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January 2016 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
Dog Separation
Anxiety
Common Pet Behavioral Problems
How to handle aggression, anxiety, other difficulties
By Dr. Addie Reinhard, Veterinarian, Village Animal Hospital
common pet behavioral problems by
giving you techniques to practice in
dealing with your pet’s problem and
can help you decide when the time
is right to start behavior-modifying
medications. This article will discuss aggression, separation anxiety
and thunderstorm phobia in dogs
and inappropriate elimination and
scratching in cats.
Dog Aggression
Aggression is a common behavioral
problem in dogs. Signs of aggression
Working with animals requires
patience, understanding, and,
above all, compassion; both for
the animal and for
their owners
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@healthykentucky
may include growling, showing teeth,
nipping, lunging, mouthing or biting.
Dogs can display many different types
of aggression. They can have aggression because they are afraid of something; this is called fear aggression.
They can have territorial aggression
when they are protecting their home
turf. They can have possessive aggression when they are protecting their
resources, for example, dog bones,
toys or food bowls. They may also
show aggression if they are in pain
or when they are being protective,
defensive or predatory. It is always
important to rule out medical causes
of aggression first and work closely
with your veterinarian to help your
pet’s aggression problems. After ruling out medical causes, a veterinarian
may then refer you to a dog trainer or
a veterinary behaviorist to continue
working with you. A veterinarian may
also prescribe behavior-modifying
medications. Remember, all dogs and
cats are required in Kentucky to be
current on their rabies vaccine.
PET HEALTH
Dogs and cats can have mental
illnesses just like people. Common
behavioral problems in pets will be
discussed in this article, including
a few tips on how to help your pets
cope with these problems. Your
veterinarian can help you manage
Like us
Have you ever come home after
being gone to find things torn up
around the house and poop and pee
on the floor? Your dog may have
separation anxiety. This means a dog
gets anxious and nervous when you
leave it alone. It may whine and bark,
pace, destroy things and eliminate
inside your home. Typically dogs
with separation anxiety will begin to
show signs of anxiety before you have
even left the house. They will follow
you around nervously, whine and
pace when they start to notice you
are getting ready to leave. Changes in
your schedule, moving and adding or