Abstract

• Basically a 1 paragraph summary

• Write this LAST….it is easier– This is very much like the last paragraph of your

discussion

• Typically no more than 250-300 words (and this is HARD!).

Introduction: Be sure and REFERENCE!• Introduce the concept of operant conditioning

– Define reinforcement vs. punishment– Maintaining behavior: Schedules of reinforcement such as DRO, DRL, and DRH schedules– Shaping and rules of shaping

• Functional analysis– Define it– Explain how it is used– Give examples of its use– Tie into dogs:

• Introduction to Dogs– Why need to use operant conditioning/training with dogs, particularly rescue and shelter dogs– Dogs attachment/attention to humans (might include a small discussion on Innate or learned?– Dog development– Effects of shelters on dogs and Special populations of dogs (here you can add deaf/blind if that applies)

• Segue: Present investigation applies operant conditioning and functional analyses on shelter/rescue dogs

• Brief paragraph about what you did

Method section• Describe your subject (s)

– Age, breed, sex, name– Background of the dog

• Describe the room and tools you used– Large room: 24 x 30 ft with 12 x 12 platform 4” above floor in middle of the room– Computers on desks and various chairs located at edges of room– Large window on north side of room; entrance door on south west side; office on south east; holding room

on north east.– Describe treats and toys you used:

• Zuke's Mini Naturals Dog Treats• Balls, etc.• Social reinforcement

• Describe your procedure:– Meet the dog; habituation time– Initial training time– Cannineality and functional analysis assessments– Continued training– Describe what you taught your dog to do and how you did it .

Results

Cannine-ality and Functional Analysis

• Make a table and report each score on each subtest

• Sum the score• Describe the results briefly and give an overall

assessment of the cannine-ality.

• These data should be in Test 1…..steal from there!!!!!

Australian Shepherd Rescue Midwest Behavior Evaluation

Dog name: Bella Date of assessment: 11/06/2011 Age of Dog: 3 Breed: Australian Shepherd Color: Black with Brown/White Paws Sex: Spayed Female Assessor: Val Farmer-Dougan, Ph.D. Observers: Daniel Campbell, Amanda Quick

Canine-Ality™ Assessment:

__1 1. Left Alone: Bella only walks around and sniffs about the room. There are no other behaviors seen. __0 ___ 2. Greeting: Although it is hard to tell on the video when the assessor comes into the room, once Bella see the assessor,

she initially approaches her. Almost immediately after greeting her, she jumps back and backs away. Slowly, she approaches again and sits quietly as the assessor pets her. She has an open mouth and soft eyes.

____ 3. Crate: After the second try and a little nudge, Bella enters the crate with some guidance. Once the door is closed, she give it a soft

nudge with her nose, and the rest of the time is spent standing and watching the assessor. She doesn't investigate or settle. She has an open mouth and seems relaxed. When the door is opened, she leaves the crate is a well mannered fashion.

__0___ 4. Play. Bella was completely uninterested in the ball when it was offered to her and even when it was bounced in front of her.

Instead, she chose to be interactive with the evaluator. Her mouth is open and her eyes were soft. The more the evaluator tries to play, the more uninterested Bella is and chooses to wander the room.

__0___ 5. Food Motivation. Bella initially sniffs the food lure, but then ignores it and tries to walk away. She does not follow the

assessor's hand or learn the behavior. She doesn't even take the food lure when it is offered to her on an open hand. She instead licks the assessor's face and tries to walk away.

___0__ 6. Manners. Bella was calm and well mannered. She never tried to jump on the assessor and was never rough. The only time she

seemed to respond to a stimulus was when she was confronted by the other dogs. This is when Bella showed fear and aggression which led attempted bites toward the dogs.

Total Score: 1. Bella would have a very low energy level. She would best be described as a constant companion™. “Bella can be

described as emotionally secure, mutually satisfying, and low maintenance. She will sit at your feet, walk by your side, and be your devoted companion forever." ™

Conclusions:

During Assessment Bella was not aggressive and had low energy. She will be fine with an owner who is laid back like herself. The owner needs to be responsible enough to remember to give her any necessary medication every day. This will not only keep her healthy but also reduce her aggression levels towards other dogs. She could be placed into a multi-dog home, as long as she stays medicated. She will make an excellent companion for someone looking for a low maintenance dog.

Valeri Farmer-Dougan, Ph.D. Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, Behavior Analyst and Animal Behaviorist Departments of Psychology and School of Biological Sciences Illinois State University Normal, IL 61790-4620 vfdouga@ilstu.edu http://lilt.ilstu.edu/vfdouga 309-438-4554

You wouldn’t includeYour signature like I dod, but otherswise make a table like this

Behavior training

• In the body of the paper:– Describe what happened in your results– Did the percentage or proportion of 3’s decrease as the percentage

or proportion of 2’s and then 1’s increase? Describe this!!!!!– When did you know the dog had mastered the task- that is, what

part of your graph shows mastery– What part of your graph shows a change condition (e.g., the dog

was absent for three days): did the data show a backslide in behavior? Point those out.

– Non statistics are needed!

• Repeat this process for each behavior you trained.

Behavior training Graphing

• Graph each command or type of training individually

• The X axis should be days of training. If you skipped a few days, or the dog missed a few days, show that by having no data for those days.

• The Y axis should be plotted from 0 to 100 (percentage) or 0 to 1.0 (proportion

Obedience training Graphing• For EACH DAYS DATA for a particular task (say, SIT)

– Add up the # of 3’s the dog performed– Add up the # of 2’s the dog performed– Add up the # of 1’s the dog performed– Sum all of these to get the total

• NOW: get the percentage– divide the # of 3’s by the total– Divide the # of 2’s by the total– Divide the # of 1’s by the total– For proportion, leave your numbers from 0 to 1.0– For percentage: multiple those numbers above by 100 (e.g., .3 x 100 = 30%)

• Plot the percentage or proportion of 1’s, 2’s and 3’s for that day (you can make three separate graphs or plot all on 1 graph using different symbols and linies)

• Repeat for each day you have data for that task.

• Repeat this process for each behavior you trained.

0 2 4 6 8 10 120

20

40

60

80

100

120

Percentage of 1's, 2's and 3's

3's2's1's

Sessions

Perc

enta

ge o

f Bea

havi

or

Moe

Discussion

• Summarize your data

• Cannineality; did it give you more information about your dog, how was it used

• Training: how did it go?– What was successful and what was not successful– How did you adapt to a different dog or dogs (if you did)– What would you do differently if you had the chance– What should Dr. FD do differently next semester to facilitate

the dogs better?

Discussion• Tie your results back to the literature we have read and discussed

– How was your dog (s) similar to some of the situations or dogs we read about?– What theories or articles were most helpful for training your dog or gave you the most important information for

working with your dog?

• What did you learn about– Working with dogs– Operant conditioning– Yourself: How did you change over the course of the semester as a trainer?

• Why is (or is not) this class valuable for– Psychology majors– You– The dogs

• Critique your case study:– What was well done what was NOT well done, and why?– What would you change about how the class was run and why?– What was well done and why? (so what would you keep).

• Summarize in a single paragraph (like an abstract) what this paper was all about!

Remember:

• REFERENCE as if you were writing any other term paper for a class

• Include your references in a reference section!

• I am looking for a great paper to nominate for the Laura Berk writing award…..do a good job and it might be yours!