How medications can help fearful dogs learn new skills
Yes, yes I know, people use too many drugs. People think drugs are the solution to everything. Drugs have side effects. I won't dispute any of those statements, but at the same time drugs can save lives and the side effects of some conditions are worse than the possible side effects of some drugs. Being scared is no way to live. The reasoning ...
Does My Dog Need Prozac? is the title of the second book I am working on. It is a collection of posts culled from the early years of this blog. The answer to the book's title, in the case of my dog Sunny, is yes, yes my dog does need Prozac or in his case another anti-depressant and anxiolytic administered twice a day. Coming to ...
Given the recent news about antidepressants and the 'placebo effect' I thought I'd go there first before folks get themselves all in a lather about those medications and their usefulness treating dogs with fear, phobias and anxiety disorders. That there are other ways to treat mild depression other than medication is not news. Research demonstrating the 'placebo effect' in patients suffering from depression dates back ...
I figured I'd start the new day, for those of you who went to bed, with a video showing fairly typical behavior for a dog who did not experience novelty as a pup. Sunny has lived in our house for 6 years. The behavior you see in this video is caused by a change in the environment. In this case a leather bag I am ...
Stress wreaks havoc on brains and bodies. The list of signs of how stress affects mammalian brains is long. These signs include physical changes; headaches, nausea, body aches. Emotional changes such as; depression, anxiety, agitation. And cognitive changes; confused thinking and poor memory. People can talk about how they feel and what they are experiencing. Our dogs are limited in how they can communicate how ...
Obsessive compulsive disorder is considered an anxiety disorder in people which can be triggered by traumatic events. There can be a genetic component to OCD. This video was taken while I was volunteering at Camp Katrina in 2005 after the hurricanes. This dog had been rescued from the New Orleans area and sent to the Every Dog Needs A Home Sanctuary in Gamaliel AR, via ...
I am tempted to say 'work with the dog you have until you have the dog you want', but realized that not only might it be a bit trite, the outcome of working with the dog you have, may not lead to having the dog you want. On the other hand, it might end up that you want the dog you have. The latter, and ...
What is behavior all about anyway? Why do dogs or anyone, behave the way they do? Why do they make choices to behave one way over another? In some cases there's not much choice involved. If I am stepping off the curb and see a car speeding toward me out of the corner of my eye it's not in my best interest to think too ...
Thanks to Amy Burkert of GoPetFriendly.com & Edie Jarolim of Will My Dog Hate Me for giving me the opportunity for a bit of New Year's reflection. Without further ado- 1. When d id you begin your blog? I wrote the first blog post in December of 2008. OMG. 2008. 2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog? I think that the title ...
I never truly understood what it meant to have a 'fire in your belly' until Sunny came to live with me. I always enjoyed the adventure travel business I run, and loved working outdoors as a river or mountain guide, but I didn't appreciate what it felt like to be so motivated by a purpose, that like a fire, it consumed me. Living with a ...
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