Misery and their companions
Blind dogs in misery, trying to communicate and ask for help, or at least to be left alone, aren’t being intentionally aggressive. Other dogs trying to help a sick dog or one they suspect is in severe difficulty also aren’t being intentionally aggressive. Above all, labeling their behavior as Aggression doesn’t help. Most important is helping the dog who is in pain, and secondarily reassuring the other animals that they are being protected and cared for by their “person who has the opposable thumbs, reads the labels on the medicines and has the car keys.)
Trying to rely exclusively on training to change the behaviors of dogs while they are ill and in severe pain, and change the behavior of their instinctively care-giving animal companions, is potentially a gate to sadness and guilt. Anxiety of the companion animals about their friend is common, but so also is accidental jealousy [and “resource guarding!”] of the ill dog who may seem (to the animal or child companions) to be getting way more than their share of the adult human attention, love and petting[?]. Very rare, but possible after recovery was a doggish discovery of the fun of hypochondria (pretending a sore paw, etc) to get attention.
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Especially newly Blind dogs can react to other dogs, and some people, in ways that can be mis-labeled “aggression.” Their companions also sometimes do things that get misunderstood as aggression. We identified from our experience and research reports several situations that seem to be easily misunderstood, which we try to describe simply. Our experience and the thoughts of others were offered with suggestions, in hopes of solutions good for the dogs and their people.
Dog becoming blind, with a painful conditions such as glaucoma or diabetes, etc , can become withdrawn (appear depressed) and tend to sleep a lot to escape from the pain and difficulty of doing things that used to be great fun. Sometimes a familiar companion dog, cat, or child or adult was observed trying to entertain the sick dog, distract it with touches and “pokes” or licks or even sad-growls, or bring it the favorite toys just to get the sick miserable dog to get up, move about and act more normally. [Ref. Internet reports of blind-dog owners and research reported by M. Bekoff in The Emotional Lives of Animals, 2007, new world library, Alexandra Semyonova, 2010, etc. More information is available on <http://deafdogsforever.weebly.com>]
A dog or human in severe pain, without any personally obvious hope of relief, if continually “messed with”- regardless of the other’s intentions – will occasionally eventually respond to renewed efforts by growling, perhaps showing teeth, and attempting thus to make absolutely clear that it prefers to suffer in silence without any additional misery unintentionally inflicted by others trying to cheer her up and get her moving again.
Attempts to communicate and ask for help to overcome their fears and needs while they are sick and in severe pain are NOT deliberate “aggression.” Nor are those dogs, cats or people innocently trying to relieve its misery intending “aggression.” They, all together are basically suffering together, and trying to be kind. Communication attempts – “please help me or at least let me die in peace” - of a desperately sick or suffering dog sadly can be misunderstood all-round by friends of all species….
Suggestions: a) Until a dog who was suffering can be treated to relieve its pain, generally it can be simple mercy to protect the poor dog from unfortunate attentions of its well-meaning friends. A separate living space and a chance to go potty without being interrupted can be welcomed.
b) Also, difficulties and confusion can happen after post-operations because of side-effects of medications. If the dog’s behavior became much different, such as disoriented, crying continually, unsteady on its feet, bumping into other dogs (bumping is ordinarily an unsociable adult-dog-act, but for a blind dog “bumping” is a vital “reversion to puppy” way of handling profoundly new situations.)
c) So far as humanly possible, the sick and recovering dog ought be given not too much more than its “fair-share” of attention, petting, consolation and so forth, if the other companion animals, children and some adults can from innocence lacking experience, can feel like they are being abandoned in favor for the dog-patient.
d) Some breeds day to day for exercise and fun engage in energetic contacts, wrestling, and mutual “teasing.” If one of the dogs is experiencing increasing misery, which reportedly can include split, broken of infected teeth and gums, hypothyroid, glaucoma, and other debilitating and-or painful conditions. When a older, bigger, or energetic dog is suffering miseries, it can quite often seem to a family misleadingly like the ill dog being victimized by “aggression” from its companions who are trying their best to encourage and take care of it and keep it moving.
Commonly if the ill dog is suffering severe pain, or a failed thyroid, etc, it can and often may at first present many “submissive” gestures such as rolling on its back, wetting, looking away, and so forth that it can hope will get the other dogs or dogs to leave it in peace. If that doesn’t succeed, the dog in misery according to “dog-justice” has a “dog-legal” need to try verbal tutoring by growls and if that isn’t enough then try physical tutoring such as a soft-bite of the delinquent’s rump to educate her/him in proper social behavior. Ordinarily the education will be short of bloodshed, but when a dog is extremely sick and in pain it might not be totally aware of events and use more conclusive nips than intended.
Know your dogs and what their normal styles of rough-play look and sound like. IF their behavior with each other drastically changes over time, a week or even months, serious thought should be given to a veterinarian visit first for the dog that seems to be in trouble, and if she seems OK, then bring in the other one.
Sometimes a toothache, abscess, skin infection, puncture wound from sticks while out playing, etc can make a previously casual playmate react negatively and sensitively to certain physical contacts or behavior such as jumping or eating.
e. Sometimes a single “baby aspirin” with its food can “flag” that a dog is in considerable pain, if just a tiny pill seems to let it feel a lot better. If that helps, please consider it a sign that help from a veterinarian is needed. Understandable mistakes can happen such as a Veterinarian treating for arthritis a dog in severe pain who hates to climb stairs, when actually the misery was finally cured by giving the miserable dog a good dental cleaning and pulling a few split teeth!
Alternatively, human suffering from low thyroid (hypothyroid) sometimes attempt to self-medicate with coffee or tea. If a dog who has begun acting like it has become depressed, or has lost interest in nearly everything, begins to chew on coffee ground, tea bags, or eating various kinds of mint plants - - you might be seeing a dog who is instinctively trying to self-medicate [We’ve seen such behavior.] Also, willow bark was the original natural source of aspirin - -
f. Training –thoughts: Please be especially careful against punishing a dog who appears to be “harassing” the depressed or listless, or blind dog. Punishment can convince the other dog that the blind or ill dog is the cause of the punishment, and aggravate or create hostility where there was none at the beginning, only the companion dog’s worry and anxiety. Relying exclusively on separation may be necessary for a while if they have already gotten on each other’s nerves. But they should be observed to see if the separation is causing either or both dogs increased anxiety because of the loss of companionship (even “nagging” companionship is often more wanted than loneliness!)
g. “Untraining!”: Accidentally training an ill and newly blind to enjoy “resource guarding” was fairly common. A newly blind dog or ill dog who has been taken everywhere and given lots of attention and petting can resent sharing again (thus doing resource guarding) with the rest of the family. Even the other people might get growled at if one of the family was been the main care-giver. Gradually increased insistence on sharing equal time and fun for everybody usually will get accepted after a while, and appreciated by those who get growled at.
A sometimes amusing accidental training to be a hypochondriac (sometimes of the sore paw sort) can happen. A family Basset hound developed severe hypochondria (pretend illness) after being neglected for a week while his young mistress was married and departed on a honeymoon. Fortunately the Basset in addition to a back-pain he decided to fake a thorn in his paw, so nearly a dozen people tried to find and remove the thorn. At last it became obvious that as the Basset went from one person to another, he lost track of which paw he was pretending had a thorn in it. He was instantly cured of his faked “affliction” when people began laughing at his antics.
Trying to rely exclusively on training to change the behaviors of dogs while they are ill and in severe pain, and change the behavior of their instinctively care-giving animal companions, is potentially a gate to sadness and guilt. Anxiety of the companion animals about their friend is common, but so also is accidental jealousy [and “resource guarding!”] of the ill dog who may seem (to the animal or child companions) to be getting way more than their share of the adult human attention, love and petting[?]. Very rare, but possible after recovery was a doggish discovery of the fun of hypochondria (pretending a sore paw, etc) to get attention.
*** *** ***
Especially newly Blind dogs can react to other dogs, and some people, in ways that can be mis-labeled “aggression.” Their companions also sometimes do things that get misunderstood as aggression. We identified from our experience and research reports several situations that seem to be easily misunderstood, which we try to describe simply. Our experience and the thoughts of others were offered with suggestions, in hopes of solutions good for the dogs and their people.
Dog becoming blind, with a painful conditions such as glaucoma or diabetes, etc , can become withdrawn (appear depressed) and tend to sleep a lot to escape from the pain and difficulty of doing things that used to be great fun. Sometimes a familiar companion dog, cat, or child or adult was observed trying to entertain the sick dog, distract it with touches and “pokes” or licks or even sad-growls, or bring it the favorite toys just to get the sick miserable dog to get up, move about and act more normally. [Ref. Internet reports of blind-dog owners and research reported by M. Bekoff in The Emotional Lives of Animals, 2007, new world library, Alexandra Semyonova, 2010, etc. More information is available on <http://deafdogsforever.weebly.com>]
A dog or human in severe pain, without any personally obvious hope of relief, if continually “messed with”- regardless of the other’s intentions – will occasionally eventually respond to renewed efforts by growling, perhaps showing teeth, and attempting thus to make absolutely clear that it prefers to suffer in silence without any additional misery unintentionally inflicted by others trying to cheer her up and get her moving again.
Attempts to communicate and ask for help to overcome their fears and needs while they are sick and in severe pain are NOT deliberate “aggression.” Nor are those dogs, cats or people innocently trying to relieve its misery intending “aggression.” They, all together are basically suffering together, and trying to be kind. Communication attempts – “please help me or at least let me die in peace” - of a desperately sick or suffering dog sadly can be misunderstood all-round by friends of all species….
Suggestions: a) Until a dog who was suffering can be treated to relieve its pain, generally it can be simple mercy to protect the poor dog from unfortunate attentions of its well-meaning friends. A separate living space and a chance to go potty without being interrupted can be welcomed.
b) Also, difficulties and confusion can happen after post-operations because of side-effects of medications. If the dog’s behavior became much different, such as disoriented, crying continually, unsteady on its feet, bumping into other dogs (bumping is ordinarily an unsociable adult-dog-act, but for a blind dog “bumping” is a vital “reversion to puppy” way of handling profoundly new situations.)
c) So far as humanly possible, the sick and recovering dog ought be given not too much more than its “fair-share” of attention, petting, consolation and so forth, if the other companion animals, children and some adults can from innocence lacking experience, can feel like they are being abandoned in favor for the dog-patient.
d) Some breeds day to day for exercise and fun engage in energetic contacts, wrestling, and mutual “teasing.” If one of the dogs is experiencing increasing misery, which reportedly can include split, broken of infected teeth and gums, hypothyroid, glaucoma, and other debilitating and-or painful conditions. When a older, bigger, or energetic dog is suffering miseries, it can quite often seem to a family misleadingly like the ill dog being victimized by “aggression” from its companions who are trying their best to encourage and take care of it and keep it moving.
Commonly if the ill dog is suffering severe pain, or a failed thyroid, etc, it can and often may at first present many “submissive” gestures such as rolling on its back, wetting, looking away, and so forth that it can hope will get the other dogs or dogs to leave it in peace. If that doesn’t succeed, the dog in misery according to “dog-justice” has a “dog-legal” need to try verbal tutoring by growls and if that isn’t enough then try physical tutoring such as a soft-bite of the delinquent’s rump to educate her/him in proper social behavior. Ordinarily the education will be short of bloodshed, but when a dog is extremely sick and in pain it might not be totally aware of events and use more conclusive nips than intended.
Know your dogs and what their normal styles of rough-play look and sound like. IF their behavior with each other drastically changes over time, a week or even months, serious thought should be given to a veterinarian visit first for the dog that seems to be in trouble, and if she seems OK, then bring in the other one.
Sometimes a toothache, abscess, skin infection, puncture wound from sticks while out playing, etc can make a previously casual playmate react negatively and sensitively to certain physical contacts or behavior such as jumping or eating.
e. Sometimes a single “baby aspirin” with its food can “flag” that a dog is in considerable pain, if just a tiny pill seems to let it feel a lot better. If that helps, please consider it a sign that help from a veterinarian is needed. Understandable mistakes can happen such as a Veterinarian treating for arthritis a dog in severe pain who hates to climb stairs, when actually the misery was finally cured by giving the miserable dog a good dental cleaning and pulling a few split teeth!
Alternatively, human suffering from low thyroid (hypothyroid) sometimes attempt to self-medicate with coffee or tea. If a dog who has begun acting like it has become depressed, or has lost interest in nearly everything, begins to chew on coffee ground, tea bags, or eating various kinds of mint plants - - you might be seeing a dog who is instinctively trying to self-medicate [We’ve seen such behavior.] Also, willow bark was the original natural source of aspirin - -
f. Training –thoughts: Please be especially careful against punishing a dog who appears to be “harassing” the depressed or listless, or blind dog. Punishment can convince the other dog that the blind or ill dog is the cause of the punishment, and aggravate or create hostility where there was none at the beginning, only the companion dog’s worry and anxiety. Relying exclusively on separation may be necessary for a while if they have already gotten on each other’s nerves. But they should be observed to see if the separation is causing either or both dogs increased anxiety because of the loss of companionship (even “nagging” companionship is often more wanted than loneliness!)
g. “Untraining!”: Accidentally training an ill and newly blind to enjoy “resource guarding” was fairly common. A newly blind dog or ill dog who has been taken everywhere and given lots of attention and petting can resent sharing again (thus doing resource guarding) with the rest of the family. Even the other people might get growled at if one of the family was been the main care-giver. Gradually increased insistence on sharing equal time and fun for everybody usually will get accepted after a while, and appreciated by those who get growled at.
A sometimes amusing accidental training to be a hypochondriac (sometimes of the sore paw sort) can happen. A family Basset hound developed severe hypochondria (pretend illness) after being neglected for a week while his young mistress was married and departed on a honeymoon. Fortunately the Basset in addition to a back-pain he decided to fake a thorn in his paw, so nearly a dozen people tried to find and remove the thorn. At last it became obvious that as the Basset went from one person to another, he lost track of which paw he was pretending had a thorn in it. He was instantly cured of his faked “affliction” when people began laughing at his antics.