[YorkieMother]

Key Points

• Despite the fact that advances in behavior
research have modified our understanding
of social hierarchies in wolves, many animal
trainers continue to base their training methods
on outdated perceptions of dominance
theory. (Refer to Myths About Dominance
and Wolf Behavior as It Relates to Dogs)
• Dominance is defined as a relationship
between individual animals that is established
by force/aggression and submission,
to determine who has priority access to
multiple resources such as food, preferred
resting spots, and mates (Bernstein 1981;
Drews 1993). Most undesirable behaviors in
our pets are not related to priority access to
resources; rather, they are due to accidental
rewarding of the undesirable behavior.
• The AVSAB recommends that veterinarians
not refer clients to trainers or behavior
consultants who coach and advocate dominance
hierarchy theory and the subsequent
confrontational training that follows from it.
• Instead, the AVSAB emphasizes that animal
training, behavior prevention strategies,
and behavior modification programs should
follow the scientifically based guidelines of
positive reinforcement, operant conditioning,
classical conditioning, desensitization,
and counter conditioning.
• The AVSAB recommends that veterinarians
identify and refer clients only to trainers
and behavior consultants who understand
the principles of learning theory and who
focus on reinforcing desirable behaviors
and removing the reinforcement for undesirable
behaviors.

American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior