For years — decades, actually– animal behaviorists have tied acts of dangerous behavior in dogs to dominance related aggression. Simply put, a dog is a pack animal, and he or she is asserting their place at the top of the social heap. You’re just seeing manifestations of “king of the hill” behavior.
But what if the assumptions are faulty? What if that’s not what’s going on? A thought-provoking article by Dr. Ellen Lindell in DVM360 suggests we should question our assumptions.
[B]ehaviorists have now come to realize that the term dominance-related aggression is not only simplistic but is often inaccurate. Dogs that bite their owners usually do not exhibit the calm, confident, take-charge posture of an animal that is dominant in a relationship. These dogs do not strut up, ears and body erect, and stare until the owners step meekly out of the way.
WHAT SIGNALS REALLY SUGGEST
Instead, aggressive dogs often exhibit an assortment of postures that can be difficult to interpret but that suggest a dog in conflict. A dog might have one ear forward and one ear back. Or a dog’s ears might point forward assertively while its tail is tightly tucked, indicating fear. Owners routinely report that their dogs tremble after a bite and often slink away or “look sorry.”
Furthermore, some aggressive dogs do not exhibit noticeable warning signals at all. Without attempting to communicate intent, they react by biting. But is biting a successful strategy for attaining a respected leadership position in a social group? Impulsive aggressive behavior instead may suggest an underlying pathology such as anxiety.
Dr. Lindell is positing that if the cause isn’t what we presume, perhaps there are better, alternative responses available to deal with the behavior. So the next time a dog growls, look carefully and think twice about what might really be going on.
Cats, stress and illness: Staying in the vein of question everything, researchers at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine now believe that a cat who refuses to eat or is regularly vomiting up hairballs, instead of showing symptoms of a physical disorder, could instead be sick because of stress.
When the cats experienced what were called “unusual external events,” such as a change in feeding schedule or caretaker, the healthy cats were just as likely to exhibit sickness behaviors as were the chronically ill cats. The two groups had the same number of sickness behaviors in response to unusual events, and both groups were at more than three times the risk of acting sick when their routines were disrupted. [...]
“For veterinary clinicians, when you have a cat that’s not eating, is not using the litter box or has stuff coming up out of its mouth, the quality of the environment is another cause that needs to be addressed in coming up with a diagnosis,” said Tony Buffington, professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Ohio State and senior author of the study.
What does this mean? When you talk to your veterinarian about what’s going on, factor in what else might be happening at home.
Stories from the front lines: The best weird but true story this week is from AZCentral.com about a fascinating evening at the emergency veterinary clinic. Enjoy…
It was well past midnight. I was waiting with a friend whose dog was in surgery. We asked the vet’s assistant the fate of a different dog – a dachshund who’d been rushed in earlier by her two daddies. She’d eaten half a bag of Hershey’s kisses.
“She’ll be fine,” the assistant told us. “We’re getting it out of her.”
I didn’t really want to hear the details, but she went on.
She said dogs swallow all sorts of interesting things that can often come up the same way they went down. Hairbrushes. Plastic gloves. Car keys.
Then, she told us about a dog who had been induced to upchuck something so unique that the assistant took it to the waiting room to show doggie’s Mommy and Daddy. It was a woman’s purple thong.
The wife looked at the underwear. She looked at her husband.
“Those are not mine!” she said.
Man’s best friend became witness for the plaintiff.
The story that refuses to die: The Philadelphia Eagles play host to the Green Bay Packers this Sunday (Go Pack Go!), so we’ll be hearing more about everybody’s favorite dog-killing quarterback. While columnists in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles insist all is well (and Vick should even get the dog he said he’d like to own – can you believe that?), I’ll make one more plug for what my friend Christie suggested: take Take Donna at BadRap up on her idea and send a book to a needy President.
Compounding – a call to action: The dilemma of how to best medicate pets with unique needs in the face of a push against compounding has spawned a new chapter. An article on KY3‘s website suggests you take the FDA up on their request for public comment on the issue. Speak up!
A turtle ready to roll: Thanks to Schnauzer Fan for my favorite pictures this week from MSNBC. Tzvika the turtle lives in Israel. She had a run in with a lawnmower, and suffered a spinal injury. That’s not the end of the story, of course. Tzvika’s tough, and her veterinarians at the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv were inventive in getting her going again. What did they do? Check out the pictures. You can’t make this stuff up.
I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories. Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an e-mail.
Photo credit: Juneau and his bone, flickr creative commons (meganpru)
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