Denise (that’s Buster’s mom) and I recently took our pal Buster camping in the Tahoe National Forest. The Tahoe National Forest is a paradise for people who love dogs and the outdoors. It has a remarkably liberal dog policy. Dogs are allowed, on leash, almost everywhere (there are a very small number of exceptions). Buster had the time of his life.

Sadly, some irresponsible people in one of the campgrounds where we stayed seemed determined to do everything in their power to undermine the National Forest’s dog policy.

We first encountered these people at a lake. Signs were posted clearly stating that no dogs were allowed within 100 feet of the lake. Their dog was swimming in the lake.

After they finished flaunting that rule, the couple tied their dog to a tree in their camp site and left for the rest of the day. Their dog evidently had severe separation anxiety. It barked incessantly for hours.

This bothered me on several levels. First, I knew that the neglected dog was suffering. Separation anxiety is not pleasant for the pet. Simply being tied to a tree and abandoned is not appropriate for any dog; a dog with separation anxiety will find this situation especially miserable.

Second, the barking was annoying. We had gone to the woods to enjoy tranquility. Instead we were serenaded with shrill, distraught barking for hours.

Finally, there is a high probability that someone else in the campground complained to the forest service about that dog. If the forest service receives enough complaints, dogs may one day be barred from the forest.

That would be truly unfortunate for responsible dog owners who follow the rules and properly care for their pets. My pal Buster enjoys camping. I’d hate to see that taken away.

Photo: Buster had fun even though we made him wear his hiking boots for part of the day.

Jazmin
Montreal, QC

In my opinion “special edition” isn’t the most diplomatic way of describing a cat whose behavior and temperament aren’t “normal”.

Of course, the word normal needs to be in quotes because the truth is that there is no way to define a truly normal personality in any species. And there certainly is no official definition of insanity in cats.

There is no DSM-IV for cats (heck, we don’t even have a DSM-I in veterinary medicine). Nonetheless, it is clear that cats and dogs can suffer from anxiety disorders (including separation anxiety in dogs), obsessive-compulsive behaviors (such as psychogenic alopecia in cats), impulse control problems, and a host of other psychogenic issues. (Vets use the term psychogenic in place of psychological.)

Brains are exceptionally complex organs. Hereditary traits and environmental conditions during development can lead to irregular brain circuitry and chemistry that are linked to behavioral or psychogenic issues in pets.

At this time, the field of veterinary behavior (which is the closest thing vets have to psychiatry or psychology) is still more or less in its infancy. But in due course I am confident we will make great strides towards understanding the basis of “abnormal” behaviors in pets. And maybe, some day, we will even have our own DSM.

Anita
Montana

Most dogs love attention. For example, I’m pretty convinced that my pal Buster would be content to receive attention from every person on earth simultaneously for 24 hours out of every day.

The realities of life prevent most dogs from receiving such extreme amounts of attention. And most of them do fine in spite of it. Buster uses most of his time alone to engage another of his favorite activities: napping.

Some dogs suffer from a condition known as separation anxiety. These individuals may become extremely agitated when they are left alone or do not receive the sort of attention that they desire. Fortunately nothing in your question indicates that your dog is afflicted with separation anxiety.

I recommend that you start with some enrichment activities for your dog. Make sure he gets plenty of exercise every day. Consider feeding him in a Kong toy or foraging ball. Spend part of each day training him–this sort of mental stimulation is vital for well being.

Finally, remember that, if you are like most people, you cannot devote your entire life to your dog. Do not give him attention when he demands it. Instead, give it to him when you want to and are able. There is nothing wrong with ignoring his attention-seeking behavior when you have other things to get done.

Of course, I am not recommending that you neglect your pet. But I have a hunch that will never happen. Spend as much time as you can with him.

Remember that many dogs are left unattended for eight or 10 hours every day while their owners work. The average dog gets by with an hour or two of play time each day. I’d recommend that you, and everyone, aim for much better than average. But 18 hours each day definitely is excessive.

Photo: Foraging balls. The best idea since sliced bread.

People often worry about traveling on airplanes with their pets. This concern is especially common when the pet cannot be carried onto the plane and must travel in the cargo hold.

The cargo holds used for pets are pressurized and heated. Several years ago there were some well-publicized incidents in which pets perished during air travel, but until a few days ago I had not heard of any bad experiences for quite some time.

Then I came across a short article in the March, 2009 Veterinary Economics.

Frequent chewer
This pooch reluctantly racked up some frequent flyer miles

A New Zealand dog apparently didn’t appreciate being placed in the luggage compartment of an airplane headed for Melbourne, Australia. He showed his displeasure by doing everything he could to bring down the aircraft.

The pooch escaped from his kennel during the flight and chewed electrical wiring and interior panels. Luckily, the auxiliary engine the wires led to had been shut down after takeoff, negating the risk to the plane or its passengers [including the dog].

When ground handlers opened the cargo doors, they found an angry, distressed dog. Maybe next time his owners will upgrade his seat to first class.

Although Veterinary Economics attempted to report the incident as a comedic episode, it should serve as a cautionary tale. The dog in question was not dissatisfied with his seat assignment. He sounds like he suffers from separation anxiety.

If you are worried about flying with your pet, try this. Get the carrier out several days (or even weeks) before the trip. Put your pet in the carrier for several hours each day to test his reaction to it. This will habituate him to the carrier, and help him to view it as a safe, protected part of his territory. Feeding the pet in the carrier often helps this process.

Most animals that are comfortable in their carriers will do fine on flights. If your pet cannot get used to the carrier, talk to your vet about calming agents such as feline facial pheromone or dog appeasing pheromone. As a last resort, some animals are sedated for flights. But in my experience, sedatives usually aren’t necessary.

Photo: David Monniaux

And so the waiting game began. I monitored the journal for months without success. I simply didn’t think that my readers would be interested in the methodology of diagnosing Encephalitozoonosis in Wistar rats.

However, this month I finally hit paydirt. The article was entitled “The foraging ball as a quick and easy enrichment device for pigs.”

From a synopsis of the article:

As a supplement to their facility’s existing enrichment program, Huntsbery et al. gave pigs hard plastic ‘foraging balls’ . . . [h]oles were drilled in to the balls and then [the balls were] filled with tasty food items . . . [t]his enrichment device was a simple and effective way to encourage pigs to show species-typical foraging behavior.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with dogs and cats? It turns out that wild dogs, cats, and pigs spend a majority of their waking hours in the pursuit of food (dogs and pigs forage; cats hunt). When removed from the wild and offered food in the form of meals that take less than a minute to consume, pets are left with a lot of free time.

And sometimes that free time causes problems. Pets may become bored or anxious.

This boredom may be linked to separation anxiety, psychogenic alopecia, acral lick dermatitis, house soiling, aggression, obsessive-compulsive behaviors and a host of other issues.

Foraging balls release food slowly over time. This keeps the animal busy, interested, and happy as he works to retrieve his meal.

As the authors of the article put it:

Researchers found that pigs housed in a barren environment . . . demonstrated more maladaptive behavior . . . compared with pigs reared in enriched environments.

In other words, pigs that had access to foraging balls were more likely to be well-adjusted and happy. And, in my opinion, dogs and cats with some of the issues listed above may benefit from receiving their food in foraging balls.

Here is some good news: foraging balls are commercially available. My pal Buster has one. If I put his dinner in it and set him loose, he will spend hours happily nosing it around the house until every last morsel has been released (see pictures).

Smaller balls can be used for cats. Kong toys can be filled with food and used for the same purpose.

It is not realistic to use foraging balls as panaceas for such complicated disorders as separation anxiety or psychogenic alopecia. But they are inexpensive and simple. And I would certainly recommend foraging balls before resorting to anti-anxiety medications.

The paper cited in this post is Huntsberry, et al. Lab Animal 37, 2008: 411 – 414.