Anxiety and Aggression in Dogs
While we are dealing with the dog’s uncertainty before the walk, with the guarding of the bowl or runaways to the nearest garbage dump, it does not occur to us that something is wrong with the dog. Your pet doesn't listen, plays a fool, tries to manipulate but this is forgivable, fixable, or at least - you can live with it.
Another thing is when the owner of the dog is faced with the uncontrollable fear or aggression of his own dog. When google advice does not help, when the help of experienced dog owners does not show result - what to do? When you are scared for your own dog, because it is not clear why it growls and rushes when no one wants to harm it, or why it has panic attacks of the most ordinary things, it is a serious call to action.
Many owners of these dogs compare the condition of their pets to "panic attacks". Indeed, there is a similarity. The dog is not able to control itself, it seems to cease to hear and see what is actually happening, loses the ability to adequately assess the situation, and even more so to adequately respond to it.
Some of these cases are not related to the behavior of the dog, but to its health. If the dog is really in pain, it may seem insane. But if the dog is healthy - what about it?
Therefore, I want to talk about neuroses.
Pavlov began to study neuroses in dogs. He also found out that sometimes keeping a dog in a closed room, devoid of any third-party involvement (for hearing, sight and touch), can bring a dog to life. That is, the most relaxed atmosphere. But we have to communicate with our dogs, even if they are against this communication, we are obliged to walk them - even if they are scared to death of leaving the apartment. And the repetition of the situation that caused the neurosis can lead to the most dire consequences:
- panic fear of fireworks - and the dog drops the owner, snatches the leash out of his hands and runs away in an unknown direction, through roads, parks and yards, not seeing anything around and not remembering the directions
- fear of a thunderstorm - and the dog, left at home by the owners, smashes doors and windows, breaks claws and teeth, yells and howls, driving itself to a frenzy
- fear of people - and the dog, at any gaze of a stranger at it, jumps to the side, onto the road, under the wheels
- fear of pain - and the dog, at any attempt to touch it, without hesitation, throws itself and clings to the outstretched hand
Strange - but people manage to somehow live with all this. They go for a walk, tied up with a leash, putting on two or three collars on the dog. Ask neighbors and friends to stay at home with the dog. They walk at night and early in the morning, while the streets are deserted. They come up with a whole system of rituals in order to simply wash the dog's paws. But the problem remains, and few of the owners think about how his dog actually lives? What is it like - constant fear for your life and attacks of uncontrollable panic from any little thing, like not being able to walk normally on the street, relax at home, enjoy the touch of your beloved hands ... But after a couple of years of such a "life" problems begin to pour in health - from a sick stomach to heart rhythm disturbances, from vascular spasms to terrible allergies. And how many owners and veterinarians do not fight over the health of the dog, the problems do not go away.
Neurosis is a failure in the nervous system. Disorder of nervous activity.
In fact, it is a disease. Why and how it arises - there is still no consensus on this matter, because neuroses are different. But one thing unites them all - neurosis arises when it is impossible to solve some overly important task. For example, a dog is very scared of a salute and wants to run away from it, but it is on a leash - it wants to run away, but cannot. Or the dog got very scared and bit the man, and he beat her badly for this - she wanted to protect herself, but it turned out the other way around. Or a dog, tired of training, cannot master some command in any way - it really wants to receive encouragement, but the further, the more it experiences negative emotions instead of positive ones. Etc.
Yes, young, nervous, physically and psychologically exhausted dogs are more likely to suffer from neuroses. Less often - experienced, calm, healthy, trained. But let's be honest - even a VERY balanced dog can be brought to neurosis, it's just much more difficult.
Almost always while analyzing in detail the time before the onset of symptoms, we find the very moment when the nervous system could not withstand conflicting information and excessive stress. But it is not enough to define this moment. It is much more important to understand that any neurosis has a physiological basis in the form of a habitual response of the endocrine system. For example, after a disturbance in nervous activity, a sharp pop of the window starts the same mechanism as the explosion of a firecracker. Cortisol (stress hormone), adrenaline (fear), norepinephrine (aggression). The nervous system gives the body a signal to run and flee. And it is useless to prove to the dog that the window is safe. Yes, she can be made to sit under this window. And she will even stop shuddering one day for every cotton. But the neurosis will not go anywhere - just the dog will not be able to react to the sound that frightens it in an appropriate way. And as soon as the nervous system reaches the limit of its power, there will be an outrageous inhibition, which protects the nerve cells from death. And the more often this happens to the dog, the faster the body will be depleted and health problems will begin.
Almost always while analyzing in detail the time before the onset of symptoms, we find the very moment when the nervous system could not withstand conflicting information and excessive stress. But it is not enough to define this moment. It is much more important to understand that any neurosis has a physiological basis in the form of a habitual response of the endocrine system. For example, after a disturbance in nervous activity, a sharp pop of the window starts the same mechanism as the explosion of a firecracker. Cortisol (stress hormone), adrenaline (fear), norepinephrine (aggression). The nervous system gives the body a signal to run and flee. And it is useless to prove to the dog that the window is safe. Yes, she can be made to sit under this window. And she will even stop shuddering one day for every cotton. But the neurosis will not go anywhere - just the dog will not be able to react to the sound that frightens it in an appropriate way. And as soon as the nervous system reaches the limit of its power, there will be an outrageous inhibition, which protects the nerve cells from death. And the more often this happens to the dog, the faster the body will be depleted and health problems will begin.
The only one hundred percent working method that saved the life and health of a huge number of dogs is to gradually develop a different endocrine response to what causes fear in the dog.
And this is possible only if the dog creates an extremely strong need for something, so strong as to partially suppress the instinct of self-preservation. Then any, even the smallest, satisfaction of the dominant need will cause a lot of positive emotions in the dog, and the nervous system, in order to induce the body to look for ways to satisfy the need, will begin to actively suppress the secretion of adrenaline and cortisol with the help of endorphins and enkephalins.
It is enough to gradually combine situations that cause the dog to be ready for the reaction of fear and panic (for example, similar to pops, but rather distant or quiet sounds, which the dog is afraid and nervous, but not frankly afraid of) and the satisfaction of the dominant need, so that the dog gradually begins to come to the norm.