Maddie's Insights: Impact of Classical Counterconditioning (Quiet Kennel Exercise) on Barking in Shelter Dogs

Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 12n Pacific / 3p Eastern – 60 minutes

A major welfare concern in animal shelters is excessive barking from kenneled dogs. This contributes to noise pollution, can cause hearing damage, and has a negative impact on all animals within earshot. This study demonstrated that by implementing a simple classical counterconditioning exercise, consisting of instructing all ward passers-through to toss treats to each dog regardless of behavior exhibited, could change the emotional state of dogs from negative to more positive, thus reducing fear and frustration that often leads to excessive
barking.

Data analysis showed that implementation of this simple exercise did reduce barking at clinically relevant levels even with a changing shelter population. Additionally, for each percent increase in compliance rate, there was an average decrease of 17.3 dB in the maximum decibel reading. Moreover, an overall positive change in attitude from most dogs towards visitors further showed the positive effects of the study.

Learning Objectives:
1. Attendees will learn to identify and apply basic learning theory, specifically focusing on Classical (Pavlovian) Conditioning, to dogs in a kennel setting.
2. Attendees will learn to identify risks and consequences of noise pollution in shelters, and also ways to reduce it to improve welfare of all species in the shelter.

Can’t attend the live event? Register anyway! This webcast will be recorded, and a link will be sent a day after the live event ends.

This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association. It has also been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) approval.

Register Now: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcastsRegister

Guest Speakers:

@Sara Bennett, DVM, MS, DACVB (Behavior)
she/her/hers
Clinical Assistant Professor, Veterinary Behavior Specialist
Department of Clinical Sciences
North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine

@Jamirelis Carrero (Jami)
DVM candidate
North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine