Subscriber Archive

Last in a series Fear is a miserable emotion. It happens in-the-moment, before there is time to think. And it can be dangerous. Whether a threat is real or imagined you need to either get the heck outa there or drive off a scary monster – who might retaliate. Stimpy had trembled and hidden from visitors, but later chased those beasts while snapping at their heels. He’d improved. While his good leader Amy entertained guests, he stayed busy in the other room extracting bits of sustenance from challenging food toys and puzzles. Not bad. Amy now wanted Stimpy by her side as she swilled red wine with her pals. Was she dreaming? But if he could stay occupied… We knew that if he eyeballed another alien invader (anyone other than Amy) he could wig-out and relapse. She needed to keep him working. So I told Amy, that social butterfly, to…

Third in a series Which of these statements is true? (a) Some dogs try to dominate their people and need us to keep them in line. (b) Dominance behavior among dogs happens but is sexual in nature. (c) It is a rare dog who tries to bully a human. (d) Alpha rolls work on dogs because they are innately knowledgeable in the Greek alphabet. (e) None of the above. Stimpy, the alpha-rolled heel nipper, feared annihilation by anybody other than his person. In his anxious mind, they could all be mass murderers. What started as trembling and hiding from strangers, had advanced to barking and then chasing and biting. Nothing Amy tried made a difference. If anything, the problem had worsened. The brain is considered the most complex organ in the body. Neuroplasticity – the ability to change its function and structure– can bring hope. As Stimpy repeatedly freaked-out toward…

Second in a series Remember what happened to Stimpy, the ankle biter? He was alpha rolled and pinned to change his behavior but, call me crazy, I’ve never known bullying to help anyone get well. The disconnect for Amy (Stimpy’s person) and her visitor was believing that dogs need to be dominated to learn their rightful place as our subordinates. Unbeknownst to these folks, as they swapped jokes on the couch, Stimpy’s dread had him hiding in the shadows. His burst of bravado as he ran, snapping and growling at the heels of the departing visitor was not about him trying to be boss. When this big alien stood and turned away, the bottled up fear in that canine brain evaporated. Stimpy’s self-preservation immediately kicked in. With no path for retreat he was bent on creating distance from the scary monster by chasing him out the door. It’s not that…

First in a series Folks like you and I are tethered to our pets by an emotional commitment to their well-being. If they have symptoms from any body part, including their brains, we want them to get well fast. The Internet offers prodigious quantities of quack remedies, especially for behavior disorders. Think twice about quick and dirty corrections. People do dumb stuff. Mistakes are part of life but ‘first do no harm’ should apply to everybody. Stimpy was a 3 year old terrier mix I saw for his worsening aggression toward visitors. He wasn’t always that way. He had been only nervous when guests breezed through the door but when one well-intentioned pet lover rushed toward him with arms outstretched, singing his name, the poor guy ran under the bed and trembled like a leaf. Amy, Stimpy’s committed person, was advised to “socialize” her dog by exposing him to as…