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I am thankful that I’m from a family that loves dogs.
My sister hosted Thanksgiving this year. Her husband recently retired and they moved to my town – across the street from my office/house! They have three little dogs: perhaps 10-year-old Bo, a scruffy Terrier-mix they adopted from a friend whose life was too much in flux to keep him; Daisy, a 2-year-old Jack Russell-mix adopted from a Jack Russell rescue; and Dinah, the ?-year-old “mommy dog” that I fostered (along with her puppy) last summer. (My sister dog-sat for me when I was traveling and ended up falling in love with soft-coated Dinah, her first non-terrier!) Daisy is the most social and well-adjusted with guests, jumping into anyone’s lap for petting and play, but the other two both spent a fair amount of time on the laps of the people they knew. It was nice to be able to reach out and pet a dog in any room we were in before and after dinner! To keep the chaos level low, we made sure that they were the only dogs in their home.
My brother-in-law and his wife and their dogs stayed at my office/house for a few days, and tehn my son came and stayed a few days with his dog, so I had days and days of dog walks in my local open spaces. My sister’s cooking was phenomenal, but the off-leash dog walks out in nature, with mostly well-behaved dogs, were the highlights of my week.
My in-laws brought their Boxer, Rosie, whom they adopted from a Boxer-rescue; and Oliver, an older foster from the same group. Oliver is smaller and sweet, with a long tail. Rosie is a handful, and tends to “lock on” to small dogs (and other small animals), so I coordinated their movements in order to avoid unmanaged moments between Rosie and my Chihuahua Tito, who will snarl at, rather than run from, any dog he perceives as a threat to his well being. He is not one of those hysterical small dogs who will start trouble with a big dog, but he won’t exactly back down, either.
Tito and my big dog Otto stayed at my home most of the time. My son arrived to the party well after dinner and spent a couple nights with his amiable 2-year-old coonhound-mix, Cole. It seemed like Otto used to regard Cole as a big pest, but he always seems happy to see the playful dog now. He usually greets Cole with a ferocious growl (paired with a wagging tail), to which Cole responds by ducking into a play bow and then taking off at a crazy-legged run; then, the chase is on. They grab toys and take turns playing “keep away” from the other. Tito grabs a tennis ball and plays by himself, trying to stay out of the way.
When the in-laws came over to my house with the Boxers, I put Tito in a crate to protect him. When people are busy catching up with each other, it’s not possible to make sure that the dogs aren’t crossing paths or swords. Better safe than sorry. Tito didn’t complain once, even though he normally would protest with some whining or a few barks if he’s locked up in the middle of the day; I think he felt safer in there, too.
Though I’ve come to rely on Otto to help me socialize and train ill-mannered juvenile foster dogs in the past, he made it abundantly clear he wanted nothing to do with helping manage Rosie’s behavior. She’s a big, strong dog, with a very assertive presence. Here she was in his house, in his yard, and she’d greet him by walking straight up to him, staring straight at him, with a stiff, forward body – very rude canine behavior. If it had been coming from an adolescent, Otto would have likely pounced on her and demanded some sort of show of submission. As it was, he very calmly just looked the other way, every time. He’d hold his ground, changing not one bit of his posture besides turning his head in an “I don’t even see you!” sort of gesture. And it worked! After a moment, Rosie would seem to get bored and move on to something else.
They were all fine when we were out on walks together, though. Rosie and Oliver mostly hung together on the trail, and Cole and his “Uncle Otto” were almost always within a few feet of each other; Tito mostly stays closest to the humans. The tactic keeps him from getting run over, and he’s ready in case anyone wants to give good little dogs a treat.
We had only one naughty dog incident in four total days with dogs out on the trail. We were in a densely wooded area, near an algae-covered pond, checking out a small, overgrown cemetery that dates back to the early 1860s. All of a sudden, we heard rhythmic crashing sounds in the dried leaves and underbrush – a deer who suddenly discovered that there was a pack of dogs nearby, and who decided to run for it. Otto and Cole were closest to her, and both of them knew exactly what those crashing sounds were. They took off after her. The other dogs, closer to us, immediately responded to our urgent calls, and stayed by us. We rewarded them quickly and extravagantly, and leashed them.
Otto was the leader, and closest to the deer. I was appalled that he failed to respond to my cues of “Off!” and “Come!” but the temptation was too great; the deer was only about 50 feet ahead of him when she started running. Cole was maybe 100 feet from her, and he actually stopped and turned back for a moment when he heard my son’s calls – but then he succumbed to the double temptation: Running deer! And running Otto!
Otto isn’t very fast, though, and though it’s clearly a blast for him to strike up a chase, he’s not so “gamey” as to chase anything for very long. He circled back and galloped back to us in less than a minute, eyes shining and very pleased with himself. But without Cole.
My son and I both called for a few minutes, listening between shouts for sounds of the deer or the dog. Then we heard more crashing sounds, and here was Cole – 100 percent soaked, from the tip of his tail to the top of his head, and covered with tiny green plants. In his haste, he must have run right “onto” the pond, mistaking the green surface for solid ground, and landing hard enough to carry him completely under the surface of the water. He shook and shook for the rest of the walk, trying to get all the water out of his ears. I’m most sorry to report that we didn’t get a picture of him covered with the little green specks; he looked sort of like a space alien. He just would not stop shaking and sending the green specks flying.
We kept a much closer eye on the dogs from then on, calling them back to us again and again, and rewarding them with the ample treats we brought along. We saw a lot more deer, including whole herd of them trotting a few hundred yards away, but by then, all of the dogs were clearly more motivated by the treats and praise than the prospect of another chase, and we had no more incidents, on that or any other walks.
Four days, five dogs on the trail and three different ones by the Thanksgiving dinner table, and no further incidents . . . it was a wonderful holiday.
This happened to two couples I know – one, very recently: They adopted a dog who turned out to have some “issues.” Each couple hired a trainer to help them manage and change the dog’s behavior. The trainers started out with teaching them very dog-friendly basic training techniques that helped them get their dogs’ attention, improved basic obedience and cooperation, and generally encouraged the couples that there was hope for their dogs. But then, when progress wasn’t being made fast enough – at least, in the eyes of the trainers – the trainers started using (and encouraging the couples to use) punitive, force-based methods. In both instances, my friends contacted me to ask for a reality check, like, “Is this okay? Is this what we should expect?” In both cases, my answer was, “Oh heck no!”
In the first case, my friends had adopted a small dog who was so reactive on leash, that he would suddenly lunge and snap at passersby. He didn’t actually manage to make contact with anyone’s flesh, but he bit shopping bags, coat and skirt hems, and the leg of someone’s pants, despite the best efforts of his very dedicated owners to keep him away from other people, and especially other dogs, when they walked. On my advice, they hired a trainer who advertised that he used dog-friendly methods, and was an alumni of a prestigious dog-friendly trainer academy, for private lessons.
The trainer taught them to ask the dog to look at them on cue, to look at other dogs or people and then choose to look back at them, to sit and stay very reliably when someone was approaching or passing when they just could not avoid this (they live in a large, busy city), and the dog was making great progress. They were dedicated to training him, and generally happy with his progress, but the hardest nut to crack (so to speak) was the unpredictable lunge-and-snap behavior. I kept encouraging my friends, because it seemed like they were getting somewhere and were highly invested in the dog – and they even took the dog in for several extensive veterinary workups and blood tests, to make sure there wasn’t a physical problem or thyroid imbalance that would help explain his hard-to-predict aggressive behavior.
But around this time, it seemed like the trainer grew frustrated with the persistence of the dog’s lunge-and-snap behavior. He brought a choke chain to their next few sessions, and showed my friends how to “pop” the dog if it looked like he was about to lunge. They saw that the trainer’s method was successful in (at least temporarily) controlling the dog, so they tried it, with a little success. Maybe all the positive stuff had to be balanced with a little discipline, they thought.
In very little time, however, the dog’s aggressive behavior started to increase, and he began to behave aggressively in more situations, many of them unpredictable. And while he had seemed to improve in the first few sessions in which the trainer had “popped” him, he abruptly started getting worse, growing much more dramatically aggressive when subjected to the things that triggered him (people and especially other dogs passing by). My friends discontinued their lessons with the trainer after one session in which the trainer appeared to lose his temper repeatedly, yanking the dog repeatedly with the choke chain, at several points lifting him off the ground, and yelling at him loudly.
My friends consulted with another trainer, who witnessed the behavior and had some minor suggestions, but admitted she didn’t have any significant answers about what else could be done.
Some weeks later, when one of my friends was sweeping their front sidewalk, and his partner opened the front door to tell him something, the dog bolted out the front door and ran like a lightning bolt next door, where their neighbor was also sweeping, and without a second of premeditation, attacked the neighbor, biting him in the leg. With great sadness, they decided they could not keep an animal that was this sort of unpredictable liability, and they returned him to the shelter he was adopted from. After an evaluation by the shelter, he was euthanized.
This is a story I will tell over Thanksgiving to my in-laws, who have a lovely adopted Boxer, and are fostering another one – and who are dealing with the first dog’s mild reactivity to other dogs when walking on leash. They, too, hired a trainer who advertises as “dog-friendly” to help them, and the lessons have paid off in spades. Their dog now knows to “look at” them on cue, and to sit calmly when cued, ignoring the passersby and their dogs, too. Yet, while I haven’t yet heard why, the same trainer also insisted that they buy and use a prong collar on the dog when walking. “Should we use it?” my sister-in-law asked me. “No!” I responded. Instead, I’ll help them when they come to stay in my office/house for a few days over Thanksgiving, and we go out for walks every day. And I’ll be sure to tell them the sad story of my other friends’ dog.
Folks, read our back articles. Pain-based, force-based, intimidation-based, fear-based, and even discomfort-based methods all tend to make aggressive behavior worse over time. You may be able to intimidate a dog into behaving better in certain circumstances, but unless you seriously and systematically address his stress – the things that get him anxious or aroused – the behavior will continue to pop up from time to time, and pretty much always when you least expect it and least wish for it to happen. You have to improve how he feels when he’s exposed to his stressors – and leash pops and yelling certainly won’t make him any less anxious or defensive about them. And next, you have to teach him a more rewarding response, something he should do (as opposed to telling him all the things he should NOT do) when he sees one of his stressors. The process takes time and commitment, but it can be, and has been, done time and time again. Usually, with people who are working with trainers who have lots of tools in their training “toolbox,” and who don’t give up on the dog-friendly stuff when they get stuck.
What’s your definition of a “well-trained dog?” For many people, a well-trained dog is one who knows how to perform a variety of behaviors. However, there are many dogs who will sit, lie down, stay, heel, and show off a few fun parlor tricks at home – but who look completely perplexed when asked to perform the same behaviors at an outdoor café, while visiting relatives or friends, or perhaps even when entering the ring at a dog show!
If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “But he does it at home!” while wondering why your dog fails to respond correctly when working in a new environment, you have acknowledged that your dog has not yet generalized the behavior to all contexts, and lacks fluency.
In dog training, generalization means that your dog can apply a concept to many situations; he knows that “Sit!” means he should sit whether he’s home, on a loud, crowded sidewalk in the rain, or in a grassy park with squirrels chattering in the trees. Fluency means the dog performs the desired behavior correctly, smoothly, and without hesitation.
When we train a behavior, we often do so with the unspoken expectation that the dog will perform the behavior anywhere, anytime, so long as the correct cue is given. It’s important to understand generalization and fluency because a dog’s failure to perform is often seen as the dog’s deliberate choice to not comply. In reality, the dog’s lack of compliance usually means he doesn’t know the behavior to the extent you believe he does. That’s a training problem; the behavior wasn’t generalized and taught to fluency.
As a trainer, my definition of “well trained” has less to do with how many behaviors my dog knows; it’s much more about whether he can correctly perform these behaviors in many unique circumstances, a feat that is necessary for him to live harmoniously within my lifestyle.
Out of Context
Dogs have dozens of wonderful qualities, but unfortunately, an ability to quickly generalize is not one of them. Dogs are contextual creatures. Learning to sit for three seconds in the kitchen when the house is quiet is not the same as sitting in a crowded outdoor shopping center. When dogs fail to comply in new settings or in the face of distractions, they aren’t being stubborn, willful, or dominant, as many people believe. In reality, they are struggling to meet the demands placed upon them in that moment, and they need our help to become successful.
In order for a dog to truly know a behavior, we must take the time to specifically train for the many types of situations we are likely to encounter with our dogs. It’s not just about more practice – it’s about strategic practice. Taking the time to train a behavior to fluency helps ensure that the behavior works whenever and wherever you need it. It’s the difference between a dog who can come when called when you leave him in a sit, walk away, and call him, and a dog who can still come when called while in the middle of chasing a squirrel down your driveway toward traffic!
The better your dog is able to respond to your cues, the less you are likely to be frustrated by his behavior. Even better, dogs who are reliable in their skills are more likely to be found accompanying their owners on adventures away from home. It’s more fun to hit the town with a well-trained dog!
We typically associate fluency with language, but it’s just as relevant to any acquired skill. Think about when you first learned to drive a car. You probably started in an empty parking lot or on a quiet road where you were unlikely to encounter other drivers; you needed to work in an area free from the distraction of other drivers. In the beginning, it took effort to remember each of the important steps that make up the behavior of “driving safely.” You relied heavily on the guidance of a driving instructor. As your skill level and confidence increased, you practiced on busier roads, in different weather conditions, and maybe even behind the wheels of different cars. Over time, you became so well practiced in the art of safe driving that it now appears effortless. The skill of operating a car has become generalized and fluent.
The following are methods that help dogs generalize behaviors and become fluent.
1. Start by clearly defining the behavior you want.
When you teach a behavior, it’s important to have a clear picture of what you want the finished behavior to look like. Does “heel” mean that your dog should match your pace and stay even with your left leg, or does “heel” mean your dog may stay anywhere on your left side so long as the leash stays loose? Does “on your spot” mean your dog should run directly to his mat and lie down with his entire body on the mat, or does it mean he should run to his mat and lie down with most of his body on the mat?
You should also have an idea of how quickly you want your dog to perform the behavior – both in terms of the time it takes the dog to start the behavior after you deliver the cue (latency), and the time it takes to perform the behavior from start to finish (speed).
There are no right or wrong answers. As the owner and trainer, you get to decide what’s most important to you, but you do need to think about your overall expectations in order to develop a training plan to support them. If you don’t have a clear idea of what you want, how will your dog know? Many of us begin training a behavior without clear expectations, only to suddenly decide the behavior we’ve been rewarding isn’t really what we want.
For example, think of the “puppy sit.” It’s not uncommon to have clients ask how to get their now 8-month-old dog to sit square on his hips after months of rewarding the puppy for slouched sitting. To fix it, we have to stop rewarding “sloppy sits” and work to re-train the behavior. Ever have a boss criticize you for failing to follow a procedure change nobody bothered to tell you about? It’s frustrating to be told you’re wrong when you’re doing exactly what was expected of you in the past. I suspect our dogs might agree.
2. Wean your dog off of lures and prompts.
A critical step toward your dog’s fluency is to get rid of common training aids such as food lures and assorted prompts as quickly as possible. If your dog lies down only when you say “down” and point to the floor with a cookie in your hand, he doesn’t truly understand that the word “down,” by itself, means he should move his body to the floor. If he turns to look at you only when you say his name while patting your leg as encouragement, he doesn’t actually know that you want him to orient himself to you when he hears his name.
To eliminate your dog’s dependency on lures and prompts, try warming him up by asking for a behavior two or three times in a row, using the known lure or prompt. With this short pattern in place, quickly ask for the behavior again, but without the obvious food lure or prompt. When he’s successful (which is likely, due to the patterned warm-up), surprise him with a celebratory jackpot. This is an important step toward weaning your dog off of the lures and prompts, teaching him to show up for work by responding to cues in order to earn food rewards versus food and prompts as training wheels that help create behavior.
3. Be clear and consistent with your cues.
It’s important to be mindful of how you taught a behavior, and what part of your cue might be most salient to your dog. For example, many people teach “down” by saying the word while luring the dog into position with a treat. Next, the dog learns to follow the same hand signal (pointing to the floor) without needing a treat on his nose. In this case, even though you say “down,” food on your dog’s nose, and later, the same hand that once held food, is likely the most noticeable piece of information, not the word, “down.”
If your goal is for your dog to lie down with only a verbal cue, don’t use verbal and physical cues simultaneously. Be sure to say the word “down” before you begin bending or pointing toward the floor. Allow your dog a brief moment (one second) to hear and consider the newer (to him) verbal cue, and then, if he doesn’t respond, follow the verbal cue with the physical cue that he understands. Soon, he will realize that the verbal cue consistently predicts the physical cue and will perform the behavior upon hearing the verbal cue alone.
It’s also important to be consistent with the delivery of your cues. If your verbal cue for sit is “sit,” be careful to not say, “sit down,” when asking your dog to perform the behavior. If your gestural cue for your dog to lift his left paw to “shake” is the presentation of your right hand, don’t be surprised if he struggles to perform correctly when you suddenly reach across your body with your left hand. These may seem like subtle differences, but they can easily create confusion in dogs, who are supreme masters when it comes to recognizing body language.
4. Make training a way of life.
Positive reinforcement training is all about teaching a dog that desired behavior brings rewards. We often use food treats as rewards, but we must be careful to avoid creating a dog who wants to work only when he sees that you have food, or has good reason to believe that you might have food. It’s great to have formal practice sessions where it’s completely obvious you are training the dog – you have your treat pouch, maybe he’s on leash, and you’re working in your usual training area. But it’s also important to make training a way of life to help your dog understand what’s expected of him all the time, not just when the overall picture looks like training.
To accomplish this, be aware of your dog’s behavior throughout the day and “catch him in the act” of being good. Consider stashing a portion of his daily kibble in one or two plastic cups around the house and randomly toss him a piece when he offers a behavior you’d like to see more of. This takes some of the formality out of training, gives him many opportunities for practice that support eventual fluency, and helps your dog realize there’s always an opportunity for reinforcement.
Using “life rewards” (such as opening a door to let the dog out, throwing a favorite toy to fetch, attaching a leash for a walk, or inviting the dog to join you on the sofa) is another meaningful way to reinforce a dog for correct behavior away from a formal training session. It also helps us develop a long list of ways to reinforce our dogs besides just treats.
In many cases, the potential life reward is, in that moment, even more valuable to the dog than an offered cookie. Ever see a dog refuse a treat, or take it and then spit it out as he sits transfixed by a squirrel? For that dog, getting the “Okay!” to race out the door and chase the squirrel across the yard after he sits when asked is way more powerful than an offered cookie.
5. Systematically generalize the behavior.
An important part of achieving fluency with a behavior is to help your dog generalize the behavior as needed. Just as you get to decide what the finished behavior should look like, you also get to decide under what conditions you need the behavior to hold up.
Will you ask your dog to perform the behavior in the presence of distractions? What kind? Will the dog need to perform the behavior at a distance from you? How long will he be expected to perform the behavior? Do you need the behavior only at home, or in a variety of locations? Do you prefer that the dog respond to you alone, or do you need him to respond to the cue if it is delivered by other people?
You don’t need to specifically train for every scenario you can imagine, but the more you train for, the greater his generalization will be. The more time you invest in specifically training to help your dog generalize, the greater the odds that he will be successful when you suddenly encounter something different or unusual. Once, while I was leading a group of city dogs and their owners on a training walk through a mountain resort, I ran into a man walking a goat. None of the dogs had ever seen (or smelled!) a goat before, but we had previously worked sit-stays around so many different types of distractions, all of the dogs were able to successfully control themselves as the goat strolled by!
Training for generalization is like asking, “Can you do the desired behavior if:_?” Think about your lifestyle and your expectations, and make a list of the different ways you might pose the question to your dog. Then set out to teach your dog how to meet the different challenges. For example, your dog might be able to hold a down-stay on his spot if you’re standing right next to him. But can he do it if:
There’s delicious food on the table? The cat saunters into the room? The kids are running nearby? The doorbell rings?
Someone other than the primary trainer is working with him?
You’re at an outdoor café near a busy sidewalk and another dog walks past? What if the dog is barking? What if the dog is pulling somebody on a skateboard?
Don’t be afraid to get creative and challenge your dog to perform under circumstances that seem unlikely. Can your dog sit if your back is to him when you ask? If you cover your face with your hands while delivering the cue? If you’re standing on a chair? If you’re lying on the ground?
He might need help at first – and that’s okay! As you introduce new challenges, be mindful of your dog’s emotional state. Meeting a new challenge should be a fun way to build confidence, not an overwhelming experience. Choose situations that your dog is realistically able to handle. As he works through a variety of challenges, he will realize he can perform successfully even when the training picture looks different from what he’s most used to – like when you’re asking him to sit at a busy sidewalk café versus sitting at home in the kitchen.
6. Break things down.
It’s important to break full behaviors into smaller pieces during training. Say your idea of a perfect stay is a dog who can maintain a sit for 10 minutes, while you stand 30 feet away as others run past your dog squeaking toys and bouncing tennis balls. It would not be fair to immediately set up such a scenario and expect him to work through it, especially if he’s a relatively inexperienced dog. Instead, concentrate on one element of the behavior while lowering your expectations for the others. If you’re asking him to stay for 3 minutes when he’s used to shorter stays, don’t practice this piece (duration) while you’re also standing far away or in a distracting environment.
Knowing the right time to raise criteria (make something harder) is an important part of successful training. A rule of thumb is to ask for more only when your dog has easily met your expectation of the easier task 80 percent of the time. If he wasn’t able to perform the behavior correctly three times in a row, the current task is too hard; find a way to make it easier. Struggling to meet the challenge isn’t failure – it’s information!
7. Most importantly, keep it fun!
As you work with your dog, be careful to not put too much pressure on yourself or your dog. Be mindful of your dog’s body language. Yawning, excessive sniffing, lip-licking, avoidance, or hyper or “fooling around” behaviors are all signs that your dog is feeling distress. Focus on meeting your goals through a series of baby steps rather than a few giant leaps. Keep training sessions upbeat and fun; there’s no need to “drill” a behavior. Remember to breathe and smile at your dog, and stop if you start to feel frustrated. Nothing will shut down your dog faster than your own frustration.
Pieces of the Training Puzzle
Element:
What it means:
Special considerations:
Precision
Can the dog perform the behavior accurately? For example, if “on your spot” means lie down with your entire body touching the bed, does your dog meet that criteria, or does he lie down near the bed, or with only part of his body on the bed?
To train for precision, you must know what you want the finished behavior to look like. Break complex behaviors into smaller parts to ensure that each piece can be done correctly. For example, if your vision for a formal retrieve includes a quiet hold on the object (no mouthing), don’t be in a hurry to throw the object until the dog can pick it up and hand it to you in a way that meets your criteria.
Latency
The length of time it takes for the dog to initiate the behavior after perceiving the cue. How long is acceptable to you?
High latency can indicate a lack of understanding on the dog’s part or a lack of motivation. Make sure your cues are consistent to help avoid confusion, and consider what you might change to make the behavior more rewarding (motivating) for the dog.
Speed
The amount of time it takes for the dog to execute the behavior from start to finish. Is your ideal “spin” one where the dog twists in a circle in a rapid, flashy manner, or is a slower rotation acceptable?
Be mindful of physical/breed characteristics that affect speed. A Mastiff physically cannot sit as fast as a Border Collie. Define your goal based on what is realistic for your dog. Use high-energy rewards to increase speed (toys, energetic personal play, the opportunity to chase a thrown food reward) and calm rewards (quiet praise, massage-like petting, calmly delivered food rewards) if you’re trying to encourage a less exuberant performance.
Distance
Where, in relationship to the handler, will the dog be asked to perform the behavior? Holding a stay next to the handler is easier than holding a stay with the handler across the room. It’s easier to sit when your handler is right in front of you than when he asks for the sit when you are 10 feet away from him.
It’s important to consider your dog’s emotional state when adding distance to behaviors. Dogs who are fearful will typically find it more difficult to work away from their handlers. Reward generously to help build confidence and form a positive association with the increased distance. Be especially careful to not overface your dog (to give him a greater distance challenge than he can handle).
Duration
How long will the dog need to perform the behavior? A 5-second sit-stay is easier than a 3-minute sit-stay. Some behaviors require more duration. Loose-leash walking is challenging for most dogs because of the duration required, i.e., the length of the walk.
When training, raise criteria slowly and avoid always asking for more. For example, when working on stays, sometimes surprise your dog with a reward after just a few seconds of an especially nice stay, even when you know he can stay longer.
Distractions
What distracting conditions are most relevant to your needs with your dog? Some possibilities: working around food, toys, other dogs, other animals, strangers, adored family members, urban distractions. Decide what you need and create a plan to help your dog learn to work around a variety of distractions.
Be reasonable in your expectations and set your dog up for success. The goal is not to trick your dog into doing it wrong. Rather, you want to introduce distractions in such a way that your dog enjoys success. Success builds confidence, and confident dogs are better able to work around myriad distractions. Plan to progress via baby steps and be ready to make the challenge easier when needed.
Stephanie Colman is a writer and dog trainer in Los Angeles.
I was looking for a photo for a highly fearful dog, to go with Dr. Jessica Hekman’s article, “Canine Anxiety: The Neurochemistry of Dog Behavior.” The most chronically fearful dog I’ve ever laid hands on was one of my former foster dogs, a little American Cattle Dog-mix I called Diamond. I have hundreds of photos of that little lump of coal (diamond in the rough), because I fostered him for months – as did one of my good friends, trainer Sarah Richardson. We traded custody of the perennially afraid, formerly feral dog for nearly a year, but eventually, a shelter volunteer that I had trained overheard a couple at the shelter say they were looking for a Cattle Dog-type, and she thought of Diamond. She had helped me when Diamond was first brought into the shelter by animal control, and she fostered (and then adopted!) his less-feral younger brother from the same mother. She put the couple in touch with me, and somehow, they weren’t scared off by Diamond’s deep fear of the world, and they gave him a loving home. Ah, a photo search that recalls a happy ending!
That search took me through my digital folder of “foster dog” photos, and made me remember a few more foster dogs I had a hand in finding homes for. It also helped me realize that this has actually been a productive year in placing foster dogs – which is a little bizarre, because 2015 has also been a trial for me and my family. I lost a beloved brother to cancer. I lost another close relative to drug abuse, and though this relative isn’t dead, his addiction has him on the street and out of touch. My husband and I are helping raise this person’s toddler son. It’s felt like one crisis after another.
And yet, this small thing, looking for a photo of a dog I helped three years ago, took me into a folder where I saw photos of other dogs I helped this year – this “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” year.
There was Val, a Greyhound-mix I pulled from the shelter and placed with one of my son’s coworkers on Valentine’s Day. She goes to work every day with her owner, my son, and my son’s dog (also pulled from this shelter, a year prior!).
In May, I needed a photo of a tiny puppy for an article. I messaged the vet tech at my local shelter, and she confirmed they had a mama dog with a tiny puppy that I could photograph. I couldn’t stand to see the little mother so stressed, trying to raise her teeny single pup in a cage at the shelter, and brought them home. The girlfriend of one of my husband’s friends saw the puppy’s photo on my Facebook page, and now the puppy has a wonderful home – and I get to admire photos of her on my new friend’s Facebook page!
The mama took months longer to place; like Diamond, she was very afraid of people. When I traveled to Nebraska in September to visit the Nature’s Variety production facilities (article about that coming soon), my sister dog-sat “Mommy” for me – and fell in love! Another dog placed.
Keeping an eye out for a suitable dog for another one of my son’s coworkers, I pulled a nice hound from the shelter. She didn’t work out for him, but I placed her with my sister-in-law’s next-door neighbor! And found my son’s friend a nice little Aussie instead!
Five dogs who needed help, stayed with me a while, and found nice homes – thinking about them, I just realized how much they helped me, too.
Cats may rule the Internet, but in the world of book publishing, dogs are in charge. With more than 150,000 dog-related titles on Amazon.com, it can be hard to decide what to read. Even the discriminating website Dogwise.com offers nearly 500 choices. If we had limitless time and funds, we could spend months, even years, reading nothing but dog stories. But time is short and every purchase an investment, so here’s an overview of recommended dog-related books published since 2010. Titles are listed alphabetically.
All Dogs Go to Kevin: Everything Three Dogs Taught Me (That I Didn’t Learn in Veterinary School)
by Jessica Vogelsang
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Dr. Jessica Vogelsang’s memoir of her life with dogs, from childhood through vet school to motherhood and a busy professional life, entertains and informs. The dogs are Taffy, the fierce Lhasa Apso of her childhood; Emmett, a goofy Golden Retriever who was her best-ever dog; and Kekoa, the elderly Labrador she adopted after Emmett died. All three were problem dogs and the chaos they created made us laugh out loud.
Emmett found his forever home after a client (one of several problem-causing owners who arrive at the clinic in these pages) brought him in at age 2 to be euthanized because of poorly managed flea-bite dermatitis. His behavior was poorly managed, too. Oddly shaped, sad-sack, unadoptable Kekoa looked so defeated at the shelter that Vogelsang took her out of pity and then had to deal with her incredibly vocal separation anxiety (indistinguishable from alarms and sirens), destructive pantry-raiding, flatulence, and growing incontinence. But all three dogs were worth the effort, and Vogelsang developed strategies that made their lives rewarding for all.
Vogelsang’s dogs helped her deal with elementary school bullies, postpartum depression, child-raising, exhausting clients, and life. We meet her resourceful husband, Brian, and their kids. Then there’s her husband’s closest friend, who is in the title because when Vogelsang explained to her two-year-old son that beloved Emmett had gone to heaven, he thought she said he’d gone to Kevin.
It’s been 40 years since James Herriot published All Creatures Great and Small and other veterinary adventures, and he’s been missed. While Vogelsang’s focus is different, she brings her patients to life with similar skill. Anyone interested in becoming a veterinarian (she describes her education) or managing a veterinary clinic (never an easy task) will appreciate her perspective. Vogelsang’s dogs are more than her family’s companions – they are (for a while, anyway) ours as well.
Beware the Straw Man: The Science Dog Explores Dog Training Fact and Fiction
by Linda P. Case
Linda Case, who writes “The Science Dog” blog (thesciencedog.wordpress.com) and occasionally contributes to WDJ, takes a critical look at beliefs about dog behavior and training.
In science and philosophy, a “straw man” is a logical fallacy, an argument based on a misrepresentation of a theory or proposition. As Case observes, politicians can be masters at engaging in straw man arguments, which, she writes, “in addition to being logically invalid, function to keep people from paying attention to the evidence.” Her goal is to help readers make sense of canine research and apply its findings to real life.
In 32 chapters, Case examines science, behavior, training, and the relationships dogs have with humans. One section examines the effectiveness of dog-bite prevention programs and finds that parental behavior is a key factor. (The chapter ends with an “Up on My Soapbox” description of appropriate child/dog/parent interactions.) Another examines the effect that music has on dogs. Studied dogs tended to sleep more when exposed to classical music than when exposed to heavy metal, commercial relaxation music, or no music. Conventionally recorded classical music outperformed “psychoacoustically arranged” music marketed for pet use.
A study of dogs who licked everything found that compulsive lickers were likely to have undiagnosed gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, and most stopped licking when those disorders were treated. (In other words, incessant licking may not be a behavioral problem.) Another study found that GI treatment also helped dogs who engaged in fly snapping (biting at imaginary flies), which is often considered a behavioral problem, a form of epilepsy, or OCD.
Beware the Straw Man will appeal to science fans and those who recognize themselves or their dogs in the examples Case sites.
Decoding Your Dog: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Dog Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones
by American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
This book is a community project, a collection of essays by members of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. As dog trainer and TV host Victoria Stilwell (“It’s Me or the Dog”) explains in the foreword, “The debate about training methods is over, and positive, force-free, reward-based training has been validated as the most effective, long-lasting, and humane choice by an outstanding scientific behavioral community that is made up in part of the very people who have contributed to this book.”
Chapters include learning to “speak dog,” how to select your new best friend, understanding how dogs learn, housetraining made easy, safe and humane training tools, getting the most out of training classes, fixing common nuisance-behavior problems, combining kids and dogs, how to keep your dog mentally active, understanding canine aggression, separation anxiety, sound phobias, OCD behaviors, and more.
This book addresses common behaviors that are considered problematic by many owners with up-to-date recommendations and strategies. The chapter includes a glossary of terms (intermittent reinforcement, reinforcers, dominance, attention-seeking, mental and physical stimulation) and then reviews the facts (“Is That Really True?”).
Then come management techniques, consistent training interactions, training solutions, and physical and mental stimulation to improve just about any annoying behavior. Helpful tables, photos, training schedules, and detailed reviews complete the chapter.
A project this ambitious, with so many authors, is bound to result in some repetition, but the book is well edited and offers useful solutions for readers at all levels of training experience. An index would have been helpful, but the book is easy to navigate. It will be most useful for those new to dogs, getting a new dog, or looking for solutions to problem behaviors.
(Note that a hardcover version of the book was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2014.)
The Dog Lived (and So Will I): The Poignant, Honest, Hilarious Memoir of a Cancer Survivor
by Teresa Rhyne
Animals rescue their human companions from broken lives, broken relationships, and broken health all the time, but only a few of their stories go to #1 on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists. This one did.
When attorney and Beagle-lover Teresa Rhyne opened a law office and settled down with a new dog and new man, all seemed well – until Seamus, the Beagle, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and developed behavioral problems. Then Rhyne discovered her own lump.
The details of overlapping canine and human cancer treatments, especially when both patients are assertive Type A personalities, would be overwhelming if it weren’t for Rhyne’s humor and writing skill. Her younger, working-class, supportive boyfriend, Chris, is as important as Seamus in this funny but serious memoir.
Rhyne eventually realized that she had won an important prize, the prize of choosing the right things in life, surviving, and living in the moment. She writes, “Seamus had taught me this before. I needed to remember the very important lesson: sometimes you just need to focus on the cookies.”
An update from the author’s website, teresarhyne.com: “Our very beloved and diabolically cute Seamus passed away on March 19, 2013. We were beyond devastated but have taken comfort in seeing his story travel the world as The Dog Lived (and So Will I) has been translated into six languages. His legacy lives on, helping and humoring others, and that makes us happy.
How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain
by Gregory Berns
Mention animal research and most of us cringe. But Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns, MD, PhD, designed studies that challenged and amused his canine subjects, gaining their enthusiastic cooperation while amazing his colleagues and graduate students.
“Callie’s excitement was infectious,” he writes of his shy, skinny Terrier-mix. “Everyone in the lab wanted to see the experiment we were about to perform, mostly because nobody thought it would work. Could we really scan a dog’s brain to figure out what it was thinking?”
Training Callie to climb into a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine took time, hot dogs, ingenuity, and patience. Berns presents a model of what animal research can and should be like. His dogs were never punished or forced to do something they didn’t want to do. He designed head cradles to hold their heads steady, but it was the dogs who put themselves in position and were rewarded for holding still.
He also dealt with the university’s risk-management lawyers, safety regulations, liability concerns, and regulatory compliance issues, all of which were complicated by his insistence on using community-owned dogs (that is, pets rather than dogs bred for research) and on having his subject’s owners sign a consent form. “Ever since I started running a research laboratory,” he writes, “I have operated under a simple ethical principle: Do not do any experiments that you wouldn’t be willing to do on yourself or a loved one.”
As the Dog Project continued, Berns realized that his ability to communicate with Callie had completely changed. She was always a mystery to him but now, after hours of gazing into her eyes as she figured out the brain scan business, he felt so connected that he seemed almost able to read her mind. His descriptions of this connection are among the book’s most exciting.
The Dog Project eventually expanded from Berns’s own dogs to other subjects, selected through tryouts that tested dog/human teams for their ability to learn new tasks, like entering the MRI and wearing earmuffs. Having glimpsed the inner workings of the canine mind, his goal is to continue answering important questions like: Do dogs miss us when we’re gone? Do dogs bond more with other dogs or humans? Do dogs feel empathy?
Notice that Berns never asks whether dogs can think. That old debate has long been put to rest, but if any behind-the-times scientist doubts the claim that dogs do think and that their brains work much like ours, How Dogs Love Us offers detailed evidence.
Marty Becker, DVM, is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and also at the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University and the University of Missouri. He practices at North Idaho Animal Hospital, and serves as the chief veterinary correspondent for the American Humane Association. Dr. Becker is also a prolific author, having some 22 books to his name as well as countless columns for the nationally syndicated newspaper feature Pet Connection, Dogster, Catster, and on Vetstreet.com.
Dr. Becker is in the process of developing The Fear-Free Initiative, an innovative movement that will, in his words, “take the pet out of petrified and get pets back into practices.” The Fear-Free Initiative will be expanded by Dr. Becker with leading board-certified veterinary experts in partnership with additional industry sponsors, partners, and an advisory board. Fear Free will educate and certify veterinary professionals in the creation and delivery of Fear Free visits to Fear Free practices. In Fear Free practices, “taking the fear out of visiting the veterinarian will become a priority; veterinarians and technicians will treat the pet’s physical well-being as well as their emotional well-being.” The initiative is for vets, techs, and owners, in an effort to make annual checkups and unplanned veterinary visits less stressful for everyone involved. Some quotes from Dr. Becker:
“My goal is to promote the idea of practices adjusting their methods to create fear-free visits, and also to educate pet owners about how they can help make the experience more tolerable, or even downright enjoyable.”
“We do a great job of vaccinating against disease, but we don’t inoculate against fear and anxiety.”
“In the search to make veterinary visits Fear-Free for pets, one of my favorite tools is a package of deli-sliced lunch meat.”
In recent years, medical marijuana use has grown exponentially in the United States: Some two dozen states now permit the use of cannabis for pain relief, and a handful of others allow its recreational use. Could the advent of pot for pets be far behind?
Several companies are already marketing cannabis-derived products for dogs, banking on the idea that marijuana’s pain-relieving qualities translate to dogs, too.
Treatibles (treatibles.com) contain 40 milligrams of cannabidiol, or CBD, as it’s called for short, which is a non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant. Another company founded by two veterinarians, Canna Companion (cannaforpets.com), uses a blend of hemp strains raised in Washington State; Seattle-based Canna-Pet (canna-pet.com) also uses industrial hemp in its biscuits and capsules. To be clear, these products are not made with actual medical-grade marijuana baked in, but rather use a variety of hemp strains that contain little to no THC, which is the compound that creates the marijuana “high.”
There are currently no double-blind studies providing the efficacy of marijuana-derived supplements in dogs, and there are no clear guidelines about safe therapeutic dosages. Veterinarians cannot legally prescribe marijuana for animals.
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When Laurie McCauley was in college in the late 1980s, she worked for a veterinarian who was nearing retirement. Recalling his veterinary-school days earlier in that century, he told her of a fellow student whose senior-year project was to periodically take a dog, break multiple bones, and then fix them. As incredibly inhumane as that sounds to modern dog lovers, “this was accepted at the time,” says Dr. McCauley, now a board-certified rehabilitation veterinarian and medical director at TOPS Veterinary Rehabilitation in Grayslake, Illinois. “They believed that animals did not feel pain.”
We’ve come a long way, baby. In the last few decades, veterinary medicine has come to embrace the idea of pain management for dogs and other companion animals. “Some of this is due to better recognizing behaviors that indicate an animal is in pain,” says Beth Boynton, DVM, FNAP, a professor of wellness at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. “They tend to ‘hide’ signs, so the subtle cues are often lost. And we have much more effective and safer medications to use to help them than in the past.”
As recently as the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dr. Boynton continues, many veterinarians recommended no pain control for animals after surgery, believing it would keep them “quiet” so they wouldn’t move around and would heal faster. “We know from studies since then that that is not the case in any animal or human,” she says. In fact, administering pain medication before a dog even awakes from anesthesia is now standard procedure, as discomfort is more difficult to control once the nerves that signal pain have been activated. “Pain control helps healing, and that control should be started early. In fact, it is part of the standard of practice for all veterinarians, and ‘relief of animal suffering’ is in our Veterinarian’s Oath.”
Indeed, this newly minted attention to pain relief in dogs is as much a response to good science as it is about compassion. “There is research that shows that 60 percent of pain receptors in the body are ‘sleeping,’ and if they get ‘woken up’ by pain lasting 12 to 24 hours, then any later pain incident in the life of the patient is exacerbated,” Dr. McCauley says.
All this has led to an unprecedented focus on avoiding pain in dogs, even before it begins. Administering pain relief for “routine” procedures such as spaying is now standard practice. Dogs who need to stay quiet while recuperating are given light sedatives along with their pain medications, as opposed to letting their discomfort keep them immobile. “Modern veterinary thinking is that all pain should be relieved – period,” Dr. McCauley says.
Lucy Clark
Types of Pain in Dogs
Pain is a response to cell damage or injury in the body. There are two types: Acute pain is often defined as pain that results from inflammation and healing after injury, and it can last for as long as the anticipated healing time, up to three months. Chronic pain is pain that continues on after that expected time frame.
Pain can also be classified by how it is generated. Nociceptive pain stimulates specific pain receptors, which may sense temperature, vibration, or chemicals released by damaged cells. Inflammatory pain derives more gradually from an activated immune system that responds to infection or injury. Pathological pain, which results from excessive tissue damage, produces extended discomfort and abnormal sensitivity. And maladaptive pain persists after healing has completed, caused by changes in the nervous system.
Earlier this year, in collaboration with the American Association of Feline Practitioners, the American Animal Hospital Association released updated guidelines for pain management in dogs and cats. The paper stresses that veterinarians need to anticipate their patients’ pain-management needs, and reassess continually until the pain is resolved.
The acronym “PLATTER” has been devised for pain management: PLan ahead with a patient-specific plan; Anticipate what the pain-management needs might be; TreaT, factoring in the type, severity, and duration of pain that is expected; Evaluate how effective and appropriate the treatment is, using a client questionnaire or a pain-scoring system, and Return to the patient to see whether pain management needs to be discontinued or modified further.
How Dogs Show Signs of Pain
It’s long been observed that dogs seem to try to hide any indication that they are in pain; biologists speculate this is based in some sort of survival instinct. If your dog has a potentially painful condition, you need to watch for little “tells” that indicate she may be experiencing discomfort.
Several veterinary institutions have developed scales that can be used to quantify the level of pain that a dog is feeling. The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (ivapm.org) offers a list of symptoms of pain, compiled by Dr. Michael C. Petty. They include:
Reluctance to walk on slippery surfaces or use stairs.
Becoming selective about what types of furniture to jump on and off of.
Attempting to stand with the front legs first.
Multiple “false starts” and circling when attempting to lie down.
Reduced running and jumping.
Abnormal wear on nails.
Unwillingness to initiate play or other interactions.
Aggression toward other animals.
Dislike of being petted or touched.
Change in sleep patterns.
Stiffness.
Decreased appetite.
Housebreaking lapses.
Types of Pain Medications for Dogs
The drug group most commonly used by veterinarians are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs (pronounced as “en-saids”). “They are great if there is active inflammation, but not as good if the pain is chronic in nature and the inflammation has ceased,” Dr. McCauley notes.
Examples of commonly used veterinary NSAIDs are carprofen (brand name, Rimadyl), etodolac (Lodine), meloxicam (Metacam), deracoxib (Deramaxx), and firocoxib (Equioxx and Previcox).
Aspirin is an over-the-counter NSAID, but should not be administered without a vet’s oversight because it has more harmful side effects and is less effective than approved medications. (And while we are on the subject of human pain relievers, owners should never administer acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in pain relievers such as Tylenol. While some vets do use acetaminophen in dogs, it needs to be very carefully monitored.)
NSAIDs are generally safe, but can cause liver or kidney damage in some dogs. “Pets need to have blood tests prior to going on medications and be monitored appropriately while on them,” Dr. Boynton says. “Some pets develop serious liver or kidney disease while taking drugs and that needs to be detected as early as possible to minimize harm.”
Watch for adverse signs, such as behavior changes, reduced appetite, skin redness, vomiting, or loose or tarry stools, and contact your veterinarian immediately.
There are three other commonly prescribed pain medications in dogs:
Tramadol is a weaker opiate that does not require the extensive paperwork of more heavily regulated opiates such as morphine or codeine. (And in dogs as opposed to people, the drug is not metabolized into an opioid.) Unlike NSAIDs, Tramadol does not reduce pain and inflammation at the injury site, but rather changes brain chemistry to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, two chemicals associated with mood and responsiveness to pain. Used to control moderate to severe pain, Tramadol is sometimes prescribed for older dogs with chronic pain from arthritis or cancer. Side effects can include upset stomach, decreased heart rate, coughing, and constipation. In some states, Tramadol is now a controlled substance, requiring veterinarians to have a license from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and carefully log how it is dispensed.
Gabapentin is often used to control seizures in dogs and cats, because it stabilizes excessive electrical activity in the brain. But it also works well to help control nerve-related pain, and chronic pain from cancer and arthritis. Some dogs may experience vomiting, drowsiness, loss of balance or diarrhea.
Amantadine was initially used as an antiviral medication, but today is mainly used for pain relief. It works by inhibiting the nervous system’s NMDA receptor, which creates the sensation of chronic pain. Amantadine can be quite expensive, Dr. McCauley notes, but “is excellent for ‘big pain’ like an amputation.” Potential side effects include gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, flatulence and diarrhea, as well as agitation, which often dissipates after the first few days.
While all these medications can be used individually, they can also be used together so that their pain-relieving qualities outweigh the sum of their parts. And because less of each drug is used, this can mean little to no side effects. But, Dr. Boynton stresses, “this takes careful calculation, because some drug combinations are harmful or fatal.”
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Opiates: Not for the Masses
Veterinarians can prescribe opiates such as morphine for their canine patients. There isn’t a concern about addiction, because dogs can’t manipulate veterinarians into prescribing more of a particular narcotic because they just want to get high. Their human counterparts, however, aren’t always as transparent.
“The problem the veterinarian has to watch out for is if the client gets the medications for the dog and then uses them for themselves,” Dr. McCauley explains. “For this reason, the DEA has done a great job of creating guidelines to prevent veterinarians from overprescribing scheduled drugs.”
“Sometimes opioids are the best choice or part of a combination approach, and many of these drugs are a concern for human toxicity or abuse,” Dr. Boynton adds. “Pharmacy tracking is being better developed to monitor for abuse.”
Because of all the paperwork and close governmental scrutiny, many veterinarians do not prescribe opiates. (And some worry that having them on hand in the practice may also encourage break-ins.) But such strong narcotics may have a place in your dog’s care – if, for example, you are performing at-home hospice for a dog who is dying from a painful cancer. In such cases, have a candid conversation with your veterinarian to discuss concerns on both sides of the exam table.
If your veterinarian writes a prescription for an opioid for your dog so you can have it filled at a human pharmacy, be sure not to allow substitutions, Dr. McCauley warns. “For instance, Hydrocodone commonly comes with acetaminophen, which can be toxic for dogs depending on the dose.”
Integrative Approach
Such a “multi-modal” approach isn’t just for pain-relieving drugs. In its 2015 guidelines, the AAHA discusses the importance of an integrated approach to managing pain – one that does not rely solely on drugs.
Dr. McCauley ticks off a long list of complementary modalities that can help relieve a dog’s pain and speed healing:
Rehabilitation is a combination of pain management and making the animal stronger, using exercise to strengthen the affected area to prevent further injury or degeneration.
Laser therapy has hit the veterinary field by storm, she notes. “Research shows that it not only significantly decreases the inflammatory mediators, but also affects the nerve cells to decrease pain and inflammation.”
Acupuncture has been around for millennia, though its introduction into American veterinary practices didn’t start until the 1970s. “More and more vets are accepting this as mainstream and using it for all types of medicine, not just pain relief,” Dr. McCauley says. While not all acupuncture-certified veterinarians are well versed in Chinese herbal medicine, many are, and they can prescribe herbs that can help with pain relief. (As always, veterinarians need to be careful about dosage, as well as how drugs and herbs may interact.)
Dr. McCauley is a proponent of tPEMF units such as the Assisi Loop (assisianimalhealth.com). A non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical healing device for animals, the loop uses low-level energy pulses to reduce pain and inflammation, and speed healing. “We use it for acute or ‘acute on chronic’ problems,” Dr. McCauley explains. (An example of the latter is when an arthritic dog compensates until he plays hard or goes for a long walk, and then is sore.) “A beautiful thing about this is that we can sell them to our clients, and they can do the treatments as needed and do it at home.”
Dr. McCauley notes that massage therapy, manual therapy (which uses joint manipulation and mobilization as well as muscle manipulation), and chiropractic therapy can all relieve pain as well as muscle and joint problems for diminishing or eliminating pain and allowing improved movement.
While there are many options for augmenting your dog’s pain management, don’t forget the basics: “First, the diagnosis should be accurately made,” Dr. Boynton reminds. “If there is a broken bone, for example, that needs to be fixed before the animal will get real relief. Many times what is assumed to be arthritis may be something treatable, or it could be a serious cancer or infection. Signs can be very confusing in pets.”
Don’t Be Part of the Problem
The AAHA/AAFP guidelines stress that pain management requires a “team oriented approach” that includes the owner as a vital link. Because pain diagnosis depends so heavily on the dog’s behavior, noting changes in how your dog acts, plays, moves, and interacts in his normal routine is crucial.
Dr. McCauley notes that the more emotionally invested an owner is in her dog, the more likely she will appreciate the importance of pain management. “The people who have a four-legged furry child who sleeps, if not in bed with them, then at least in the bedroom, are the population that care a lot about pain meds and quality of life,” she says.
Dr. Boynton adds that far too many owners are unaware of the importance of pain medication for their dogs because they don’t appreciate just how stoic many dogs can be.
“There is still quite a lot of resistance. People often don’t understand that an animal who isn’t whimpering may be in horrible pain,” she says. “Animal survival in the wild often meant that they had to hide pain and keep going with the group, so signs of pain are often very subtle. People also may think that medications are expensive or dangerous.”
Bottom line: It’s not humane to let your dog suffer, and the science shows it’s not healthy, either. Most dogs can be given some type of pain control: Work with your vet to determine the safest and most effective drugs or combinations of drugs to keep your dog comfortable while she’s on the mend.
Denise Flaim of Revodana Ridgebacks in Long Island, NY, shares her home with three Ridgebacks, 11-year-old triplets, and a very patient husband.
Sometimes something goes wrong in dogs’ heads, and they become afraid of commonplace things. Men with beards. Other dogs. Being alone. Sometimes their fear makes them anxious. Sometimes it makes them aggressive. It always makes their lives more difficult, for themselves and for the people who love them.
Behavior modification is crucial in helping dogs like this become more comfortable in the world. Behavior medication can also be crucial in many cases, because sometimes, it seems, a dog’s brain has gotten out of whack in ways that behavior modification alone can’t fix. Sometimes the dog needs support in the form of medication before he can begin to take in what behavior modification is telling him: that his world is a safe place.
Stress-related behavior problems in dogs include fear aggression, generalized anxiety, and separation anxiety. In humans, they include major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The medications that help individuals overcome these problems include some that primarily reduce depression (“anti-depressants”), some that primarily reduce anxiety (“anxiolytics”), and some that do both. Many medications used in dogs are referred to as “anti-depressants” because in humans they are primarily used for their anti-depressive action, but their primary use in dogs is for their anxiolytic action. We don’t know exactly what is different in the brains of dogs, or humans who suffer from stress-related behavior problems, and we don’t know exactly how behavior medications work to improve brain function in individuals with these problems. But we’re starting to put some pieces of the puzzle together.
What we know for sure is that while medication can help behavior problems on its own, it does a whole lot better when paired with behavior modification. We also know that most behavior medications take four to six weeks to take effect. So what’s going on with a dog’s brain chemistry during those weeks?
This highly anxious dog would be better able to learn and absorb training if medication was used to reduce his chronic anxiety level.
The Serotonin Theory
Broadly speaking, anti-depressants work to change the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that work to pass signals between one neuron and another; the first neuron releases a packet of neurotransmitter molecules, the next neuron receives and acts on the information, and the first neuron sucks the neurotransmitter molecules back up to be reused.
There are a variety of neurotransmitters in the brain, but one, serotonin, is one of the most common targets of anti-depressants. Individuals with low serotonin levels are often anxious and sometimes aggressive. According to the serotonin theory of anti-depressant function, anti-depressants work by increasing the availability of serotonin or similar substances in the brain.
For example, although neurons normally take serotonin back up for reuse after its initial release, a class of anti-depressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) slow down this reuptake process. Serotonin remains in the gap between two neurons for longer, and the end result is more serotonin available for signaling. In theory, this should result in a less anxious emotional state.
In practice, SSRIs do result in mood improvements for many anxious or depressed individuals, particularly if they are undergoing behavior modification at the same time. But although these medications change serotonin levels in the brain within hours, their behavior effects aren’t apparent for weeks. If changing serotonin levels were the entire answer to the question of how anti-depressants work, then these medications’ effects should be almost immediate. And yet there remains this long waiting period, so frustrating to so many owners of fearful dogs, before the behavior effects actually kick in. What else could be going on?
The Hippocampus Theory
The answer might lie in a changing brain structure. One region of the brain, called the hippocampus, is critical in managing associations between stimuli (like the approach of a strange dog) and emotion (fearfulness versus a positive emotion). Individuals with fear-based behavior issues may have trouble making new, positive connections in their hippocampus; their ability to learn may be impaired. In humans with severe stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the hippocampus can be actually reduced in size!
Behavior medications affect the hippocampus profoundly, increasing the number of connections between neurons in this brain region and sometimes restoring normal hippocampus size. Importantly, they help individuals make new associations to stimuli, so in the presence of behavior modification work, pains should be taken to ensure that these associations are positive ones.
Finding the Right Behavior Medication for Your Dog
Behavior medication is, as described above, not about sedating a dog. It is about reducing the dog’s anxiety and increasing his ability to make new, positive associations to stimuli that he previously found frightening. However, sometimes these medications do have side effects, which range from gastrointestinal problems (vomiting, diarrhea) to behavior effects (sedation, other unwanted personality changes, even increased anxiety or aggression). There is a large variety of behavior medication available, so remember that if your dog reacts poorly to the first medication that your veterinarian tries, there are other options! Let your veterinarian know that you don’t like how your dog seems to be feeling on the medication and ask if there’s something else you can try.
Finding the right medication or mix of medications for your anxious dog can be tricky. If your veterinarian doesn’t have experience with behavior medication, you might consider visiting a veterinary behaviorist – a vet who has completed a behavior residency and passed a board exam. Veterinary behaviorists can be few and far between, but if there isn’t one in your area, many are willing to consult with your veterinarian remotely to offer advice on the appropriate medication regimen (usually for a fee). Ask your vet if she is willing to explore this option. Or, look for a general-practice veterinarian with a special interest in behavior who is a member of the American Society of Veterinary Animal Behaviorists (AVSAB).
Finally, remember that although we don’t know exactly why many behavior medications take so long to take effect, you must expect to wait a month or two before you can be sure whether or not a particular medication is helping your dog. Be patient! The wait can be frustrating, but the rewards of seeing your fearful dog begin to respond to behavior modification are worth it.
Types of Behavior Medications
Behavioral medications may be given in one of two ways, either daily or as needed.
Some animals may be prescribed both a daily medication and an as-needed
medication for particularly difficult days. Always follow your veterinarian’s dosing
schedule, but talk to her if you feel your animal could do better on a different
medication
Daily Medications – Take longer to take full effect, often several weeks. Given
daily to animals with chronic anxiety or aggression. Examples include fluoxetine
(Reconcile, Prozac); clomipramine (Clomicalm); buspirone (Buspar); paroxetine (Paxil);
sertraline (Zoloft); trazodone* (Desyrel).
Situational (As Needed) Medications – Take effect within minutes to
hours, but are not long-lasting (several hours, not a full day). Given prior to anxiety-inducing situations (thunderstorms, fireworks, visiting strangers, long car ride).
Examples include alprazolam (Xanax); trazodone* (Desyrel). Formerly, acepromazine
(Ace, Atravet).
* Note that trazodone is in both categories. This is a newer medication that can be
given daily and may take several weeks to reach its full effect. However, it does have a
partial effect in the short term, and therefore may alternatively be given situationally.
Acepromazine (“ace”) is frequently used as an animal sedative. Veterinarians still
debate whether this medication has any anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) effects, or
whether it is solely a sedative. Veterinary behaviorists typically recommend that it is notused for situationally treating anxious dogs, as even a quite sedated dog may still
be highly anxious, but unable to react. Many behaviorists have suggested that being
immobilized in the face of whatever stressor makes the dog anxious may actually
increase the dog’s fearful and anxious association with the stressor. Alternative
medication should be chosen for situational use in anxious animals.
Additional Resources
To find a veterinary behaviorist in your area, see dacvb.org
Jessica Hekman, DVM, MS, completed her shelter-medicine internship at the University of Florida’s Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program in 2013. She now studies the genetics of dog behavior in Illinois, where she lives with her husband and three dogs. Check out Dr. Hekman’s blog, dogzombie.blogspot.com, a blog about dog brains and behavior (and sometimes shelter medicine), or follow her on Twitter @dogzombieblog.
Behavioral medications may be given in one of two ways, either daily or as needed. Some animals may be prescribed both a daily medication and an as-needed medication for particularly difficult days. Always follow your veterinarian’s dosing schedule, but talk to her if you feel your animal could do better on a different medication.
Daily Medications
Take longer to take full effect, often several weeks. Given daily to animals with chronic anxiety or aggression. Examples include fluoxetine (Reconcile, Prozac); clomipramine (Clomicalm); buspirone (Buspar); paroxetine (Paxil); sertraline (Zoloft); trazodone* (Desyrel).
Situational (as needed) Medications
Take effect within minutes to hours, but are not long-lasting (several hours, not a full day) . Given prior to anxiety-inducing situations (thunderstorms, fireworks, visiting strangers, long car ride). Examples include alprazolam (Xanax); trazodone* (Desyrel). Formerly, acepromazine (Ace, Atravet).
* Note that trazodone is in both categories. This is a newer medication that can be given daily and may take several weeks to reach its full effect. However, it does have a partial effect in the short term, and therefore may alternatively be given situationally.
Acepromazine (“ace”) is frequently used as an animal sedative. Veterinarians still debate whether this medication has any anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) effects, or whether it is solely a sedative. Veterinary behaviorists typically recommend that it is not used for situationally treating anxious dogs, as even a quite sedated dog may still be highly anxious, but unable to react. Many behaviorists have suggested that being immobilized in the face of whatever stressor makes the dog anxious may actually increase the dog’s fearful and anxious association with the stressor. Alternative medication should be chosen for situational use in anxious animals.
Additional Resources
To find a veterinary behaviorist in your area, see dacvb.org
To find a veterinarian with behavior experience in your area, see avsabonline.org
