A Treatment Plan for Dogs (Canis familiaris) That Show Impaired Social Functioning towards Their Owners

摘要

Many domestic dogs are uncomfortable when humans perform everyday actions because the animals perceive them as threatening. One way to treat this is to expose a dog to the problematic stimulus with increasing intensity while the dog remains relaxed, resulting in desensitization. However, when it is the owner’s actions that the dog feels threatened by, it is difficult to apply such treatment. We present a programme for dogs with impaired social functioning towards the owner, consisting of (1) increasing owner knowledge and awareness regarding dog body language and perception of owner actions, (2) management of everyday life with the dog through general stress reduction and avoidance of stressful situations, and (3) behaviour modification through training. We also describe five cases to examine the results that can be obtained using this programme and propose future research.