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OH NO! I’M ALL ALONE!!! |
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May Belle had been in her new home for several weeks and her people
had very carefully attended to her during that time. She was fed well and on time. She had been patiently taught to use a
particular spot in the garden for her needs.
She had been given toys but had little interest in those.** Walks in the
neighborhood were uneventful and she seemed to love rides in the car. All seemed to be going
beautifully. But, one day when her
family returned after being away for several hours they were horrified at
what they encountered. May Belle had shredded the woodwork around the doorway. Two sofa cushions were destroyed and she
had defecated and urinated in various places.
It was clear from looking at her that she was salivating excessively. What could have possessed this sweet little
dog?! May Belle appears to have a case of SA (separation anxiety). All of the behaviors mentioned above can
have other causes: boredom, inadequate/incomplete
housetraining, illness, etc. But when
they all occur together it is very likely SA.
This is a condition commonly reported in studies of guide dogs when
separated from their people. Re-homing a dog very, very
often brings these distressing behaviors.
It is almost as though the dog is saying: I thought I was safe and now I am abandoned
– again! May Belle is one of the
lucky ones. Her people got all the
right advice. Helping the May Belles of
the world is not a one step program.
It is a combination of behavior modification – desensitization and
counter-conditioning – and pharmacological intervention. No, we do not turn May Belle into a
zombie! In fact, “those” drugs are totally unacceptable. What is needed is a trycyclic
antidepressant and the “most readily
available and least expensive of these, amitriptyline,
has been used at a starting dose of 1 to 2 mg/kg orally every 12 hours. Other TCAs (imipramine,
clomapramine) are among the best choices for this
condition.”* Often these drugs do not
make any changes for several weeks but the behavior modification procedures
should be started immediately! These
procedures include such basic things as “earning” attention. That means May Belle doesn’t get pats and
scratches because she is so cute (which she is, of course!) but rather she
needs to do something first, such as sit.
Anxious dogs often solicit attention:
Nudge, nudge. Pet me. Pet me.
Please, pet me? Build confidence by giving the dog a job to
do. Learn how to find lots and lots of
ways to teach confidence building to your dog and then be really sure you
observe her in action and reward the desirable behavior! During the confidence
building process it is essential to prevent any repeats of the anxiety – let
alone the destruction! This may
involve puppy sitters, dog walkers, background music, (jazz is not the first
choice!), wonderful raw bones to chew, etc.
Of course punishment is the worst possible course of action. But, I guess if you have read this far you
know that already, eh? *This is a quote from: CLINICAL BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE FOR SMALL
ANIMALS by Karen Overall, M.A., DVM, PhD. Dr. Overall’s PhD is in behavioral ecology
and she is an Applied Animal Behaviorist at Penn State. **Dogs that did not have
toys as pups forget how to play but the good news is we can teach them! And it is fun to do so. B |