Terms for behavior and training

Affiliative behaviors

behaviors performed by two individuals such as grooming or nuzzling that serve to maintain social bonds behaviors performed by two individuals such as grooming or nuzzling that serve to maintain social bonds

Allogrooming

grooming performed by one animal on another animal of the same species

Anxiety

Anticipation of future or potential danger that may be unknown, imagined, or real.  Leads to a physiological response similar to fear

Classical conditioning/ Respondent Conditioning

The animal learns the association between events- one event (the conditioned stimulus) predicts the other (the unconditioned stimulus).  Emotional behaviors are easily classically conditioned.

Conflict-related aggression

aggression towards people, often over resources and in similar contexts as dominance aggression, but with the dog showing ambivalent social cues.  These dogs are often submissive or fearful in other context and are likely to act submissive or fearful immediately after an attack.  Many clients will say the dog acted like it was sorry for what it did.

Conspecific

animals belonging to the same species.  Species belonging to the same genus.

Dominance aggression

aggression against other members of an animal’s social group to prevent subordinate individuals from performing actions or engaging in activities for which the higher-ranking individual claims property

Dominant role

a superior position in a rank order or social hierarchy.  Note that dominance describes a social position (role in a relationship) not a personality trait

Fear

Feeling of apprehension experienced when an animal perceives that some nearby place, thing, or event may be dangerous.  This emotion usually leads to avoidance of fear-inducing stimuli.  Physiologic changes (increased heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, and dilated pupils) involve autonomic arousal, stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), and release of stress hormones

Fear-related aggression

(defensive) aggression displayed when the dog perceives a threat.  Most dogs demonstrate fearful body postures and possibly physiologic signs.  Over time. As the dog learns that these behaviors are effective, it can begin to demonstrate more offensive body postures

Food-related aggression

aggression demonstrated only in the presence of food, bones, rawhides, human food, or other high value food items to prevent real or perceived attempts by others to access the food.

Frustration- Experienced when an animal is in a situation in which it is prevented from performing a behavior that it is highly motivated to do.

Experienced when an animal is in a situation in which it is prevented from performing a behavior that it is highly motivated to do.

Idiopathic aggression

Unpredictable and severe aggression that occurs in the absence of stimuli that would allow the aggression to be categorized otherwise.  The type of aggression commonly referred to as “Springer rage” is likely a form of aggression that could be called idiopathic.