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Everything You Should Know About Ferrets
Simply Right Click and choose Save As to save to your desktop! More FREE Natural Health, Wellness and Pet Ebooks at Remedies4.com!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.
Clomipramine and amitriptyline are two main drugs that are used to suppress anxiety in dogs. These drugs are tricyclic antidepressants and can have serious side effects. They can also interfere with other medications that the dog may need for other conditions. Some of the side effects of these antidepressants that need to be monitored are:
* Diarrhea, sedation and vomiting.
* Urine retention.
* Low blood pressure.
* Disturbance in bowel movements.
* Dry mouth and decreased salivation.
Another reason why anxiety medication should not be resorted to as the first option is that these drugs are not final solutions for the problem in any case. At best these medications will help in calming down the dog for a short period of time. Once the effect of the drug wears off, similar issues with abnormal behavior are likely to start.
Given the severe side effects that such medication can cause, it is prudent to resort to using them only under certain unavoidable circumstances. Some of the situations that may lead you to consider anxiety medication are:
* Extremely severe symptoms of anxiety
* The need to leave the dog alone for a protracted period of time
* Using the medication during the intermediary period while you are trying to modify your dog’s behavior.
Your efforts should probably aim at relieving stress in your pet rather than opting for medication. Such medication can only prove to be a stopgap solution. To ensure that the root cause of the anxiety is treated and cured permanently, behavior modification is essential.
The process of behavior modification is not an easy one and high levels of patience are required to be able to start and complete the entire behavior modification exercise that you may have taken up. Sometimes you may need to train your dog all over again.
The premise behind behavior modification is to assure your pet that you will always return when you leave him. You can try a new safety cue for your dog when you have to leave him. To start with, leave the cue and then come back within a couple of minutes.
Gradually increase your dog’s exposure to situations that you feel cause anxiety. Train your dog to expect pleasure rather than fear from situations that normally give rise to anxiety.
Make sure that you are prepared for situations wherein you may have to retrace your steps in the behavior modification process. Being prepared will enable you to handle frustrating situations in a better manner.
References:
http://www.petedu...1&articleid=2266
http://www.petedu...51&articleid=616
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