|
PART ONE -Introduction
Important! The
Ethogram of Imposing Behaviours contains photographs
and videos of dogs filmed during
behavioural tests and free interactions that were part
of a research project on the social behaviour of dogs
which began in 2004 and is still underway. Most of the
video footage was taken at the Gentle Team training
facility ("La Tollara") near Fubine (Alessandra),
Italy, during socialization classes.
COPYRIGHT © 2012 SKILLADIN SNC
di Capra Alexa e Robotti Daniele - All
rights reserved
The duplication, copying, and sale of this software and
of any part of its content: texts, video clips,
photographs, or files of the work contained on the DVD
"Ethogram of Imposing Behaviours " is forbidden without
the express written consent of the authors.
Rental or distribution by any means is forbidden.
Author contact information
What is an ethogram ?
The need to develop an ethogram that would be as
complete as possible became evident during the early
years of my work with ENPA, the Italian National Agency
for Animal Welfare & Protection, on a project for
the rehabilitation of ex-fighting dogs. When I began to
plan this scientific research, in collaboration with the
Biology Department of the University of Turin and the
Veterinary College of the State University of Milan, one
of my first problems was how to objectively interpret
and measure the behavioural responses of the dogs
observed during testing. Thus began my search for
ethograms to use as reference tools.
At the time, the most complete ethogram in existence
was undoubtedly Barbara Schoening's, and I used it
(adding my own descriptions of new behaviours and some
from other authors' ethograms) to analyse the data used
in an experimental dissertation published by Lisa
Corradi, Beatrice Pinet, Silvia Gotta & Laura
Marazzini.
On October 31, 2008 I underwent surgery on my left
shoulder, and found myself facing a long winter trapped
in the house. Undaunted, I set up several external hard
drives and my Mac on my bed-side table, and started to
search through my archives for photos and videos to use
in illustrating an ethogram, with the objective of
developing and sharing an important tool for others to
use in understanding the social behaviour of dogs. When
my shoulder had more or less healed, the ethogram once
again went onto the back burner, and remained
unfinished. I had hoped to complete it while
convalescing after a second shoulder operation (this
time on my right shoulder), but this time things went
better than expected. And so it was that by the winter
of 2010, the first part of the ethogram was ready...
Why an ethogram is a useful tool
Definition: An ethogram
is a complete, detailed description of all the
individual behavioural modules that make up the complete
repertoire of a species, exhibited under specific
environmental conditions.
For many years now, I've lived on the edge of a wood. A
few years ago, a friend of mine who works as a park
ranger took me on a guided hike, pointing out the
different species of plants and trees in the woods. His
explanations gave me food for thought: “This is an oak
tree-- but that's a roverella, and down there is the
only beech tree in the park...”. Roverella? Botany has
never been one of my strongest subjects, I'll admit it,
but they certainly all looked like oak trees to me. And
yet they weren't.
Identifying something and calling it by its name
implies recognising it. It implies knowing that things
exist, being able to see them, and to distinguish them,
in the midst of others. Using their scientific names
makes it possible to discuss them and compare notes with
others, and to find out if they've seen what we have. In
my case, working on an ethogram of the dog, I was also
dealing with research: applying methods for objective
analysis to obtain results that could add to our
knowledge of dogs. An ethogram is, indeed, a tool for
sharing, and comparing, knowledge.
To make this possible, for each behaviour, I've
indicated the author(s) from whom I take the definition.
A list of bibliographical references is provided at the
end of the ethogram.
Breeds and behaviour
Observing the social behaviour of dogs isn't difficult;
indeed, occasions to do so abound. One difficulty that
can arise involves the enormous variability in the
morphology of different breeds, which can result in the
need for a certain amount of experience in order to
recognise their expressions, stances and postures. For
example, the morphological characteristics of some
breeds may reduce the expressiveness of their body
language: long or curly hair, hair covering the eyes,
floppy ears, deformed or amputated tails, extremely
short muzzles, uniform black colouring, toy or giant
size all represent challenges to observers of dog
behaviour...
One study showed a correlation between a decrease in
the number of behaviours displayed and pedomorphic
morphological characteristics (i.e., the adult dog has
characteristics similar to those of a puppy), while
another study comparing dogs and wolves demonstrated a
loss of facial expressiveness in the dog (and a
corresponding increase in different vocalizations).
And yet, while clear morphological differences
certainly do exist, and understanding a bulldog can be
difficult for us and probably for other dogs, the dogs
I've encountered and observed haven't differed
substantially in terms of the spectrum of signals they
used during social interactions. When I observe dogs,
the behaviours I note are basically the same in all
individuals, although of course differences among
individuals do exist. Each time I'm faced with a dog of
a new breed, or one that I don't know well, I dedicate
time to understanding how the dog moves and how it uses
its body to communicate.
Indeed, we need to be aware that it is precisely these
morphological differences that can influence our
perception of dog behaviour, causing us to focus our
attention on behaviours that don't contradict our
expectations, or that confirm our expectations -- or our
prejudices. As a result, a rule I learned years ago is
to ignore the exterior appearance of the dog, and
concentrate on its behaviour. This is a mental exercise
that I've worked on in particular when evaluating the
video footage of behaviour evaluations of pit bulls
included in the Ex-Fighting Dog rehabilitation
programme; my objective is to put all dogs on an equal
plane at the outset, and evaluate them not on the basis
of their appearance, breed, sex or even age, but rather
on the basis of their behaviour. When we observe their
behaviour objectively, all dogs are equals. This doesn't
mean that we won't find differences deriving from
selective breeding, or among individuals, but these can
be highlighted in a subsequent phase of analysis of what
has been observed.
In my experience, it's highly likely
that two dogs will interact in a positive manner if
their temperaments are compatible, rather than for
reasons based on their respective morphological
characteristics, breed or age. Here, the Lab cross and
Alaskan Malamute bitch display a balanced wrestling
game.
How to use this ethogram
When I was a kid in school, one of my strongest
motivations for studying and learning new vocabulary
words in English was simply that I wanted to be able to
understand song lyrics. Record player spinning,
dictionary in hand, I learned (at times with a sense of
disappointment !) what the songs I loved to listen to
were actually about. Learning the new words in those
lyrics contributed a great deal to my ability to
understand and speak English.
To me, the behaviours in an ethogram are very much like
the words I learned from those songs: the first step is
understanding the meaning of the phrases, then
recognising those same words in other phrases and in
other contexts, until finally you find yourself using
the new words to communicate. In the early years when I
was learning to recognise the behaviour of dogs, all I
was doing was identifying the individual behaviours, and
trying to observe them in as many dogs, and in as many
contexts, as possible. I would observe some of these
behaviours for months and even years without really
having any explanation of what I was seeing.
In my research it has been enormously helpful that I
have been able to observe a large number of dogs
interacting freely with other dogs in socialisation
classes, and to observe dogs of many different breeds
(more than 80), and both males and females of varying
ages, and above all to analyse video footage of the
interactions, frame by frame.
Who I am
My name is Alexa Capra, and for nearly twenty years now
I have been working with dogs and their people. My
journey began in 1993 as an agility handler with a
Lakeland Terrier named Rudy, and since then I've never
looked back. Today I live with six dogs, and dedicate my
time to scientific research, the evaluation of
aggressive dogs, behavioural rehabilitation, and the
physical, motor, mental, emotional and social
development of puppies and adult dogs (both family
companion animals and dogs in shelters), as well as
competitive Obedience trials, and courses for
professional trainers. I find the time to train and
compete with my own dogs in Obedience and IPO, and,
naturally, for walks in the woods and chats with my dogs
(recently I discovered that I'm not the only one who
does this: apparently, 83% of dog owners are convinced
that their dogs understand what they're saying¹).
Walking that fine line... and finding a
balance
Many years ago, the first things that I was taught at a
dog training facility were how to use a choke collar,
and how to give a 'leash correction'. Not long ago,
these were still the most common ways of solving
problems in training and everyday life. Using equipment
like this, however, means basing our relationship on
control, and commands. In a certain sense, not much has
changed today, given that we find professionals, whose
job should in theory be training and rehabilitating
dogs, using dog harnesses with rings at chest level to
attach the leash, head collars, and still other types of
force-based equipment to control dogs. I remember very
clearly the day I decided that I was not going to use
another 'leash pop', and that I would never again put a
choke collar on a dog. Since then, I've walked a long
way on my road in search of a balance in my relationship
with dogs.
In 1996 I began to learn, and then teach, training
methods that foresaw no use of coercion, based on the
association between a behaviour and positive
consequences. After a few years, I realised that I
wasn't entirely comfortable with this path, either. I
wasn't able to conceive and accept the idea of my dog
walking politely on leash thanks to my feeding him in
exchange for his collaboration. I also wasn't
comfortable using this strategy for recalls, or using
exchanges in play with toys, or in general using these
strategies in my relationship with them. I continued to
wonder if there might not be a better way to build a
relationship-- not through commands and imposition, but
not entirely based on convincing the dog that a
behaviour is to his advantage, either.
While I have never stopped using positive reinforcement
in helping dogs to learn, I did begin to observe dogs
more carefully. I also began to analyse and become more
aware of my own behaviour with my dogs. Over the years,
the fine line we walk, and the balancing act required,
have gradually become clearer to me.
This fine line brings together two complementary
aspects of social relationships: giving and taking (or
demanding). Physical strength, and temperament, control
on the one hand, balanced against the freedom to choose
in order to obtain something pleasant, but without
unpleasant consequences for the other. And I am
convinced that love, respect and trust should be part of
both of these aspects of a relationship.
The perception of this fine line that we walk is
undoubtedly individual. Recently, I participated in a
workshop for Competitive Obedience handlers. I watched
the handlers, and observed how they reacted to mistakes
and to problems their dogs were having. For many of
these handlers, the answer was increasing their level of
control, and more telling the dog what to do. The
workshop speakers explained patiently that the answer
quite often is simply providing better information, and
having a clearer understanding of what we are
communicating and of what the dog has understood and is
able to do in that situation. Over the three days of the
workshop, for many participants, the fine line shifted
towards giving.
Walking this fine line, and finding a balance, is in no
way easy. The first step is observing the dog... and it
isn't the aesthetics of the behaviour (who gets out the
doorway first, jumping up, barking...) that is
important, but rather the behaviour as an expression of
the dog's temperament, of his emotional state, of his
relationship with others, and of his past experiences. A
dog may sleep on his owner's bed and not see this
context as a social confrontation, as a privileged
position or one indicating dominance. On the other hand,
he may sit on cue in front of the front door or his
owner with food dish in hand and use that behaviour to
demand that the door be opened, or that the bowl be put
down in front of him.
In our relationships with dogs, our own behaviour and
our personality play a key role, given that we also have
the ability to observe, analyse and modulate our own
behaviour and social relationships. The second step,
then, involves observing ourselves, and asking ourselves
what we are expressing through our behaviour, what we
are communicating to the dog, and to what degree our
behaviour truly reflects our personality and the
perception that our dog has of us. I've seen hundreds of
dog owners stare their dog straight in the eyes, leaning
forward and hardening their voice as they order their
dog to sit, while all the while seeming anything but
strong and self-assured.
When I began to work with dogs, I was taught how to use
control and force. The day I decided to abandon choke
collars and leash 'corrections', I had to start over
from square one, learning to teach behaviours and build
relationships based on positive reinforcement, choices
and communciation. By studying the social behaviour of
dogs, I learned to use a range of information and
emotions, including social control, in my communication
with them. Today, my objective is to share these mental
skills and social tools with people who want to truly
understand dogs and, perhaps, understand their own
selves better, too.
My experience and research
When I was still a very young and inexperienced
trainer, in the early Nineties, I was asked to teach
puppy classes. It was an important experience because,
for the first time, I found myself having to choose to
use "gentle", positive methods and needing to explain
dogs to their owners. Besides giving me the opportunity
to manage puppy classes and training classes for adult
dogs, spending time at a dog training facility also gave
me the possibility to enter the world of dog sports. As
my friend Kay Laurence says, these activities force us
to be honest with ourselves. Needing to reach
pre-determined training objectives forced me to be
steadfast in my work, to compare and discuss my way of
working with those of others, to learn, to reason, and
to apply myself diligently to reach those goals. I have
trained and handled my dogs in various disciplines, from
Agility to Mondio Ring and IPO, as well as competitive
Obedience. Sports, in fact, pose different problems to
be tackled than does everyday life with dogs: the dog's
well-being and our relationship with him must be
safeguarded and maintained, while at the same time
reaching training objectives. If we face these
experiences correctly, dog sports can undoubtedly enrich
our dogs' lives, giving them new mental and emotional
tools; on the other hand, it is equally clear that
sports can also have negative effects on dogs, and on
our relationship with them. Living with dogs, working as
a trainer and training my own dogs and preparing those
of my students for trialling has widened my experience
and my understanding of the range of aspects that
contribute to creating our relationships, including the
need people have to be in control, and the effects of
this control on the behaviour and well-being of dogs.
In 2003 I began to work with the Italian National
Agency for Animal Welfare & Protection on a project
involving the rehabilitation of ex-fighting dogs, and in
2004 I took on the responsibility of managing the
project. My first task was to survey and then study the
scientific literature; to my chagrin, I found that there
was literally nothing to be found regarding pit bulls,
very little indeed on behavioural evaluations, but a
wealth of information on aggression. My next step was to
set up and put into practice an evaluation programme.
This undertaking, and commitment, lasted several years,
with evaluations being performed on 120 dogs, thanks to
Carlo Magnoli (who played a key role in the
rehabilitation process and subsequent adoption of the
dogs), Alessandra Bourquin, Lisa Corradi, Beatrice Pinet
& Silvia Gotta (who collaborated in behavioural
testing), Laura Marazzini and Marina “Veg” Garfagnoli
(who performed statistical analyses on the data
collected).
To date, I have invested nearly ten years of my life in
this project, which has given me the opportunity to help
these abused dogs and give them a second chance at life,
as well as contributing to my scientific knowledge and
professional know-how. The early results of this
research project were presented at the first Canine
Science Forum in Budapest, in 2008, and the data will be
published in the near future.
In 2007, I began to film interactions between the dogs
participating in socialisation classes at my training
facility, building up an archive of hundreds of hours of
footage. In 2010, I analysed 160 videos of aggressive
interactions, and thanks to the collaboration of the
Biology department of the University of Parma (and in
particular to Professor Paola Valsecchi and Dr. Shanis
Barnard), I was able to present the first results
obtained in this research at the Canine Science Forum in
Vienna. Although I realise I still have more road to
travel in discovering, understanding and explaining what
I observe, undertaking such an in-depth analysis
contributed enormously to sharpening my skills in
analysing and evaluating aggressive behaviour. Various
components of this ethogram are indeed the direct result
of this research.
A third project that is still underway (as is my work
with ex-fighting dogs !) regards the evaluation of dogs
who have bitten or shown aggressive behaviour toward
people. This study, too, is being carried out with the
collaboration of the Parma Biology department. After my
research on the pit-bulls in the ex-fighting dog
rehabilitation program, shelter dogs, and dog-dog
interactions, in this new project, my attention has
turned to aggressive behaviours towards humans displayed
by family companion dogs.
Acknowledgements
Every Thursday evening, and whenever possible over long
weekends, I meet with a group of people whose interest
has developed over time from understanding and helping
their own dogs, to learning and observing, analysing and
interpreting dog behaviour, emotional states and
dog-human interactions. Giving these owners the tools
they need to understand dogs, and consequently the
skills they need to act on this knowledge, is an
effective strategy in solving problems that can develop
in living with dogs, but it has also been an amazing
opportunity to compare notes and discuss what we see.
As the knowledge level of the group grew, it became
necessary to explain to them what was happening, and
this spurred me to develop a detailed and objective
framework for analysis. I'd like to thank this group for
their questions, observations, hypotheses and freely
shared ideas. Alongside all these dog owners and their
dogs, my thanks also go to Giorgio Malacarne, Cristina
Lorenzi, Paola Valsecchi, Shanis Barnard, Sarah
Marshall-Pescini, Lisa Corradi, Beatrice Pinet, Silvia
Gotta, Laura Marazzini, Alice Farinetti, Marina
Garfagnoli, Carlo Magnoli and Barbara Navone.
PART ONE
Introduction
PART TWO
Imposing behaviours
PART
THREE Ethogram of Imposing Behaviours
contents
- authors - bibliography
- books & DVD
|
