My Pet World: Animal behavior experts share their study results
DENVER, CO. -- A nutritional supplement with green tea as a primary ingredient can help dogs with thunderstorm anxiety; a new tool to inspire peace among dueling cats; and what does it mean to be called a pit bull when you're a shelter dog? Investigators revealed their findings on these and other study topics during the 2014 Veterinary Behavior Symposium July 25.
The event, held in conjunction with the Convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association, drew veterinary behaviorists, veterinarians with a special interest in animal behavior, and veterinary technicians from around the nation.
Here are some of the highlights:
-- Thunderstorm anxiety is a challenge to treat because dogs generalize their fears, becoming afraid of not only the sounds of storms themselves (the rain and thunder), but also responding to the approach of a storm (likely due to changes in barometric pressure and humidity) and the sight of lightning. Dogs with profound thunderstorm anxiety are better at predicting an oncoming storm than the National Weather Service!
There's no doubt dogs with thunderstorm anxiety suffer, as do their owners, who feel awful for their panting, drooling, shaking pets, who may have accidents indoors. When storms occur overnight, dogs often keep their owners awake.
Much can be done to treat dogs' thunderstorm anxiety, including psycho pharmaceutical intervention, but many pet owners don't want to use drugs.
Dr. Amy Pike, of St. Louis, MO, enrolled 24 dogs reactive to storms in a study, using Anxitane to treat their fears. Interestingly, Anxitane's active ingredient is L-Theanine (found naturally in green tea). L-Theanine is a nutritional supplement with no known side effects. L-Theanine is known to modulate brain function, having a calming effect.
Indeed, dog owners in the study recorded a 40 percent reduction of general anxiety to the storms in their pets.
Anxitane is a tasty chewable, available through veterinarians.
-- Most Americans who own a cat actually have more than one. Often the pets get along, but aggression can trigger nasty catfights. Other times, aggression is so covert that even savvy pet owners don't notice. For example, one cat may block another from using the litter box simply by hanging out nearby.
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