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Veterinary Behavior Advice
This page will feature questions posted to LABSR4U, and
answers written by Steven Feldman, DVM
[Separation Anxiety]
[Dog Aggression]
[Food Aggression] [House training]
Separation Anxiety
I have a 19 month old Yellow Lab named
"Ray". Ray is a rescue dog. We are fortunate to know his background. We got him
shortly after this past Christmas. The first year of his life was spent locked up in a
kennel 20 hours a day in someone's basement (even though they lived on a farm). The 4
hours he was out I am not sure what happened, but he is scared of some men. When we got
him he was about 20 pounds over weight and out of control. We have worked very very hard
with this dog and he has become such an important part of our family. He is just a
sweetheart. The problem with him is that he suffers from major separation Anxiety. I mean
it can be really bad. At first we crated him but he would just bark the entire time we
would have to be gone. My wife is a stay at home mom so he is rarely left alone. If we let
him outside he waits by the door. The biggest problem is that he panics when we are away
from him. When we come back he can drink 4 bowls of water (as his throat is probably
really sore from whining and barking). We figured this would go away with time but it just
doesn't seem to. I feel that this is an a affecting his quality of life. Would
anti-depressants work in a case like this? Is it recommended?
Sounds like Ray has 2 problems. The first one, fearful behavior, is one that needs to
dealt with through a desensitization and counter conditioning program. Initially,
there would be a set of exercises which involve getting Ray to relax and sit/lay down for
food rewards. Later we would add in what we call "provocative stimuli", or
new people and especially males, and we would do so in a way where we never caused a
fearful response. This sounds easy but it
is a lot of work and will take a lot of time.
The 2nd problem, separation anxiety, has recently been publicized to veterinarians by the
Novartis(R) company with the release of the antidepressant drug, a tricyclic
antidepressant, called Clomicalm(R). I might add that the Clomicalm alone will not
be a fix --it will only augment behavior modification exercises. There needs to be
routines
called gradual departures and scrambling of departure cues. Some dogs will
self-destruct in a crate and they need to be confined in alternative ways. This
problem of separation anxiety is a true anxiety disorder. It is usually
characterized by howling/barking, destructive
behavior, and often eliminations in the house. The dogs really don't want to be bad,
but they can't help themselves. These dogs who are "rescued", or actually
are called "re-homed" dogs, are at major risk for separation anxiety. It's
nice to rescue dogs but realize that these dogs come with baggage and may never be as
normal as the puppy who is socialized to a person in the 6-12 wk. old stage. Does it
mean you shouldn't rescue dogs? Of course not, but you will sometimes need to consult with
a animal behaviorist (and not just a dog trainer) to help normalize these guys.
Dog
Aggression
Mr. Boscoe is now 11 years old, we got
him about 15 months ago. He was an unneutered male who had lived with his littermate
sister most of his life until a divorce situation where the wife was unable to keep
him. Based on his coat, I assume he spent time as an outdoor dog. He is
a loving and affectionate dog with no real problem behaviors...except one, he seems to
hate most other dogs, including puppies, and will essentially try to bite first before
even a social sniff. When we went to adopt him after many e-mails (it was a 7 or so
hour drive) he was a love to all our family members- however when we brought in our then 2
year old yellow spayed female, he attempted to attack her. (He had been neutered
about a month before we got him.) The rescue person assured me that this was unusual
for him, they had not had problems like this in his fostering. We decided to take
him home, and after a few days of physical separation he began to tolerate Lucy, and today
they are friends.
However, introductions to our 2 neighboring male dogs, a neutered male lab and a Corgi
puppy, resulted in bite attempts, and he did eventually bite the lab...which resulted in
our putting up a wood privacy fence instead of using our already installed Invisible Fence
that was wonderful with Lucy- she played with the neighbor dogs daily inside the
Fence. I am a trainer at our local dog club, and took Mr. B. through 2 classes,
beginner and novice obedience. I attempted to redirect his attention positively off
other dogs
(look at me! sit! treat...) however, that was not a total success, he still managed a few
bite attempts. My vet was in that class with one of her dogs!
He was checked out physically too, had a slightly elevated creatinine which was brought
back to normal on Hills k/d. We walk him with a Halti, at least he does not go crazy
barking and lunging toward other dogs now on walks, he is controllable. I did
consult by phone a local "trainer/behaviorist" (she'd been to some seminars) who
basically said I just needed to keep him away from other dogs.
The only 2 other dogs he likes are my friend and obedience instructor's very submissive
female labs that he has met repeatedly- she is the only one who was willing to allow them
to meet him!
Sorry to be so long-winded...I have pretty much now accepted his behavior probably will
not change at his age. However, just in case you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them (or
if any listers have any ideas too, we welcome any input!) We are about 2 hours from
the University of Wisconsin at
Madison and their vet school too, if you have any colleagues there.
There is hope for Mr. Boscoe's interdog aggression, but it
will involve the protocols for relaxation followed by a program where you would introduce
strange dogs to him and reward him for remaining calm. For an 11-year-old dog, this
is a big task and I wonder if avoidance of other dogs isn't the easier route. On the
other hand, go for it if you are so motivated! I can give you the names of at least
6 members of
the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior who are willing to help with behavior
consults in the state of Wisconsin. I also can do this for anybody in any state who
would like names.
It is important to thwart all attempts of aggression the second they occur. It is
good that Mr. B. has a halti (although I think the Gentle Leader is superior in design),
and correcting him at the first growl with a firm tug and making him sit and then
praising, food plus verbal praise, for remaining calm , will certainly help.
Neutering dogs doesn't always help interdog aggression. However it does remove dogs
who have this attribute from the gene pool.
Some other comments which you will see me make from time to time...if you do nothing else
to train your dog, at least make them SIT FOR EVERYTHING from the very beginning.
Fit all puppies with a head collar from the get go and never use physical punishment.
Use food treats like they are going out of style. And I know this is very
controversial, but most of the veterinary behaviorists do not recommend practicing the
alpha-dog-rollover technique in puppies.
Well, if nothing else, I have opened up a jumbo can of worms for you all to dine on LOL.
Food
Aggression
My foster puppy (13 weeks
Shep/Mallie X, female, in my house for 2 weeks) has suddenly began showing food
aggression. This morning she started growling/moaning @ the other dogs when they
came near her food dish (not trying to eat from it - just coming close), and then did the
same thing with me. I went on the floor and kept sticking my hand into the dish -
correcting her verbally when she growled, praising her lavishly when she didn't
protest. By the end of her meal, she wasn't giving me heck, but was still giving the
adult dogs heck.
What do I do? Am I doing the
right thing in terms of food aggression towards humans? How do I handle it towards
the other dogs?
This is a complicated topic. In food aggression you
need to decide from the beginning whether you are going to avoid the aggression or change
it. In an adult dog, it's OK to avoid it. Actively changing the dog's attitude
around food is difficult and can be dangerous. Aggression around food is one of
those behaviors that have persisted evolutionarily as a survival mechanism and can be very
serious in an adult dog.
Now this is a puppy and you can probably change the behavior before the pup hones its
aggressive skills by succeeding in keeping others away from her food. There is a protocol
for feeding which involves hand-feeding first and giving the food to the puppy from your
hand only when she is deferential and sitting and not growling. Of course having
the Gentle Leader on and correcting at the first growl is a good idea.
Later you progress to feeding small amounts in a bowl sequentially if there is sitting and
no growling or rudeness in grabbing the food. This can take a lot of patience and
will not be for everyone.
Again, these are the rules for food aggression: You realize the dog has it and you
do not give rawhides or other delicious treats. (Rawhide is food, by the way). You
feed the dog where it can eat undisturbed and only food that will be consumed
quickly. Do not feel guilty for "giving in" to the dog. Food aggression
can be very dangerous in households where children are involved because children will drop
food
and can't be trusted to act logically around the food. If an adult dog has food
aggression feed it separately and with some adult supervision. Be careful about food
that is dropped as this can instigate the aggression.
Checklist for
Housebreaking a Puppy
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