Tara writes her Most Burning Question about her 2 year old cat, Panda, who was orphaned and bottle fed by Tara. Panda bites and run, pounces on the family, and even fly off tables and cling to their backs.  Panda also doesn’t much like to be touched and held, but always wants to be near the family.  Tara doesn’t understand the biting.

Actually Tara, Panda is behaving like many pets and other animals that have been hand raised by people without much interaction with their own species.  Kittens and other baby animals learn species-normal behaviors from their mom and littermates, and depending on the social organization of the species, from extended family as well.  In a litter where Panda would have had the chance to engage in rough and tumble play with her siblings, she would have quickly learned limits to here behavior.  If she played too rough, mom and siblings would have given her feedback - in cat language - that this wasn’t OK.  Panda would certainly have pounced on the backs of her littermates, who would have in turn either chased her, pounced back, and at some point probably said enough is enough.  Humans can’t mimic these behaviors very effectively. 

Panda might benefit from adding another VERY well socialized young (I’d say 8 months to a year) cat to the family.  While she’s well outside the sensitive period for socialization, it’s still not too late for Panda to learn some cat manners from another cat.  However, you’ll have to choose this cat extremely carefully.   Because Panda doesn’t have good social skills, another cat is going to have to be very confident and friendly to be able to tolerate Panda until she learns some manners and social skills.  

In the meantime, startling noises, (say a whistle) or puffs of compressed air may be helpful in stopping the biting.  However, you must carry these devices with you at all times as the unpleasant consequences must happen IMMEDIATELY, within seconds.  Never, ever get physical with Panda - scruffing her, hitting or slapping as this is likely to increase aggression.  Good luck!  Dr. Hetts

A Most Burning Question submission from Colleen is: 

What can I do to prevent my dog from destroying my house when she hears noises outside such as lawn mowers, weed whackers, hedge clippers, motorized scooters and other dogs barking? She is currently on medication that is not helping.

We can’t tell whether Colleen’s dog is frightened, excited or both. Nor do we know what Colleen does to try to manage her dog’s when she’s home.  Medication by itself  -just givine a pet a pill - rarely resolves behavior problems.    Whether its fear or excitement, this dog’s arousal level needs to come down in the face of these noises.  Colleen may be able to either make or buy recordings of similar sounds and work to desensitize her dog to the noises.  We have a downloadable recording of a telecourse we did on Using Counter Conditioning and Desensitization techniques effectively that will help Colleen implement these procedures. 

In the meantime, something needs to be done to mask or prevent the dog’s exposure to the noises as much as possible.  If the dog becomes highly aroused on a daily basis it will make behavior modification much more difficult.  That’s where medication can be helpful - not to “fix” the problem but to raise the dog’s threshold a bit so that behavior modification can proceed.  We don’t know what meds the dog is on, but Colleen should talk to her veterinarian to be sure an anti-anxiety drug is being used.  It’s often the case that several meds need to be tried before finding one that works best for the dog.  But again, medication alone is NOT the answer - it must be combined with behavior modification.    Dr. Hetts

A question submitted through our Most Burning Question link reads as follows:

“I have 4 dogs. My oldest female, who is an alpha dog, has started attacking, viciously, a docile dog that had been a playmate. The docile dog has had an odor of anal gland smell. I’m wondering if this smell has triggered the alpha’s dominant factor.”

We’ve officially entered thunderstorm season here in Colorado.  As I write this, the typical afternoon thunderstorm is moving in - skies are clouding up and the wind is blowing.  I’m sure many dogs in the Denver metro area are starting to shake, pant, or pace restlessly.  The more severely phobic dogs may be clawing at windows or doors or frantically trying to escape from any confinement, such as a crate. 

When a dog is this fearful, the worst thing you can do is crate him.  Many dog owners resort to this to prevent the dog from becoming destructive, but it only increases the dog’s panic, to the point that we’ve seen dogs break teeth in escape attempts.

There are no quick and easy solutions to these phobias.  Severely phobic dogs generally need medication to make it through thunderstorm season.  Veterinarians can prescribe a combination of drugs - several have the potential to actually decrease the anxiety, and others can lightly sedate the dog.  If your veterinarian isn’t familiar with this combination, ask him/her to seek input from a veterinary behaviorist on VIN (veterinary information network).

Behavior modification is more effective outside of thunderstorm season. It’s difficult to implement a successful program when the dog is subjected to daily, or frequent storms. 

it would be so much better to be able to prevent these problems, but the reasons why some dogs become thunderphobic and others do not aren’t well understood.  Dr. Elizabeth Shull, a veterinary behaviorist in Knoxville, TN, believes there is a genetic component to the problem.  Our case experience isuggests that many (but not all) dogs that develop this problem spend considerable time outside during the day when their owners are gone and have likely been subjected to many storms when left outside.  Being stuck outside in a drenching downpour with thunder cracking can’t be a pleasant experience and in my opinion contributes to the development of these phobias in some dogs.

I used to have an irish setter that was thunderphobic, and I would need to come home from work at lunchtime everyday to put her inside.  She would jump the fence if outside, but was able to tolerate the storms if inside.  We have a few articles about noise phobias on a page on our website.  For individualized help, schedule a telephone consultation with us.

We’ve had so many requests for the article that appeared in the May 2007 issue of Pet Behavior newsletter on misconceptions about ”dominance” in dogs, we decided to post the article here.  To avoid missing more interesting articles, subscribe to our newsletter today.  Just follow this link.  And here’s the ”Dominance Rant” article —-  Enjoy!

 ”Dominance Rant”  by Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., CAAB

Readers prepare thyselves as the article this month may be a rant.  Dan just returned from an appointment with a wonderfully dedicated owner whose dog is displaying symptoms of separation anxiety – becoming destructive and howling about 10 minutes after the owner leaves.  Previously he had worked with an “animal behaviorist” (who wasn’t) who told him the dog needed “structure” and that he needed to be a better “pack leader”. 

We just received a message in our inbox from a reader with an 8 month old kitten that her husband’s dog has been aggressive since they brought the cat into the home at 12 weeks.  They consulted an “animal behaviorist” (who wasn’t) who they said was “quite aggressive” and into the “dominance stuff”.  Their meeting apparently was not a pleasant experience. 

Every day we fight the dominance myths.  Separation anxiety has nothing to do with “dominance”.  Helping a dog accept a small kitten has nothing to do with being “dominant” over the dog. 

I’m sure there will be readers who swear that after implementing “dominance techniques” their dog’s behavior improved.  Being consistent about which behaviors will be rewarded and which ones won’t, and requiring your dog to display a desirable behavior, such as sitting quietly, before giving him what he wants can certainly result in a dog that is better behaved, but this has nothing to do with dominance. 

Intimidation techniques that are often part of the “dominance” mythology can also work – temporarily at least - with some dogs to suppress behavior.  That doesn’t mean intimidation is appropriate or the best approach to solving a problem.  It just means that the dog is more afraid of the person doing the intimidating than he is motivated to perform the unwanted behavior.

And intimidation comes at a cost, which includes the risk of being bitten, when the dog attempts to defend himself or decides he’s had enough of someone grabbing him and throwing him to the ground in a so-called “alpha roll”.  It’s quite easy for dogs that have been man-handled in this way to decide that anyone reaching toward them quickly is going to do the same thing so they bite to prevent it.  Then they get labeled as “dominant dogs” when in reality they are reacting defensively.

The myths get worse.  We talked to a family who was told by their trainer that they and their 12 year old son had to “hump” their dog in order to establish their dominance over him. So they spent half an hour with the trainer chasing the dog around the backyard trying to mount him.  Now the dog won’t come when called and doesn’t want to have much to do with them.  Is anyone surprised?

I would guess that more harm has come to dogs in the name of being dominant over them than has happened with purposeful acts of cruelty.  We’ll soon be creating educational products - including a series of Telcourses and Webcasts - to explain the dangers of “dominance”, but for now remember if you believe or have been told you have a “dominant or alpha dog” – you probably don’t.  And if you’ve been told your dog’s problems are a result of you not being a good pack leader – they aren’t.

A reader writes - “During the night, my cat likes to lie on his back and scratch the bottom of my bed or rattle the window shade. Both behaviors wake me up.  I take him to the basement bedroom and he stays there the rest of the night. Why can’t I get him to connect his behavior with being locked up?”

Cat owners sometimes don’t realize that cats are nocturnal animals, meaning that they like to be active at night. Nighttime play time can be even more pronounced when the cat is alone and sleeps most of the day. Trying to punish the behavior with a “time out” after the cat has already enjoyed having fun is unlikely to ever be effective.  Better solutions are to play more with your cat and help him release some of this excess energy.  Young, active cats love to chase around the ‘cat dancer’ type toys such as a feather on the end of a flexible rod. For additional environmental enrichment ideas see our Creating a Cat Friendly Environment audio CD.  Placing pieces of plastic carpet protectors - pointy side up  - underneath the bed, and where your cat stands to jump at the window shade will make standing/lying on those areas uncomfortable.  You can even use sections cut from an office chair mat for more effect - those points are stiff! Even though it’s annoying to be awakened, you have to give your cat credit for his creativity - he must add a lot of laughter and fun to your life.  Enjoy him and give him opportunities to express his creative personality in less annoying ways! — Dr. Hetts

Hello everyone!  This is Dr. Suzanne Hetts welcoming you to the Behavior Corner, the Blog of Animal Behavior Associates Inc. and my husband, Dr. Dan Estep, and me, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists. ABA’s Mission Statement is to be the most trusted global provider of scientific education about pet behavior and to improve the lives of people and pets and preserve the bonds between them.
We’ll be posting at least weekly on timely topics about pet behavior. If you haven’t yet subscribed to our free online newsletter “Pet Behavior One Piece at a Time” you’ll find the subscription box at the bottom of the blog.  Our monthly newsletter contains helpful articles about dog and cat behavior that you can use to improve your relationships with your pets.

Comments to our blog postings are welcome, but they will be moderated.  We encourage discussion but personal, disparaging comments will not be allowed.  You can also ask Your Most Burning Question about your pet’s behavior at our website.  We’ll often use these as the basis for both our blog postings and newsletter articles. 

It’s a beautiful, but cool day here in Colorado so I’m taking this opportunity to walk my dogs.  Look for my next posts about a cat that is keeping her owner up at night and a Brittany Spaniel puppy that treats the 3 and 5 year old children as playmates.