Maybe your dog has been acting out of character lately. He is usually a calm, social, and friendly pooch.
Recently, however, you’ve been noticing him pacing more than usual and relieving himself in places that he shouldn’t. Sometimes he even may growl and be aggressive despite being unprovoked.
Such behavior may lead you to wonder if your dog needs therapy.
The reality is we dog owners sometimes forget our beloved furry friends are dogs. The fact is that they are dogs and dogs misbehave because they are dogs. In fact, statistics by Frontiers in Veterinary Science say that 72%-85% of dogs exhibit at least one type of bad behavior.
Nevertheless, a large number of bad behaviors or behaviors that are intolerable or dangerous to you or your pooch could mean your dog needs therapy.
This article will explore:
- How to know if your dog needs therapy
- Who does dog therapy
- Examples of dog therapy
- Other important things you’ll want to know about therapy for dogs
Let’s get started.
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What to Do If You Think Your Dog Needs Therapy
First, take your pooch to a veterinary clinic and ensure the intolerable or dangerous behavior is not being caused by a sickness. Talk things over with your veterinarian.
Once the vet ascertains that it’s not a medical problem, consider moving forward with a dog therapist, AKA, a certified animal behaviorist.
Signs Your Dog Needs Therapy
Veterinary behaviorist Leslie Sinn from Hamilton once told WebMD that dogs will use behavior to vent out negative feelings because they can’t use words like human beings to express themselves. Therefore, the following signs are indicators that should cause you to pay attention and seriously consider taking your dog to therapy.
Aggression
Your dog has been exhibiting aggressive behavior and that is totally out of the norm. Aggressive dog behavior can be exhibited through the following: barking, biting, snapping, growling, showing teeth, nipping, charging, snarling, and other such reactive behaviors.
The aggressive behavior could also be escalated when the dog is in the company of other dogs, such as in a dog park. Some of the reasons why your dog could act out are:
- Fear
- Protecting you or your property
- Marking and guarding their territory
- They feel higher than other human members in the social food chain
I get that these seem like weird things since we tend to personalize our dogs.
If your dog constantly gets into fights with other dogs in the park or daycare, it probably just means she finds it hard to cope in such an active environment. The fights can get physical and outright dangerous. Sometimes they can result in injuries or wounding.
Veterinary behaviorist Valerie Tynes says that both dogs and their owners should go to therapy together. This is because some owners place expectations that are inappropriately high on their dogs. Therefore, the therapy involves training the parent of the dog on how to treat the dog.
This is a common theme I see here at Pooch and Harmony: Dog trainers consistently emphasize that dog owners need training as much as dogs need training.
Anxiety
Another red flag your dog may need therapy is if he starts destroying things in your house. When a dog is anxious it may chew furniture, pace excessively, bark and howl, or pee and poop in the house. Some dogs go to the extreme of licking themselves so aggressively they lick away all their fur causing skin problems. Sometimes anxiety can be caused by a change of routine at home, unfamiliar people, or other causes.
In other words, according to renowned behaviorist Stephen Zawistowski PhD, if your dog’s bad behavior ends up harming them or even others, it needs therapy.
Dog History
Let’s face it: a lot of dogs go through a lot of trauma. Unfortunately, dogs are sometimes chained, physically hurt, and treated unkindly by their owners. Puppies are often taken from their mothers way too young. Many of these dogs end up in dog shelters and rescues.
In these cases, their heartbreaking backgrounds alone may result in your dog needing therapy.
Types of Dog Therapy
There are several different approaches to dog therapy. There is a fine line between dog training and dog therapy but therapy is more about the unique reason your dog is doing certain undesirable things. Once this is assessed, the training can take over.
Rewards Based Training
Ideally, a dog therapist can help you implement rewards based training. As the name implies, this training involves attaching rewards when a dog has exhibited good behavior. It also involves ignoring and reshaping the bad behavior.
After you’ve established the root cause of your dog’s misbehavior, you can use rewards such as praise, or giving him a favorite toy or food.
One other element of rewards based training the dog therapist may want to do with you is testing your reaction when your dog exhibits either destructive or good behavior. For example, your dog may typically be sitting on your lap and it acts out. The best way for you to respond in this situation is usually to simply walk away after removing him from your lap. This will train your dog to become aware of how his actions influence your actions.
Some dog therapists also recommend sending dogs to their crates for time outs when they show early signs of over excitement or aggression.
Rewards based training is always preferred as a first course of action over the use of negative based training with the use of ecollars or other methods.
Behavior Intervention
This therapy method is similar to rewards based training but it is more about avoiding triggers. A dog therapist can help you recognize and prepare for those completely unacceptable behaviors that are the result of cause and effect.
For example, does a ring of your doorbell send your dog into unresolvable wildness? Put a note on the doorbell asking that it not be rung.
Does a walk in the morning help your dog stay calm the rest of the day? An early morning walk may be just the therapy your dog needs.
Does a trip to the dog park inevitably trigger territory issues that consistently result in fights? Then simply stop going to dog parks. On the other hand, if you can’t pass another dog when walking your pooch on a leash, more serious dog therapy solutions are warranted.
Supplements
There are many supplements available for dogs with anxiety, a common cause of behavior problems.
Medication
Here at Pooch and Harmony, we tend to prefer natural methods for dog therapy, especially since we can’t really know how our dog feels when medicated. There may be times, however, when medicine is warranted.
For example, my brother’s dog escaped from the yard during a thunderstorm, ran onto a busy road, and was hit by a car. This heartbreaking story confirms that there are times when medication is a reasonable solution.
You can discuss medication with your veterinarian.
Inviting Triggers During Dog Therapy
As an alternative to avoiding triggers, a dog therapist may place your dog among other dogs so it can help the dog feel more comfortable in a busy environment. This gives your dog the opportunity to adapt to challenging situations gradually.
It also gives the therapist an opportunity to observe triggers and treat the underlying issues.
Types of Dog Therapists
Dog therapists go by several names, most commonly a behavior therapist or a veterinary behaviorist. Some veterinarians are also dog therapists.
Think of a dog therapist more like a psychologist.
There are three major types of dog therapists, often with specific certifications. Before you hire a dog therapist, be aware of these common certifications:
- Certified applied animal behaviorist – These dog therapists have a graduate degree in animal behavior. Their role is to spot abnormal behavior in pets and help change it through different strategies. To find one, you can go to the Animal Behavior Society.
- Board-certified veterinary behaviorist (DACVB) – These are veterinarians who have additional training in animal behavior. A veterinary behaviorist has the expertise to prescribe medication, unlike an animal behaviorist. They are certified through the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and you can find a dog therapist on the website.
- Dog trainer – I believe all good dog trainers are dog therapists at heart because they’re always looking for the cause of a dog’s bad behavior, and ways to resolve it. A certified professional dog trainer who can also be referred to as a behavior counselor, however, is more specialized in behavior causes than other areas of dog training. Many dog trainers are qualified for and specialize in, tackling aggressive behaviors such as fighting, lunging, and biting. Dog trainers often have certifications from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT).
Can Dogs Get Therapy Remotely?
It depends on the case and the recommendation of the dog therapist whether your dog can get therapy remotely. If the behaviorist believes that, having assessed your dog, he can be trained and treated from home, he can get therapy remotely. However, this should be under the careful supervision of the dog therapist.
Conclusion
You should consider a dog therapist when your dog exhibits intolerable or dangerous behavior and isn’t responding to a good dog trainer. Doing so can help avoid dog fights, human or dog injuries, and possibly having to put your dog up for adoption for the safety of you and your family.
Sources:
Does Your Dog Need a Therapist?
Relinquishing Owners Underestimate Their Dog’s Behavioral Problems: Deception or Lack of Knowledge?