Behaviour may alter when the dog is experiencing pain. Describe the symptoms of pain, and indicate how you think pain or illness may affect the dog’s behaviour.
Introduction
I’ll never forget the day when my lovely boy Tabasco was attacked. It was completely unprovoked. There were no warning signs at all. The attacking dog had hold of the fleshy end of Tabasco’s nose in a vice-like grip, and wasn’t letting go. Tabasco didn’t need to tell me he was in pain - the blood from his nose and his ear piercing screams were enough of an indication.
The following essay discusses how dogs ‘tell’ us they are ill or in pain, via both physical and behavioural indicators. In addition, it briefly touches on the effects that old age has on a dog’s behaviour. It also details how we can try to be more aware and take an active approach in preventing illness and disease in our selected dogs.
Physical symptoms of pain and illness
There are a number of physical symptoms of pain and illness that dog owners can identify. These can be the result of a direct physical attack or accident, or something more difficult to diagnose, for example, an allergic reaction to food or the digestion of a dangerous object. The following is a general (but by no means an exhaustive) list of physical symptoms of pain and illness in dogs.
- continuous vomiting
- very loose motions, mucous or blood in stool, or diarrhoea
- loss of blood
- limping or holding leg off the ground
- abnormal breathing, including wheezing, coughing or breathing faster than normal
- rise in body temperature, fever
- unusual, bad odour, including bad breath
- excessive moulting
- oily, flaky, dull hair/coat
- mucous, tears or discharge in the eyes
- wax in ears, chronic ear irritation
- fleas or mites
- sensitivity (to petting or handling)
- licking at paws, scratching face
- unconsciousness
- having a fit or seizure
Tabasco is steadily making his way through this list - cut and bleeding ear and paw pad, insect bite allergy, pollen allergy, seed stuck in ear - and we always seem to need to take a trip to the vets on a Sunday afternoon - which equals emergency vet, which equals expensive.
There are also other occasions when a physical symptom masks the real underlying disease or illness. My cousin’s border collie, Timmy, was showing signs of losing his eyesight. He developed very bad cataracts which had to be operated on. It was later discovered that the cataracts he suffered were in fact a symptom of canine diabetes, a disease which he now takes daily medication for.
Behavioural symptoms of pain and illness
The following is a list of some of the behavioural symptoms you may see in a dog if he is suffering from pain or an illness:
- lethargy, idleness, not wanting to get up
- lack of appetite, digestive problems
- signs of ‘depression’
- lack of patience or general irritability
- phobias (fear of people, loud noises, etc)
- strange behaviour, suspicion, fear
- more frequent barking
- whimpering, crying
In ‘The Dog’s Mind’, Bruce Fogel suggests an explanation for the state of a dog’s mind, and hence his behaviour, when he is ill. The lethargy, dullness and perceived ‘depression’, as mentioned above, could be the way that dogs use a behavioural strategy to fight disease. It may be a dog’s ‘first line of defence against disease...before his immune system has a chance to get into action’.(1)
As a response to infection, a rise in body temperature can be expected. A direct consequence of this is a lack of appetite. A dog will therefore tend to eat less as a result of his fever.
The affects of age-related illnesses, such as hearing and eyesight loss, the onset of arthritis and senility can all have an affect on a dog’s behaviour. A dog who has impaired hearing or eyesight may be more easily startled and may react in an abnormally aggressive way, or he may act suspiciously or fearfully because he is unable recognise certain people, places or objects. A dog living with the constant pain of arthritis may become aggressive, or may whimper or cry more due to the non-ceasing ache. Older dogs suffering from senility can become more impatient and irritable. Unfortunately too, older dogs may begin to suffer from separation anxiety, similar to young puppies, which can lead to excessive barking and destructive behaviour.
Prevention
While it may not be possible to forecast when your dog may succumb to a particular illness or disease, by finding out which illnesses/diseases your dog is most susceptible to could help reduce its severity, and possibly lead to its prevention. For example, I am aware that large breed, deep chested dogs (like my dog Tabasco) are susceptible to ‘bloat’ or ‘twisted stomach’. I know what to look out for should Tabasco exhibit the symptoms, and I am prepared to immediately take him to the vets if necessary.
It is also useful to perform regular physical checks on your dog while grooming him. That way you can watch out for potentially harmful lumps or bumps which require treatment before they get any worse.
If you are responsible for a dog in your care, I cannot stress how important I think it is to keep up with regular health checks, inoculations, worming and flea treatments. In my opinion, all dog owners should be prepared to deal with the cost of their dog’s health and well-being, in additional to their own. And this includes pet insurance. I would be severely more out of pocket without pet insurance, than I am with - regular specialist tests for Tabasco’s heart condition would have cost a small fortune had it not been for pet insurance.
Conclusion
We all have our own pain thresholds, and we all have our ways of dealing with pain and illness through our behaviours. Dogs are no exception. As dog owners, we have a responsibility to ensure our furry friends are given the best opportunity to live a healthy, and pain free long life. This can be accomplished by understanding the symptoms of pain - both physical and behavioural - knowing how certain illnesses and diseases in our dogs can be prevented, in the short and long term.
Works Cited
(1) The Dog’s Mind, ch.13, p.186 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
Bibliography
Curly Coated Retriever (Mathis, Phillip 2001)
Introduction to Canine Psychology, Unit 4 workbook
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme (Responsibility and Care Fact Sheet)
Owners differ hugely in their perception of problem behaviours. Identify three which are commonly described as being a problem, and briefly describe how some of these views may be due to the owner’s misconception of dog behaviour.
Introduction
The following essay discusses three perceived ‘problem behaviours’ - jumping up, lying on furniture and ‘Small Dog Syndrome’.
Jumping up
One of the popular misconceptions that owners have when their dogs jump up at them, or their visitors, is that the dog is demonstrating and learning dominance. By rising up onto his back legs and assuming an upright body position, he is apparently making his body appear larger as he lunges forward.
Quite the contrary. When dogs assume a dominant body position, they are “stiff-legged, (with) upright posture or slow, stiff-legged movement forward”. Therefore, standing on his back legs isn’t characteristic of dominant dog behaviour.
So what is a dog trying to tell us when he jumps up? Jumping up is part of a greeting ritual for dogs, which also includes the running around excitedly, and licking and sniffing each other. It harks back from a dog’s wolf ancestry where wolf pups greeted adult wolves by jumping up to lick the corners of the adults’ mouths, causing the adults to regurgitate food. Although the regurgitation aspect of the greeting ritual has been bred out of domestic dogs (thank goodness!), the mouth-licking part of it remains. Therefore, because a human’s face is elevated, a dog will jump up to try and reach it. And larger dogs usually hit the target!
A dog will jump up because it has not been trained not to. Dog owners who do not wish their dogs to greet them by jumping up should train the dog to remain on ‘all-fours’ before any greeting is reciprocated.
Lying on furniture
I admit it - I sleep with my dog. And... shock, horror... I allow my dog on the couch! Lying on the furniture is another misconception that some people have where they suggest that a dog is trying to dominate, or increase his ranking in the pack by elevating his position in relation to the pack leader.
A dog will take up residence on furniture because it is many times more comfortable than the cold, hard floor. It’s that simple. Because he is a social animal, he is also comforted by the owners’ smells and touch.
He will also continue to use the furniture as his resting place as long as he can get away with it. It is only when he starts to guard his position on the bed or couch that this can develop into a resource guarding problem.
From my point of view, lying on the furniture is fine, as long as the dog knows that when he is asked to get off, he does so. This can only be successfully accomplished via appropriate training.
Small Dog Syndrome (SDS)
I think I am more aware of what I call ‘small dog syndrome’ due to the fact that it always seems manifest itself whenever my large breed dog and I run into small dogs and their owners during our walks. SDS occurs when owners of small dogs misinterpret the behaviour their dog is exhibiting. Instead of territorial dominance or playful retreat, they assume the dog is demonstrating animosity or fear. This is described in the examples below:
SDS No. 1 - “He doesn’t like big dogs” (on lead)
When out for a walk around the local neighbourhood, Tabasco and I sometimes come across other owners with small dogs who do not wish to walk past us on the same side of the street. They will purposefully cross over to the other side to avoid coming into our close vicinity. Tabasco will usually stare blankly at the small dog who has started barking and growling at him. The other owner will shrug and say “Sorry, but he doesn’t like big dogs”, usually while struggling to maintain a tight grip on an ever more tense lead.
I wonder if the small dog actually has any animosity towards my large dog at all? It is possible that it is in fact the owner who has a ‘fear’ of larger dogs because they are so much bigger than their ‘handbag hound’. The owner may have had a bad experience with a larger dog and therefore his fear is transferred via his demeanour (a tense stance and tension on the lead) to the small dog.
I could perhaps be persuaded otherwise if the small dog exhibited a fearful body posture - but they invariably don’t.
I would instead suggest that the small dog is putting on a display of territorial dominance. Small dogs, especially terriers, are more prone to bark than other breeds. This is because they generally have higher levels of excitability and aggressiveness, not because they are scared, or do not like larger dogs.(1)
SDS No. 2 - “He’s scared of big dogs” (off lead)
When Tabasco and I are out for a gallop in the park, it is wonderful to see him playing with other dogs. They have great fun. Tabasco will play with anyone - and that includes dogs who are a ¼ of his size. At the end of the day a ‘dog is a dog’ to them. Size doesn’t really come into it.
As with his larger play-pals, the same greeting and play rituals take place - both dogs will catch sight or smell of each other from a distance, and will then stand rigid or crouch down, before moving quickly towards each other. The smaller dog will then probably start to run away. But before the greeting/play ritual can be fully played out, it’s at this point that the small dog’s owner decides that her dog is ‘scared of big dogs’. What does she do next? That’s it - she picks the small dog up! What does Tabasco do? He jumps up, of course! Now not only is the small dog presumed to be scared, but Tabasco, according to the other owner, is now attacking both of them! Goodness me, what a mess.
Unfortunately, this dog owner has misinterpreted the greeting/play rituals which all dogs perform. In some instances, one dog may initially retreat when first approached by another. This is not an indication of fear, it’s part of the ‘chase me’ aspect of dog play. If given time, the dogs will then stop and sniff each other. Then, one may display a submissive body posture, one may wander away disinterested, or both of them may start a full blown game of rough and tumble.
The dog owner compounded the situation by picking her dog up. The only way Tabasco was then able to adequately sniff the small dog was by jumping up to reach him. If the owner pushes Tabasco away, this may cause him to jump up even more as a dog can interpret touch as a reward. Furthermore, the small dog is also unable to experience greeting/playing with larger dogs because her owner doesn’t let her do so. Therefore, the dog will never learn to communicate with larger dogs, thus making a bad situation worse.
Conclusion
As dog-owning humans we have a natural tendency to ‘humanise’ dog behaviour. I often ask Tabasco “Why are you looking so sad?”. As if expecting a reply from him isn’t bad enough, I’m projecting an emotion onto him simply because his natural facial expression appears to look like sadness in human terms. It’s not surprising then that many other dog owners misinterpret their pet’s natural behaviours and instincts as problem behaviour. They are reading their dog’s actions and reactions in human terms, instead of understanding some of the basics of dog communication. Maybe the dogs should be training us?!
Works Cited
(1) The Dog’s Mind, ch.12, p.179-180 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
Bibliography
Dominance: Fact or Fiction? (Eaton, Barry 2008)
How To Speak Dog (Coren, Stanley 2005)
Take The Lead (Watson, Heather 1998)
The Culture Clash (Donaldson, Jean 2005)
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
Think what you have learnt about “problem behaviours”. Discuss why you think each of these problems happen, and how they might be avoided. Discuss how you would cope with each of these problems if your own dog presented them.
Introduction
The following essay discusses two common ‘problem behaviours’ seen in dogs - food guarding and growling/lunging at an approaching dog. The possible origin of the problem is identified along with how the problem might be avoided, and coped with if presented.
Food guarding
Some dogs are more prone to object or resource guarding (food, toy, position) than others. There are a number of reasons why this may occur - early dominance aggression and competition, routine unchecked behaviour, and lack of training.
Early dominance aggression and competition - very young puppies are constantly in competition with each other for their mother’s milk, and as they grow, the strongest and more dominant individuals will be first in line for the best teat. During the early stages of the socialisation period, young puppies may also exhibit signs of dominance aggression which can ultimately lead to object guarding.
Routine unchecked behaviour - if left by themselves, some dogs will inadvertently become resource guarders because their routine (whether it be eating alone, or sleeping on the same chair every day) has never been disrupted and remains unchecked.
Lack of training - some dogs resource guard because they have not been trained not to. In addition to teaching a dog new behaviour, it is just as important to help him to ‘unlearn’ old behaviour.
Avoiding food guarding
One of the underlying lessons throughout this course has been “Catch It Early”. We have learnt that puppies are like sponges and can absorb training and direction very quickly. Therefore, one of the best ways to avoid food guarding is to stop it before it even starts.
Although it may not be possible to prevent food guarding while still with the litter, when a puppy relocates to his new human home, the only perceived competition he will have for food will be from the humans in the household. Try to ensure you are always in the same room as the puppy when it is his meal time. He should get used to you being there reasonably quickly, as puppies will usually have up to four small meals per day when they are very young.
It is also useful hand feed a puppy with some of his usual kibble at the start of a meal, and then add the rest of his meal to the bowl. And you can also start to remove his bowl while he is eating.
A puppy should be trained early on to wait for his food before rushing towards it. If an eager eater already has his chops into his dinner, he may not tolerate it being removed in mid munch. Therefore, teaching him to ‘sit’ and ‘wait’ before given the ‘OK’ to go ahead with dinner serves not only to teach him manners under extreme circumstances (he is starving to death after all!), but it also reinforces a calm state of mind.
Coping with a food guarder
My dog Tabasco displayed signs of food guarding - but only the once. When he was about 12 weeks old, I gave him a juicy bone to chew. I decided it was a good time to start ‘food guarding’ training, and went to remove then bone while he was chewing it. He instantly turned into the Curly Coat from hell - bearing teeth and snarling. Although initially shocked at the rapid change in temperament, I immediately took him by the collar and deposited him in the kitchen and closed the door. He stayed in ‘time out’ for a few minutes. Since that time, Tabasco has never displayed further signs of food guarding. Ostracism as a punishment was very effective in his case.
My brother has had a little less success with his Golden Retriever puppy. Although not a food guarder, Sheila will guard toys and also her position if backed into a corner, behind a sofa, for example. ‘Time out’ doesn’t seem to have been the right cure for her. Matthew is instead trying the ‘object exchange’ approach, whereby Sheila is rewarded with a treat when she relinquishes the toy she is guarding. He also plays enthusiastically with another toy at the other end of the room - within eyeshot of Sheila. He does this in order to convey to her that the toy he is playing with is just as much fun as the one that she is currently guarding, and that it’s much better fun to be playing with him rather than by herself, behind the couch. This is still a work in progress - until such time as she is too big to fit under the couch, of course!
Approach from another dog
Dogs may growl, lunge or run away when another dog approaches. These are likely to be responses to either dominance or fear aggression, over-excitement, or fear of the other dog. A dog may exhibit these behaviours for reasons of lack of socialisation, inappropriate training and amplified aggression training.
Lack of socialisation - as mentioned in previous units, socialisation is extremely important in the early stages of a dog’s mental and physical development. An under-socialised dog will not know how to react appropriately when another dog approaches, and may growl (aggressively, with ears pointed forward, tail and hackles raised, or fearfully, with ears held close to the head and tail between his legs), or may simply run away, in fear.
Inappropriate training - if an owner does not control a dog on a lead in a relaxed and calm manner, the ‘signals’ sent down the lead to the dog may cause the dog to lunge. An over-eager or over-excited dog who is constantly being pulled back, will continue to lunge and get more excited, boomeranging this back to the owner, who will pull the dog even harder. Furthermore, any perceived threat the owner sees in the approaching dog may be transmitted through nervous energy or tension via the lead to their dog, causing him to start to growl or lunge aggressively.
Amplified aggression training - some dogs unfortunately have owners who will purposely train them to be aggressive when another dog approaches.
Avoiding this situation
Problem behaviour such as this can be avoided for the most part by ensuring that your dog is adequately socialised at an early age. This includes socialisation whilst still with the breeder, as well as when they move to their new home with their owner. Socialisation can be further ‘pumped-up’ by enrolling your puppy in a puppy socialisation class.
Outside of socialisation classes, it is good practise to introduce your puppy to as many other dogs as possible, either at the park, or whilst on a walk - either off or on lead. It is useful to use either a retractable or long lead in these situations, as this will allow your dog to approach the other dog ‘on his terms’, but you still have ultimate control. The dogs will perform a series of ‘getting to know you’ rituals, and will then either decide to ignore each other, or play (in which case you can either recall him, or detach his lead).
A growling, lunging situation can also be avoided by simply being aware of any other dogs in your vicinity when out on a walk. Your elevated position should allow you to spot another dog and owner before your dog does. In this situation, you can simply turn around and walk in the opposite direction. (I wouldn’t encourage using this technique if you want prevent this behaviour - this is one way to avoid it, but your dog may be permanently without canine pals.)
Unfortunately, as this is a canine psychology course, and not a human psychology course, it is impossible for me to understand why anyone would want to train their dog to be aggressive on demand (unless of course they were trained police or armed forces dogs - but that is a different matter). How can you avoid a dog growling or lunging aggressively? Simple - don’t teach them how to! Or if you do (for what ever reason), ensure they are trained to release. My dog was on the receiving end of a vicious attack, and it was a most traumatic experience for both myself and Tabasco.
Coping with this situation
There are couple of ways I could try to cope if my dog presented this problem. There are two things I know - 1) my dog is very strong, and 2) he loves food. If Tabasco was desperate enough to want to reach another dog, I expect that he would be able to pull me over to do so. Therefore, pulling back on the lead when he lunged would not be a viable action to take. I would instead attempt to keep him in a calm state of mind, and reward him for doing so with a food treat, by trying one of the following:
Doggy ‘zen’ game - when another dog approached, I would immediately put Tabasco into a sit position, command him to ‘look at me’ and to pay attention to the sweetie in my hand which I had raised above my head. I would gradually lower my hand towards him, and reward him with the sweetie for keeping all four paws on the ground, for not jumping up and for concentrating on me. I would continue to play the ‘zen’ game until the approaching dog moved away. In this way, I am rewarding Tabasco for concentrating on me and ignoring the approaching dog.
Walk on by - in a similar vein, when another dog approached, I would command Tabasco to walk to heel and to ‘leave!’ (i.e. ignore) the approaching dog. Every time Tabasco completed a ‘leave’ on cue, he would receive a food reward.
Conclusion
An owner’s lack of understanding of natural dog behaviour can sometimes be the precursor to the development of ‘problem behaviour’. It is possible to avoid the onset of problem behaviours before they start, and this is achieved by ensuring that a young puppy is sufficiently (and correctly) trained from an early age. This is further enhanced by adequate socialisation.
Bibliography
Dominance: Fact or fiction? (Eaton, Barry 2008)
The Culture Clash (Donaldson, Jean 2005)
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
