The prevention of undesirable behaviors in dogs: effectiveness of veterinary behaviorists' advice given to puppy owners

The management of puppies is considered of great importance in raising well-behaved adult dogs. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of advice provided by a veterinary behaviorist regarding puppy-raising practices. Forty-six puppy owners received advice by a veterinary behaviorist concerning puppy raising during the puppy’s first visit to a veterinarian. A control group was composed of 43 different dogs whose owners were not counseled by a veterinary behaviorist during the puppy’s first veterinary visit.Ownerswere interviewed about their dog’s behaviors at the time of their 1-year booster vaccination visit. The 89 dogs were clinically healthy, between 11 and 18 months old, 53% females and 47% males, of various or mixed breeds. Dogs whose owners received advice displayed less undesirable behaviors than the control group, such as: house soiling (2% vs 23%; c2 5 19.50; P , .01), mounting (26% vs 49%; c2 5 12.11; P , .05), nonstop playing (0% vs 12%; Fisher’s exact test P , .05), mouthing of people (11% vs 37%; c2 5 7.15; P , .01), begging for food (17%vs 42%;c255.31;P,.05), or demanding food fromthe table (0%vs 12%; Fisher’s exact test P , .05). Moreover, the experimental group showed less aggressive behaviors toward unknown people (26% vs 2%; Fisher’s exact test P , .01) and dogs (16% vs 2%; Fisher’s exact test P , .05). The advice providedwas effective in diminishing the incidence of undesirable behaviors in the dogs studied. The positive effect of a behaviorist’s advice is remarkable given that the puppies in the experimental group had remained with their mother and littermates for less than 2 months, which is believed to be a high-risk condition for development of behavioral disorders