This study examines the possible relationships among dog owners' perception
s of, and emotional and behavioral responses to, problematic situations inv
olving their dogs, and investigates differences in these in different subgr
oups of owners. The dominant sequence of the interaction is defined as perc
eption-cognition-emotion-behavior with this study focusing upon perceptual,
emotional and behavioral responses. Fifty-five dog owners were presented w
ith 16 descriptions of everyday problematic situations with a dog, and were
asked to record the degree to which they elicited emotions such as irritat
ion, anger sorrow, and anxiety. They were further asked which disciplinary
actions they would use in each situation. The results form a general explor
atory model of perceptual-emotional-behavioral responses, within which the
two most significant sub-models were power assertion and encouragement/comf
ort. Some gender differences in these models were also discovered. (C) 2000
International Society for Anthrozoology.