Phobias in Dogs
My-Dog.info > Dog Care
In human medicine, pathologic fears and phobias are not
uncommon. Spiders, snakes, and enclosed spaces are examples of
common sources of human phobias.
Dogs experience a whole spectrum of fear and anxiety that at
the lower end of the scale of expression are normal adaptive
behaviours, and at the abnormal end of the scale are maladaptive
extremes of these same behaviours. Fear responses include hiding,
submissive body posture such as ears back and down, eyes focus
downward and away, aggression (if cornered), panting, shaking,
rolling over and urination, defecation, and the classic sign of
running away with the tail between the legs. Other signs of
system disturbances may include diarrhea, sometimes with mucus or
blood, vomiting, self-trauma, loss of appetite, and weight loss
if there is a source of chronic or long-term fear or anxiety.
Anxious dogs express anticipatory fear of the future.
Separation anxiety is a common form of this problem. When an
owner leaves for work, the dog exhibits distress out of
proportion to the chain of events leading up to owner absence.
Right after the owner leaves the premises, the dog may undertake
barking, soiling, chewing, digging or whining. This is an
abnormal behaviour but not a phobia.
A phobia is a much more profound state of fear where a dog may
become immobile, panicky, or exhibit extremes of behaviour such
as jumping through windowpanes. Loud sudden noises such as
gunshots, thunder, and firecracker displays are the most common
phobias in canines. Other triggers may just reflect an
association with a severely aversive experience. A phobia to
darkness for example, may have its origins with a bad experience
that occurred during darkness.
Phobias may begin at any age, though young adult dogs are most
commonly afflicted with anxiety and phobia disorders. Primary
behaviour disorders must be distinguished from disease states
that also cause behavioural changes. Your veterinarian can help
you understand the anxiety or phobia affecting your dog, and may
refer you to a behaviour specialist for further assessment and in
some cases, treatment. Treatment can generally be carried out
using medication to control the abnormal behaviour and through
the application of behaviour modification techniques that help
the dog normalize the fear responses. The earlier the treatment
begins, the more likely a successful outcome.
Reprinted with permission from www.animalhealthcare.ca
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