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| Martin
772-220-8485
Palm Beach
561-967-5966
Broward
954-753-1800
Dade
561-795-9398
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Would you like to schedule a Lunch and Learn at your hospital?
Lunch and learn lectures are complimentary. Almost any behavior topic can be covered. Call 561-795-9398 to schedule.
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| FAQs | My technician is interested in learning more about behavioral treatments. Where can she get further education?
Why do neutered dogs mount?
Mounting is a common dog behavior which is regarded as normal. It can be interpreted as part of play, an agonistic interaction, sexual behavior or displacement behavior. In neutered dogs, it is most commonly a displacement behavior. These types of behaviors are generally anxiety, arousal or conflict based. When the dog doesn't know what to do in a certain situation, they perform a familiar, kinetic behavior such as mounting. While some male dogs extrude their penis causing trauma, this is not common. If the owner is not highly annoyed and the patient is not injuring himself, I generally tell people to leave well enough alone. If they remove their pet's way of displacing anxiety, they could develop a much more annoying behavior. If the patient is injuring himself or the owner finds this behavior intolerable, the pet should be at minimum interrupted and distracted to another behavior. The owner should make sure that she is not inadvertently rewarding this behavior with attention. Many of these patients are very anxious and should be looked at for underlying anxiety disorders which when treated will decrease the mounting.
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Do you have an FAQ or case for the next newsletter?
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Evaluation of a supplement for efficacy in treating and urine marking in cats and car anxiety in dogs. If you would like more information on referring a patient for one of these studies
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From the Journals
| Effect of clomipramine on the electrocardiogram and serum thyroid concentrations of healthy cats.
Martin. KM, J of Vet Beh, (2010) 5, 123-129.
Seven healthy cats received clomipramine at a dosage of 10 mg/cat PO q 24 for 28 days. Electrocardiograms were completed on Day -1 and Day 29. There were no significant changes in the electrocardiograms of any of the cats on day 29.
In a second experiment, 7 healthy cats were given clomipramine at a dosage of 10 mg/cat PO q 24 for 28 days. Total thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and free thyroxine (fT4) were measured at Days -1 and 29. Statistically significant decreases were found in all parameters on day 29.
Clinical implication: As has been known in dogs for many years, clomipramine (Clomicalm) lowers thyroid parameters. The mechanism is thought be through the binding of iodine, inhibition of thyroid peroxidase, and stimulation deiodoninase activity. Cats and dogs under treatment with this medication should have a screening thyroid panel and should have their thyroid values rechecked yearly.
Comparison of feline water consumption between still and flowing water sources. A pilot study. Pachel, C, Neilsen J. J of Vet
Beh, (2010) 5, 130-133.
The water consumption of 9 cats was measured over 4 consecutive, 22 hour test periods. While the group of cats assigned to the flowing water group drank more water, it was not statistically significant.
Some cats seemed to have a strong preference for one or the other.
Clinical implication: While this study didn't show a statistically significant difference between the groups, the n was small, as it was a pilot study. What was also interesting is that cats appeared to have strong individual preferences for flowing vs still water. Based on this, it may be worth offering cats both options to determine preference and then offering the cat her preferential type of water source in the home.
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Is this book in your Libary?
| Low Stress Handling, Restraint and Behavior Modification for Dogs
and Cats, by Sophia Yin DVM, MS
CattleDog Publishing, 2009
This book outlines in a clear way with words, videos and pictures how fearful and anxious patients should be handled to minimize stress. Dr. Sophia Yin is a wonderful writer who
understands how dogs and people learn. To that end, Dr. Yin has added many
videos and pictures to this text. Not only does this book outline what you should and should not do regarding restraint of dogs and cats, but it also shows the reader how to help pets overcome their fears and become better patients. Dr. Yin is also a great
collaborator as can be seen from the list of acknowledgements in the
front of this text. She consulted many veterinarians on their practices for handling patients and has compiled them in this book. It is highly
recommended. |
What can you say in 20 minutes?TM
|  Signalment: Fluffy, 10 y, F/S DSH
Presenting complaint: Howling at night. The owner is exhausted and talking about euthanizing her. No history of changes in urinations, defecations or appetite.
P/E, labwork: CBC, Serum Chemistry, T4 and urinalysis: wnl; P/E: wnl; weight stable.
Goals for initial behavior appointment
- more detailed history
- differential diagnosis list
- screen for medical diseases
- definitive diagnosis (if possible)
- stop the bleeding (help the cat sleep at night).
It is especially important in this case that you rule out any medical disorders which may be causing discomfort or changes in mentation such as musculoskeletal (e.g., osteoarthritis), metabolic (e.g., hyperthyroidism, diabetes, renal failure), and neurologic disorders (e.g. neoplasia).
Based on your physical examination and labwork, you feel confident that Fluffy is in good health. In order to make a behavioral diagnosis, you need more history.
Behavioral History
- When does she howl? Early in the evening? Late? Every evening?
- What does the owner do? Ignore her? Feed her?
- How long has this been going on?
- Any changes to the environment?
- Are there any other behavior problems?
- Are there any additional signs of cognitive dysfunction?
Behavioral Differential Diagnoses
- Separation anxiety
- Feline Cognitive Dysfunction
- Attention seeking behavior (rewarded by owner)
- Displacement behavior
Findings:
You decide based on the owner's history that there have been stray cats in the neighborhood and Fluffy's howling coincided with this change. When Fluffy first started howling, the owner fed her in an effort to keep her quiet and get some sleep. This rewarded her behavior causing it to persist even after the stray cat was removed.
Diagnosis: Attention seeking behavior
Plan for initial appointment:
- Behavioral recommendations: a) ignore the cat or confine her in an enriched room overnight; b) under no circumstances should the owner reward her by feeding her; c) use an automatic feeder which opens at intervals during the night starting before she would usually start howling; d) use extra special food in the automatic feeder; e) keep her awake during the day with toys and activities f) block access to windows at night where Fluffy may see other cats. These recommendations are essential for a positive outcome.
- Medications: Our primary concern is keeping the cat in the home until we can affect her behavior permanently with behavior modification and a long-term medication if needed. Good choices for sleep aides in cats are: Benzodiazepines such as lorazepam* and clonazepam*. Emphasize that the owner should give a test dose when she is home and awake to monitor for potential side effects.
Follow up:
- Owner call in 2 days, recheck in person in a week. At the second appointment, assess the efficacy of your initial behavior modification recommendations; and assess efficacy of the initial medication.
- If Fluffy is doing well, continue the medication nightly for a month and then wean her off. If she is not doing well, a) gather more history; b) look for additional contributing diagnoses, c) reiterate behavior modification recommendations d) consider a daily administered anxiety relieving supplement or medication. Options include: Anxitane*, and Reconcile*.
*Before prescribing any medication, read the drug monograph and always warn owners of the potential for negative mood changes such as aggression. |
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