The Effects of Husbandry Training on Stereotypic Pacing in Captive African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus)

To examine the effects of operant conditioning on stereotypic pacing in 3 female African wild dogs located at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, this study made recordings of pacing behavior immediately following individual sessions of husbandry training and 2 no-training conditions. The study found significant differences in the percentage of observations spent in stereotypic pacing behaviors for all 3 dogs among the 3 different conditions. The authors discuss the data in terms of the contribution of motivated tasks to the effects and the role of food deprivation in the expression of stereotypic pacing. The study suggests that even short periods of training may improve the African wild dogs' welfare by reducing stereotypic pacing following the conditioning sessions.