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abnormal behaviour

pathophysiologic, experientieal behaviour (Askew)
a behaviour that deviates too far from them or produces excessive costs for society or dog owners (Lindsay)

pathological behaviour

A behaviour that has lost its adaptive functions and is incapable of leading the organism back to the state of balance after having completed the sequence (Pageat).

Accomodation

A modification of an already existing element to make it more efficient in changed surroundings. Chahgin ghte function of a known behaviour (Pageat).

Adaptation

Series of physiological and behavioural changes that allow the organism to adapt to the environment and reacquire its homeostasis (Pageat)

Aggression

The physical act or threat that allows an individual to reduce the liberty and the genetic potency (reproduction) of annother individual (Pageat).
A behaviour that leads to - or of which the apparent aim is to - do harm to the physical and/or psychological integrity of freedom of another individual (Dehasse)
Aggression is defined within a given context as an appropriate or inappropriate threat or challenge that is ultimately resolved by combat or deference (Overall)
Aggression in general refers to threatening or harmful behaviour directed towards another individual or group (Landsberg)
Aggressive behaviour is when motor patterns are shown that are directed towards the bodily intactness ofo social partners (Feddersen-Petersen)

Agonistic behaviour

Any behaviour that can contribute to the solution of a conflicht, meaning aggression itself, but also threatening behaviour, flight, appeasing and submissive behaviours etc (Dehasse)

Anticipation

A state of fear before the actual sensitzing stimulus is present (Pageat)

Anxiety

Reactional state characterized by an increased probability of triggering emotional reactions analogous to those of fear in response to any change in the surroundings (internal and external) (Pageat)

Assimilation

The incorporation of external elements into one's own structure, learning of a new behaviour in order to be able to communicate (Pageat)

Autoshaping

Autoshaping is the classical conditioning that occurs simply because of repeated exposure (Overall)

behaviour

The sum of motor and communicational productions (Pageat).

normal behaviour = physiolgical behaviour

A behaviour is normal when it is adaptive and flexible, and adapts to changes in the environment without major difficulty (Dehasse)
instinctive, learned behaviour (Askew)
A behaviour that fits our norms and expectations (Lindsay)

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning focusses on involutary or reflex behaviours (...) and does not use rewards; instead, the animal learns to pair the reflexive or involuntary behaviour with another neutral signal (Overall)
In classical conditioning, the animal learns to show a reflex or show an involuntary action in response to an initially neutral trigger if this initially netural trigger was first coupled with another trigger normally resulting in the according response (O'Farrell)

Cognitive therapy

Therapy aiming at modifying the reactions of the patient by giving him organised information allwoing him to change his perception of the environment (Pageat)
Changes that act on the way the dog represents itself in a conflict situation (Dehasse)

Communication

Transmission of a message from one individual to another (Pageat)

Conditioning

Experimental methode that allows the substitution of an "artificial" stimulus or "conditional" stimulus with a natural stimulus (Pageat)
Conditioning refers to associations between stimuli and responses. Classical conditioning does not involve a reward structure to make thes associations. Operant or instrumental conditioning uses a reinforcement (reward or punishment) structure) (Overall)

Counter-conditioning

Counterconditioning consists of teaching the dog a behaviour which enters into competition with the one developped spontaneously in the presence of the stimulus (Dehasse)
In counterconditioning, negative or undesirable behaviour is extinguished or controlled by teaching the animal to do another behaviour (preferably favorable and fun) that competitively interferes with the execuation of the undesirable behaviour (Overall)

Critical distance = individual distance

The distance at which an individual starts feeling fearful and starts showing survival strategies and strong defense reactions (Dehasse)

Dangerousness

Depression

A reactional state characterized by reduced receptability of stimuli and a spontaneous, irreversible inhibition (Pageat)

Desensitisation

Procedure of behavioural modification with the aim to suppress the sensitisation to a stimulus by exposing the individual to this stimulus in a repetitive manner with increasing intensity (Pageat)
The decrease in response that is produced by gradual exposure to a stimulus that elicits the reponse (Dehasse)
Desensitisation is based on classical conditioning and has the aim to extinguish the relationship that has been developped between a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned reaction consisting of a state of very high excitement (O'Farrell)

Dishabituation

The reinstatement of a habituated response as a result of exposure to a stimulus that provokes a response similar to the original (Overall)

Disobedience

The refusal to obey the demands the dog hears, sees and understands and which it has obeyed before (Dehasse)

Displacement activity

Disruptive stimulus

A stimulus that has no functional connection to the behavioural sequence that leads to the interruption of the chain of acts (Pageat)

Dominance

An individual who assures the existence of the group by inhibiting the aggression of others and controlling reproduction (Pageat)
The capacity to attain privileges and to defend them (Dehasse)
A concept found in traditional ethology that pertains to an individual's ability, generally under controlled conditions, to maintain or regulate access to some resource (Overall)
The condition in which a member of the social group controls situations or the behaviour of others in the group (Landsberg)
The term dominance typically denotes a social relationship based on a regular exchange of species-typical threat and appeasement signals between at least two individuals...The condition in which a member of the social group controls situations or the behaviour of others in the group (Lindsay)

Emotion

Summary of psychological and neurovegetative reactions that accompany the exposure to a stimulus (Pageat)

Ethogramme

Repertory of the sum of behaviours characteristic of a given species (Pageat)

Ethology

The science that studies the spontaneous behaviours of animals and humans (Pageat)
The theory of instinct behaviours (O'Farrell)
The biological study of animal behaviour (Askew)

Extinction

The cessation of a response that occurs when rinforcement is stopped".
"Extinction is the process by which normal or conditioned responses are decreased or attenuated by exposure to a stimulus that elicits the response in the absence of the reward (Overall)
The cessation of all positive reinforcements which are maintaining an undesirable behaviour (Askew)

Fear

A violent behavioural reaction of an individual facing an unknown - or known - stimulus it estimates as dangerous in a surrounding that does not allow flight or exploration...accompanied by neurovegetative reactions (Dehasse)
In humans: "Fear is the consequence of a particularly disagreable experience, whereby the person shows at least one of the following symptoms: 1. Flight or avoidanceâ€¦ 2. Hypervigilance with [neurovegetative reactions]â€¦ 3. Verbal expression"
dogs: "one can assume a dog is afraid of a certain situation, if it ... 1. tries to flee from or to avoid the situation; 2. it is in a high state of excitation (trembling, panting, crying, loosing urine, etc.) (O'Farrell)

Flooding

involves prolonged exposure at a level that provokes the response so that the naimal evfeltually gives up (Overall)

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