Stimulus control and modeling strategies for controlling urban dog litter

Abstract

Dog litter in areas not only damages the esthetic quality of a community but also poses a serious health problem. The present paper explored several behavioral strategies directed at ameliorating this litter problem in a major metropolitan area. Two studies indicated that stimulus control techniques (i.e., surrounding specific target areas with 0.3-m posts connected by string) effectively eliminated dog droppings. These studies, however, had no impact on reducing overall rates of community dog litter. Two other behavioral studies focused on prompting dog owners to pick up their dogs' droppings. These latter dog intervention projects brought about considerable reductions in dog litter in two urban areas. One of these interventions was implemented by university research assistants, whereas the other was carried out by trained community residents. Follow-up evaluations indicated that gains were maintained in both projects, although the intervention utilizing community residents as prompters evidenced a greater reduction in overall community litter.