Operant performance patterns of normal and nervous water-deprived dogs

Previous studies have shown that most food-deprived genetically nervous pointer dogs fail to learn a bar-pressing response for food reward and those which do learn are erratic in bar-pressing compared to genetically normal pointer dogs which usually learn rapidly and perform well. Benzodiazepine drugs facilitate learning and performance of the responses in nervous dogs. The present study aimed at finding whether a stronger drive producing state, such as water deprivation, would facilitate learning and performance in even severely nervous dogs. Eight normal line and 7 nervous line dogs successfully learned to perform well a paddle-pressing response which activates a valve releasing water into a drinking pan. One disturbing dog of each line did not learn successfully. Behavior shaping was about as easy and as rapid in nervous line dogs as in normals. Nervous line dogs tended to be as consistent in responding. However, response rates of nervous line dogs averaged about two-thirds those of normal line dogs, the slowed rate of responses being taken up mostly in excessive, rather stereotyped, licking of the water pan. Response rates correlated well with degree of nervousness as measured on independent well standardized behavior tests. This behavior seems to add another dimension to the characterization of the nervousness of these "spooky" pointer dogs.