Owner-Implemented Functional Analyses and Reinforcement-Based Treatments for Mouthing in Dogs

Strengthening the procedural fidelity research‐to‐practice loop in animal behavior

“…Failing to implement one or more components of a protocol is an error of omission. For example, an animal behavior researcher may discover a pellet dispenser failed to deliver food pellets according to the programmed reinforcement schedule for the experiment (Pinkston et al, 2008) or that owners did not provide programmed reinforcers to their dogs during behavioral interventions to reduce mouthing (Waite & Kodak, 2021), human-directed aggression (Echterling-Savage et al, 2015), or jumping (Pfaller-Sadovsky et al, 2019). In comparison, adding components that are not part of a protocol or conducting components at incorrect times are errors of commission.…”

“…Further, it is possible that caregivers performing interventions are likely to make long-term fidelity errors without support and assistance from behavior professionals. For example, an owner may fail to deliver reinforcement to their dog following the occurrence of an appropriate behavior during home-based training (e.g., Waite & Kodak, 2021), similar to a teacher omitting praise and a reinforcer following a student's correct response on an academic task (Kodak et al, 2018). These errors of omission may hinder the dog's or student's acquisition of the targeted skill, respectively, and may be unlikely to change without feedback from professionals.…”

“…In comparison, adding components that are not part of a protocol or conducting components at incorrect times are errors of commission. For example, owners implementing an intervention to reduce mouthing in their dogs were asked to provide attention contingent on a prespecified alternative behavior; however, the most common error of comission occurred when owners provided attention (i.e., told their dogs how cute they were) in the absence of the alternative behavior (Waite & Kodak, 2021). Errors of omission and commission can occur in isolation or in combination.…”

“…Animal behavior researchers study and intervene upon problematic behavior that occurs in companion, working, and captive animals. For example, researchers have investigated function‐based interventions to reduce problem behavior in shelter dogs (Winslow et al, 2018), canine mouthing (Waite & Kodak, 2021), and self‐injurious behavior in captive animals (Dorey et al, 2012; Morris & Slocum, 2019). However, many studies conducted with animals either do not include data on procedural fidelity or have high levels of reported fidelity in procedures conducted by researchers (Pfaller‐Sadovsky et al, 2019).…”

Functional analysis and treatment of aggression exhibited by cats toward humans during petting

“…In a functional analysis (FA), the therapist determines the cause of behavior by systematically evaluating different arrangements of antecedents and consequences for the behavior. Recently, Waite and Kodak (2021) extended this FA methodology to three pet dogs and identified the function of mouthing of the owner (maintained by attention). They then decreased the behavior using one of the following function‐based interventions: (a) differential reinforcement of alternative behavior in which attention was provided for bringing the owner a toy, (b) a multiple schedule in which the owner signaled when noncontingent reinforcement (in the form of continuous attention) was and was not available, or (c) differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior in which attention was provided for staying in a down position for 5 s. Each of these function‐based interventions included extinction (i.e., attention was withheld following mouthing).…”