| Other Canine Behavioral Problems |  |
| Some of these problems also occur in cats, in a form specific to that species. |
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Abnormal ingestive behavior has the following necessary condition: consistent ingestion of abnormal amounts or types of food or nonfood material in a manner or frequency not consistent with previous behavior. The following condition is sufficient: incessant consumption of food or nonfood material, or incessant avoidance of food, in a manner that interferes with normal social functioning. Abnormal ingestive behavior includes pica (consistent ingestion of nonfood material),
coprophagia (ingestion of feces that is neither accidental nor incidental), polyphagia,
aerophagia, psychogenic water drinking (consumption of water in excess of that necessary to meet daily fluid balance needs or to thermoregulate or lubricate food for ingestion), anorexia, and gorging. Except for pica and
aerophagia—which truly seem different from ingestion or lack of ingestion involving food—it is very difficult, although not impossible, to rule out all physiologic causal associations. It is logical that abnormal ingestion of food and abnormal ingestion of water should be classified separately because they are controlled by different, although related, physiologic systems. (The term “psychogenic” does not imply any understanding of the mechanism of the condition and is
equivalent to “behaviorally idiopathic.”) The sufficient conditions for aerophagia include mechanically forced, volitional swallowing of air that is uncoupled with eating or drinking; behavior may be sufficiently frequent to interfere with normal activities, which can usually be confirmed by owners if questioned. In the extreme, pica, aerophagia, and coprophagia can be signs of obsessive-compulsive disorders. |
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Attention-seeking behavior has the following necessary condition: the dog uses vocal or physical behaviors to obtain passive or active attention from people when the people are doing something not directly involving the dog. The following condition is sufficient: whenever a person is not directly engaged in passive or active interaction with the animal, the animal uses active or passive behaviors to direct some of the person’s attentions to itself and will interrupt
human activity to do so. This may be an undesirable behavior, but it is common and may be a variant of normal; it is certainly a behavior that people unconsciously reinforce in their pets. In the extreme form, the dog must solicit the behavior and, if prohibited from doing so, exhibits physical and physiologic signs of anxiety. In this latter case, the attention-seeking behavior is not only abnormal but also is probably a correlate, sign, or subclass of one of the anxieties.
Attention-seeking behavior is also seen in cats, typically in the form of vocalizing. |
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Cognitive dysfunction or senility has the following necessary and sufficient condition: change in interactive, elimination, or navigational behaviors attendant with aging that are explicitly not due to primary failure of any organ system. This is a potential animal model for the age-dependent cognitive changes that occur in humans. The affiliated behaviors may be associated with Alzheimer’s-like (senile dementia of the Alzheimer type) lesions. The syndrome occurs in both
dogs and cats. It is important to differentiate early cognitive dysfunction from old-age onset separation anxiety. Cognitive dysfunction sometimes involves age-dependent changes in dopaminergic function and microembolic events and is associated with deposition of amyloid plaques; however, the presence of such plaques is not sufficient to diagnose the condition. Many dogs and people with extensive plaque formation experience no decrements in cognitive function. |
| The following clinical signs may be associated with cognitive dysfunction: 1) Disorientation—the dog or cat seems to get lost in the house or confused when outside. The pet may become increasingly distressed within each episode of disorientation early on in the progression of the cognitive changes, and less so as the changes become more pronounced. 2) Alterations in social and environmental interactions—as cognitive decline progresses, affected dogs and cats interact
less with their canine and feline housemates, play less, ignore favored toys, and withdraw from clients, often refusing interaction with them. If forced to interact, the animal can become completely withdrawn, or agitated and more distressed, possibly to the extent of becoming aggressive as a means to decrease interaction. When greeted, affected pets appear not to recognize clients. This profound alteration in client interaction and affect is the change that most distresses clients.
3) Changes in sleep-wake cycle—affected dogs and cats may no longer exhibit standard sleep-wake cycles and instead may pace and/or vocalize during the night. Because cats sleep often during the day as a normal behavior, these changes may be most noticeable in dogs, who will sleep during the day when clients are available to interact with them. Increased vocalization that is repetitive and monotonic is the most common complaint of clients with aging cats. The most distressing
aspect of changes in sleep patterns for the clients is that they cannot comfort their pets when they pace and vocalize. Early in the progression of the condition, changes may be manifest only as increased time spent sleeping, which may be considered a normal aging change. Unfortunately, we do not know the extent to which this assumption is true, and such knowledge would allow earlier recognition and intervention for cognitive changes. 4) Changes in elimination behaviors—clients
often describe cognitive changes associated with eliminative behaviors as a loss of housetraining. It is likely that there are changes in memory and learning associated with true housetraining (eg, the ability to inhibit elimination unless provided with an appropriate substrate) that are affected as a result of cognitive changes, but in general these dogs are not incontinent. The pets either appear to forget to eliminate when taken to their normal locations and substrates, and then
eliminate anywhere when the need is urgent, or they have reduced inhibition and will eliminate wherever they are once they reach a certain threshold stimulus. The extent to which cognition is involved in inhibition of volitional behaviors is largely unexplored in dogs and cats but appears to be important in humans. |
| There are numerous drugs—and the list is always growing for humans—that may be effective in the treatment of cognitive decline. However, there is only one drug, selegiline, that is approved for canine cognitive dysfunction in the USA. All other use is extra-label, and for some of the medications, canine and feline dosages have not been investigated. Treatment with any cognitive enhancer is likely to be lifelong. Because most of these medications are metabolized through
renal and hepatic cycles, pre- and postmedication biochemical evaluation is warranted. |
| In addition to medications, cognitive enrichment and a prescription diet (Hill’s b/d®
) have been shown to improve learning and reduce signs of cognitive dysfunction in aged dogs. In the UK, a dietary supplement is available that diminishes signs of cognitive dysfunction. The earlier behavioral, pharmacologic, and dietary intervention are accomplished, the more likely that the dog or cat will improve. However, at present the course of this condition can only be slowed, not aborted. |
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Compulsive licking has the following necessary condition: licking in excess of that required for standard grooming or exploration. The following condition is sufficient: licking in excess of that required for grooming or exploration that represents a change in the animal’s typical behavior and interferes with other activities or functions (eg, eating, drinking, playing, interacting with people) and cannot easily be interrupted. The sufficient condition describes the
characteristic manifestations of all obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD): repetitive, out-of-context behaviors that are not interrupted by conventional stimuli (social or gustatory) for more than a short period, and that consistently interfere with the animal’s ability to engage in what were formerly normal behaviors for that age and species. This form of licking can be directed at self (grooming) or toward floors, shiny objects, etc (exploratory). More extreme behaviors are
associated with compulsive licking than with excessive licking, which may be just a subset of OCD (see below). It is not clear if the forms of the OCD are indicative of varying neuroanatomic or neurophysiologic pathogeneses. It is also possible that compulsive licking and excessive licking are merely 2 recognizable points on a continuum. Diagnosis of OCD is usually made only when the condition is fully developed—early stages are understudied. Compulsive and
excessive licking are also seen in cats. |
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Fearful behavior or fear has the following necessary and sufficient condition: behavior that occurs concomitant with behavioral and physiologic signs such as withdrawal, passive, and avoidance behaviors associated with the sympathetic nervous system, with the absence of any aggression. Fear and anxiety have signs that overlap. Some nonspecific signs, eg, avoidance, shaking, and trembling, can be characteristic of both. The physiologic signs probably differ at some level,
and the neurochemistry of each also probably differs. Cats also exhibit fearful behavior. |
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Generalized anxiety has the following necessary conditions: consistent display of autonomic hyperreactivity, increased motor activity, and increased vigilance and scanning that interferes with a normal range of social interaction. The following condition is sufficient: as above in the absolute absence of any provocative stimuli. This diagnosis is specific and could easily be incorrectly made based on an incomplete history or lack of critical thought. Generalized anxiety
should be a diagnosis of last resort, and all of the signs should be concomitantly present under conditions in which any of these signs would have subsided in a normal or asymptomatic animal. Cats also exhibit generalized anxiety. |
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Hyperactivity has the following necessary condition: motor activity in excess of that warranted by the animal’s age and stimulation level that occurs in a consistent, often stereotypical, manner and does not respond to correction, redirection, or restraint. The following condition is sufficient: as above along with sympathetic signs (eg, increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate, vasodilation), even when at rest, in the absence of other signs or significant
laboratory data associated with thyroid disease; these dogs respond to treatment with amphetamine or methylphenidate with a paradoxical decrease in motor activity. Most dogs that owners perceive as hyperactive (a diagnosis that does not depend on the dog’s exercise level compared with its needs) are actually overactive (a diagnosis that does depend on the dog’s exercise level compared with its needs [see below]). True hyperactivity
is a specific diagnosis for which specific behavioral signs have been poorly elucidated and is a rare condition. |
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Inappropriate play behavior has the following necessary and sufficient conditions: play behaviors (eg, play bows, yips, shoulder blocks in dogs; swatting, pouncing, biting in cats) that occur in circumstances that are out-of-context. Such conditions include circumstances in which the behaviors are directed toward inanimate objects, social circumstances in which play is not relevant (challenge), or behaviors that occur in contexts consistent with the solicitation of play
but that involve actions that would discourage play (eg, biting, pain). |
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Neophobia has the following necessary and sufficient condition: consistent, sustained, sudden, profound nongraded response to unfamiliar objects and circumstances manifest as intense active avoidance, escape, or anxiety behaviors associated with the activities of the sympathetic nervous system. Behaviors can include immobility or extremely high activity, along with decreased sensitivity to pain or social stimuli; repeated exposure results in an invariant pattern of
response. The stage at which a fear becomes a phobia is unknown but epistemologically important. Deleting patterns related to the development of fears and phobias involves evaluation of the frequency, intensity, and characterization of actual behaviors. Risks for the development of related behaviors are unknown for animals already exhibiting fear or anxiety. A phobic response is difficult to miss but, because of that, is doubtless more complex than is commonly appreciated. This
condition may be augmented by extreme deprivation during the relevant sensitive periods (3-20 wk of age in dogs; 2-12 wk of age in cats). Regardless, there is likely to be a strong genetic component. Neophobia is also seen in cats. |
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Noise phobia has the following necessary and sufficient condition: sudden and profound, nongraded, extreme response to noise manifest as intense active avoidance, escape, or anxiety behaviors associated with the activities of the sympathetic nervous system. The same responses can occur in an animal exposed to any aspect of thunderstorms (eg, noise, dark, changes in barometric pressure or ozone levels). Behaviors, patterns related to the development of fears and phobias,
and risks for development are discussed under neophobia (see above). |
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Obsessive-compulsive disorders have the following necessary condition: repetitive, stereotypic motor, locomotory, grooming, ingestive, or hallucinogenic behaviors that occur out-of-context to their normal occurrence, or in a frequency or duration in excess of that required to accomplish the ostensible goal. The following condition is sufficient: as above, in a manner that interferes with the dog’s ability to otherwise normally function in its social environment. Although
it can be debated whether animals can obsess, it appears that they perceive and experience concern; therefore, it is likely that they can obsess. A separate issue is that of relative intensity, ie, whether a behavior is excessive, or whether a manifestation of an OCD may be a determination of degree. Careful description and recording of behaviors and their durations could provide data that would permit evaluation of the extent to which such behaviors may lie on a continuum. Good
histories and observation are important because in some peculiar forms, OCD could resemble seizure-like activity. By definition, some epileptic or seizure-like activity is stereotypic, which is one reason why this explicit and specific diagnosis category is preferable to that of stereotypic behavior. Cats also exhibit OCD. In both cats and dogs, OCD runs in families and, therefore, breed lines. In dogs, the form of OCD exhibited appears to be affected by the jobs/tasks for which the
breed was selected (eg, herding breeds often chase their tails). |
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Overactivity has the following necessary condition: motor activity that is in excess of that exhibited when the animal experiences a regular exercise and interaction schedule. The following condition is sufficient: as above, in the absence of any signs of organic disease or true hyperactivity, and that resolves with increased aerobic activity. The diagnosis of overactivity is contingent on context that includes the age, breed, and social and physical environment of the
dog, as well as the owner’s perception. It is more often a management-related concern than an abnormality. It must be distinguished from attention-seeking behavior and hyperactivity (see above). Overactivity is also seen in cats, in which hyperthyroidism may be the cause. |
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Pseudocyesis (false pregnancy) has the following necessary condition: maternal behavior exhibited in the absence of pregnancy. The following condition is sufficient: maternal or nesting behaviors exhibited in the absence of pregnancy that develop within 60 days of estrus. Neutering (spaying) the animal after pseudocyesis prevents further occurrences that would otherwise be likely. There may be a greater risk of mammary neoplasia in animals who repetitively experience
pseudocyesis. |
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Roaming has the following necessary and sufficient condition: locomotory activity involving extended absences and greater distances than those needed for the animal to relieve itself. Trajectory of movement may be determined by the presence and estrous cycles of other animals, or by behaviors related to patrol. Roaming is almost always a variant of normal behavior. It is of concern because it can pose a risk to the pet’s health and safety. Owners that allow pets to roam
may also be in violation of leash or animal control laws. Cats also roam. |
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Separation anxiety has the following necessary condition: physical or behavioral signs of distress exhibited by the animal only in the absence of or lack of access to the owner. The following condition is sufficient: consistent, intensive destruction, elimination, vocalization, or salivation exhibited only in the virtual or actual absence of the owner (eg, when denied access through a door or when left alone). Behaviors are often most severe within the first 15-20 min of
separation, and many anxiety-related behaviors (autonomic hyperreactivity, increased motor activity, and increased vigilance and scanning) may become apparent as the owner prepares to leave. It is important to rule out other situations that could be associated with the common signs of separation anxiety (eg, incomplete housetraining, teething, play, and a response to a truly scary, unique event (such as a robbery). |
| The extent to which animals with separation anxiety have other anxious behaviors or experience self-mutilation, phobias, or fears is unknown. There is now a well-established comorbid association between separation anxiety and noise and thunderstorm phobias, so any dog exhibiting signs of one condition should be screened for the others. Both sets of conditions should be treated, although treatment schedules and drugs of choice will differ (eg, noise/thunderstorm phobias require that
benzodiazepines, preferably alprazolam, be given as needed, and separation anxiety should be treated with tricyclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors daily. Contrary to common myth, studies have disproved that this condition is more common in animals that have very attentive owners than in animals with less attentive owners. Regardless, there is a population of dogs with separation anxiety that are hyperattached and must be in sight or touch of their family
at all times. This severe variant requires intensive treatment, including extensive behavior modification to teach the dog (and possibly the client) to be less dependent. |
| Treatment of other Canine Behavioral Problems: |
| Most behavior modification focuses on desensitization and counterconditioning. This is most important in the early treatment of fears, phobias, and anxieties. The earlier the treatment is started, the better the prognosis. Early intervention with antianxiety medication may be preferred for most anxieties, OCD, and phobias (Table:
Drugs that May Be Useful in the Treatment of Canine Behavioral Diagnoses). Noise phobias often respond to diazepam, chlorazepate, or alprazolam (the drug of choice for many of these patients) if
administered 1-2 hr before the onset of the expected stimulus. Treatment can then be repeated just before or at the onset of the event and every 4-6 hr as needed. Longterm or maintenance treatment for comorbid anxiety should be instituted using a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor (eg, fluoxetine, sertraline) or a newer tricyclic antidepressant (eg, clomipramine). Recurrence rates are high, especially if medication is prematurely withdrawn. Pharmacologic treatment will need to
be given for at least 4-6 mo and may be lifelong. Because these medications have relatively few side effects, longterm treatment is not problematic if the client complies with recommendations for routine evaluation (eg, physical exam, urinalysis, CBC, serum biochemistry panel, and possibly ECG). In the USA, none of these medications is directly approved for treating behavioral problems in pets aside from clomipramine for separation anxiety in dogs and selegiline for cognitive
dysfunction in dogs. In all cases, results are best when medication is combined with a behavioral modification program. |
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