Using Principles from Applied Behaviour Analysis to Address an Undesired Behaviour: Functional Analysis and Treatment of Jumping Up in Companion Dogs

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of procedures successfully used in human related applied behaviour analysis practices to the field of clinical animal behaviour. Experiment 1 involved functional analyses to identify the reinforcement contingencies maintaining jumping up behaviour in five dogs. Experiment 2 comprised teaching dog owners a noncontingent reinforcement intervention (i.e., time-based reinforcement) via behavioural skills training. Single-case experimental methods were implemented in both experiments. The results of Experiment 1 showed that access to a tangible (dogs D01, D02, D03, and D04) and owner attention (dog D05) were reliably maintaining the jumping up behaviour. Experiment 2 demonstrated that noncontingent reinforcement effectively reduced jumping in three out of four dogs (Tau −0.59, CI 90% [−1–0.15], p = 0.026, Tau −1, CI 90% [−1–−0.55], p = 0.0003, and Tau −0.32, CI 90% [−0.76–0.11], p = 0.22 for dyads D01, D02, and D05, respectively), and that behavioural skills training was successful in teaching owners to perform a dog training intervention with high fidelity. Although the results are promising, more canine-related research into functional analysis and noncontingent reinforcement, as well as implementation of behavioural skills training with animal caregivers, is needed.

What’s in a Click? The Efficacy of Conditioned Reinforcement in Applied Animal Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…SCRMs are closely associated to the behavior analytic approach [ 82 ]. Thus, the small number of SCRM studies identified here further supports the notion that there is an overall lack of behavior-analytic research in the applied animal behavior change arena [ 83 ], including the application of conditioned reinforcement across applied settings and species. Two earlier reviews on the use of conditioned reinforcement in the animal behavior realm reached similar conclusions (e.g., clicker training [ 40 , 41 ]).…”

Artificial Termite-Fishing Tasks as Enrichment for Sanctuary-Housed Chimpanzees: Behavioral Effects and Impact on Welfare

“…This raises the question of whether a particular enrichment is truly beneficial if it is not directly linked to a decrease in these undesirable behaviors. In fact, some authors recommend that prior to the onset of an environmental enrichment intervention, a complete evaluation be carried out through a functional behavior assessment (FBA) [95] to identify the events contributing to the origin and maintenance of clinically relevant behavior [96,97]. Despite its potential benefits, FBA is still seldom used in applied animal welfare science with non-human primates.…”

Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, and Animal Welfare: A History of Behavior Analysis in Zoos

“…However, coming full circle, researchers are now successfully adapting and using behavioral protocols developed for use with people to impact animal welfare. For example, functional analysis protocols have been used to assess and treat problem behaviors in animals [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96], and this function-based approach that emphasizes the identification and modification of existing behavior-environment relationships may help provide a framework that allows animal caregivers both a deeper understanding of behavior and the ability to move beyond the reliance of artificial reinforcers when modifying behavior [61]. In addition, empirical preference assessments have been successfully used in a variety of species [97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111] with promise for improving training effectiveness.…”