Health and Behavior
As an IAABC certified Dog Behavior Consultant, I spend much more time with my clients than teaching the basics of sit, down, and come. Dog behavior and willingness to work for you is largely dependent upon more than just taking obedience classes.
One of the eight components of having a happy and healthy relationship with your dog revolves around both you and your dog’s health. What kinds of things does that include? The list is almost endless but certainly includes a healthy diet, knowing if your dog is in some sort of hidden pain such as advanced arthritis, and other medical conditions such as hypothyroidism. Even genetic temperament disorders and structural flaws (such as hip or elbow dysplasia, or even poorly developed shoulders or pasterns only point out a few of the potential health concerns that can affect the behavior of a dog.
When I see a dog with abnormal behaviors such as excessive fear, aggression or even an unwillingness to respond to his owner’s commands, one of the very first things I look at are these items, particularly food and arthritis.
Almost all of us understand that if we send our children to school with Coke and Cheetos for lunch, almost surely the afternoon teacher is going to have some things to say about inattentive or over-active behavior, yet, we think nothing of feeding our dogs foods loaded with corn syrup, corn meal, and a plethora of other ingredients that dogs were never intended to eat. Many of these poor quality ingredients are passed off as protein sources, when in fact in a dog’s digestive system they turn into SUGAR. And SUGAR creates those same behaviors in dogs as it does in children.
Do you ever wonder why so many dogs are now victims of diabetes? While it can be genetic, it can also be exacerbated by food, just as in humans. One of the first things your veterinarian does is change a dog’s diet that is diabetic.
If you have ever suffered from arthritis you know this is not something that enriches your life. Some days can be so miserable, that medical intervention is needed. And on those days, you might find yourself trying hard not to be grumpy to loved ones. I recently read an article about arthritis in dogs which expounded that more dogs than not experience arthritis in varying degrees as young as 8 years old, even YOUNGER! Then we wonder why our playful dog no longer wants to play or be social with other dogs, nips or even starts biting.
It is also a well known fact that many times dogs with idiopathic epilepsy have thyroid conditions. Many dogs with epilepsy (that can even be so mild it is unnoticeable in your dog), can also become very fear aggressive because they know something is wrong and feel vulnerable to other dogs.
In my experience, most dog owners overlook some of the most important factors contributing to behavior. If the health issue is not addressed with the help of a veterinarian and even canine diet specialists, the behavior training you do will not be successful. As with everything, behavior works hand in hand with health. It is so imperative that you be sure there is no health or even dog developmental issue that must be addressed in order to resolve any problem behavior. That can mean something as simple as diet, or as complex as joint dysplasia. ALL these things need to be paid attention to.
Caption: Recently, my Isabella suffered some back trauma and was unable to walk. Instead of becoming more aggressive and defensive, she became very depressed and unresponsive. This was NOT her usual characteristic.
