How to Care for a Dog with a Mental Illness

Dogs are called man's best friend; like man they can suffer from mental illness. When considering mental illness, we tend to think of the extreme forms such as Schizophrenia, and depression with or without signs of mania. These extremes do exist within man and beast. When these extremes of mental illness manifest themselves in a dog's behavior the dog is often "put to sleep". Dogs that are not destroyed are usually chained and force to live a life outside. Dogs are social critters. They are "pack" animals who need companionship. When their mental illness manifests in destructive or antisocial behaviors, they are often times sequestered their family. To the socially sensitive dog, isolation can literally be a death sentence.

Often mental illness in dogs is misdiagnosed as a behavioral problem, trainers and owners will try to treat the issue as such. When this occurs they are doomed to failure as they are treating the symptom and not the underlying cause. In severe cases, mentally ill dogs may bite the hand that feeds them. In milder cases, the dog may startle and hide at the sound of loud noises. This wouldn't seem nearly so bad if there wouldn't be a puddle to clean up afterward. An uneducated owner at best will leave the illness untreated. At worst the owner will have the dog euthanized or excessively punish the dog over that which they have no control.

Causes of Canine Mental Illness

Your canine companion's brain is similar in chemistry and electrical impulses to your own. The chemical and electrical impulses within the brain are responsible for how it functions. When the brain's chemistry is out of whack whether it be due to prolonged stress, inherited factors, disease or an extreme trauma, symptoms of mental illness can manifest themselves. When mental illness strikes due to chemical imbalances, the same drugs that have been proven effective for humans with mental illness are used on the ill dogs.

Mental illness in dogs can have a cause other than chemical in nature. It can be caused by a physical issue such as a brain tumor, thyroid disease, or a host of other illnesses. This can cause a once friendly dog to become violent or aggressive. Not all behavioral changes are due to mental illnesses. Medications taken by your pet can also change their mood. Several veterinarians' have voiced that they feel that almost any mental illness a human can have a canine can have as well.

Depression

One of the most frequent mental illnesses from which a dog can suffer is depression. Changes in their environment, especially their family unit can trigger depression. What this means is if children have gone off to college, someone in the family is absent due to an illness, death, or divorce be the trigger for your dog's illness. Having changes in their home environment may cause the dog to feel like he has lost his need to be needed. This is especially note worthy with the working dog breeds that like to herd their people as if they are herding sheep. If for example, a family that has several college age students all resume school at the same time, the family dog has lost his herd. As far as he is concerned, his job and much of his family are gone. Think how many humans react the same way when they lose their job and the social interactions that work provided. People and dogs need to feel that what they do count.

As pack animals, dogs long for companionship, food, adequate exercise and the shelter of a loving home. Playing with your dog simulates play that they would have experienced in their pack. Exercise, as in humans, promotes the secretion of hormones that are responsible for feelings of wellbeing. If they don't have enough space to roam and get exercise, they will exhibit severe signs of depression. This can be seen in the well documented studies on primates (monkeys, baboons, etc...). The primates can be seen performing self-soothing behaviors like rocking back and forth. This is a behavior commonly seen in the worst of hospitalized mental patients. Rabbits in too small of a cage will chew on their paws. When dogs are feeling depressed they actually look depressed; they act depressed. They don't want to play. In some instances the dog will become a couch potato too. Isn't this is how many humans react when they are depressed?

Separation Anxiety

"Separation anxiety is a form of mental illness affecting dogs. The second their owners leave, they become extremely upset and anxious. Then they become frantic. At this point the dog is not in control of its behavior," explains Dr. Rhonda Schulman. Separation Anxiety is a panic disorder caused by an area of the brain that controls fear and stress. It is basically the fear and anxiety of abandonment. This is the mental illness that is commonly misdiagnosed as a behavioral issue. As the name implies, the dog is stressed by being separated from "their people". They will usually have the most severe anxiety attack within 15 minutes after their people have left. A dog with this illness in their anxiety can't control their behavior. When suffering from this they will tear your home apart. A combination of medication and desensitization training may be needed to help your pooch overcome the fear of being abandoned by you.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is another malady your dog may manifest when stressed. As amusing as it is to see a dog continually chase their tail (this isn't the only reason for tail chasing), this is not a healthy behavior. Dogs have been known to pull out clumps of hair and bite themselves until they bleed. Some dogs will lick everything in sight even in concentric circles, or line up stuffing pulled from pillows in geometric patterns. In an exclusive interview with Dr Fretz Ph.D., he reiterated that the drug Prozac is often the drug of choice for dogs needing medication for OCD. For milder cases of OCD, distraction and attempts at removing the source of the stress will prove beneficial.

Schizophrenic mice have been documented. Having a Schizophrenic Fifi or Fluffy is not far fetched. There are also documented cases of bi-polar dogs out there as well. Certainly there are other mental illnesses that plague dogs. Psychiatry is a fairly new science for humans and even newer in pets. There is so much we don't know or understand about the brain as of yet. What is known is that dogs can be mentally ill for a variety of reasons. There are also various treatment options open for you and "man's best friend", your dog. So take care of all your dogs needs, physical, social, and emotional. You and your dog will be happier for it. Remember when in doubt check it out with your veterinarian.

Sources:
http://www.rockymountainrawhide.com/1dog_training_columns21.htm
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/02/20/microscopic-brain-changes-lead-to-schizophrenia-in-mice/4 241.html
http://vetmed.illinois.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=396
Exclusive interview March 31, 2009 with Dr, Fretz Ph.D.