Behavior Modification Protocols Flashcards

A dog that was surrendered to a shelter and has had no known history displays sudden aggression. A CDT's first recommended step should be:

Answer: Recommend a thorough veterinary examination to rule out medical causes

Sudden or unexplained aggression frequently has a medical component such as pain, neurological changes, or hormonal imbalance that must be ruled out before behavioral intervention.

The Premack Principle applied to behavior modification means:

Answer: High-probability behaviors can reinforce low-probability behaviors

The Premack Principle states that a preferred (high-probability) behavior can be used as a reinforcer for a less preferred (low-probability) behavior.

A dog refuses food during a desensitization session. This most likely indicates:

Answer: The dog's stress level has exceeded its threshold, suppressing food motivation

When a dog will not eat high-value food it normally accepts, this is a reliable indicator that stress hormones have suppressed appetite and the dog is above threshold.

Which of the following scenarios represents 'flooding' as a behavior modification technique?

Answer: Exposing a dog to the feared stimulus at full intensity until the fear response subsides

Flooding exposes the dog to the feared stimulus at full intensity for extended periods; it is generally considered inappropriate and risks sensitization and learned helplessness.

A trainer notices a client's dog is making progress in sessions but regressing at home. The most productive next step is:

Answer: Conduct a home assessment to identify management failures and generalization gaps

Regression at home typically points to unaddressed management issues or failure to generalize trained behaviors to the home environment, which a home visit can identify.

In a behavior modification plan for fear-based aggression, the MOST important variable to control is:

Answer: The distance between the dog and the trigger stimulus

Distance is the primary variable in managing threshold; keeping sufficient distance ensures the dog stays below its reactivity threshold so learning can occur.

A client reports their dog only misbehaves when they are not home. Which behavior modification concept explains why the dog behaves differently in the owner's absence?

Answer: Discriminative stimulus control — the owner's presence has become a cue for consequences

The owner's presence has become a discriminative stimulus signaling that certain behaviors will have consequences, while the owner's absence signals those consequences are absent.