Natural Pet Health

Dogs cannot speak our language and we can never be sure whether their barking is a warning, a complaint or an expression of some discomfort. But there is one thing that we do know and that is that the barking is supposed to mean something.

A dog may bark for various reasons. And in many cases the barking is due to a previous situation or experience that he may have had. Research has unequivocally established that the dog’s brain does respond to stimuli and this was proven long time ago with Pavlov’s experiment.

Experiments reveal that there is imagery in the dog’s brain that induces specific dog behaviors. These behaviors could seem normal or abnormal to us but they do have a meaning. Dogs have the capacity to recall images of the owner, earlier smells and sounds and past experiences and these cause them to behave in a certain manner.

Imagine a situation where you return home at the same time every day and indulge in joyous playing with your puppy. The image of the good time that the young dog experiences gets ingrained in the dog brain. The problem arises on the day you are late from work.

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Adapted from Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals by Kristen Leigh Bell (Findhorn, 2002). Article courtesy of http://www.care2.com/

Here is an ideal blend of essential oils to calm dogs in stressful situations: dogs with separation anxiety; training or show nerves; hyperactivity; fear of people, places, or things. Just hold this blend to their noses.

Calm Canine Essential Oil Blend

* ½ oz. base oil (for example, sweet almond or hazelnut)
* 3 drops Valerian essential oil
* 2 drops Vetiver essential oil
* 4 drops Petigrain essential oil
* 3 drops Sweet Marjoram essential oil
* 2 drops Sweet Orange essential oil

Store in a dark glass bottle. The calming effect of this blend will range from “taking the edge off” to soothing a dog to the point where it gets very mellow and takes a nap. You can adjust the number of drops used to get the desired effect, anywhere from 1-6 drops depending on the size of the dog.

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Biographical stories and scientific research suggest that dogs have a reasonably high intelligence. This, however, does not mean that dogs can premeditate and solve problems. What they do have is a certain association between cause and effect that registers in their minds over time.

Separation anxiety in dogs arises from exactly these types of cause and effect associations that they learn by trial and error. Some dogs take separation from owners in their stride whereas some resort to undesirable behaviors.

These undesirable behaviors can border on destructive behaviors at times. Apart from separation anxieties, some dogs may also show anxious behavior during thunderstorms, car rides or visitors.

Conventional medications rely upon antidepressants to suppress anxiety. The side effects of the drugs are an inhibiting factor and often lead people to a search for alternate measures. Natural remedies and diets are effective measures that can prove to be curative while avoiding the side effects that accompany drugs.

Homeopathic remedies are a safe way to calm emotional turbulences in dogs. Homeopathic remedies do not induce sleep so that the negative behavior can be avoided. They ease the anxiety to a great extent especially when the dog encounters anxious situation like separation from the owner. You can choose to opt for a branded product or consult a qualified homeopathic veterinarian who will then give you a specific medicine for severe anxiety.

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Understanding your dog’s body language can be a complex task. Researchers now believe that a single behavior may have multiple meanings and therefore an action cannot be generalized. Dog behavior has to be understood contextually.

We tend to generalize that when a dog wags his tail, he is happy. However, there are times when a dog will wag his tail (for example when you are leaving him to go out) to convey anxiety rather than excitement.

Domesticated dogs also form a healthy bond with the owner and their family. This leads to overdependence on the owner which can at times become overbearing. More than anything else, overdependence can lead to fear of separation.

Over time, if unchecked this anxiety can lead to abnormal behavior from an otherwise friendly dog. Fear and aversion to isolation is one of the main reasons behind anxiety that can cause undesirable and abnormal behavior in dogs.

Treating separation anxiety in dogs with medication is the route that many pet owners take since it is probably easier than the other options. But anxiety medication has its own drawbacks.

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Undesirable and destructive behavior from your dog can get extremely irritating. It is especially peeving if you have made sure that he is trained adequately right from the time that he was a puppy. After you are sure that your dog is fully trained, bad behavior does become difficult to tolerate and cope with.

However, it is important to understand that there are many reasons why your dog can relapse into untrained, destructive or extremely submissive behavior even after years of training. It is common for perfectly restrained dogs to go berserk at times with no apparent reason.

One of the reasons why some dogs can forget all that they have learnt is anxiety. Even though dogs are intelligent animals, they are incapable of controlling stress and anxiety that they may feel due to various reasons.

Anxiety brings out the worst in a dog. There can be various reasons for anxiety but the one that is most common is separation anxiety in dogs. Dogs are known to spoil furniture, urinate in the house, break objects and indulge in excessive barking when their owner leaves them. Such destructive behavior should not be construed as revenge (since dogs are almost incapable of that emotion).

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Apart from the physical problems and medical conditions, dogs are liable to suffer from psychological problems too. It may sound a bit unusual but it is a fact and pet owners who have had to face separation anxiety in dogs are a standing testimony to its existence.

Separation anxiety is only one such condition that sparks off abnormal behavior in dogs. It can occur when the pet is separated from the owner for the first time. It can also appear after a long vacation when the level of interaction suddenly drops once you go back to normal daily routine schedules.

The bunch of abnormal and quirky behavior that separation anxiety brings about in dogs can be quite irksome to dog owners. Such behaviors could include chewing, scratching doors and excessive digging. The fear and insecurity brings forth excessive barking, howling and whining.

Separation anxiety can also result in depressive and anxious behavior just before the owner leaves the house. It can also manifest itself in following the owner from room to room.

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We all know that humans undergo a certain amount of stress if they have experienced a traumatic situation. This kind of stress is called post traumatic stress. Remember the war veterans who could not adjust to normal routine civilian life after spending time in the war torn Vietnam. For that matter the Katrina disaster too was a disastrous traumatic experience for humans.

Like humans, dogs also undergo a certain amount of stress when they experience traumatic situations. The Katrina disaster would have been as traumatic for them as humans.

During and after such incidents, dogs can show various behavioral changes that may take you by surprise. You may find that your dog suddenly seems to have forgotten all house training rules. He may defecate inside the house, indulge in excessive barking without any evident reason and become excessively aggressive or overly shy after a trauma.

In addition he may also pant, pace, or loose significant amounts of weight. How your pet comes out of this stress syndrome depends largely upon how you handle the situation.

If post traumatic stress in dogs is handled in a callous manner the condition can deteriorate and lead to aggressive behavior. The methods used to treat separation anxiety in dogs are not sufficient and effective in post traumatic stress.

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We all know that dogs are extremely attached to their masters. And many of us would have heard of instances where dogs whine and pine for their masters when they go away on a long vacation. Some dogs have also been known to exhibit mature behavior when their masters are in trouble or sick.

This attachment comes naturally to them especially if the dog has been brought into the house as a puppy. As a puppy the dog is genetically attached to the mother and the litter in which he is born. When he is taken away from the litter and placed in a ‘foster’ home, he seeks that attachment.

Since the owner provides him with the food and the love that he so desires, the object of attachment becomes the master by extension.

However, this healthy relationship between dog and owner can give rise to undesirable behavior if the dog becomes excessively dependent on the owner.

Separation anxiety in dogs is actually a symptom of the pet’s disapproval of being isolated from the owner. When you see one or all of the following signs in your pet you can suspect that your dog’s uncommon behavior is due to being separated anxiety.

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Humans tend to believe that the type of life they are providing to their dog is as good, if not better than what the dog would choose for himself. The fact however is far from this perception.

* You are in fact forcing an animal that is accustomed to live in groups to live with humans in a confined environment.
* You are actually forcing him to do what he is not habituated to and he has to learn human ways and abide by human rules.
* You are suppressing his natural instincts by training him to obey orders.

Just as humans feel stress in situations that are uncomfortable for them, domesticated dogs are exposed to stressful situations all the time. The irony is that much as you might want to relieve stress in your pet, dogs cannot communicate using human language.

They can only use body language to convey their displeasure and stress. And if you are a conscientious owner, you will make sure that you try and decode his language by interpreting it in the right manner.

Some of the signs of stress that your dog may exhibit are given below. However it must be noted that these signs need to be exhibited repeatedly for them to be considered as stress signals.

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Dogs are emotional animals and are generally ‘one-person’ pets. This means that their allegiance generally lies with one member of the family. Unlike cats, dogs are not too attached with the house. And this strong bond between the master and the pet brings about something called the separation anxiety.

Dogs who suffer from separation anxiety tend to exhibit undesirable behavior when they do not see their owners for a certain period of time. Separation anxiety in dogs can be triggered of after long periods of absence like after a vacation. A significant change in routine or a change of place of residence can also cause separation anxiety.

Distinguishing bad behavior from separation anxiety in dogs is simple. A dog suffering from separation anxiety is likely to follow the master from room to room. Sometimes anxious pets act in a strange manner even when the owner is another room with the door shut.

Undesirable behavior may include destructive behavior like scratching doors and window, excessive barking, attempt to escape, defecation at inappropriate places, inactivity, lethargy and loss of appetite. In rare cases, separation anxiety in dogs manifests itself in psychosomatic maladies like diarrhea, vomiting, and excessive coat licking.

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