Natural Approaches to
Behavioral and Neurological Issues in Pets
By Amy Matthews, VMD, PhD
dramatically effect an animals' lifestyle and management, to medical issues like sei- zures and autoimmune brain inflammation. We are fortunate that Lyme disease is not a known contributor to chronic neurologi- cal signs in dogs or cats, as cats have never been shown to get infected by Lyme organ- isms and dogs are easily tested and treated in the early stages of disease. Tick borne organisms do rarely cause severe neuro- logical signs in dogs, but again, these are typically responsive to antibiotic therapy. While other neurological issues are rarely so simple to treat, there are many ways to address them successfully.
N Anxiety
Anxiety is an exploding diagnosis in our dog and cat populations. For many rescue animals, their early experiences have primed them to be anxious. Even being in the womb while the mother was under a lot of stress can change brain development in the young. Poor breeding can perpetuate a genetic makeup where anxiety is pro- grammed as a behavioral survival mode. Poor nutrition or undiagnosed pain can con- tribute to anxiety behaviors, too. The current social context dogs and cats live in may also contribute. A few decades ago, many dogs were still roaming off leash, living on their own rhythms outside, finding their own social lives, and perhaps fulfilling a job they had been genetically selected to do (such as hunting, herding, or guarding). Many cats were still indoor/outdoor creatures and did hunting on their own. These days, we ex- perience more pressures from dense social living and more adults working outside the home. Many dogs are only ever outside on a leash, which protects them from getting lost and from unexpected aggressive encounters.
eurological diseases run the gamut in dogs and cats, from behavioral issues like anxiety and fear that can
Some dogs may have no canine social life besides encounters on their outings, and others have social lives at dog parks where there are large numbers of dogs and where the members can change significantly from day to day. Some dogs experience social iso- lation when the owners are away for large portions of the day, as we have fewer house- hold members serving as homemakers. Most of our cats are exclusively indoors to protect them from cars and predators, and to protect our local wildlife. Our increasing desire to protect our animal family has worked, but there have been some increased social pres- sures that may make some animals more vulnerable to anxiety.
On the plus side, our animals are more pampered than ever, our options for training and planned socialization have exploded as the need has been recognized, and our training techniques have evolved to include more positive rewards and relationship- based training. There is expanded aware- ness of the value of puzzle feeders and socially aware feeding protocols for cats. However, we still see a lot of anxiety in dogs and cats. Some of the anxiety is trig- gered by specific situations, such as separation anxiety that occurs when an owner leaves a dog alone, or thun- derstorm anxiety. Some of the anxiety is fairly general, such as anxiety with any new situation or an overall inability to be fully relaxed even at home. Some anxi- ety in animals can cause dangerous behaviors to other animals or to people. Anxiety in cats may not be appreciated until it is trans- lated into medical issues,
such as overgrooming and inappropriate uri- nation; but we also see cats who are reactive to other animals in the household or will bite or scratch unpredictably.
Treatment
For some individuals, like those whose genetic makeup is such that significant lasting change is unlikely, pharmaceuticals or herbal management combined with environmental modification may be our biggest helpers. Herbs are also a relatively low budget way to help temper the effects of anxiety on an animal's life.
Acupuncture Acupuncture can be an amazing addi-
tion to behavior modification. Traditional Chinese Medicine style acupuncture can have a profound calming effect and allow the body to have access to the parasym- pathetic “rest and digest” way of being. Classical acupuncture styles can access emotional traumas that have been stored in
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