October 1, 2023 • 18 mins
Ever wonder what role your vet might play in your dog's behavioral health? Join us as we navigate this often under-explored terrain with certified dog behavior consultant, Scott Sheaffer. This episode is a valuable resource for every dog owner, as Scott enlightens us about the role your vet could play in managing and treating your dog's behavioral issues. It's not all about medication either - Scott emphasizes the power of teamwork and the implementation of behavior modification exercises.
We dive into the importance of clear communication with your vet, and how physical issues can sometimes manifest as behavioral changes in dogs. Prepare to have your perspective broadened as we explore the possibility of seeking second opinions and how it can aid in your dog's treatment plan.
Walk away with practical advice on tackling a visit to the vet with a fearful or aggressive dog, and how to discuss these issues effectively with your vet. This episode is packed with actionable insights and tips that will help you manage and understand your dog's behavioral issues better.
About Scott Sheaffer
Scott Sheaffer, CCBC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is a certified dog behavior consultant who has worked with thousands of dog owners and their aggressive dogs. Scott specializes in the assessment and treatment of fear, anxiety, aggression, and phobias in dogs six months and older.
Episode Links:
11 Ways You Can Reduce Your Dog’s Fear, Anxiety and Stress at the
Veterinarian’s Office
Social Media and Other Links:
DogAggressionAnswers.com (you can leave me a message here)
Facebook
Training Videos
Scott Sheaffer's Dog Behavior Articles
Disclaimer
If you have a dog who is aggressive and dangerous to humans, it is important that you immediately consult directly with an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Take proper measures to ensure that your dog is never in a position to injure anyone. The information presented in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is neither intended nor implied to replace the need for the direct involvement of an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Scott Sheaffer, the Grumpy Dogs podcast and USA Dog Behavior, LLC, are not liable for any incidents or outcomes resulting from following the advice given in this podcast.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC (00:00):
A frequent question I get from my
clients is can medication playa role in my dog's treatment
plan?
If, in fact, behavioralmedication is ultimately used as
part of a treatment plan, thenthe veterinarian your
veterinarian necessarily becomesa member of the treatment team.
And the treatment team I'mspeaking of is you, the client,
(00:25):
the veterinarian and a behaviorconsultant.
It's a three-legged stool.
It's a critically importantteam, especially for dogs with
significant behavior issues, butveterinarians can do more than
just provide medication ifneeded.
In today's episode, I'm goingto answer the question what part
(00:48):
can my veterinarian play in mydog's overall treatment plan for
aggression?
I'm also going to answer asecond question how can I best
work with my veterinarian whenit comes to a behavior issue?
Welcome to the Dog AggressionAnswers Podcast.
(01:09):
I'm Scott Schaffer, your hostand a certified expert in dog
behavior.
With the background of helpingthousands of aggressive dogs and
their owners, I'm here to sharehumane, science-based solutions
for your dog's aggression.
Stay tuned For my clients whohave dogs that have significant
(01:31):
aggression or other behavioralissues and whose dog will
require some type ofanti-anxiety medication as part
of the treatment plan.
I tell them that the dog'streatment will necessitate a
unified team of three, as Imentioned at the top of the
episode, that team being the dogowner, you behavior consultant
(01:54):
and their veterinarian.
But vets can do more than justprescribe behavioral medication,
as you'll see and I want tomake an important point about
medication before we go anyfurther Behavior medications
from your vet are only one partof the overall treatment plan.
These medications support thebehavior modification and
(02:15):
management exercises a behaviorconsultant provides the client.
But that's the point.
They support it.
It's not the total treatment,and medications for behavioral
issues should be used carefullyand sparingly.
The majority of behavior casesI see require no medication as
part of the treatment.
(02:35):
Medication alone is not enough,but it can be a good tool to
support proper behaviormodification.
As nice as it would be,medication alone is not a fix
for more severe behavior issuesin dogs.
It's what we call an adjunct.
(02:55):
It just is additive to thebehavior treatment.
Let's spend a minute talkingabout the best way to work with
your dog's veterinarian, theimportant part of the team, one
of the three members.
We have to first put ourveterinarians in a position to
be most effective.
Dogs with significant behaviorissues can be challenging for
(03:16):
your veterinarian.
How can you help?
How can you make them be moreeffective.
Let's talk about a couple ofways to do that.
First, if your dog is beingtreated for aggression,
especially human aggression,your dog is likely going to be
fearful and or aggressive whenat the veterinarian's office,
even potentially dangerous tothe vet's staff, other clients
(03:39):
and even other dogs at the vet'soffice.
If your dog is dog aggressiveas well, it's your job to manage
your dog from a safetyperspective and to minimize the
stress to your dog.
Also, these things can be verystressful for your dog.
A lot of dog guardians don'trealize that their dog doesn't
(04:00):
understand why they're at thevet.
They don't understand that thevet is there to help them.
They just know it's a scaryplace.
We have to see it from thedog's perspective.
This is just a very stressfulexperience for many dogs.
The things that you can do tohelp manage your dog would be
things like muscling your dogbefore you arrive or giving
(04:22):
anti-anxiety medications, asprescribed by your vet, to your
dog prior to the appointment.
This is called pretreating.
This is just a couple of themany things you can do to help
your dog and your vet manageyour dog while at the vet.
For more information on how tomanage your dog at the vet's
office.
I've included a link in theepisode notes to a short article
(04:46):
I've written on how to manage afearful and or aggressive dog
at the vet's office Very helpful.
I've had a lot of clients andothers who say this has been a
very helpful article.
So if you get a chance, take alook.
The second thing you can do tohelp your vet is to let your
veterinarian know all about yourdog's aggression issues and
what you are doing about it andprovide status updates.
(05:10):
Veterinarians really like tohear that you've identified and
are working with a certified dogbehavior consultant to help you
with your dog's issue.
This is especially true ifyou're asking about behavior
medication for your dog.
They want to know that you'redoing your part before they do
the medication.
While your vet can be animportant part of the treatment
(05:32):
plan, remember that yourveterinarian is one part of the
team.
You and your behaviorconsultant have to do, in
reality, the majority of theheavy lifting when it comes to
treating dogs with behavioralissues.
They are there, meaning yourveterinarian, to help with the
treatment.
(05:52):
Your veterinarian's focus is onyour dog's physical health.
Of course, that's 99% of thefocus of their training.
That's their wheelhouse.
I found that some dog ownerssomewhat unrealistically expect
their veterinarian's expertiseto extend into animal behavior
as well, and that really is justnot fair to your vet, your dog
(06:16):
or even you.
What makes this morechallenging is that the
veterinarian only sees your dogfor 15 minutes on rare occasions
in a normal checkup and in avery unusual environment for
your dog that is theveterinarian's office.
It's really hardly sufficienttime or an environment for a
(06:36):
proper behavioral assessment,even if they had substantial
training in canine behavior.
From a different perspective,I'm asked all the time about my
clients, dogs, physical issuesand what I think they should do
about them.
I'm neither set up or trainedto properly address these kinds
(06:57):
of veterinary issues.
My advice is always, if youhave questions about this, see
your vet.
In other words, reallyappreciate where your vet is
coming from and really use theirexpertise in their area.
That's true, of course, forevery professional you work with
when it comes to your dog.
Okay, let's talk about waysyour veterinarian can help you
(07:21):
in many important ways with yourdog's behavior issues, and now
I'm going to talk about six ofthose ways.
Number one vets can be a greatsource of referrals for you when
it comes to your dog'sbehavioral issues.
Most of our referrals come fromveterinarians.
You can ask your vet for acertified behavior consultant
(07:44):
referral.
Many have behavior consultantsthey regularly work with and
know.
However, while your vet canrefer you to a behavior
consultant, be sure to do yourresearch on the referral before
engaging them.
Sometimes a veterinarian who istrying to help you and your dog
may unknowingly and innocentlyrefer you to someone who is not
(08:06):
properly qualified and or usesaversive methods, that is,
punishment-based methods, and weknow and if you've been
listening to this podcast, youknow those are really
contraindicated when you have adog with behavioral issues.
This kind of research that youshould do is especially
important if your dog has asignificant behavior issue, such
(08:30):
as human-directed aggression.
Okay, the next way your vet canwork with you and your dog on
the behavioral issues is tocommunicate well with everyone
on the team.
In other words, vets usuallymake it easy to give and get
information from their office.
This information could includethings like physical test
(08:51):
results, medication informationsuch as what to watch out for,
inside effects, dosage changes,etc.
They also keep records aboutbehavioral assessment updates
provided by the behaviorconsultant.
I know I regularly send thoseto veterinarians.
They're really just a clearinghouse of information relevant to
(09:13):
the behavior issues beingtreated.
I know that I am frequently incontact with veterinarians,
getting and giving informationand just really help solidify
the team.
And the next way your vet canhelp you with your dog's
behavior issues is one that isreally, really important and
that's staying in touch with thedog's owner to adjust behavior
(09:34):
medication dosages, either up ordown, and assisting the owner
in tapering off the drugs whenappropriate.
I find sometimes that dogs withsignificant behavioral issues
are on medication for years thatappears not to be helping.
It can mean that the dosageneeds to either be adjusted or
possibly another medicationneeds to be tried, but something
(09:56):
needs to be changed.
Obviously we'd want to leave adog on a medication for years
where it seems to be having noeffect.
This, however, is not at alljust the vet's responsibility.
I want to add I really stresswith my clients whose dogs are
on medication behavioralmedication to stay in touch, in
close contact with their vetabout changing dosages, stopping
(10:18):
the medication when appropriateor changing medications also
when appropriate.
Ultimately, this is primarilythe owner's responsibility to
track, in my opinion, but yourvet can be a great helper on
this and give you good advice.
The fourth way your vet can helpyou with your dog's behavioral
(10:38):
issue that I want to talk aboutis that they can inform their
clients you About the possibleside effects of the behavioral
medications your dog is taking.
Medications like this can becomplex, to say the least.
Only your veterinarian reallyunderstands all the possible
side effects and interactions ofthese drugs.
(10:59):
Another thing to keep in mindis that your vet can help you
understand how these drugs willimpact your specific dog,
meaning the breed type, thedog's age, the dog's general
health.
These medications will actdifferently Depending on what
those variables are.
I encourage my clients to ask alot of questions about the drugs
(11:22):
that are being prescribed andwhat they need to be on the
lookout for.
For example, sometimes dogs canreact in a way that is exactly
opposite of what we are lookingfor in a specific behavior
medication.
This is called a paradoxicalreaction and needs to be
communicated to your vetimmediately.
It's rare and it's just anexample, but it's one of the
(11:45):
things that we need to be on thelookout for.
There are a myriad of things tobe on the alert for in many
behavioral medications, and yourvet can certainly give you a
heads up on those and what to doif you see them.
Alright, the next thing, numberfive, that I want to talk about
(12:06):
is they can help administer andoh my gosh, this is so important
any physical rule out test deemnecessary by the vet or
requested by the client orrequested by the behavior
consultant, and that would be aphysical examination, thyroid
profile, blood chemistry panel,pain assessment, etc.
(12:30):
Those are just some examplesand, by the way, when I say rule
out, what I mean is let's ruleout other causes, specifically
physical causes, that might becausing these behavioral issues,
before we jump into an in-depthor comprehensive behavioral
treatment plan.
In Cases where behavioralsymptoms show up suddenly, we
(12:54):
always suspect a physical reasonfor the behavioral change.
When a dog that is seven yearsold Suddenly becomes aggressive,
like overnight and I see lotsof these we always wonder well,
what?
What would cause that,especially when we rule out any
environmental changes.
In my clients, where this isthe case, I asked them to check
with their vet to rule out anyphysical reasons that might be
(13:17):
causing the issue.
If the examination comes upnegative, in other words, the
vet doesn't find anything, thenwe can proceed more confidently
with our behavior modification,so important.
If the test show a physicalproblem, maybe a physical reason
for the behavioral change, thenthat needs to be addressed
first and see if that resolvesthe issue or Substantially
(13:40):
resolves the issue.
I definitely have cases whereit's a physical issue and
frequently the behavior problemwas simply a Symptom of the
problem the health problem, thephysical problem.
Once a physical issue isresolved, the behavior issues
Frequently resolved.
I don't know about you, butwhen I feel bad or I'm in pain,
(14:01):
I can be a little grumpy too.
At least that's what my wifeBarbara says.
All right, and so the lastthing I want to say is is kind
of a catch-all.
There are other ways that yourveterinarian can help too, of
course.
If your dog has seriousbehavioral issues, they can and
will be a valuable member ofyour treatment plan.
I've worked with dozens anddozens and dozens and dozens of
(14:22):
veterinarians and have greatexperience.
We trust our veterinarians withour dog's physical health and
seek their help when abehavioral issue surfaces.
Unfortunately, I've experienceda very small number of cases
where a veterinarian will havenothing to do with behavioral
medication, regardless of theseverity of the problem.
(14:42):
They just don't want anythingto do with it.
They don't believe in thesemedications and that's fine for
them to think that.
I've also seen other situationswhere a veterinarian will say
something like I don't seeanything wrong with your dog
today, so there is no need forme to do anything here.
Some vets are even resistant todoing any kind of physical
testing rule-outs, that'stesting to ensure there aren't
(15:05):
any physical problems causingthe behavior issue.
As I mentioned earlier, mostveterinarians are primarily
trained in the physical healthof animals.
That's their wheelhouse, that'stheir lane.
And if you consider that vetsspend 15 minutes with your vet
in an examination room at aveterinary office, as we
mentioned earlier, you have tosurmise that it's probably not
(15:27):
the best scenario to reach anyreliable conclusions about a
serious behavior issue.
And I have certainly found that99.999% of vets understand the
limitations of assessingbehavior and making those kinds
of decisions in an examinationenvironment.
If it's been suggested to you bya behavior consultant that you
(15:50):
asked your vet about behaviormedication or testing to rule
out physical issues and your vetis hesitant about that or
doesn't want to discuss thiswith you because they don't like
drugs or they don't see anyproblems or don't want to do any
physical testing to rule outother problems.
You may want to considerconsulting with another
(16:11):
veterinarian.
You want to be free to exploreall tools available to you if
there is a potential need with aserious behavioral issue.
With all that being said, myexperience with 99.999% of all
vets has been very positive.
They are extremely cooperativeand helpful with clients and
(16:34):
with me.
In almost every case they canbe an important part as we've
been talking about of your teamwhen dealing with a dog with
serious behavior issues.
Your vet can definitely help insome behavior cases.
However, make sure you helpthem.
Help you.
As we talked about,communication is probably the
most important overriding thinghere.
(16:56):
Don't be shy about asking yourvet about behavior problems and
soliciting their help inmedication, if indicated, and
testing for any physical issuesthat might be causing or
contributing to your dog'sissues.
We'll continue in futureepisodes to discuss all aspects
of dog aggression and otherserious behavior issues.
(17:16):
Behavior problems in dogs, suchas aggression, are frequently
not simple or easy to address.
The goal of this podcast is toprovide you information so you
can take an informed andcomprehensive approach to
addressing your dog's behaviorissues.
Thanks for tuning in today.
(17:39):
If you enjoyed the episode,subscribe on your favorite
podcast platform and leave areview if this information is
helpful.
I always appreciate yourinsights, so visit
dogaggressionanswerscom if you'dlike to leave me a message
Before we wrap up.
This podcast offers educationalinsights, but for serious dog
(18:02):
aggression issues, alwaysconsult directly with a
certified dog behaviorconsultant.
See you next time and staytuned.
A frequent question I get from my
clients is can medication playa role in my dog's treatment
plan?
If, in fact, behavioralmedication is ultimately used as
part of a treatment plan, thenthe veterinarian your
veterinarian necessarily becomesa member of the treatment team.
And the treatment team I'mspeaking of is you, the client,
(00:25):
the veterinarian and a behaviorconsultant.
It's a three-legged stool.
It's a critically importantteam, especially for dogs with
significant behavior issues, butveterinarians can do more than
just provide medication ifneeded.
In today's episode, I'm goingto answer the question what part
(00:48):
can my veterinarian play in mydog's overall treatment plan for
aggression?
I'm also going to answer asecond question how can I best
work with my veterinarian whenit comes to a behavior issue?
Welcome to the Dog AggressionAnswers Podcast.
(01:09):
I'm Scott Schaffer, your hostand a certified expert in dog
behavior.
With the background of helpingthousands of aggressive dogs and
their owners, I'm here to sharehumane, science-based solutions
for your dog's aggression.
Stay tuned For my clients whohave dogs that have significant
(01:31):
aggression or other behavioralissues and whose dog will
require some type ofanti-anxiety medication as part
of the treatment plan.
I tell them that the dog'streatment will necessitate a
unified team of three, as Imentioned at the top of the
episode, that team being the dogowner, you behavior consultant
(01:54):
and their veterinarian.
But vets can do more than justprescribe behavioral medication,
as you'll see and I want tomake an important point about
medication before we go anyfurther Behavior medications
from your vet are only one partof the overall treatment plan.
These medications support thebehavior modification and
(02:15):
management exercises a behaviorconsultant provides the client.
But that's the point.
They support it.
It's not the total treatment,and medications for behavioral
issues should be used carefullyand sparingly.
The majority of behavior casesI see require no medication as
part of the treatment.
(02:35):
Medication alone is not enough,but it can be a good tool to
support proper behaviormodification.
As nice as it would be,medication alone is not a fix
for more severe behavior issuesin dogs.
It's what we call an adjunct.
(02:55):
It just is additive to thebehavior treatment.
Let's spend a minute talkingabout the best way to work with
your dog's veterinarian, theimportant part of the team, one
of the three members.
We have to first put ourveterinarians in a position to
be most effective.
Dogs with significant behaviorissues can be challenging for
(03:16):
your veterinarian.
How can you help?
How can you make them be moreeffective.
Let's talk about a couple ofways to do that.
First, if your dog is beingtreated for aggression,
especially human aggression,your dog is likely going to be
fearful and or aggressive whenat the veterinarian's office,
even potentially dangerous tothe vet's staff, other clients
(03:39):
and even other dogs at the vet'soffice.
If your dog is dog aggressiveas well, it's your job to manage
your dog from a safetyperspective and to minimize the
stress to your dog.
Also, these things can be verystressful for your dog.
A lot of dog guardians don'trealize that their dog doesn't
(04:00):
understand why they're at thevet.
They don't understand that thevet is there to help them.
They just know it's a scaryplace.
We have to see it from thedog's perspective.
This is just a very stressfulexperience for many dogs.
The things that you can do tohelp manage your dog would be
things like muscling your dogbefore you arrive or giving
(04:22):
anti-anxiety medications, asprescribed by your vet, to your
dog prior to the appointment.
This is called pretreating.
This is just a couple of themany things you can do to help
your dog and your vet manageyour dog while at the vet.
For more information on how tomanage your dog at the vet's
office.
I've included a link in theepisode notes to a short article
(04:46):
I've written on how to manage afearful and or aggressive dog
at the vet's office Very helpful.
I've had a lot of clients andothers who say this has been a
very helpful article.
So if you get a chance, take alook.
The second thing you can do tohelp your vet is to let your
veterinarian know all about yourdog's aggression issues and
what you are doing about it andprovide status updates.
(05:10):
Veterinarians really like tohear that you've identified and
are working with a certified dogbehavior consultant to help you
with your dog's issue.
This is especially true ifyou're asking about behavior
medication for your dog.
They want to know that you'redoing your part before they do
the medication.
While your vet can be animportant part of the treatment
(05:32):
plan, remember that yourveterinarian is one part of the
team.
You and your behaviorconsultant have to do, in
reality, the majority of theheavy lifting when it comes to
treating dogs with behavioralissues.
They are there, meaning yourveterinarian, to help with the
treatment.
(05:52):
Your veterinarian's focus is onyour dog's physical health.
Of course, that's 99% of thefocus of their training.
That's their wheelhouse.
I found that some dog ownerssomewhat unrealistically expect
their veterinarian's expertiseto extend into animal behavior
as well, and that really is justnot fair to your vet, your dog
(06:16):
or even you.
What makes this morechallenging is that the
veterinarian only sees your dogfor 15 minutes on rare occasions
in a normal checkup and in avery unusual environment for
your dog that is theveterinarian's office.
It's really hardly sufficienttime or an environment for a
(06:36):
proper behavioral assessment,even if they had substantial
training in canine behavior.
From a different perspective,I'm asked all the time about my
clients, dogs, physical issuesand what I think they should do
about them.
I'm neither set up or trainedto properly address these kinds
(06:57):
of veterinary issues.
My advice is always, if youhave questions about this, see
your vet.
In other words, reallyappreciate where your vet is
coming from and really use theirexpertise in their area.
That's true, of course, forevery professional you work with
when it comes to your dog.
Okay, let's talk about waysyour veterinarian can help you
(07:21):
in many important ways with yourdog's behavior issues, and now
I'm going to talk about six ofthose ways.
Number one vets can be a greatsource of referrals for you when
it comes to your dog'sbehavioral issues.
Most of our referrals come fromveterinarians.
You can ask your vet for acertified behavior consultant
(07:44):
referral.
Many have behavior consultantsthey regularly work with and
know.
However, while your vet canrefer you to a behavior
consultant, be sure to do yourresearch on the referral before
engaging them.
Sometimes a veterinarian who istrying to help you and your dog
may unknowingly and innocentlyrefer you to someone who is not
(08:06):
properly qualified and or usesaversive methods, that is,
punishment-based methods, and weknow and if you've been
listening to this podcast, youknow those are really
contraindicated when you have adog with behavioral issues.
This kind of research that youshould do is especially
important if your dog has asignificant behavior issue, such
(08:30):
as human-directed aggression.
Okay, the next way your vet canwork with you and your dog on
the behavioral issues is tocommunicate well with everyone
on the team.
In other words, vets usuallymake it easy to give and get
information from their office.
This information could includethings like physical test
(08:51):
results, medication informationsuch as what to watch out for,
inside effects, dosage changes,etc.
They also keep records aboutbehavioral assessment updates
provided by the behaviorconsultant.
I know I regularly send thoseto veterinarians.
They're really just a clearinghouse of information relevant to
(09:13):
the behavior issues beingtreated.
I know that I am frequently incontact with veterinarians,
getting and giving informationand just really help solidify
the team.
And the next way your vet canhelp you with your dog's
behavior issues is one that isreally, really important and
that's staying in touch with thedog's owner to adjust behavior
(09:34):
medication dosages, either up ordown, and assisting the owner
in tapering off the drugs whenappropriate.
I find sometimes that dogs withsignificant behavioral issues
are on medication for years thatappears not to be helping.
It can mean that the dosageneeds to either be adjusted or
possibly another medicationneeds to be tried, but something
(09:56):
needs to be changed.
Obviously we'd want to leave adog on a medication for years
where it seems to be having noeffect.
This, however, is not at alljust the vet's responsibility.
I want to add I really stresswith my clients whose dogs are
on medication behavioralmedication to stay in touch, in
close contact with their vetabout changing dosages, stopping
(10:18):
the medication when appropriateor changing medications also
when appropriate.
Ultimately, this is primarilythe owner's responsibility to
track, in my opinion, but yourvet can be a great helper on
this and give you good advice.
The fourth way your vet can helpyou with your dog's behavioral
(10:38):
issue that I want to talk aboutis that they can inform their
clients you About the possibleside effects of the behavioral
medications your dog is taking.
Medications like this can becomplex, to say the least.
Only your veterinarian reallyunderstands all the possible
side effects and interactions ofthese drugs.
(10:59):
Another thing to keep in mindis that your vet can help you
understand how these drugs willimpact your specific dog,
meaning the breed type, thedog's age, the dog's general
health.
These medications will actdifferently Depending on what
those variables are.
I encourage my clients to ask alot of questions about the drugs
(11:22):
that are being prescribed andwhat they need to be on the
lookout for.
For example, sometimes dogs canreact in a way that is exactly
opposite of what we are lookingfor in a specific behavior
medication.
This is called a paradoxicalreaction and needs to be
communicated to your vetimmediately.
It's rare and it's just anexample, but it's one of the
(11:45):
things that we need to be on thelookout for.
There are a myriad of things tobe on the alert for in many
behavioral medications, and yourvet can certainly give you a
heads up on those and what to doif you see them.
Alright, the next thing, numberfive, that I want to talk about
(12:06):
is they can help administer andoh my gosh, this is so important
any physical rule out test deemnecessary by the vet or
requested by the client orrequested by the behavior
consultant, and that would be aphysical examination, thyroid
profile, blood chemistry panel,pain assessment, etc.
(12:30):
Those are just some examplesand, by the way, when I say rule
out, what I mean is let's ruleout other causes, specifically
physical causes, that might becausing these behavioral issues,
before we jump into an in-depthor comprehensive behavioral
treatment plan.
In Cases where behavioralsymptoms show up suddenly, we
(12:54):
always suspect a physical reasonfor the behavioral change.
When a dog that is seven yearsold Suddenly becomes aggressive,
like overnight and I see lotsof these we always wonder well,
what?
What would cause that,especially when we rule out any
environmental changes.
In my clients, where this isthe case, I asked them to check
with their vet to rule out anyphysical reasons that might be
(13:17):
causing the issue.
If the examination comes upnegative, in other words, the
vet doesn't find anything, thenwe can proceed more confidently
with our behavior modification,so important.
If the test show a physicalproblem, maybe a physical reason
for the behavioral change, thenthat needs to be addressed
first and see if that resolvesthe issue or Substantially
(13:40):
resolves the issue.
I definitely have cases whereit's a physical issue and
frequently the behavior problemwas simply a Symptom of the
problem the health problem, thephysical problem.
Once a physical issue isresolved, the behavior issues
Frequently resolved.
I don't know about you, butwhen I feel bad or I'm in pain,
(14:01):
I can be a little grumpy too.
At least that's what my wifeBarbara says.
All right, and so the lastthing I want to say is is kind
of a catch-all.
There are other ways that yourveterinarian can help too, of
course.
If your dog has seriousbehavioral issues, they can and
will be a valuable member ofyour treatment plan.
I've worked with dozens anddozens and dozens and dozens of
(14:22):
veterinarians and have greatexperience.
We trust our veterinarians withour dog's physical health and
seek their help when abehavioral issue surfaces.
Unfortunately, I've experienceda very small number of cases
where a veterinarian will havenothing to do with behavioral
medication, regardless of theseverity of the problem.
(14:42):
They just don't want anythingto do with it.
They don't believe in thesemedications and that's fine for
them to think that.
I've also seen other situationswhere a veterinarian will say
something like I don't seeanything wrong with your dog
today, so there is no need forme to do anything here.
Some vets are even resistant todoing any kind of physical
testing rule-outs, that'stesting to ensure there aren't
(15:05):
any physical problems causingthe behavior issue.
As I mentioned earlier, mostveterinarians are primarily
trained in the physical healthof animals.
That's their wheelhouse, that'stheir lane.
And if you consider that vetsspend 15 minutes with your vet
in an examination room at aveterinary office, as we
mentioned earlier, you have tosurmise that it's probably not
(15:27):
the best scenario to reach anyreliable conclusions about a
serious behavior issue.
And I have certainly found that99.999% of vets understand the
limitations of assessingbehavior and making those kinds
of decisions in an examinationenvironment.
If it's been suggested to you bya behavior consultant that you
(15:50):
asked your vet about behaviormedication or testing to rule
out physical issues and your vetis hesitant about that or
doesn't want to discuss thiswith you because they don't like
drugs or they don't see anyproblems or don't want to do any
physical testing to rule outother problems.
You may want to considerconsulting with another
(16:11):
veterinarian.
You want to be free to exploreall tools available to you if
there is a potential need with aserious behavioral issue.
With all that being said, myexperience with 99.999% of all
vets has been very positive.
They are extremely cooperativeand helpful with clients and
(16:34):
with me.
In almost every case they canbe an important part as we've
been talking about of your teamwhen dealing with a dog with
serious behavior issues.
Your vet can definitely help insome behavior cases.
However, make sure you helpthem.
Help you.
As we talked about,communication is probably the
most important overriding thinghere.
(16:56):
Don't be shy about asking yourvet about behavior problems and
soliciting their help inmedication, if indicated, and
testing for any physical issuesthat might be causing or
contributing to your dog'sissues.
We'll continue in futureepisodes to discuss all aspects
of dog aggression and otherserious behavior issues.
(17:16):
Behavior problems in dogs, suchas aggression, are frequently
not simple or easy to address.
The goal of this podcast is toprovide you information so you
can take an informed andcomprehensive approach to
addressing your dog's behaviorissues.
Thanks for tuning in today.
(17:39):
If you enjoyed the episode,subscribe on your favorite
podcast platform and leave areview if this information is
helpful.
I always appreciate yourinsights, so visit
dogaggressionanswerscom if you'dlike to leave me a message
Before we wrap up.
This podcast offers educationalinsights, but for serious dog
(18:02):
aggression issues, alwaysconsult directly with a
certified dog behaviorconsultant.
See you next time and staytuned.
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