Why would a dog act aggressively toward someone who has taken them in?
When a dog is nervous and afraid, they may growl, lunge, bark, or nip — this behavior is instinctual, and it’s how dogs show they are uncomfortable. It must be respected, not punished. Dogs who are nervous with humans can learn to feel safe, with the right approach. It’s important not to put pressure on them to ‘make friends’ and to honor that their fear is valid and very real for them. It is up to us, the humans, to patiently and lovingly help them learn to trust us.
The only way to truly change their behavior is to understand that this is how dogs communicate when they are nervous; it does not mean that they are aggressive. We must honor their emotions as we prove to them that we are trustworthy. Then we must learn to communicate in their language, so they can start to feel safe. Dogs can’t speak English, but we can love them enough to learn how to communicate effectively with them by learning how to speak “canine.”
If your dog has separation anxiety when you leave, it’s because they genuinely believe that you could die whenever you leave the house. We contribute towards and cause separation anxiety by saying goodbye to them when we leave and saying hello when we return home. When we think that they hear, “Goodbye, you be a good boy, and I’ll bring you home a bone,” what your dog hears is, “I’m afraid to leave without you, there are so many threats out there and I don’t know what to do. I hope I make it back alive!” When you return if your dog runs up to you excitedly, they’re not excited to see Mom or Dad. They aren’t rushing up to say ‘Hello’, they are rushing up to assess you, “Where have you been? What did you do? Are you injured?” In our dog’s eyes, we are either the leader or the puppy; if we acknowledge them at all when we leave and return, we are the equivalent of the puppy. Imagine if every time a family member left the house, and you truly believed that they could die how stressful your life would be? We can resolve this behavior by changing how we leave and return home.
Dr. Lori Teller, an associate professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, says that because dogs can suffer from psychological conditions like their human counterparts, owners can benefit from having an awareness of possible causes, diagnosis, and how canine post-traumatic stress disorder may be managed to give your furry friend the best life possible following periods of stress and trauma.
Although adopting a dog with a history of trauma requires a caring and dedicated owner, the bond that is formed between rescued dog and pet-parent can be an unbreakable gift that is well worth the time and effort.
“The symptoms of PTSD in dogs are similar to those in humans and include chronic anxiety; hypervigilance; avoidance of certain people, places, or situations; sleep disturbances; fear of being alone; decreased interest in a favorite activity; or aggression,” Teller said.
Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the web at vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk. Suggestions for future topics may be directed to [email protected].
“We don’t always know what may cause PTSD in dogs, but some potential causes are military or police work, being a bait or fighting dog, being raised in a puppy mill, severe abuse, living as a stray after being abandoned, trauma from a disaster (flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, explosion), or being attacked by other dogs or animals,” Teller said.
How long does it take for a traumatized dog to become comfortable in a new home?
It’s impossible to say. It’s going to depend significantly on the dog’s history, what makes them stressed and afraid, how they deal with it, and what their pet parents do to help them recover. It will take a couple of weeks for the dog to decompress, and sometimes the behavioral issues show up after that. This is because the dog was too anxious to come out of their shell, and once they start to feel comfortable, they observe that the humans aren’t showing leadership. The dog then feels stressed because they have no guardian, no structure that makes sense, and they feel responsible for stepping up to the leadership role.
Some dogs may take only a few weeks to settle in and learn to trust in their family, while others may take up to a year to truly feel safe and believe that their humans are capable canine parents/guardians.
Please don’t give up on them after a couple of weeks or months. Be patient. Accept the dog for who he or she is, don’t expect them to be like another dog in the home, don’t compare them or pressure them to change within a timeline. Once they see that you have accepted them for who they are and will not give up on them, they will become more relaxed and trusting. If the dog has not been treated kindly by a human in the past, it is normal for them to be shy and nervous, even afraid of family members. The answer is in earning their trust by being consistent, patient, and showing kind canine leadership.
The behavior won’t change overnight, but with time, patience, and dedication, they can learn to feel safe.
How Rescue Dogs Are Helping Veterans With PTSD | National Geographic
As more military veterans have returned from war zones, there is an increased awareness of PTSD.
PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a severe anxiety disorder that results from experiencing an extremely traumatic event such as war (explosions), death, accidents, brutality, or extreme weather and massive destruction (buildings falling, roofs caving in).
And now, many animals that lived through the tornadoes in Oklahoma have PTSD symptoms. Symptoms of PTSD in dogs can include: panic, panting, fearfulness, being timid and clinging to their owners, aggressive reactions in dogs that were never aggressive before, depression, and hyper-vigilance (especially for working dogs and guard breeds). Working dogs such as military and police K9 dogs with PTSD will often ‘shut down’ and refuse to work.
The treatment for these dogs has 2 parts: 1) medication for extreme cases. Veterinarians will prescribe an anti-anxiety medication that is paired with a behavioral program. When the dog has improved, the medication is faded out, and 2) a behavioral program that involves Systematic Desensitization. Desensitization involves exposing the dog to the problem stimulus and gradually increasing the exposure. If a noise was the problem, the animal behaviorist would start by presenting the noise at a very low level. Food reward is paired with the dog tolerating the noise. The sound is presented so that it is slightly louder with each presentation.
In addition to Systematic Desensitization, another important part of the behavior plan for PTSD dogs is daily exercise, play sessions, and positive reinforcement training.
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