---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A year-long study by the University of…"
description: "\"“A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania, ending in 2009 and published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science (Elsevier), showed th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/edward-custo-192817_animal-behavior_a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-p_5388.jpg"
---

#  A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania…

![“A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania, ending in 2009 and published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science (Elsevier), showed that aggressive dogs who were trained with aggressive, confrontational, or aversive training techniques, such as being stared at, growled at, rolled…” quote by Edward Custo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/edward-custo-192817_animal-behavior_a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-p_5388.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/edward-custo-192817_animal-behavior_a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-p_5388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/edward-custo-192817_animal-behavior_a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-p_5388.jpg)

> ““A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania, ending in 2009 and published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science (Elsevier), showed that aggressive dogs who were trained with aggressive, confrontational, or aversive training techniques, such as being stared at, growled at, rolled onto their backs, or hit, continued their aggressive ways. Non-aversive training methods, such as exercise or rewards, were very successful in reducing or eliminating aggressive responses.””

Edward Custo

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Aggressive dogs trained with aversive methods stay aggressive; reward‑based training reduces aggression.

**In simple terms:** Harsh training keeps aggression; rewards calm dogs.

Key Takeaway

Use positive reinforcement for dog behavior.

Themes

animal behavior training aggression humane methods dog welfare

Mood

concerned hopeful practical

Type

research summary advice

When to use this quote

- dog training classes
- pet owners
- animal shelters
- veterinary behavior consultations

Key Concepts

aversive conditioning positive reinforcement behavior modification

Questions to Reflect On

- How can owners ensure consistency in reward‑based training?
- What signs indicate a dog needs professional help?

A Different Perspective

Aggressive dogs may need time and consistency beyond training alone.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-behavior/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/)

## Related quotes

> [I did protection work with dogs. I trained dogs how to protect their handlers and owners. We'd teach them bite work, how to search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-browne/i-did-protection-work-with-dogs-i-trained-dogs-how-to-protect-their/)

[Travis Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-browne/)

> [“You cannot accurately assume that all the dogs saved from a fight bust are vicious and unstable or that all pit bulls are biting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gorant/you-cannot-accurately-assume-that-all-the-dogs-saved-from-a-fight/)

[Jim Gorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gorant/)

> [Owners who buy aggressive dogs for security may be kidding themselves: The chances that the victim of a fatal dog attack will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-katz/owners-who-buy-aggressive-dogs-for-security-may-be-kidding-themselves/)

[Jon Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-katz/)

> [“There is not a moral to every story in animal behavior. Sometimes a snake is just a snake, and sometimes snake sex is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-zuk/there-is-not-a-moral-to-every-story-in-animal-behavior-sometimes-a/)

Marlene Zuk

> [The term 'alpha female' originated in my field of animal behavior, but has acquired new meaning. It refers to women who are in charge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/the-term-alpha-female-originated-in-my-field-of-animal-behavior-but/)

[Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/)

> [The Pygmies rely on the forest for their very life. They know everything about finding and using plants, animal behavior, and forest survival. Working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneille-ewango/the-pygmies-rely-on-the-forest-for-their-very-life-they-know/)

[Corneille Ewango](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneille-ewango/)

> [“Can we treat animal behavior with the same medicines, therapies, and approaches we use on humans? To me, the answer is an obvious yes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-dodman/can-we-treat-animal-behavior-with-the-same-medicines-therapies-and/)

Nicholas Dodman

> [One thing bothered me as a student. In the 1960s, human behavior was totally off limits for the biologist. There was animal behavior, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/one-thing-bothered-me-as-a-student-in-the-1960s-human-behavior-was/)

[Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/)

> [“A quick and brutal fuck from behind usually served as an effective reminder of where you stood in the pack hierarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/a-quick-and-brutal-fuck-from-behind-usually-served-as-an-effective/)

[Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/)

> [“The evolution of animal behavior does constitute a learning process, but it is learning by the species, not by the individual, and the fruits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-evolution-of-animal-behavior-does-constitute-a-learning-process/)

[Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/)

> [With animal behavior, they're all fine until you introduce some rogue element into the cage, and then they go crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/with-animal-behavior-they-re-all-fine-until-you-introduce-some-rogue/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [I've always been interested in animal behavior, and I keep reading about it because it's so surprising all the time - so many things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-animal-behavior-and-i-keep-reading/)

[Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/)

> [“A know-it-all attitude and presentation annihilates credibility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ptera-hunter/a-know-it-all-attitude-and-presentation-annihilates-credibility/)

Ptera Hunter

> [“Every scientist should, after all, regard it as his duty to tell the public, in a generally intelligible way, about what he is doing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/every-scientist-should-after-all-regard-it-as-his-duty-to-tell-the/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [I had a wonderful teacher about animal behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-had-a-wonderful-teacher-about-animal-behavior/)

[Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

Mak\_786

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/)

[Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania, ending in 2009 and published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science (Elsevier), showed that aggressive dogs who were trained with aggressive, confrontational, or aversive training techniques, such as being stared at, growled at, rolled onto their backs, or hit, continued their aggressive ways. Non-aversive training methods, such as exercise or rewards, were very successful in reducing or eliminating aggressive responses.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Edward Custo"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-custo/a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-pennsylvania-ending-in-2009/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-custo/a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-pennsylvania-ending-in-2009/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/edward-custo-192817_animal-behavior_a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-p_5388.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/edward-custo-192817_animal-behavior_a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-p_5388.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/edward-custo-192817_animal-behavior_a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-p_5388.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania, ending in 2009 and published in the journal Applied…” — Edward Custo",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Edward Custo",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-custo/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A year-long study by the University...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-custo/a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-pennsylvania-ending-in-2009/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-custo/a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-pennsylvania-ending-in-2009/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
