Inter-Dog Household Aggression - JAVMA Study

I recently reviewed a scientific report from the March 2011 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA). The article described a study of 38 cases of household aggression between dogs. In summary, researchers worked with several cases of fighting between dogs (living together) over approximately 1 year, then had owners rate the effectiveness of various therapies. The study featured a rather small test group, with an even smaller number of owners (only 25 owners) completing final follow-up surveys.

Besides the small test group, this study also had a large number of variables with no controls. 88% of the study group received medications, while variable training techniques were used as therapies in about 75% of the group - obviously there was a large amount of overlap. Progress ratings were subjective, with owners rating the effectiveness of various therapies on a scale.

In spite of problems with the study design, the results were interesting. When owners evaluated the effectiveness of various therapies, those not given (or not using) training adjuncts as part of their therapy only rated improvement at 28%. This compared to improvement of 89% for those using training adjuncts as part or all of their dog's therapy. However, when owners were asked which therapy they found the most helpful, they ranked medication at 65% while ranking training around 48% in usefulness.

Given the low improvement rates seen without training adjuncts, the high regard for medication as a best therapy seems odd. While I applaud the effort put into this project, I would certainly welcome more studies with better controls and more objective measurement of results. Of course, that would be very time consuming and very costly. No wonder some things in life are hard to quantify.