It’s well known that post-traumatic stress is one of the major problems facing many veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But now researchers are finding that a large number of military dogs may be grappling with the condition as well.
By some estimates, more than 5 percent of the roughly 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are coming down with what researchers call canine PTSD, reports James Dao in The New York Times. full article
Not surprising considering what these dogs and their handlers experience. Even on the domestic front this can manifest: We had a lab mix years ago who was noise tolerant (even fireworks did not bother her) and perfectly content staying in the utility room while we were away. One day, we came home to find the linoleum taken up down to the underlayment, and deep scratches in the door...after that, we had to secure her in her crate whenever we left. What precipitated this change in her behavior? We learned the neighbors had concrete cutters taking up a section of their driveway as part of a remodel. We presumed that listening to the earsplitting concrete saw, with no chance of escape, caused her anxiety and drove her attempt to claw her way out of the house.
Ten years ago, my two dogs developed PTSD after weeks of overhead noise from a re-roofing project. Three things that helped them thereafter were having lamb in their diet, having Missing Link supplement daily, and taking a magnesium supplement before anticipated bouts of noise, like the Fourth of July. It's my belief that it was exposure to noise that they had no choice about that caused their stress and behavior changes. In the wild, canines can just boogie when something's too loud or threatening. Also, in the wild they eat differently -their nutrition includes a broader range of substances, some of which - minerals from gnawing bones, etc. - may help relieve stress.
This isn't new. Back in the 1950s my parents were warned about the perils of selecting a dog from the pound "because you won't know its history." The dog I grew up with was gentle and intelligent, but had one important quirk: he would attack anyone who carried a rake, hoe, shovel or mop anywhere near him. Our best guess, supported by the veterinarian, was that probably the dog's previous owner had beaten him with a stick, and he was determined to make sure that never happened again. Isn't that classic PTSD?
My dog is a Katrina survivor. This extremely athletic, lab mix must be medicated and crated in a closet whenever it threatens to rain. He is so terrified that he obviously dissociates.
The researchers need to become less biased so that they can prove what has already been revealed.
Why should anyone assume that animals do not suffer from PTSD after undergoing horrific experiences? Animals, like people, have memories/feelings and always have. When America was celebrating it's bicentennial back in 1976, I saw a news story on TV about an Irish Setter that had been so traumatized by deafening fireworks that it had to be put down. While my family went to see a bicentennial fireworks display, I stayed home and turned on as many fans as I could to drown out the sound of fireworks so it would not upset the two dogs we had at that time.
This is no surprise. My dogs go crazy when there are fireworks and loud noises. I can't imagine them trying to perform specialized tasks with bombs going off around them. Poor dogs.
This story is heartbreaking. An unspoken solution is to have the dog euthanized Please, that sets a poor precedent for veterans given the GOP's desire to cut spending they may just start looking at having veterans who suffer from PTSD euthanized as a means of cutting expenses.
We need to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq now.
If trained dogs and trained soldiers suffer PTSD, imagine what it must be like for children growing up in war zones. I wish humans were intelligent enough to figure out a way to end war.
The essays seem intuitivly correct. Dogs are mammals and share a great deal in common with people. (Similar pattern of genes about 99?.)
What is significantly different (among other aspects) is their perceptual equipment and its implications and how various situations are experienced by them in their unique "dimension(s)."
Having had for cats in my life, I learned not to take them to the vet, only if there was an emergency. Why? They were house creatures and they "freaked out" whenever I took them outside -- especially to the vet where there were other (to them) strange animals in the waiting room.
Note: "freaking out" sounds to me similar to PTSD or extreme anxiety. Yes?
But, one must be carefull of anthropromorism.
Solution: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So bring the dogs along with the military back home.
