (n = 36) reported using electronic boundary fences. In comparison with the e-collar group, owners using reward based training methods for recall / chasing were 2.8 times more likely to be female and 2.7 times less likely to have attended agility training. Owners using other aversive methods for recall / chasing were 2.8 times more likely to have attended puppy classes than those using e-collars. However, the model only explained 10% variance between groups. A significantly higher proportion of owners in the reward group reported training success than those in the e-collar group.

Conclusions

In conclusion, a fairly low proportion of owners select to use electronic training devices. For a population matched by reason for training method use, characteristics of dogs, including occurrence of undesired behaviours do not appear to distinguish between training methods. Rather, owner gender and attendance at training classes appear more important, although explaining a relatively small amount of variance between groups. More owners using reward based methods for recall / chasing report a successful outcome of training than those using e-collars.

An evaluation of the aboistop citronella-spray collar as a treatment for barking of domestic dogs

The aim of our study was to investigate whether citronella-spray collars offer a humane alternative to electric-shock collars to reduce the barking of domestic dogs. The Aboistop collar was applied to seven dogs with problematic barking behaviour by the dogs' owners in a series of case studies concurrently run. Vocalisation of the dogs was recorded in the problem context under baseline conditions, inactive collar conditions, and active collar conditions. The Aboistop collar was effective at reducing problem vocalization for only three of seven dogs and appeared to be most effective for dogs whose problem barking had developed more recently. The collar may be more humane than other punishment methods, but it did produce stress reactions which varied in severity across the dogs. Clinical Relevance. In our study, the collar was applied by the dogs' owners in order to test whether the collar would be effective when used by members of the public. While the results here are preliminary, they suggest that the collar may be effective for some dogs, but not for others, when applied by dog owners for the treatment of problem vocalisation. Further research is required to determine whether the collar could be effective when administered by a trained professional.

Risk factors for nuisance barking in dogs

OBJECTIVE

To determine the key variables related to the environment, animal and owner that influence nuisance barking by dogs in a city with a subtropical climate.

DESIGN AND POPULATION

A case-control survey of dog owners in Brisbane, Queensland, was conducted using a questionnaire investigating key variables connected to nuisance barking. Owners of dogs exhibiting nuisance barking were obtained from a list of dogs being treated in a Brisbane behaviour clinic, and those of control dogs were selected from a telephone directory.

RESULTS

Univariate analysis showed that animal, owner and environmental factors all potentially influence the occurrence of nuisance barking. Multivariate analysis identified the following factors, with the relevant odds ratios (OR) as significant: age of the dog (young dog vs old dog, OR 11.2); multiple dogs in the household vs single (OR 5.6); origin of the dog (home bred vs obtained from breeder or friend, OR 4.0); type of dog, (herding vs other types, OR 3.2) and dog with access to the home vs dog without access (OR 2.5).

CONCLUSION

The greatest risk for nuisance barking occurs with a young dog of the herding type that is home bred and with access to the house in a multiple dog household.

Barking in family dogs: an ethological approach

Although it is one of the most conspicuous features of dog behaviour, barking has received little attention from ethologists or from an applied perspective. In this review, an ethological look is taken at the communicative aspect of dog barking. Emerging new research has indicated that in the repertoire of dog vocalisations barking has unique features in showing wide ranges of acoustic parameters, such as frequency, tonality and rhythmicity. Barking has been shown to be context dependent, and provides information for humans about the inner state of the dog although there are few indications that barking is used for intra-species communication. It is assumed that dog barking emerged through selective processes in which human preferences for certain acoustic aspects of the vocalisation may have been paramount. A more experiment-oriented approach is required for the study of dog vocalisation that could shed light on the possible communicative function of these acoustic signals.

Comparison of two treatments for preventing dogs eating their own faeces

Twenty-eight domestic dogs with the behavioural problem of eating their own faeces were treated in two ways. Half of them were treated with a citronella spray collar, and the others were treated with sound therapy. To assess the relative efficacy of the treatments their owners rated the severity of their dog's faeces eating for a week before the study began, during each of three weeks of treatment, and at the end of a fourth week during which they had not been treated. The owners reported a significantly lower incidence of the behavioural problem during the first week of both treatments, but in the dogs treated by sound therapy its incidence subsequently increased. The behavioural problem was reduced most effectively in the dogs treated with the spray collar, and continued to decrease during the period of treatment.

Effectiveness and comparison of citronella and scentless spray bark collars for the control of barking in a veterinary hospital setting

This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a citronella bark collar and a new, scentless spray bark collar in a veterinary hospital or a similar kennel-type environment. Forty-one dogs were included in the study. The efficacy of each collar was evaluated independently in comparison to control as well as in a crossover design. Thirty of the dogs were evaluated with the citronella collar, with 76.7% showing a reduction in barking. Twenty-nine dogs were evaluated with the scentless collar, with 58.6% showing a reduction in barking. The improvement over the control collars was statistically significant with both the citronella and scentless collars.

The effectiveness of a citronella spray collar in reducing certain forms of barking in dogs

This study examined the effectiveness of a citronella spay collar in reducing barking in 30 dogs which wore the collar continuously, i.e. every day for 30min, or intermittently, i.e. every other day for 30min, for a period of 3 weeks. Owners rated the frequency of their dog's barking on a scale ranging from 1 (very infrequent) to 5 (very frequent) before the study began (pre-treatment condition) and at the end of every week that the collar was worn (treatment condition). A further evaluation was made at the end of week 4, following 7 days of collar deprivation (post-treatment condition). Dogs exhibited a significantly lower frequency of barking during the treatment and post-treatment conditions compared to the pre-treatment condition. Barking was most effectively reduced when dogs wore the collar intermittently. However, barking increased over the period of time the collar was worn, particularly in those dogs which wore the device every day. Barking continued to increase when the dogs stopped wearing the collar, albeit at frequencies lower than pre-treatment, particularly in those animals which had worn the collar continuously. The collar was more effective at reducing travel related barking than television or traffic related barking. Findings indicate that dogs generally habituate to the citronella spray collar irrespective of how the animal is exposed to the device. A longer period of efficacy occurs, however, if the collar is worn intermittently. This may appeal to owners who are concerned about their pet having to wear the collar for long periods of time.

Assessment and treatment of excessive barking in the domestic dog

Barking is a normal and common method of communication in the domestic dog, but it can become a problem behavior in specific circumstances. Excessive barking can be a mild annoyance or a severe problem, particularly if the owner is under pressure from other people to stop the dog's behavior. Preventive measures could reduce the likelihood of the behavior becoming problematic. Correctly assessing the motivation behind a dog's excessive barking once it becomes a problem is crucial to the implementation of a successful treatment regimen. Veterinarians should be prepared to give practical advice to clients in both instances, because the recommendations could improve the chance of the dog staying in the household.