Mumbai-born Ayesha Omer moved to Bengaluru last year, and to beat her loneliness in the new city, she brought home a new baby – Pepsi, a Shih Tzu. It all went on well during the first few months, but out of the blue, her usually energetic and fun Pepsi has become agitated, aggressive and began destroying furniture and furnishings. What could be the problem? “The dog may be suffering from anxiety and depression,” says dog behaviorist Leena Ukil. Apparently, anxiety and depression can inflict dogs as severely as in humans.
When Ayesha had brought home Pepsi during the pandemic last year, she spent most of her time with her canine. However, as things got back to normal Ayesha started going to work, leaving Pepsi at home for about 10 hours a day, which caused anxiety issues in her. “Some dogs are not able to stay separate from their owner after they are used to living with them during the lockdown so they start whining. Sometimes it takes small therapy and at times it needs behavioural change in the owner,” says Leena, explaining that symptoms include excessive barking and scratching on the door among others.
Veterinarians and behaviourists are emphasising pet’s mental health so much that pet owners are also realising that their pooches can have a mental breakdown the same way as humans. Experts say that dogs suffer stress, anxiety, depression, night terrors, phobias and Post Traumatic Disorder (PTSD).
Three-year-old Django, a great dane, has suffered anxiety attacks since he was one. The episodes usually began with his nervous response to things and the people around him. He was clearly uncomfortable meeting new people and would behave anxiously. “He can’t be verbally interrupted when this happens,” says his owner Dr Amit Gawnde, a pulmonologist in Mumbai.
Django isn’t even comfortable with new places so when vets and behaviorists diagnosed this behaviour as anxiety, he was taken to a therapist. “We sent him to a place where there are other dogs. It’s learning for humans as well. It’s similar to handling an anxious person. I had to accept that he is not a happy-go-lucky dog who will be playing with everyone around. We had to change our ways, which helped eventually,” says Amit. It took Django about two years to settle down. “It’s a slow process and more of a behavioral modification to know what he is trying to say,” Amit observes and shares that no anti-anxiety medication worked during the treatment. “I ensure not to do anything that triggers his anxiety. We try to manoeuvre things together now.”
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Not without my friend
Jaipur-based Surbhi Tankha was alarmed when her six-year-old Tyson Tankha, an American boxer , started exhibiting symptoms of depression. When Surbhi’s other dog Muffin Tankha, a pug died last year, Tyson went through a mourning period and eventually he too died this year. “We were also sad, but it was more difficult for Tyson. He stopped eating for days and used to cry with tears. He went completely silent over a period,” shares Surbhi, whose vet diagnosed the boxer with dog depression. Surbhi says she tried a lot to cheer Tyson through chants and Muffin's videos but nothing helped and he continued to mourn. "He eventually developed simmilar symptoms as Muffin."
Senior veterinarian at Barking Fine Pet Speciality Hospital in Chennai, Dr Rajesh Swami (name changed on request) says that if the dog is sad he would exhibit different behaviour. Pet owners need to observe all the signs. “And it takes between one to six months of behavioural therapy to help with unwanted stress or anxiety,” says the doctor. Taking us through the process of understanding the difference in behaviour of the dog, he explains that therapy has to include changing the pattern of the behavior of the dog. “It will always depend on the dog and the characteristics. It includes some questionnaires and tests, and depending on the root cause – minor to severe anxiety – we give a programme to the owner to practice,” he explains.
Reading the signs
It isn’t easy; only the dogs know what they are feeling and they are unable to talk about it! It is similar to taking care of a human baby who too cannot communicate his feelings, and yet we learn a lot by watching – and figure out when a baby is happy, sad or frightened. “So it is with animals. We have to observe them closely. When the owner learns the issue with the dog, it is now the job of the behaviourist or therapist to use positive training methods. The therapist needs to develop communication with the dog to train him to adapt and change while working on the underlying issues. Primitive methods of intimidation and pain are not going to help in these cases,” says Shirin Merchant, India’s first dog trainer and canine behaviorist, based in Mumbai. “End of the day, it is the pet parent who lives with the dog and they have the most influence over the animal. So the owners must develop trust and understand the animal.”
Dr Swami suggests that we need to lean heavily on observation when it comes to understanding animal behaviour and the problem. “A dog is the same as a human as far as emotional chemicals are concerned. They share the same structure of emotions,” says Dr Swami. Additionally, while the dogs nurtured in houses go through basic and hyper anxiety and depression due to trauma, working dogs who return from war zones often exhibit signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well – jumpiness, anxiety, poor sleep, and loss of appetite among others. “The difficult situations like war and combat can take a toll on dogs just like humans. However, their future is secured if they retire with their trainers,” explains Dr Arvind Kumar of The Ark Veterinary Clinic in Chennai.
Observation is the key
Another case in point is Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour (OCB). Chennai-based Rupali Kamlesh’s eight-year-old Reppy, a dachshund, developed behavioural issues when she was three-year-old. In the beginning excessive licking was the first symptom and it looked normal to Rupali, but she was alarmed when Reppy started snapping at her daughter’s friends. “We said she has an attitude. (laughs). But when I researched her behaviour it came out that she has protective aggression. She doesn’t like it when someone plays with my daughter. She won’t bite but she won’t let anyone come near her either. She gets irritated and snappy about small things,” she shares.
“Dogs sometimes mirror their owner, and it could be merely a behavioural issue. But if the dog has a history of trauma or abandonment then we will have to consider a mental health issue. In such cases, we conduct a test with the owner and determine the problem to follow a therapy,” explains Leena.
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