Efficacy of a remote-controlled, positive-reinforcement, dog-training system for modifying problem behaviors exhibited when people arrive at the door

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of a multi-step, positive-reinforcement training protocol, involving a remote-controlled food reward dispenser, for treatment of excessive barking, jumping, and crowding of the door by dogs when people come to the door. In Experiment 1, we tested the multi-step protocol in a laboratory setting to determine whether the protocol is successful in a controlled environment when implemented by dog trainers. Six dogs with a history of problem behaviors at the door were trained to run to a platform with a rug on it, lie down and stay (“down-stay”) for 1 min while common household door distractions such as loud knocking, ringing doorbells, and running people were presented. The dog's ability to remain in a down-stay for 1 min with such distractions was measured before and after training. During training, the number of training trials required and the numbers of trials performed correctly and incorrectly were recorded for each dog. The results revealed that dogs remained in a down-stay with distractions significantly longer after training (60 ± 0.0 s) than before (5 ± 1.18 s) ( P = 0.016). Dogs completed the training protocol in 8 d with only 8.4% incorrect trials, and in a similar number of trials with a coefficient of variation of 10.6%. These results indicated that this protocol was a good candidate for testing in a clinical setting, a home situation with owners doing the training. In Experiment 2, 15 dogs were trained by their owners to run to a rug or bed, lie down, and stay for 1 min while their owners answered the door. After training, barking decreased from 19.3 ± 4.62 barks/min to 2.1 ± 0.79 barks/min ( P < 0.0001), jumping decreased from 8.2 ± 2.12 jumps/min to 0.02 ± 0.02 jumps/min ( P < 0.0005) and time spent within 0.3 m of the door when visitors were outside decreased from 84.5% ± 4.23% to 0.0% ± 0.00% ( P < 0.0001). Percent time spent in contact with the visitor when the visitor was inside decreased from 69.2% ± 4.19% to 0.18% ± 0.13% ( P < 0.0001). Additionally, owner perception of their dog's behavior improved significantly ( P < 0.0001). Six dogs that were not trained with the protocol showed no significant improvement ( P = 0.344).