Behavioural changes and aversive conditioning in hunting dogs by the second-year confrontation with domestic sheep

Domesticated dogs occasionally exhibit predatory behaviour towards domestic sheep when running loose in pasture. Both young and old dogs of either sex may chase sheep. Electronic dog collars applying electric shocks are utili sed as one method of training dogs to refrain from attacking sheep. This de vice is used for a number of other training purposes which have raised conc ern for the welfare of the dogs being trained. This study aims at testing l ong-term learning effects of previous sheep tests on sheep chasing in hunti ng dog breeds (Norwegian elkhounds (grey), English setters, and hare huntin g dogs), in particular with use of electronic dog collars, in addition to u ncovering potential secondary negative effects on dogs' behaviour and menta l stability. The dogs (N = 114) were subjected to three tests for two subse quent years. the second year being reported here. Dogs were tested for reac tions to different stimuli, including a sheep, in a path test. In a sheep c onfrontation test, dogs were fenced in with a sheep group and given el. sho cks when approaching 1-2 m from sheep. A questionnaire to the dog owners re ported differences in dogs' behaviour between the years. Dogs showed weaker or delayed behavioural responses in both tests in the se cond year. No dogs showed interest in or attacked a lone sheep in the path test in the second year, while almost two thirds of them did so the first y ear. In the sheep confrontation test, the dogs exhibited comparatively hesi tant initial hunting motivation the second year, being more evident in dogs which received el. shocks the first year. No dogs chased or attacked sheep as their first response in this test, while half of them did so the first year. The proportion of dogs attacking sheep during the entire test was red uced to almost one fourth. The number of el. shocks administered reduced by the second year, and only one of the dogs that received el. shocks the fir st year received el, shocks the second year. The owners reported no negativ e effect on the dogs' behaviour during the year ensuing el. shock treatment . Eighteen of the 24 dogs reported by owners to exhibit behavioural changes lost their previous interest in sheep. The second-year tests indicate that aversive conditioning with the use of e lectronic dog collar may be: an efficient method for reducing the probabili ty of a dog chasing or attacking grazing sheep. No adverse effects were obs erved with our test procedure. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.