Back to In the News

In the News: Tails of Marin

By Dr. Nicholas Dodman

Understanding pet’s emotions key to treating behavior problems

The wonderful thing about being an animal behaviorist is being able to observe animals in their modern-day ethological niche. While laboratory scientists struggle in sterile environments to prove that domestic animals are sentient creatures, behaviorists get to observe the daily goings-on in the lives of a variety of animal species under much more normal circumstances.

When I started out in behavioral medicine nearly two decades ago, little was known about many of the behavioral conditions and treatments that are now well documented. In those days, if a veterinarian had diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder in a person’s pet, people would have looked at him as if he had three heads. At the time, we were still struggling with definitions of behavior problems and treatments, and the full impact of these problems on pet longevity was only just surfacing.

Emotions have been another stumbling block, as we have not been allowed to give domestic animals credit for what they feel. Those who step outside the boundaries of what can be “scientifically proven” have been disparagingly labeled “anthropomorphic” as if it were some sort of disease or weakness.

But animals do feel emotions, just like us. Take Mona, for example. Mona became so anxious when her owner went away to England that she began to pull her fur out in clumps. Or how about another cat who became clinically depressed and started hair pulling after her cat buddy died?

That dogs are aware of the emotional and physical status of people is a fact well known to many intelligent dog owners. Some therapy dogs warn their owners of seizures and are able to detect impending seizures long before the owner is aware of what is going on. Also, many dogs seem to know when their owner is feeling down or is ill and will completely change their behavior toward them. My wife’s dog, Pascra, lay next to her for two days when she, a vet student at the time, was ill and confined to bed.

That people love and need their pets there is no doubt. But do the pets love their people? I believe some do, to the point of exhibiting jealousy, rebellion, and extreme attention-seeking behavior. In my work, I see a complicated series of actions and interactions between people and their pets and between pets and their people. No one will convince me that pets do not have feelings or that they don’t appreciate their own (or others’) existence. In my practice, I work on the basic principle that pets are as emotionally invested as we are, experiencing anger, fear, boredom, loneliness, jealousy, and other sophisticated emotions. Acting on this firm belief, I am able to diagnose and explain behaviors to myself and to owners, and furthermore, this approach lends itself to the development and application of successful treatment strategies.

Nature has equipped us to bond closely with family members and to support them no matter what. People with pets often view their animals in this light and see the good in them no matter how they behave. A dog with separation anxiety, though it may be incredibly destructive to the home in the owner’s absence, usually makes one of the most doting and dependent pets. Dogs or cats exhibiting obsessive-compulsive behavior, another anxiety-based behavioral disorder, can be an enigma to their owners but their problems behaviors do not usually detract from the strong bond they share with their owners. Many owners of such disturbed animals will go to any lengths to resolve the emotional problems underpinning their pet’s compulsive disorder, even to the point of give them psychotropic medications, and that’s often what it takes. Friends do not necessarily understand why the owner is going to such lengths to help their pet, but the owner is quite clear in his or her mind and I understand perfectly.

Dr. Nicholas Dodman of Tufts University is internationally recognized and sought after as a leader in the animal behavior field. He has written four acclaimed bestselling books, including The Dog Who Loved Too Much, The Cat Who Cried For Help, Dogs Behaving  Badly, and If Only They Could Speak. Dr. Dodman appears regularly on television, including: 20/20, Oprah, Good Morning America, Dateline, and Animal Planet.

Tails of Marin appears every Saturday in the Home & Garden section of the Marin Independent Journal