Identifying when early puppy behaviors deviate from ‘normal’ and implications for development of behavioral pathology – Presented by Karen Overall

The lifetime prevalence of behavioral concerns in dogs has been shown to be as high at 99%.  Some common behavioural pathologies (eg, fears and phobias of noises) have a lifetime prevalence of 50%.  Early data collected by Scott, Fuller and colleagues in the 1960s and 1970s using exclusional or deprivational experiments with multiple litters of 5 similarly shaped/sized breeds across breed groups established limits for the ends of the sensitive periods for social and environmental exposure. However, we still lack criteria to define and quantify normal behavior and so cannot identify and quantify early deviations from it. We also lack standardized assessments to evaluate risk factors and their effects on behaviour. 

Coming soon.