Behaviour Bytes - Part Two - More Behaviour Questions answered

Polite Pets Month is an Australian Veterinary Association initiative 

(and a bloody good one), in that the focus is on all things "behavioural".  As a member of the AVA since my student years in 1987, I have seen some really awesome ideas from the AVA, and this one is up there in the top five!

It's a shame though, that when you look at animal behaviour from a pet owning perspective, the vet is not the first person you would think to ask.  Today, I had a conversation with a new client about the severe thunderstorm anxiety her 10 year old Goldie had suffered... she came in for a resupply for a medication that her previous vet had given her.  Her statement had me in tears!

Susie asks
"I work all the time. My dog gets so anxious with the storms,  that she damages gates, fences, buildings, with blood running down her face and feet.  I now tie her up. I need sedatives to help her. I need a quick solution, because I am close to euthenasing her. "

Do I hear a thunderstorm acoming?  Oh no! 

Dr Liz: There are no quick and easy solutions for what you are describing. Sedatives only mask the problem, but do nothing to help the dog with coping strategies in the future. To come in and ask for quick solution, as if you are coming into buy a flea product or worming tablets, on a problem that is so serious that you are considering euthanasia, makes me want to help you as much as I can.

To deal with a problem of the severity which you describe requires an owner with the time commitment to support her dog, and work through with the vet to tweak a plan. Every dog is different, and it takes time to determine what is the best plan to help you and your pet. 

Specialist Veterinary Behaviourists often spend hours with you to do this, yet you expect me, the humble general practitioner vet to fix the problem over the counter in five minutes, especially when any suggestion I have come up with you say "I have tried that".  We need to go through what you have tried, and how you have tried it. And sorry, this can't be done "over the counter" in a few minutes.

(Yes, I did say this to her today - she thanked me for my honesty and passion - not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. I did give her some medication which will help with the immediate thunderstorm situation we are in - the storm is over now as I write, but a few hours ago was a different story - but I hope that she will now make the time to come in so we can work with her to get a solution. Fingers crossed, as Goldie is an otherwise really sweet girl).

As an aside....Our new puppy, Piper showed classic anxiety signs the second night she was with us, when we had  a severe thunderstorm.  

We made it our mission to work on this, which we did, so that she now sleeps through a storm, or plays with her Kong Wobbler.  

The moral of this story is, the sooner you identify an anxious puppy,  the sooner the right advice is given,  the sooner your pet can be helped, and, best of all,  future problems prevented. 

Jacki asks
My cat scratches lounges when they have scratch posts EVERYWHERE!

Pandora (the boss) loves this post - a nice
long scratch!

Dr Liz: Scratching is a normal behaviour of cats, but the motivation can be either grooming to keep their claw bed healthy, to depositing an "odour" (which we can't smell called pheromones)  which can then pass information to other individuals (like a cat's version of tagging the area of "I was here").

Pandora (the boss), proud of herself!

They will often do this in areas as they walk through and around the house - often lounge rooms form part of this pathway, so of course, it is going to be "marked" or "tagged"..


Not forgetting that sometimes its a textural thing  too - if the scratching post is right next to the lounge, for example, it might feel nicer on the nail bed to claw into the lounge material, than the rough scratching post stuff.

The solution (sounds easy in writing, not easy in practice), is to have scratching posts at the entry and exit points of the house, and in the areas where you cat may travel through.  What I mean is, if you drew a map of your house, what paths does your cat take around it?  You then put scratching posts at various areas throughout this cat "footpath", making sure you always get the key entry/exit points.

The other part of the solution, is you will need to make the previous preferred areas less attractive. This is through making it unpleasant - in other words, changing the surface itself (usually through temporary placement of thick plastic sheets or surfaces your cat may not like to walk on).

Do you have any suggestions to add to what I have written? Or do you have any questions that you would like some help with?

Never be afraid to ask your own vet, as they are pretty cluey people.

 Do take your behavioural questions  seriously though. It's not fair to ask the vet  "by the way..... "  because even with the behavioural knowledge I do have, I have never been able to answer a question in five minutes (unless it is about dogs eating their own or others poo). 

I hate answering "by the way"  types of questions over the counter, as I know your pet needs, and the problem deserves its own dedicated time to sort out.

It has been my experience that a vet consult is alot cheaper than a dog trainer anyway, if it is cost that is what is stopping you.  Of course, like any therapist, don't be frightened to ask for a referral to a veterinary behaviourist if your problem is complex, or you are not achieving the results you expected. You and I should both agree on one thing though... your pet deserves the best of care.

I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Russell Vale Animal Clinic.  We are here for happy, healthy pets....always!