The prevention of undesirable behaviors in dogs: effectiveness of veterinary behaviorists' advice given to puppy owners.

摘要

The management of puppies is considered of great importance in raising well-behaved adult dogs. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of advice provided by a veterinary behaviorist regarding puppy-raising practices. Forty-six puppy owners received advice by a veterinary behaviorist concerning puppy raising during the puppy's first visit to a veterinarian. A control group was composed of 43 different dogs whose owners were not counseled by a veterinary behaviorist during the puppy's first veterinary visit. Owners were interviewed about their dog's behaviours at the time of their 1-year booster vaccination visit. The 89 dogs were clinically healthy, between 11 and 18 months old, 53% females and 47% males, of various or mixed breeds. Dogs whose owners received advice displayed less undesirable behaviours than the control group, such as: house soiling (2% vs 23%; chi 2=19.50; P<.01), mounting (26% vs 49%; chi 2=12.11; P<.05), nonstop playing (0% vs 12%; Fisher's exact test P<.05), mouthing of people (11% vs 37%; chi 2=7.15; P<.01), begging for food (17% vs 42%; chi 2=5.31; P<.05), or demanding food from the table (0% vs 12%; Fisher's exact test P<.05). Moreover, the experimental group showed less aggressive behaviours toward unknown people (26% vs 2%; Fisher's exact test P<.01) and dogs (16% vs 2%; Fisher's exact test P<.05). The advice provided was effective in diminishing the incidence of undesirable behaviours in the dogs studied. The positive effect of a behaviorist's advice is remarkable given that the puppies in the experimental group had remained with their mother and littermates for less than 2 months, which is believed to be a high-risk condition for development of behavioural disorders.