Louisa Beal, DVM

If you have ever seen a dog or cat with heat stroke, you won’t forget it.  But what if you have never seen it?  What do you look for?  The signs of heatstroke are listed below, however, in an emergency, lists tend to slip away from our memory.  Is it red gums or gray gums?  Lots of salivation or dry mouth?  Thumping heart or thready pulse?

Whatever time you take to go thumbing through a first aid book or googling ‘heat stroke’ means another minute that you pet’s brain and other vital organs are being cooked.

Just remember this:

Don’t panic.

If it is hot and you pet isn’t acting right, get to a vet.

Your veterinarian has injectable medications that can help treat heat stroke.  They can also monitor and treat any injury to the kidneys or other vital organs.  Besides brain damage and kidney damage, heat stroke can trigger a dangerous bleeding disorder called disseminated intravascular coagulation.  Follow up care to prevent permanent damage is important.

Of course, in the meantime, you want to do what you can to shut that internal oven off.  Even if it isn’t heatstroke, these measures won’t do any harm.

• Cool water or alcohol to the paws.  (This is the only place they can sweat.)
• Cool water to hairless areas, like the armpits and belly.  (Don’t use ice or alcohol here.  They can constrict the capillaries and impede body cooling.)
• Fans can help cool the air your pet is breathing.  (Let’s hope this is the air conditioner in the car on your way to the vet.)
• Don’t use ice unless you are monitoring the rectal temperature.  It is possible to cool them too much.  Cooling efforts should stop when the rectal temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit.  Normal temperature for a dog or cat is about 101 to 102 degrees.

Symptoms of heat stroke include:

• Excessive panting
• Thick saliva
• Increased heart rate
• Depression
• Stupor or appearing in a daze
• Collapse
• Seizures
• Coma

Things to remember:

• Cats don’t normally pant.  A panting cat is in trouble.
• Brachycephalic breeds (snub nose dogs and cats such as Pugs, Bulldogs and Persians) are more susceptible to overheating.
• It isn’t just hot cars in the summer.  Any dog that is active on a warm day may succumb to heat stroke if they become dehydrated.  Pets in cage dryers without monitoring or water can get heat stroke.
• Just because your car is nice and cool when you leave, it can heat up rapidly once the air conditioner is off.  Opening a window is not sufficient.

Prevention of heat stroke is best of all.  Provide shade and plenty of water.  Be aware of your pet’s environment, both inside and outside.  Everything begins with awareness.

Few of the regular attendees of the AVMA conference were aware of what was happening with Merial, a veterinary pharmaceutical company. Quite a controversy was created when a few weeks before the conference, it was brought to light that the company was using Cesar Millan in promotion of their Frontline and Heartguard products. As you may know, Mr. Millan’s show The Dog Whisperer is broadcast on the National Geographic channel. Mr Millan’s methods have come under intense scrutiny by the veterinary behavior community.

Dr. Andrew Luescher, DVM, PhD Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behaviorists previewed videotapes submitted to him by National Geographic. The following is excerpted from his report:

“I have been involved in continuing education for dog trainers for over 10 years, first through the “How Dogs Learn” program at the University of Guelph and then through the DOGS! Course at Purdue University. I therefore know very well where dog training stands today, and I must tell you that Millan’s techniques are outdated and unacceptable not only to the veterinary community, but also to dog trainers.”

The first question regarding the above mentioned tapes I have is this: The show repeatedly cautions the viewers not to attempt these techniques at home, so what then, is the purpose of this show? Is it an infomercial for Cesar Millan? I think we have to be realistic. People will try these techniques at home, much to the detriment of their dogs.

Millan’s techniques are almost exclusively based on two techniques: flooding and positive punishment. In flooding, an animal is exposed to a fear evoking stimulus (which sometimes results in aggression) and prevented from leaving the situation until the animal stops reacting. To take a human example, arachnophobia would be treated by locking a person in a closet, releasing hundreds of spiders into that closet, and keeping the door shut until the person stops reacting. The person might be cured by that, but also might be severely disturbed and would have gone through an excessive amount of stress. Flooding has therefore always been considered a risky and cruel method of treatment. What Mr. Millan calls “calm submission”, scientists describe as “learned helplessness”.

Positive punishment refers to applying an aversive stimulus or correction as a consequence of a behavior. There are many concerns about punishment aside from its unpleasantness. Punishment is entirely inappropriate for most types of aggression and any behavior that involves anxiety (see Dr. Jim Ha’s post titled Confrontational Behavior Modification Techniques and the Risk to Owners). Punishment can suppress most behavior but does not resolve the underlying problem; anxiety, fear, and/or aggression. Even in cases where correctly applied, punishment might be considered appropriate, many conditions have to be met that most dog owners can’t meet. The punishment has to be applied every time the behavior is displayed, within 1/2 a second of the behavior, and at the correct intensity.

Dr. Nicholas Dodman, the Director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine of Tufts University agrees and has said that Cesar Millan’s methods are based on flooding and punishment. The results, though immediate, may only be temporary and can sometimes result in unintended behavioral fallout such as increased anxiety, fear, and aggression.

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior released two position statements on the use of dominance theory for behavior modification of animals and guidelines for the use of punishment in dealing with behavior problems in animals. These address the problems in many of Millan’s claims about dominance pack order, and how he sets limits. You can download these position statements from the AVSAB web site.

There is a grounding of science in the field of behavior which Mr. Millan does not address in his work with dogs. His methods are based on his own experience and not on science. He calls himself a dog psychologist, but does not talk about basic principles of psychology, such as perception, conditioning, and reinforcement. If he has any knowledge of neurotransmitters and their effect on behavior, he keeps it well hidden. Just stopping an unwanted behavior is not sufficient. It is necessary to teach an acceptable alternate behavior. No amount of drama generated by television show producers or loyal followers change the scientific facts.

For Merial to choose Cesar Millan to represent the veterinary field is akin to choosing a Hollywood star who believes that bloodletting is the best way to treat any medical disorder to represent a pharmaceutical company. His methods are outdated and can be dangerous in the wrong hands.

I enjoyed being at the AVSAB booth at the conference very much though. Not only was I able to educate my colleagues and other attendees about this controversy, but I was also able to show a more effective, safer, and humane alternative. We had videos playing of clicker training being used not only on dogs, but also on cats, chickens, a pig, and a tropical Hornbill. I wonder how well Cesar’s Way would work on those species?

In my next post, I’ll talk about the advances in veterinary medicine that I learned about at the conference.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) held its 146h annual conference in Seattle, Washington from July 11th to July 14th this year. The conference hosted over 200 sessions a day on topics including companion animal medicine, food animal medicine practice management, public health, wildlife, alternative therapies and much more. There was far more than any one person could take in. The other part of the conference was the exhibit hall, with about 300 exhibitors and special interest groups. The exhibit hall is always a big draw for information on the latest developments and cool freebies. So, my point of view is a mere blip on the big picture. I’ll be writing a short series of commentaries on various aspects of the AVMA convention.

The joint scientific veterinary behavior meeting of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) was held on Friday, July 10th, the day before the AVMA conference. I am a member of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior and these were the sessions in which I was most interested. These are the cutting edge topics ranging from case presentations to basic biochemical research on mediators of behavior. This meeting also allws the behavior community to get to meet new people who work with behavior, get to know people we have only met online and to touch base witht hose friends we only see at these meetings. I will write more in the future about some of the specific topics that were covered.

The general sessions of the AVMA also have a behavior track. There are may veterinarians who do not have a behavior practice, but still need to know the basics of behavior and when to refer their clients. These sessions include topics on learning theory, puppy socialization medication that modify behavior, genetics of behavior and controversial issues. I am focusing on the behavior sessions at the AVMA because that is where my greatest area of interest lies. My day job is counseling owners on behavior problems of dogs and cats. There is a lot of misinformation about animal behavior floating around and my goal is to help people understand that there is a science behind the recommendations from veterinary behaviorists and veterinarians with a special interest in behavior. So much of my time at the conference was with the AVSAB booth in the exhibit hall.

In my next articles, I’ll be talking about the AVSAB booth. The joy. The controversies. What they loved and what they didn’t. To be continued…

If you’ve read some of my other posts here, you know I’ve mentioned my Australian Shepherd named Conner. He is quite the remarkable dog; lots of natural herding instinct, loves kids and men, and a born dog/dog communicator who helps me diagnose and treat dog/dog aggression cases. Conner has one problem though, noise phobia. This time of year sends him into fits of barking, stress panting, and pacing. We’re lucky in one way though, his symptoms are mild to moderate. Our clients report that some of their dogs hide (in bathtubs, closets, under the bed), shake and drool. This phobia is difficult to treat because it’s difficult or impossible to control the stimuli: thunder, fireworks, gunshots, cars backfiring, etc. Thunderstorms are even more difficult to deal with because thunderstorms are more than one stimulus: change in barometric pressure, metallic smell, wind, rain.

What Is Noise Phobia? Don’t Dogs Just Get Over It?
According to Karen Overall, VMD, PhD, ACVB, “Noise phobias are best defined as a persistent, excessive fear response to a sound or escape from the sound [Shull, 1994].”1 Notice the words persistent and excessive. Dogs don’t just “get over it” with time and enough exposure. In fact, we have documented cases where dogs got continually worse over time and even began generalizing their fear to other stimuli. An example of this is a dog who is thunder phobic that over time becomes afraid of rain. The best article I’ve ever read about storm phobias was written by Karen Overall in 2004 and can be found at the dvm360 website. The synopsis for this article is ” So, for all the pets who suffer, here’s the take home message: Storm and noise phobias are emergencies.”

Why Does My Dog Suffer from Noise Phobia?
We don’t know why some dogs exhibit noise phobia and others do not, but this condition is currently being studied. Some scientists believe that there is a genetic component to noise phobia. At the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Steven Hamilton, MD, PhD, is searching for the genes related to panic and anxiety disorders in dogs. You can read about Dr. Hamilton’s genetics work in a ucsfToday article titled Dogs Guide Search for Genes in Panic and Anxiety. Dr. Hamilton is a co-leader along with Dr. Overall of the Canine Behavioral Genetics Project. You can learn about this group’s work by visiting the Canine Behavior Genetics Project web site.

As with any behavior, there’s a genetic as well as learned component to its cause. We’ve had client dogs that learned to associate noises with “scary” things and “scary” things with noises.

How Can I Help My Dog?
There are a number of things that you can try to help your dog through the 4th of July fireworks display:

Medication
According to Dr. Karen Overall, “pharmacological intervention has been more successful in controlling a phobic response to noise than has flooding or desensitization.”2 So how do you have this discussion with your veterinarian? First of all, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to discuss your dog’s reaction to fireworks or thunderstorms. Your veterinarian should always be your first line of defense in improving your dog’s behavioral health. Understanding what medication your veterinarian prescribes for you and how to use it is very important since not all veterinarians are as experienced in prescribing for behavior as others. If you have one in your area, contact a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist. If you don’t have one in your area, ask your veterinarian if they have a PhD in Animal Behavior or know of a veterinarian who does. Most of the veterinarians that we work with at Companion Animal Solutions are not certified in veterinary behavior and don’t have PhDs, but they handle prescribing medication for behavioral issues brilliantly.

To be on the safe side, you might want to print out and take the following paragraph with you when you visit your veterinarian: “Acepromazine is not recommended for treating aggression or for home use in tranquilizing anxious, agitated or aggressive dogs.  It provides chemical restraint and is not an anxiolytic.  Acepromazine can also increase reactivity to sound and so may be particularly inappropriate for anxiety induced by sounds such as thunder, fireworks, large diesel engines, etc..  Benzodiazepines are considered safer for reducing situational anxiety.”3

Counter Conditioning Noise Phobia
Executing counter conditioning exercises for noise phobia helps many, many of the dogs that we work with at Companion Animal Solutions (including my own dog). You can start out by downloading sounds of thunder or fireworks. You can find just about any type of sound on the internet or through iTunes. Begin playing the sounds very quietly on your stereo or sound system over a number of days or weeks (if your dog reacts, you’re playing it too loud). You must play it softly enough to allow desensitization to take place. Over a number of days or weeks, you can slowly increase the volume (remember to keep it below your dog’s reaction level). You can also begin pairing a scary sound with food. Keep something in mind though, fireworks and thunder are accompanied by other stimuli such as vibration and light.

When my neighbors begin setting off fireworks, I get out my clicker and spray cheese, liverwurst, chicken, and hotdogs. The split second a firecracker goes off, I click and give Conner a treat from his favorite food list. When I first started this two years ago, I was only able to work with him for a minute or two before he just couldn’t take it anymore and would stop taking food. Now I’m able to work for a good 20 to 30 minutes before the stress panting takes over and we head downstairs to the quietest room in the house.

My 4th of July Strategy
I’ve got a diazepam (Valium) prescription that I use for my dog Conner. I start giving it to him the day before the fireworks get going. I make sure that I have plenty of stuffed Kongs, bully sticks, and raw beef rib bones to keep him busy in the “quiet room” when I can’t be working with him with my trusty clicker. Always remember that extinction is a huge part of behavior modification so keeping the dog from panicking is critical in seeing a decrease in fear over time. Keep in mind however, this is just what I’ve learned works best for my personal dog and his noise phobia. You should consult with your veterinarian and do what is best for your dog.

There are many homeopathic remedies that some owners swear by (Storm Defender Cape, Rescue Remedy, Melatonin, etc). If you own a noise phobic dog, you want all the help you can get. Please share your noise phobia experiences in our comments section.

References
1 Overall, K., Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals, 1997, p.236.
2 Overall, K., Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals, 1997, p.237.
3 Overall, K., Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals, 1997, p.304.

When I read the September edition of the Animal Behavior Associates newsletter, I found a statistic that was quite alarming. It was estimated that 36% of the 81 million cats in the United States did not see a vet in 2006. Why are so many cats not receiving regular healthcare? Regular checkups are key to preventing future health conditions and potential causes for behavioral problems. It is likely because many people find trips to the vet to be a nightmare. The whole occasion is simply too stressful for their cat and for themselves. Therefore, I thought I would outline some basic tips about making a trip to the vet less traumatic on your feline friend.

For your cat, a trip to the veterinarian involves dealing with one stressful situation after another. They are put in a carrier, loaded into a car, and driven away from their familiar surroundings. They then arrive to an unfamiliar building full of the smells, sounds, and sights of other animals… and all of this just to be handled and examined by strangers. All these unfamiliar factors cause some level of anxiety in your cat, and that anxiety tends to accumulate. They likely only occur in the context of going to the vet, so each event begins to predict that more stressful events are to come. It is then no surprise that after a couple of trips to the vet, you now have an extremely anxious cat as soon as you pull out the carrier. However, there are things that you can do to make this anxiety-ridden trip less stressful for your feline friend. Here are some helpful tips:

Work on getting your cat used to their carrier. Place comfortable bedding inside and leave it out for them to explore. Put favorite toys or special treats inside. As they become used to the carrier, you can also start feeding them inside. DO NOT rush your cat into the carrier, and just close the door. Let your cat dictate the speed of the exercise. Once they are comfortable entering the carrier on their own, start closing the door for progressively longer amounts of time, reinforcing your cat while he is inside.

Get your cat used to riding in the car. Once they are calm going into their carrier, start taking them out for short car rides. Be sure to give them special treats while they are in the car. You do not have to go anywhere in particular, but this will get them used to being driven around, and they will learn that going into the car does not always mean they are going to the vet.

However, do go to the vet occasionally, even if you do not have an appointment. People often recommend that dogs should be taken to the vet just to get weighed and greeted by the staff to make it a positive experience, so why not do this with cats. Take them in; have them sit in the lobby for a bit while you give them treats. Have staff members give them treats, and pet them. Then just go home. We want these casual visits to be very positive for your cat.

Have your cat become more accustomed to be handled by strangers. Recruit neighbors / friends to come over to handle your cat. Similar to the carrier work explained above, do not push your cat. Allow your cat to move at his or her own pace. Steps in handling should be gradual. Reward them for coming to people, and allowing them to pet them. Once they are comfortable around these people, have the person slowly increase the intensity of handling by touching the paws and tail, then holding the paws, and so on. Constantly reward the cat as progress is made. We want body handling to be an extremely positive experience.

Doing these exercises will create positive associations with these different stressful situations. Make sure to use reinforcers that are high value (wet food, tuna fish, anchovy paste, spray cheese) and particularly in the beginning, keep your rate of reinforcement high. Doing the work now will make future routine trips a breeze, and emergency trips less hectic.

Do you have tips for getting your cat to the veterinarian that you’re willing to share? Maybe you have a funny story about taking your cat to the vet. We love to hear from our cat owners, so feel free to share an idea or a story.

Ultimately, behavior starts in the brain, and the body must carry it out. The dividing line between “mental” and “physical” problems has become more and more blurred as scientists illuminate the functioning of brain cells and chemicals.

When you bring us your dog who is having a problem, sometimes our first instruction is to have your dog examined by a veterinarian. We may suggest a specialist, such as an ophthalmologist or a neurologist. Why do we do this, especially knowing that veterinary testing can be expensive — especially if done by a board-certified specialist?

Most behavior problems can, in some cases, result directly from a medical issue. In some cases, no amount of behavior modification will help. For example, if your dog has a serious urinary tract infection and is unable to stop herself from urinating urgently, and sometimes in the house, no amount of remedial housetraining is going to help her choose different behavior. Only treating the medical condition and reducing that physical urgency will allow her to return to her good habits (with or without remedial behavioral intervention). If we believe your dog might be sick, we will ask you to have her urine and blood checked. We try to educate ourselves about other medical conditions that may present themselves first as behavioral problems so that we can refer you to a veterinarian when veterinary care is needed.

Often, an animal will do best with simultaneous veterinary and behavioral intervention. For example, if your dog’s housetraining was shaky to begin with, that urinary tract infection may revive and reinforce some old bad habits. We can help you design a remedial housetraining plan to get her back on track.

Many of the dogs we see with behavioral problems are suffering from anxiety. In fact, a great deal of problem behavior is anxiety-driven. We can teach you how to structure your animal’s environment, provide consistent feedback, and teach your dog coping skills to reduce anxiety. But in some cases, because the problem is severe, long-term, or highly genetic, some kind of medication to reduce anxiety is either a good idea or truly necessary to make headway with the behavioral manifestations. Veterinarians’ familiarity with behavioral drugs for dogs and cats varies widely, depending on the vet’s education and areas of interest. We can often help guide you with questions to ask your veterinarian so that your dog or cat gets the medical, as well as the behavioral, help he needs and deserves. We are not veterinarians, and cannot prescribe medications, so we value our working relationship with many vets who see our clients. Most veterinarians are aware that behavioral drugs will work best, and should only be prescribed in conjunction with, a behavioral modification program. Our role is to help design and implement that program, coaching you in skills you may need to learn and helping troubleshoot management challenges.