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Inappropriate behavior of potential guide dogs for the blind and coping behavior of human raisers
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 72 (2001) 79±87
Inappropriate behavior of potential guide dogs for the blind and coping behavior of human raisers Naoko Koda* Department of Ethology, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan Accepted 11 November 2000
Abstract Inappropriate behaviors of potential guide dogs (puppies) for the blind and coping behaviors of their adult female raisers (puppy walkers: PWs) were videotaped in their play situation at home from when the puppies were 2±11 or 12 months of age. The frequency of inappropriate behavior decreased with an increase in the puppies' age, suggesting that human±dog relationships became friendlier. The PWs tended to use moderate coping behaviors to stop the inappropriate behaviors of the puppies. Rejecting interaction with the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs. Forcible stopping was effective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. Not responding to the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs, barking/ growling and damaging objects. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Human±animal relationships; Service dog; Inappropriate behavior; Coping behavior
1. Introduction Human±animal relationships have recently become a fascinating ®eld of research (Robinson, 1995). For example, service dogs such as guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf and assistance dogs for the ambulatory disabled contribute greatly to human welfare (Eddy et al., 1988; Steffens, 1995; Hart et al., 1996; Lane et al., 1998). To raise good service dogs, it is important to know how to maintain good relationships with dogs. However, there have been many reports on behavior problems in dogs such as aggression, excessive barking, destructive behavior and phobias (Wright and Nesselrote, 1987; Landsberg, 1991; O'Farrell, 1993; Jagoe and Serpell, 1996). Such behavior problems can be treated by behavior modi®cation, drugs, castration, counseling of owners and * Tel.: 81-6-6879-8045; fax: 81-6-6879-8010. E-mail address: [email protected] (N. Koda).
0168-1591/01/$ ± see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 6 8 - 1 5 9 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 9 3 - 3
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N. Koda / Applied Animal Behaviour Science 72 (2001) 79±87
euthanasia as a last resort (Blackshaw, 1991; O'Farrell, 1993; Cameron, 1997). Although a dog's behavior may not be considered a problem, even general dog owners can sometimes feel that it is dif®cult to maintain good relationships with their dogs because of the dogs' behavior. In the present study, such dog behavior which has the potential to elicit a negative response from humans is called inappropriate behavior (see Table 1 for concrete examples). Inappropriate behavior differs from the above-mentioned behavior problems with respect to the frequency, intensity and situation in which the behavior occurs. If dog owners can cope with inappropriate behavior effectively, they can maintain good relationships with their dogs. In particular, the way that owners and dogs interact during the dogs' early developmental stages may be crucial for subsequent human±dog relationships. In contrast to behavior problems, there are few scienti®c reports on inappropriate behavior in dogs. I observed the inappropriate behavior of potential guide dogs (puppies) for the blind and the coping behavior of their human raisers (puppy walkers: PWs) toward such Table 1 Observed behaviors and definitionsa Behavior
Definition
Inappropriate behavior of puppy Biting PW Biting PW's body or clothes accompanied by pulling, side-to-side shaking of the head, or PW's negative response such as expressing pain Barking/growling Barking or growling loudly Damaging object (1) Damaging furniture or PW's belongings by biting, scratching, getting onto or jumping at; (2) behavior such as biting, scratching, getting onto or jumping at an object which is likely to result in damage if not stopped by the PW; (3) putting a small object in the mouth completely; (4) behavior toward a toy is excluded except for tearing a toy and mouthing the piece completely Jumping at PW Jumping at PW while putting paws on PW's body so vigorously that PW leans back Biting observer Biting observer's body or clothes accompanied by pulling, rapid side-to-side shaking of the head, or observer feels pain Jumping at observer Jumping at observer while putting paws on observer's body so vigorously that observer leans back Coping behavior of PW Distracting Talking Playing Forcing to stop Restraining Hitting Showing object Hiding object Rejecting No response
Distracting puppy from inappropriate behavior by touching puppy or gesturing Talking or vocalizing to puppy Trying to make puppy play by showing or giving puppy a toy Forcing puppy to stop inappropriate behavior directly by opening puppy's mouth or pushing puppy aside Restraining puppy from behaving freely by holding puppy down or hugging Hitting puppy hard Showing puppy the object the puppy was touching in a non-playful manner Taking away the object the puppy was touching and placing the object where the puppy could not reach it Rejecting interaction with puppy by retracting hands, diverting PW's body or moving away from puppy Doing nothing toward puppy
a When PW showed several behaviors simultaneously, the behavior that was likely to most directly stop the puppy's inappropriate behavior was counted, e.g. when PW restrained the puppy while talking, `restraining' was counted.
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inappropriate behavior in a puppy walking program. The puppy walking program places potential guide dogs (puppies) with volunteer puppy walkers (PWs) who rear them in their homes from approximately 6 weeks to 1 year of age. The purpose of this program is to socialize puppies with humans for subsequent effective training. One of the most important behavioral traits of guide dogs is that they have good interaction skills with humans (Pfaffenberger et al., 1976; Naderi and Scanyi, 1995). Thus, the ®rst prerequisite for a guide dog is that it is a good family dog. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of inappropriate behavior of puppies and the coping behavior of their PWs, and clarify what kinds of coping behavior are effective at stopping inappropriate behavior. 2. Methods 2.1. Subjects The subjects were 11 puppies of the Kansai Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Japan and 11 PWs. The puppies (seven females, four males) consisted of eight Labrador retrievers, two golden retrievers and an F1 cross between a Labrador and a golden retriever. Each puppy was placed with a PW at 6 weeks of age, and was then raised by the PW until it was 11 or 12 months of age. Nine puppies were neutered between 6 and 8 months of age. One female puppy and one male puppy were selected for breeding. The subject PWs were adult women who had maintained the closest relationship with the puppies among their family members. The association asked PWs to raise puppies with reasonable affection. The association asked PWs not to use physical punishment on puppies but did not give PWs any other formal guidance on how to discipline puppies. PWs did not train the puppies as guide dogs. Each subject PW ®lled out a consent form prior to this study. 2.2. Procedure The author visited each subject's home almost twice a month from when the puppies were 2±11 or 12 months of age. Puppy±PW interactions were recorded by the author using a VTR camera, for 20 min each visit. The inter-observation interval was more than 1 week. The number of visits for each pair varied from 15 to 20, for a total of 199. The PWs were required to play with their puppies as they usually did, using a ball about the size of a tennis ball and a piece of toweling rope which were introduced by the author. The PWs were also told that they could either use their own toys or play without toys. This procedure has been described previously by Koda (1999). 2.3. Data analysis While observing the videotape recording, the time when a puppy's inappropriate behavior started and ended was recorded. The order of occurrence of coping behavior by the PW was recorded during and for 15 s after puppy's inappropriate behavior (Table 1). The termination of one case of inappropriate behavior was de®ned such that an
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inappropriate behavior stopped and the next inappropriate behavior did not start within 15 s. To elucidate the effects of development on inappropriate behavior, the observation period was divided into ®ve 2-month periods. ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test were performed for each behavior. 3. Results 3.1. Inappropriate behavior of puppy A total of 2250 inappropriate behaviors of the puppies were observed in puppy±PW play situations. Ninety-two percent of the inappropriate behaviors involved biting the PWs (34%), barking/growling (33%) and damaging objects (25%) in six subdivided behavioral categories. Fig. 1 shows the developmental changes in the frequencies of these three major inappropriate behaviors. The frequency of biting the PWs and damaging objects decreased with increasing age (biting PW: F 4; 40 5:08, P < 0:01, damaging object: F 4; 40 3:33, P < 0:05). However, there was no signi®cant developmental change
Fig. 1. Developmental changes in the frequency of inappropriate behavior of puppy. Vertical lines show standard errors; , P < 0:05; , P < 0:01.
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Fig. 2. Developmental changes in the percentage of cases in which inappropriate behavior did not occur successively. Vertical lines show standard errors; , P < 0:05.
in the frequency of barking/growling (F 4; 40 1:81, P > 0:05). As a whole, more than half of the cases involved only one inappropriate behavior, i.e. the inappropriate behaviors did not occur successively. The percentage of cases in which inappropriate behavior did not occur successively increased with increasing age (F 4; 40 3:45, P < 0:05, Fig. 2). 3.2. Coping behavior of PW Fig. 3 shows the frequency of coping behavior of the PWs during and after the inappropriate behavior. While the puppies displayed the inappropriate behavior, the PWs often tried to make the puppies play or rejected interaction with the puppies. After the puppies stopped the inappropriate behavior, the PWs predominantly tried to make the
Fig. 3. Frequency of coping behavior of PW during and for 15 s after puppy's inappropriate behavior.
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puppies play. The PWs rarely hit the puppies, showed objects or hid objects both during and after the inappropriate behavior. 3.3. Correlation between inappropriate behavior and coping behavior To clarify whether or not a coping behavior was effective for stopping the puppies' inappropriate behavior, three major inappropriate behaviors (biting PW, barking/growling and damaging object) were matched with coping behaviors. Successful coping behavior was de®ned as a PW behavior that completely stopped the case of inappropriate behavior. For example, a puppy bit a PW and the PW showed the puppy a toy (coded as `playing'). Thereafter, the puppy began to bite a sofa. The PW talked to the puppy (coded as `talking'), but the puppy continued biting the sofa. The PW then opened the puppy's mouth (coded as `forcing to stop') and the puppy stopped biting the sofa. In this case, `forcing to stop' is considered successful coping behavior and `playing' and `talking' are unsuccessful. The overall success rates of coping behaviors were 41% for biting PW, 29% for barking/
Fig. 4. Frequency of successful coping behavior that succeeded in stopping the case of inappropriate behavior and failed coping behavior that did not stop puppy from inappropriate behavior; , P < 0:05; , P < 0:01; , P < 0:001.
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growling and 25% for damaging object. Since some coping behaviors occurred infrequently, all observations were combined. Fig. 4 shows the frequency of successful coping behaviors and failed coping behaviors that did not stop the puppies from inappropriate behavior for the 11 pairs. For a w2 analysis, coping behaviors whose expected values <5 were categorized as `other'. Expected values for coping behaviors were calculated as the total frequency of a given coping behavior was multiplied by the total frequency of all successful or failed coping behaviors and then divided by the total frequency of all coping behaviors (Ichihara, 1990). With regard to biting the PW, the differences in frequency between the observed successful coping behaviors and the expected values were signi®cant (w2 8 185:47, P < 0:001). In a residual analysis, rejecting interaction with the puppies and not responding to the puppies were effective at stopping the puppies from biting the PWs. However, distracting the puppies' attention from the inappropriate behavior, talking to the puppies, making the puppies play, restraining puppies' behavior and showing objects to the puppies were ineffective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs. With regard to barking/growling, the differences in frequency between the observed successful coping behaviors and the expected values were signi®cant (w2 7 16:95, P < 0:05). In a residual analysis, not responding to the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from barking/growling. With regard to damaging objects, the differences in frequency between the observed successful coping behaviors and the expected values were signi®cant (w2 8 56:12, P < 0:001). In a residual analysis, forcible stopping the inappropriate behavior and not responding to the puppies were effective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. However, talking to the puppies and restraining the puppies' behaviors were ineffective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. 4. Discussion 4.1. Inappropriate behavior of puppy The more frequently and successively dogs show inappropriate behavior, the more dif®cult it is for owners to endure the dogs' behavior. In puppy±PW interactions in a play situation, the frequency of biting the PW and damaging objects, which were two of the three major inappropriate behaviors, decreased with increasing puppy's age. Moreover, the percentage of cases in which the inappropriate behavior did not occur successively increased with increasing age. Even if the puppies were very naughty in their early developmental stages, they became well-behaved at around 1 year of age. Thus, puppy±PW interactions became friendlier with increasing age. Also, in an analysis of play interactions in the same puppy±PW pairs as in this study, the puppies showed gentleness and an ability to cooperate with the PWs more clearly with increasing age (Koda, in press). 4.2. Coping behavior of PW The PWs seldom hit the puppies to cope with their inappropriate behavior. This may have been in¯uenced by the association's guidance not to use physical punishment on the
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puppies. The PWs used moderate coping behaviors when the puppies displayed inappropriate behavior, such as trying to make the puppies play or rejecting interaction with the puppies. Just after the puppies stopped the inappropriate behavior, the PWs frequently showed friendly behavior to the puppies, i.e. they tried to make the puppies play. Azuma (1994) pointed out that Japanese mothers do not tend to make their young children obey using their authority as parents, compared with American mothers. Instead, Azuma (1994) wrote that when children are naughty, Japanese mothers tend to persuade their children out of the naughty behavior because they are good boys/girls. When the children stopped the naughty behavior, Japanese mothers praise the children for being good boys/girls. There might be some similarities between Japanese mothers and Japanese PWs in their discipline strategy. I (submitted) also found that the same PWs as in this study considered the puppies to be child-like family members, based on an analysis of the PWs' speech to the puppies. Making the puppies play just after the puppies stopped their inappropriate behavior might divert the puppies' attention from the inappropriate behavior and show the puppies desirable behavior. There is a question of whether or not making the puppies play reinforces the inappropriate behavior. If the amount of puppy±PW play were insuf®cient, making the puppies play as a coping behavior would reinforce the inappropriate behavior. However, neither the total duration of puppy±PW play (Koda, in press) nor the frequency of play solicitation by both the puppies and PWs (Koda, unpublished doctoral thesis) changed throughout the observation period, and only the frequency of inappropriate behavior decreased with increasing puppy age. Rejecting interaction with the puppies and not responding to the puppies as coping behaviors might have similar functions as the technique of love withdrawal in the discipline of children (Chapman and Zahn-Waxler, 1982) and dog training (O'Farrell, 1993; Fogle, 1994; Cameron, 1997). However, rejecting interaction with the puppies and not responding to the puppies in this study occurred only for a few seconds. 4.3. Correlation between inappropriate behavior and coping behavior Rejecting interaction with the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs, and not responding to the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs, barking/growling and damaging objects. These coping behaviors might have been effective as love withdrawal. Moreover, forcible stopping the inappropriate behavior was effective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. When the puppies damaged an object, it may have been effective for the PWs to directly intervene in the puppies' behavior because at the time the puppies were not paying direct attention to the PWs. Restraining the puppies' behavior was ineffective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs and damaging objects. The puppies seemed to feel frustration at being restrained because the puppies tried to escape from the PWs and exhibited successive or new biting behavior toward the PWs or growling. Distracting, talking, playing and showing objects may not be adequate for providing the puppies with the message to stop their inappropriate behavior. While there is considerable anecdotal information available on how to cope with the inappropriate behavior of dogs based on the experiences of dog experts, there is a lack of scienti®c data. This may be the ®rst report on a longitudinal observation of inappropriate
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behavior in dogs and coping behavior in humans until the dogs became adults. Further studies that focus on individual differences and long-term effects of coping behaviors should be useful. Acknowledgements The author is grateful for the cooperation of the Kansai Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. The author is also grateful to Drs. T. Minami, T. Hinobayashi and M. Nakamichi for their advice throughout this study. This study was supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientist (No. 2054). References Azuma, H., 1994. Education and Socialization in Japan. A Comparison Between Japan and the United States. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo (in Japanese). Blackshaw, J.K., 1991. An overview of types of aggressive behaviour in dogs and methods of treatment. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 30, 351±361. Cameron, D.B., 1997. Canine dominance-associated aggression: concepts, incidence, and treatment in a private behavior practice. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 52, 265±274. Chapman, M., Zahn-Waxler, C., 1982. Young children's compliance and noncompliance to parental discipline in a natural setting. Int. J. Behav. Dev. 5, 81±94. Eddy, J., Hart, L.A., Boltz, R.P., 1988. The effects of service dogs on social acknowledgments of people in wheelchairs. J. Psychol. 122, 39±45. Fogle, B., 1994. The Complete Dog Training Manual. Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London. Hart, L.A., Zasloff, R.L., Benfatto, A.M., 1996. The socializing role of hearing dogs. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 47, 7±15. Ichihara, K., 1990. Statistics for Bioscience Ð Practical Technique and Theory. Nankodo, Tokyo (in Japanese). Jagoe, A., Serpell, J., 1996. Owner characteristics and interactions and the prevalence of canine behaviour problems. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 47, 31±42. Koda, N., 1999. Harmonious play between potential guide dogs for the blind and their raisers. Jpn. J. Hum. Anim. Relations 3, 86±90 (in Japanese with English abstract). Koda, N., in press. Development of play behavior between potential guide dogs for the blind and human raisers. Behav. Processes, in press. Landsberg, G.M., 1991. The distribution of canine behavior cases at three behavior referral practices. Vet. Med. 86, 1011±1018. Lane, D.R., McNicholas, J., Collis, G.M., 1998. Dogs for the disabled: benefits to recipients and welfare of the dog. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 59, 49±60. Naderi, S., Scanyi, V., 1995. Cooperation between the guide dog and the blind. Who leads whom? In: Proceedings of the 24th International Ethological Conference Abstracts, Hawaii, p. 114. O'Farrell, V., 1993. Problem Dog. John Pawsey Literary Agent (Japanese translation). Pfaffenberger, C.J., Scott, J.P., Fuller, J.L., Ginsburg, B.E., Bielfelt, S.W., 1976. Guide Dogs for the Blind: Their Selection, Development and Training. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Robinson, I., 1995. Associations between man and animals. In: Robinson, I. (Ed.), The Waltham Book of Human±Animal Interaction: Benefits and Responsibilities of Pet Ownership. Pergamon, Oxford, pp. 1±6. Steffens, M., 1995. The blind person and his dog: changes brought about by a guide-dog in how a blind person cope with everyday life, how he experiences himself and in communicating. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Human±Animal Interactions of the Abstract Book, Geneva, p. 96. Wright, J.C., Nesselrote, M.S., 1987. Classification of behavior problems in dogs: distributions of age, breed, sex and reproductive status. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 19, 169±178.
Inappropriate behavior of potential guide dogs for the blind and coping behavior of human raisers Naoko Koda* Department of Ethology, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan Accepted 11 November 2000
Abstract Inappropriate behaviors of potential guide dogs (puppies) for the blind and coping behaviors of their adult female raisers (puppy walkers: PWs) were videotaped in their play situation at home from when the puppies were 2±11 or 12 months of age. The frequency of inappropriate behavior decreased with an increase in the puppies' age, suggesting that human±dog relationships became friendlier. The PWs tended to use moderate coping behaviors to stop the inappropriate behaviors of the puppies. Rejecting interaction with the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs. Forcible stopping was effective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. Not responding to the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs, barking/ growling and damaging objects. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Human±animal relationships; Service dog; Inappropriate behavior; Coping behavior
1. Introduction Human±animal relationships have recently become a fascinating ®eld of research (Robinson, 1995). For example, service dogs such as guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf and assistance dogs for the ambulatory disabled contribute greatly to human welfare (Eddy et al., 1988; Steffens, 1995; Hart et al., 1996; Lane et al., 1998). To raise good service dogs, it is important to know how to maintain good relationships with dogs. However, there have been many reports on behavior problems in dogs such as aggression, excessive barking, destructive behavior and phobias (Wright and Nesselrote, 1987; Landsberg, 1991; O'Farrell, 1993; Jagoe and Serpell, 1996). Such behavior problems can be treated by behavior modi®cation, drugs, castration, counseling of owners and * Tel.: 81-6-6879-8045; fax: 81-6-6879-8010. E-mail address: [email protected] (N. Koda).
0168-1591/01/$ ± see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 6 8 - 1 5 9 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 9 3 - 3
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N. Koda / Applied Animal Behaviour Science 72 (2001) 79±87
euthanasia as a last resort (Blackshaw, 1991; O'Farrell, 1993; Cameron, 1997). Although a dog's behavior may not be considered a problem, even general dog owners can sometimes feel that it is dif®cult to maintain good relationships with their dogs because of the dogs' behavior. In the present study, such dog behavior which has the potential to elicit a negative response from humans is called inappropriate behavior (see Table 1 for concrete examples). Inappropriate behavior differs from the above-mentioned behavior problems with respect to the frequency, intensity and situation in which the behavior occurs. If dog owners can cope with inappropriate behavior effectively, they can maintain good relationships with their dogs. In particular, the way that owners and dogs interact during the dogs' early developmental stages may be crucial for subsequent human±dog relationships. In contrast to behavior problems, there are few scienti®c reports on inappropriate behavior in dogs. I observed the inappropriate behavior of potential guide dogs (puppies) for the blind and the coping behavior of their human raisers (puppy walkers: PWs) toward such Table 1 Observed behaviors and definitionsa Behavior
Definition
Inappropriate behavior of puppy Biting PW Biting PW's body or clothes accompanied by pulling, side-to-side shaking of the head, or PW's negative response such as expressing pain Barking/growling Barking or growling loudly Damaging object (1) Damaging furniture or PW's belongings by biting, scratching, getting onto or jumping at; (2) behavior such as biting, scratching, getting onto or jumping at an object which is likely to result in damage if not stopped by the PW; (3) putting a small object in the mouth completely; (4) behavior toward a toy is excluded except for tearing a toy and mouthing the piece completely Jumping at PW Jumping at PW while putting paws on PW's body so vigorously that PW leans back Biting observer Biting observer's body or clothes accompanied by pulling, rapid side-to-side shaking of the head, or observer feels pain Jumping at observer Jumping at observer while putting paws on observer's body so vigorously that observer leans back Coping behavior of PW Distracting Talking Playing Forcing to stop Restraining Hitting Showing object Hiding object Rejecting No response
Distracting puppy from inappropriate behavior by touching puppy or gesturing Talking or vocalizing to puppy Trying to make puppy play by showing or giving puppy a toy Forcing puppy to stop inappropriate behavior directly by opening puppy's mouth or pushing puppy aside Restraining puppy from behaving freely by holding puppy down or hugging Hitting puppy hard Showing puppy the object the puppy was touching in a non-playful manner Taking away the object the puppy was touching and placing the object where the puppy could not reach it Rejecting interaction with puppy by retracting hands, diverting PW's body or moving away from puppy Doing nothing toward puppy
a When PW showed several behaviors simultaneously, the behavior that was likely to most directly stop the puppy's inappropriate behavior was counted, e.g. when PW restrained the puppy while talking, `restraining' was counted.
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inappropriate behavior in a puppy walking program. The puppy walking program places potential guide dogs (puppies) with volunteer puppy walkers (PWs) who rear them in their homes from approximately 6 weeks to 1 year of age. The purpose of this program is to socialize puppies with humans for subsequent effective training. One of the most important behavioral traits of guide dogs is that they have good interaction skills with humans (Pfaffenberger et al., 1976; Naderi and Scanyi, 1995). Thus, the ®rst prerequisite for a guide dog is that it is a good family dog. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of inappropriate behavior of puppies and the coping behavior of their PWs, and clarify what kinds of coping behavior are effective at stopping inappropriate behavior. 2. Methods 2.1. Subjects The subjects were 11 puppies of the Kansai Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Japan and 11 PWs. The puppies (seven females, four males) consisted of eight Labrador retrievers, two golden retrievers and an F1 cross between a Labrador and a golden retriever. Each puppy was placed with a PW at 6 weeks of age, and was then raised by the PW until it was 11 or 12 months of age. Nine puppies were neutered between 6 and 8 months of age. One female puppy and one male puppy were selected for breeding. The subject PWs were adult women who had maintained the closest relationship with the puppies among their family members. The association asked PWs to raise puppies with reasonable affection. The association asked PWs not to use physical punishment on puppies but did not give PWs any other formal guidance on how to discipline puppies. PWs did not train the puppies as guide dogs. Each subject PW ®lled out a consent form prior to this study. 2.2. Procedure The author visited each subject's home almost twice a month from when the puppies were 2±11 or 12 months of age. Puppy±PW interactions were recorded by the author using a VTR camera, for 20 min each visit. The inter-observation interval was more than 1 week. The number of visits for each pair varied from 15 to 20, for a total of 199. The PWs were required to play with their puppies as they usually did, using a ball about the size of a tennis ball and a piece of toweling rope which were introduced by the author. The PWs were also told that they could either use their own toys or play without toys. This procedure has been described previously by Koda (1999). 2.3. Data analysis While observing the videotape recording, the time when a puppy's inappropriate behavior started and ended was recorded. The order of occurrence of coping behavior by the PW was recorded during and for 15 s after puppy's inappropriate behavior (Table 1). The termination of one case of inappropriate behavior was de®ned such that an
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N. Koda / Applied Animal Behaviour Science 72 (2001) 79±87
inappropriate behavior stopped and the next inappropriate behavior did not start within 15 s. To elucidate the effects of development on inappropriate behavior, the observation period was divided into ®ve 2-month periods. ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test were performed for each behavior. 3. Results 3.1. Inappropriate behavior of puppy A total of 2250 inappropriate behaviors of the puppies were observed in puppy±PW play situations. Ninety-two percent of the inappropriate behaviors involved biting the PWs (34%), barking/growling (33%) and damaging objects (25%) in six subdivided behavioral categories. Fig. 1 shows the developmental changes in the frequencies of these three major inappropriate behaviors. The frequency of biting the PWs and damaging objects decreased with increasing age (biting PW: F 4; 40 5:08, P < 0:01, damaging object: F 4; 40 3:33, P < 0:05). However, there was no signi®cant developmental change
Fig. 1. Developmental changes in the frequency of inappropriate behavior of puppy. Vertical lines show standard errors; , P < 0:05; , P < 0:01.
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Fig. 2. Developmental changes in the percentage of cases in which inappropriate behavior did not occur successively. Vertical lines show standard errors; , P < 0:05.
in the frequency of barking/growling (F 4; 40 1:81, P > 0:05). As a whole, more than half of the cases involved only one inappropriate behavior, i.e. the inappropriate behaviors did not occur successively. The percentage of cases in which inappropriate behavior did not occur successively increased with increasing age (F 4; 40 3:45, P < 0:05, Fig. 2). 3.2. Coping behavior of PW Fig. 3 shows the frequency of coping behavior of the PWs during and after the inappropriate behavior. While the puppies displayed the inappropriate behavior, the PWs often tried to make the puppies play or rejected interaction with the puppies. After the puppies stopped the inappropriate behavior, the PWs predominantly tried to make the
Fig. 3. Frequency of coping behavior of PW during and for 15 s after puppy's inappropriate behavior.
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puppies play. The PWs rarely hit the puppies, showed objects or hid objects both during and after the inappropriate behavior. 3.3. Correlation between inappropriate behavior and coping behavior To clarify whether or not a coping behavior was effective for stopping the puppies' inappropriate behavior, three major inappropriate behaviors (biting PW, barking/growling and damaging object) were matched with coping behaviors. Successful coping behavior was de®ned as a PW behavior that completely stopped the case of inappropriate behavior. For example, a puppy bit a PW and the PW showed the puppy a toy (coded as `playing'). Thereafter, the puppy began to bite a sofa. The PW talked to the puppy (coded as `talking'), but the puppy continued biting the sofa. The PW then opened the puppy's mouth (coded as `forcing to stop') and the puppy stopped biting the sofa. In this case, `forcing to stop' is considered successful coping behavior and `playing' and `talking' are unsuccessful. The overall success rates of coping behaviors were 41% for biting PW, 29% for barking/
Fig. 4. Frequency of successful coping behavior that succeeded in stopping the case of inappropriate behavior and failed coping behavior that did not stop puppy from inappropriate behavior; , P < 0:05; , P < 0:01; , P < 0:001.
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growling and 25% for damaging object. Since some coping behaviors occurred infrequently, all observations were combined. Fig. 4 shows the frequency of successful coping behaviors and failed coping behaviors that did not stop the puppies from inappropriate behavior for the 11 pairs. For a w2 analysis, coping behaviors whose expected values <5 were categorized as `other'. Expected values for coping behaviors were calculated as the total frequency of a given coping behavior was multiplied by the total frequency of all successful or failed coping behaviors and then divided by the total frequency of all coping behaviors (Ichihara, 1990). With regard to biting the PW, the differences in frequency between the observed successful coping behaviors and the expected values were signi®cant (w2 8 185:47, P < 0:001). In a residual analysis, rejecting interaction with the puppies and not responding to the puppies were effective at stopping the puppies from biting the PWs. However, distracting the puppies' attention from the inappropriate behavior, talking to the puppies, making the puppies play, restraining puppies' behavior and showing objects to the puppies were ineffective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs. With regard to barking/growling, the differences in frequency between the observed successful coping behaviors and the expected values were signi®cant (w2 7 16:95, P < 0:05). In a residual analysis, not responding to the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from barking/growling. With regard to damaging objects, the differences in frequency between the observed successful coping behaviors and the expected values were signi®cant (w2 8 56:12, P < 0:001). In a residual analysis, forcible stopping the inappropriate behavior and not responding to the puppies were effective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. However, talking to the puppies and restraining the puppies' behaviors were ineffective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. 4. Discussion 4.1. Inappropriate behavior of puppy The more frequently and successively dogs show inappropriate behavior, the more dif®cult it is for owners to endure the dogs' behavior. In puppy±PW interactions in a play situation, the frequency of biting the PW and damaging objects, which were two of the three major inappropriate behaviors, decreased with increasing puppy's age. Moreover, the percentage of cases in which the inappropriate behavior did not occur successively increased with increasing age. Even if the puppies were very naughty in their early developmental stages, they became well-behaved at around 1 year of age. Thus, puppy±PW interactions became friendlier with increasing age. Also, in an analysis of play interactions in the same puppy±PW pairs as in this study, the puppies showed gentleness and an ability to cooperate with the PWs more clearly with increasing age (Koda, in press). 4.2. Coping behavior of PW The PWs seldom hit the puppies to cope with their inappropriate behavior. This may have been in¯uenced by the association's guidance not to use physical punishment on the
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puppies. The PWs used moderate coping behaviors when the puppies displayed inappropriate behavior, such as trying to make the puppies play or rejecting interaction with the puppies. Just after the puppies stopped the inappropriate behavior, the PWs frequently showed friendly behavior to the puppies, i.e. they tried to make the puppies play. Azuma (1994) pointed out that Japanese mothers do not tend to make their young children obey using their authority as parents, compared with American mothers. Instead, Azuma (1994) wrote that when children are naughty, Japanese mothers tend to persuade their children out of the naughty behavior because they are good boys/girls. When the children stopped the naughty behavior, Japanese mothers praise the children for being good boys/girls. There might be some similarities between Japanese mothers and Japanese PWs in their discipline strategy. I (submitted) also found that the same PWs as in this study considered the puppies to be child-like family members, based on an analysis of the PWs' speech to the puppies. Making the puppies play just after the puppies stopped their inappropriate behavior might divert the puppies' attention from the inappropriate behavior and show the puppies desirable behavior. There is a question of whether or not making the puppies play reinforces the inappropriate behavior. If the amount of puppy±PW play were insuf®cient, making the puppies play as a coping behavior would reinforce the inappropriate behavior. However, neither the total duration of puppy±PW play (Koda, in press) nor the frequency of play solicitation by both the puppies and PWs (Koda, unpublished doctoral thesis) changed throughout the observation period, and only the frequency of inappropriate behavior decreased with increasing puppy age. Rejecting interaction with the puppies and not responding to the puppies as coping behaviors might have similar functions as the technique of love withdrawal in the discipline of children (Chapman and Zahn-Waxler, 1982) and dog training (O'Farrell, 1993; Fogle, 1994; Cameron, 1997). However, rejecting interaction with the puppies and not responding to the puppies in this study occurred only for a few seconds. 4.3. Correlation between inappropriate behavior and coping behavior Rejecting interaction with the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs, and not responding to the puppies was effective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs, barking/growling and damaging objects. These coping behaviors might have been effective as love withdrawal. Moreover, forcible stopping the inappropriate behavior was effective for stopping the puppies from damaging objects. When the puppies damaged an object, it may have been effective for the PWs to directly intervene in the puppies' behavior because at the time the puppies were not paying direct attention to the PWs. Restraining the puppies' behavior was ineffective for stopping the puppies from biting the PWs and damaging objects. The puppies seemed to feel frustration at being restrained because the puppies tried to escape from the PWs and exhibited successive or new biting behavior toward the PWs or growling. Distracting, talking, playing and showing objects may not be adequate for providing the puppies with the message to stop their inappropriate behavior. While there is considerable anecdotal information available on how to cope with the inappropriate behavior of dogs based on the experiences of dog experts, there is a lack of scienti®c data. This may be the ®rst report on a longitudinal observation of inappropriate
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behavior in dogs and coping behavior in humans until the dogs became adults. Further studies that focus on individual differences and long-term effects of coping behaviors should be useful. Acknowledgements The author is grateful for the cooperation of the Kansai Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. The author is also grateful to Drs. T. Minami, T. Hinobayashi and M. Nakamichi for their advice throughout this study. This study was supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientist (No. 2054). References Azuma, H., 1994. Education and Socialization in Japan. A Comparison Between Japan and the United States. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo (in Japanese). Blackshaw, J.K., 1991. An overview of types of aggressive behaviour in dogs and methods of treatment. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 30, 351±361. Cameron, D.B., 1997. Canine dominance-associated aggression: concepts, incidence, and treatment in a private behavior practice. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 52, 265±274. Chapman, M., Zahn-Waxler, C., 1982. Young children's compliance and noncompliance to parental discipline in a natural setting. Int. J. Behav. Dev. 5, 81±94. Eddy, J., Hart, L.A., Boltz, R.P., 1988. The effects of service dogs on social acknowledgments of people in wheelchairs. J. Psychol. 122, 39±45. Fogle, B., 1994. The Complete Dog Training Manual. Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London. Hart, L.A., Zasloff, R.L., Benfatto, A.M., 1996. The socializing role of hearing dogs. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 47, 7±15. Ichihara, K., 1990. Statistics for Bioscience Ð Practical Technique and Theory. Nankodo, Tokyo (in Japanese). Jagoe, A., Serpell, J., 1996. Owner characteristics and interactions and the prevalence of canine behaviour problems. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 47, 31±42. Koda, N., 1999. Harmonious play between potential guide dogs for the blind and their raisers. Jpn. J. Hum. Anim. Relations 3, 86±90 (in Japanese with English abstract). Koda, N., in press. Development of play behavior between potential guide dogs for the blind and human raisers. Behav. Processes, in press. Landsberg, G.M., 1991. The distribution of canine behavior cases at three behavior referral practices. Vet. Med. 86, 1011±1018. Lane, D.R., McNicholas, J., Collis, G.M., 1998. Dogs for the disabled: benefits to recipients and welfare of the dog. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 59, 49±60. Naderi, S., Scanyi, V., 1995. Cooperation between the guide dog and the blind. Who leads whom? In: Proceedings of the 24th International Ethological Conference Abstracts, Hawaii, p. 114. O'Farrell, V., 1993. Problem Dog. John Pawsey Literary Agent (Japanese translation). Pfaffenberger, C.J., Scott, J.P., Fuller, J.L., Ginsburg, B.E., Bielfelt, S.W., 1976. Guide Dogs for the Blind: Their Selection, Development and Training. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Robinson, I., 1995. Associations between man and animals. In: Robinson, I. (Ed.), The Waltham Book of Human±Animal Interaction: Benefits and Responsibilities of Pet Ownership. Pergamon, Oxford, pp. 1±6. Steffens, M., 1995. The blind person and his dog: changes brought about by a guide-dog in how a blind person cope with everyday life, how he experiences himself and in communicating. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Human±Animal Interactions of the Abstract Book, Geneva, p. 96. Wright, J.C., Nesselrote, M.S., 1987. Classification of behavior problems in dogs: distributions of age, breed, sex and reproductive status. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 19, 169±178.