conflict-induced aggression is a conflict-resolution strategy, resulting from an approach-withdrawal conflict or the inability to predict and/or control the environment
intensity/impulsivity (hard to train, hard to calm)
+ mild/moderate anxiety
+ intelligence
=high risk puppy!!
(lost of GSDs and Mals fit this description)
genetic foundation (angst temperament, impulsivity, intelligence) -- learning the "wrong" things (run away with valued object, stealing food, jumping up) -- owner frustration -- motivational conflict created -- dog learns to resolve conflict through aggression -- conflict-induced aggression
before 8 weeks of age puppies do not learn from bad experiences; may show fear response but rebound
therefore, it is likely to be a genetic issue if pup shows fear behaviors before 8 weeks
(really?? I've never heard this before?)
playbow can = conflict - I'm not sure what you're going to do, can bounce forward or backward
causes
role of socialization: puppies taken from litters before 7 weeks of age, poor communication skills (good puppy classes are vital), socialization period 4-14 weeks of age, fear period 8-10 weeks of age
(missed some info here, couldn't write quickly enough)
learning is always occurring
making associations and working for reward - owner's attention
causes or increases hyperexcitability
unwanted behaviors are rewarded
poor communication: owner inadvertently conditions behaviors, interacting with a puppy when it jumps up, (missed info here)
inappropriate use of punishment: P+ is rarely needed to teach puppies, almost always administered inappropriately which increases anxiety, can be "rewarding" to the puppy, P- can be useful when trying to get a "starting point" but still have side effects
avoidance conditioning: if a behavior can stop/prevent a negative stimulus it will increase in frequency (ex: to make the scary child go away, snap), behaviors are very resistant to extinction
conflict-induced aggression - solution: resolve the conflict before they learn through trial and error that aggression will work, stack the deck so emotional conflict is resolved
aggression to owners is typically a puppy problem, often around 3-4 months
if it's new problem at older age, send to vet for medical check-up
ambivalent body language
clients often describe "mixed" body language during an attack
dogs often shake, slink away, or act very submissively after the attack
aggressive situation was so intense, dog can't handle any more, needs to shut down/wind down
"remorseful", "Jekyll & Hyde", (my addition: "then he realized that it was me/that he was biting a human")
more likely to have had serious illness in first 4 months of life
hyperexcitable, lack of training
do not get walked often
(missed writing down other correlations found with conflict-induced aggression in puppies)
has learned to use aggression to avoid the situation
becomes less fearful because he now knows how to avoid the problem situation
often happens when:
when picked up, restrained, toe nails clipped
confronted, stared at, or punished
reach for head
over food, item
on furniture, asked to get off
often just to one or few family members
puppy temperament tests are of little value
prevention:
consistent interaction
cued behavior - communicative tools
bite inhibition
(more things I missed)
No comments:
Post a Comment