Canine fear & phobia

Canine fear & phobia

1. Phobia

   • Non-graded extreme response to fearful stimuli (can have panic attacks)
   • Often involves; Short, ineffective/ irrelevant avoidance/ escape responses
   • Animals become withdrawn and scared of new things
   • There is a suggestion that animals displaying phobias react this way due to systemic lactate levels - diagnostic test in development
   • Irrational fear response
   • Full blown fear resonse to seemingly inncuous stimulus
   • Mills, 2005

2. Treatment of noise fears/ phobias

   • Drugs may be useful in temperamentally fearful dogs
   • Dont punish the dog for being scared - confirms that there is something to be scared of
   • Dont fuss/ re-assure the dog - reinforces the behaviour by rewarding them
     • "Psuedophobia" - dog learns to display fearful like signs in order to get attention
   • Feed a protein rich meal with added B6 vitamins mid-late afternoon - feed carbs later as this combination has proven to be calming
   • Ensure dogs are kept in a safe and secure environment at all times
   • DAP is indicated - dog appeasing pheromone
   • Provide animals with a safe, secure retreat to go to when scared and recover in their own time - reduces the intensity of the response and helps then cope
   • Provide a safe room alternatively that is associated with positive experiences
   • Play music - doesn't have to be loud but offers the animal distraction from the fear (repetitive drumming is ideal)
   • Ignore the noise and try and engage the animal in play
   • Keep the animal with another that isn't frightened of the noises
   • Dam cotton wool earplugs can be made if tolerated
   • Mills, 2005

3. Fear

   • Types of fear
     • Temperamental fear
       • Fears exist as a temperamental trait - more prone/ tendency to react fearfully to environment/experiences
       • More likely to suffer from a range of fears & easily develop new ones even with behavioural treatment
         • Medical treatment indicated
       • Suggested both genetically inherited and stems from early experiences
     • Developmental fear
       • "Lack of habituation" - no exposure as a young animal therefore not accepted = poorly socialised
       • "Dishabituation" - Fears develop for previously acceted stimuli due to a period of chronic stress later in life
       • "Sensitisation"- Fears develop following exposure to a series of midly stimulating fear-proking experiences
       • Mills, 2005
     • Learned fear
       • "Direct experience" - learned traumatic association with stimulus
       • "Socially mediated" - Fear develops due to contact with other fearful animals
   • Grades of fear
     • Simple
       • "Monosymptomatic"
       • Stimulus-specific
       • Characterised by avoidance resonse an subsequent exploration
       • Can develop if left un-treated
       • Response is graded in relation to intensity
     • Complex
       • Response to a wider range of stimuli - often related to each other
       • Greater anticipation of fearful stimuli
     • Mills, 2005
   • Adaptive response
   • May become fearful of previous unpleasant exeriences
     • Or of overwhelming stimuli - Being cornered/ ill

4. Risk factors for fear

   • Suposed high revalence of noise fears in herding breeds
   • Suggested that 1st time owners have a greater prevalence of noise fearful dogs - due to naiviety and reinforcement of fearful behaviour
   • Suggested heightened risk in neutered bitches - progestogens elicit an anxiolytic effect - further work required
   • Dogs attending obedience classes are reported to have a lower incidence
   • Later onset of fear should raise concern - medical/ stress related
     • Potential link for hypothyroidism in increasing fear prevalence
   • Severity of fear is associated with levels of serum-insulin like growth factor 1 = the greater the fear the lower the levels

5. Clinical signs of fear

   • Restlessness/ trembling/ bolt response
   • Panting/ drooling
   • Tucked tail/ crouched position
   • Owner- seeking behaviour
   • Yawning/ Increased blinking/ Nose licking
   • Defecation/ urination
   • Destructiveness/ Self-mutilation
   • Vocalisation/ Withdrawal