It ’s mine! Using clicker training as a treatment of object guarding in four companion dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)

Aggressive behaviors in companion dogs are a serious problem to owners, which often result in important physical and emotional damage on the victims. Aggressive incidents frequently happen during human-dog interactions (i.e., reaching toward the dog or petting it) while the dog is engaging with a preferred item (e.g., a toy, sock or shoe). The current study investigated whether a clicker-training approach, backward chaining, could decrease the frequency of category-II (e.g., ears flattened and/or hovering over object) and category-III (e.g., staring and/or stiffening up) behaviors by establishing an alternative target response of releasing preferred item on cue.
Source: Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research