BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS
There are numerous products on the market that have been designed to help prevent undesirable behaviour in pets. Leads, harnesses and head collars are used to keep pets under control, especially when outdoors. An indoor pen or cage can provide a safe comfortable home for the dog, when the owners are not available to supervise. Alternatively child locks and child gates can be used to keep pets away from potential problem areas.
Preventative Products
Since dogs, especially young puppies, are strongly motivated to chew, it is important to provide a variety of chew toys. A chew toy can also help maintain good dental health. Find a few products that are safe, durable and that appeal to your dog. Each dog is an individual. There are a variety of rubber, rope, nylon and compressed bone toys that have been designed for both chewing and dental care. Chew toys made of hide are also appealing to most dogs and can help reduce tartar. Soaking the toys in meat juices or coating them with some type of flavoured spread (cheese, liver etc.) may help kindle the dog’s interest. For dogs that chew on everything but their dog toys, it might also be possible to increase the appeal by utilising toys that are designed so that food or treats can be placed inside.
Some cats chew and eat a variety of substances from wool to rubber to house plants. Treating these cats can be quite a challenge but providing play toys, adjusting the cat’s diet so it has to "hunt" in order to eat and planting a cat’s herb garden can be beneficial. Keeping cats away from problem areas can be useful as a means of managing these cats.
A far more common concern for cat owners, is household damage by scratching. Providing a scratching post with a surface that appeals to your cat is the best way of directing this behaviour away from a favourite piece of furniture and onto an acceptable surface. Other products that may be used are plastic claw coverings that can be glued on to prevent damage and sprays of feline odours which can help to reduce the incidence of inappropriate scratching.
Both dogs and cats have a strong desire to play. Social or interactive play provides much needed attention and interaction with owners and other pets in the household. It is also a great way to use up a little energy. Choose a game that your pet enjoys. Retrieving, chasing, pulling, tugging or jogging can all be considered. A number of balls and frisbees have been designed to promote interactive play with dogs. Cats on the other hand enjoy the type of toys that can produce a moving target for chasing and pouncing. Objects with unpredictable movement are ideal and can be used to encourage independent play. Even with sufficient interactive play, most pets also have the urge to explore and play on their own. Cats can be provided with feline aerobic centres for climbing and exploring, and a number of toys have been designed to dangle from these centres and be batted around. Catnip can also be used to help keep cats occupied.
What type of training collar should I use for walking and controlling my dog?
There are a variety of leads, halters, and head collar systems that can be used for walking and control. Although choke or pinch collar systems may be effective for some dogs they often cause undue discomfort and fear, and may also cause injuries. They should not be used by the average pet owner and their use is very limited even in specialist hands. Body harnesses will help to stop pulling, but they do little to provide the owner with additional control. One of the most effective means of controlling unruly, disobedient and "headstrong" dogs are head collar systems. Head collars enable the owner to gain control naturally through pressure exerted behind the neck and around the muzzle. Since the head collar is attached around the muzzle, it does not choke, and can be used to effectively control pulling. It can also be useful in enabling the owner to break eye contact in cases of dog to dog aggression.
What products are useful for house-soiling problems?
There are a range of commercial odour eliminators available that are marketed for use in cases of indoor house-soiling. The most important thing is to remove the scent of the urine and faeces so that the pet is not attracted back to the spot by the residual odour. The animal’s sense of smell is extremely acute and even when the area smells clean to you your pet may still be able to detect traces of the scent. The aim is to break down the odour entirely and not to replace it with another odour that may be challenging to your pet. Avoid cleaning products that contain ammonia or chlorine. One very successful method of cleaning is to use a ten percent warm solution of a biological washing powder, rinse with cold water and then wipe over with an alcohol, such as surgical spirit. Odour eliminators that use chemicals, bacteria or enzymes to break down the odour also claim to be successful in removing it entirely. For cats a synthetic facial social odour is now available that can be sprayed on areas where the cat might be inclined to spray or mark, in order to reduce the cat’s anxiety and reduce inappropriate marking.
Correction Devices
What products are available for correcting undesirable behaviour?
By far the most effective way of correcting undesirable behaviour is to teach the animal to control its own behavioural responses and correcting behaviour through rewarding the alternative is far more effective in the long term than punishment. Methods such as conditioned avoidance, whereby the animal is given a signal that is paired with a lack of reward, can be used to condition the individual to avoid that particular circumstance in future. Sound is the most effective signal in these cases although light can be used in cases of deaf individuals with the same effect. Once the animal has been conditioned to the stimulus it can be used to interrupt the inappropriate behaviour by signalling to the animal that its own behaviour is not rewarding. Of course it is essential that the owner is on hand to redirect the animal into an appropriate alternative behavioural response that can be rewarded. If the individual is already displaying a large proportion of appropriate responses an alternative method is to work to reinforce those behaviours through the use of operant conditioning and clicker training is based on this principle. Once again the animal retains control over its responses as the delivery of the reward is a direct consequence of its own behaviour. Shaping appropriate behavioural responses opens up a whole new world for the owner and enables them to manipulate their pet’s behaviour without recourse to elaborate devices and potentially misplaced punishment.
The use of specific deterrents
Once behaviour problems develop there are numerous products on the market that have been designed to interrupt or deter undesirable behaviour. This is a controversial area and one in which the quality of research available to back up the claims of the product is an important consideration. It is important that anyone using these products follows the instructions carefully, and supervises the pet well. To be successful, punishment must be administered during the misbehaviour, and must be sufficiently noxious to deter the pet. If a training device is not effective immediately it is potentially dangerous and can cause more behaviour problems than it cures. In general such products should not be used by the average pet owner and should only be used by specialists with expertise in their use. It is a matter of great controversy whether such products should be available to the general public.
Why do some behaviour products utilise shock?
Punishment, by definition, is the application of a stimulus that decreases the probability that the behaviour will be repeated. This means that the punishment must be sufficiently aversive to overcome the pet’s tendency to perform the behaviour. It is essential when using punishment (a job best left for the specialists) that the aim of treatment is not only to deter the pet from performing the undesirable behaviour, but also to redirect the pet into alternative and desirable behaviours that can be immediately rewarded. Devices that cause physical discomfort (and those that cause nausea), are generally the most aversive and for this reason many of the deterrent devices that are available will utilise uncomfortable but safe levels of shock. Many shock devices are paired with an audible warning signal so that the pet quickly learns to avoid the warning signal alone, without the need for further shock.
Owners should never consider using one of these devices without very specific one to one specialist advice. Devices that use shock should be considered as a last resort. There may be occasions, for example when the animal is facing euthanasia or when the motivation to perform the undesirable behaviour is so strong that other methods of interruption are unsuccessful, when the use of such devices may be considered necessary in order to offer a fast and efficient means of dealing with a very serious behaviour problem. That said they should always be kept within specialist hands. Whenever an electronic shock product is used it is essential that the manufacturer is experienced and reputable and that the product is of high quality.
What devices can be used for pets that misbehave in the owner’s presence?
In order to avoid an association between the owner and an unpleasant experience, which could result in fear of the owner and damage to the owner-pet bond, any deterrent device must be seen as a direct consequence of the undesirable behaviour and should not be associated with the owner. Physical punishment should be avoided since it can aggravate fear and submissiveness and may even cause aggression. Direct punishment or disruption devices must be activated as soon as the inappropriate behaviour begins, and should be "turned off" as soon as the inappropriate behaviour ceases. During training applications these products can be used to interrupt the pet and as soon as the behaviour ceases an alternative desirable behaviour can be encouraged and rewarded. Another use would be to teach the pet that the inappropriate behaviour (e.g. jumping up, chewing) has immediate undesirable consequences and that as soon as the pet stops, the unpleasant stimulus will go away.
Why should the owner remain out of sight during punishment?
If punishment can be administered while the owner remains out of sight, the pet will not associate the "punishment" with the owner. On the other hand, if the pet realises that the owner is administering the punishment, this may not only damage the pet-owner relationship and induce fear of the owner but in addition the problem may cease when the owner is watching, but the pet may learn that it is safe to indulge in the behaviour when the owner is away.
What can be done when the owner is absent?
Booby traps are a practical form of punishment since they train the pet to avoid the site of misbehaviour even in the owner’s absence. Choosing the appropriate device should be based on the application, the pet's level of motivation to perform the behaviour and the pet's sensitivity to the aversive stimulus e.g. noise and the seriousness of the problem.
With a little planning and ingenuity it is often possible to design a successful booby trap out of everyday items, for example a few tin cans set to topple off the kitchen work surface.
Electronic containment systems use an underground or remote transmitter wire and a collar that delivers a tone/shock combination to contain dogs on a property or away from selected areas. Indoor units utilise a transmitter dish to activate the collar so pets can be kept away from selected areas inside the home and an outdoor and indoor containment system has also been recently introduced that utilises a tone and citronella spray collar. These are devices that should only be used with specialist advice since misuse could lead to a range of potentially serious consequences. Other electronic devices designed to keep animals away from certain areas and rooms also carry the same risks.
A number of commercial products have been developed to deter undesirable chewing. Products such as bitter apple and Tabasco sauce may also be effective, but some pets actually find them appealing.
Are there products that can be used to control and deter barking?
When barking occurs in the owner’s absence it is essential that a full behavioural work up is carried out. There are a number of bark activated devices that are marketed to deal with the problem, but none of these should be used without an accurate diagnosis of the motivation for the problem behaviour. Some of the collars emit an ultrasonic tone each time the dog barks whilst others have built in microphones which activate an audible signal when the dog barks. These latter devices must be set up in a room or area where the dog barks, since they are not designed to attach to the dog's collar. Another form of bark activated device emits a spray of citronella each time the dog barks. It is a humane alternative to shock collars, but not all dogs will be deterred by the spray. Bark activated electronic (shock) collars should not be used in cases of barking in the owner’s absence and even when the owner is present they should never be considered without a very accurate and specific diagnosis. They must be a last resort. They should never be used without individual specialist advice are not recommended for general availability to the public.
Ark Veterinary Centre