Dog with ptsd

[Gamera3000]

Sorry if this seems trivial. I have PTSD and I have noticed that one of my dogs has it too. My husband and I were separated for a few years and during that time he was seeing a girl who got a puppy. I did see the puppy around sometimes and she was normal then. Normal weight, normal personality. They broke up and the girl moved away with the puppy. A few months went by and she called my now-husband and asked him to take the puppy because her family was mistreating the dog. The story was that they were angry with her a lot and letting her run off. I personally suspect that they were also hitting this dog.

When my now-husband brought the dog back, she had a different personality. She was very thin, skittish, especially around men, didn't like to be touched. Years have now passed. I am now the primary caregiver for the dog. She is skittish around my toddler and husband, terrified if I take her to be groomed or to the vet. She is fine around the house with me if I respect her boundaries and let her do what she wants, which is a lot of wandering around the fenced yard and house, and letting her choose when she wants to be petted. She likes to watch activity, not so much get involved. She likes to play by herself, is frightened if I try to play with her.

I guess I should mention that she is a collie- one of the barking, herding-type dogs.

Has anyone had an animal where you see PTSD symptoms in them? Does medication help? If so, what? Should I try to push her boundaries to get her more used to things like grooming and playing or try to respect what she is comfortable with?

 

[ladee]

I don't know if my dog would qualitfy for PTSD, but she is a rescue that was neglected... she is very smart and it has taken time and patience to teach her things are ok... when I first got her, she was starving... I let her eat all she wanted the first week... then started cutting her back a little at a time... the only time she snapped at me was when I went to pick up her bowl. I let her know tha was not OK... by simply saying NO, in a firm voice.... she had come a long way.... but some times if have the time.... just set where she can see you, on the floor, not too close, not too far away.... and have some kibble... just talk with her, very soothing.... she may eventually go to you.... it just takes time... If she seems happy otherwise and you are ok with the way she is... let her be.. if you feel she would have a better quality of life by trying to gain her trust, take your time and do that... you can speak to your vet about this also.... wish healing for your furbaby, and there is nothing trivial about our pets.... gentle hugs to you both.

 

[Deadman]

Yes. Dogs can develop PTSD. For a while I worked with canine humanitarian demining teams. It was something they were very cognizant of especially if the dog or his handler were injured.

I don't know what meds they may have used but your vet should be able to help with that.

You could also look into getting a Thundershirt to try.

 

[Nessa7]

We went to training classes with our rescue dog, and it helped a ton. We found someone that has their own business doing it and that was so much better than going to a pet store. There was a lot more space, and we got more for the money. Even though she didn't learn everything, there was a huge difference in her confidence levels.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

PTSD isn't recongized in dogs but animals do become traumatized. In my time in animal rescue I have worked with many that exibited symptoms of trauma.

There are many things you can do. Some fears dogs need to get over themselves. Like my service dog in training (an adult dog) had a huge fear of feet so we worked a lot with feet (I am sure he was kicked), he had a huge fear of an upper hand fake throw of a toy (hit) so we worked with that. Terror of the word "brace" so I changed it to "steady". A fear of stairs and those I was like "nope, come on, lets go" and it took about 5 times and he is now ok with going up them. A fear of fireworks and we got over that by asking him to "settle" through them, "leave it" if needed and didn't allow him to seek comfort from me (comforting a dog during fears reinforces the fear) and he became ok with that and bad thunderstorms after one holiday with a lot of fireworks. I also started to play a sound track on youtube of fireworks ok a bluetooth speaker and started real low and reinforced his settle and turned it up slowly. Did that before the holiday.

ETA: Also confidence building exercises goes a long way. "Paws up" which is front paws in something. We started small and now prwtty tall and the stairs as well was confidemce boosting. It seems high places boost confidence. Teach reboind or a small agility course.

Maybe have men offer the dog bits of chicken? It is much easier if they are on the floor and let the dog come to them. Same with youself.

Right now I am asking him to stay in heel and open the door and let it hit his backend (fear of things behind him or touching bim from behind) and after he does a small but fearful he gets reinforced for doing good and each time we go further and further.

The best dog trainers I habe found is Leerburg and Michael Ellis. They are balanced trainers but have an entire DVD on the power of training dogs with food. They have MANY free youtube videos. And then fully positive I would say, on youtube, Kikopup. Another positive only is Zak George though I have my favs. Donna Hill is another all positive service dog trainer but she jas a lot of reg dog training.

Youtube search "how to get a dog over _____ [fear]" and I am.sure you will find many ways. Dogs need structure and boundries. My dog fell.right into it and we have worked through his fears but I don't think I could of without the structure and boundries.

Just in my experience.

 

[joeylittle]

Has anyone had an animal where you see PTSD symptoms in them?

It's definitely a thing.

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/05/animals-can-get-ptsd-too.html

Military's dogs of war also suffer post-traumatic stress disorder

 

[Friday]

Has anyone had an animal where you see PTSD symptoms in them? Does medication help? If so, what? Should I try to push her boundaries to get her more used to things like grooming and playing or try to respect what she is comfortable with?

I used to work with seriously neurotic, broken, unfit for racing (or riding) horses. Loved those crazy beasts! :D They were the tops. No meds for these guys (but dogs are often given antidepressants), just tons and tons and tons of work. Establishing trust, building trust, teaching them how to be horses, & how to be part of a team, again. Most of them took a couple years to fully rehab, (although none of mine were going back to racing, some of the less broken ones my colleagues worked with could and did. I just had a thing for the superfreaks, so the really violent hard headed cases came my way. Meanwhile others in the barn had the knack with other types of f*cked up individuals), some never fully lost their lunatic streak, but could bond with individual people or animals, & be fairly normal in limited situations or environments. Others made a full recovery except for a few quirks. Others were better on the other side than they were when they were racing. Something just clicked for them in the rehab process, or they got something out of their new lives that had been missing in their old lives, even before they went sideways. Still thoroughbreds (mostly, a few Arabians), so high strung & flighty as the general order of things were there to stay. But with a whole helluva lot of work? They came around.

It's one of the things that keeps me going with my own Trauma stuff. If a horse can do it? So can I.

 

[Fadeaway]

Personally, I would not feel comfortable labeling an animal with PTSD. Emotional, behavioral, trust issues after trauma? Absolutely. We can observes symptoms of emotional distress in animals but as they can't communicate their thoughts to us, I have difficulty with saying it is PTSD. That is just my personal opinion and not a set in stone opinion either.

 

[Cannottakethis]

My cat definitely has ptsd. I don't need a pEt shrink to diagnose him but when I told my vet what he'd been through, she agreed with me. My exhusband was extremely abusive to him, probably more than I know. He was a different cat when we left. He is much better now in a stable home for the last 5 years but it left a lasting effect on both of us.

 

[Gamera3000]

My cat definitely has ptsd. I don't need a pEt shrink to diagnose him but when I told my vet what he'd b...

Do you challenge your cat in areas where he has trouble or back off and let him do what he is comfortable with? I am never sure what to do for myself so it's doubly hard to guess for my dog.

 

[claroscuro]

My sister rescued a Persian kitten, think she was about 3 months old when my sister got her. That cat showed signs of trauma for the rest of her life: skulking about, always watchful, skittish, shying away from contact. BUT, she did eventually learn to trust some of the humans around her, and to them, she was very affectionate. Having her come snuggle up with me on the couch when I was visiting was one of the most gratifying experiences I have ever had.

I'm not sure pushing a traumatized animal's boundaries are a good way to go. I'd think showing them they're safe, and can trust you would be most important, and since it's a dog, giving her firm leadership without placing her in situations that will cause stress. Feeding is a good way to show them you'll take care of them, and in building trust. You also get supplements that can calm anxiety in animals, this can be beneficial when working on getting her more comfortable with your husband.

As the dog is traumatized, please be careful with her around your toddler. They don't always realize how hard they grab and pull, and this can make the dog feel threatened and lash out.

Also, Collies have a strong instinct to herd (as you said yourself), and they tend to see kids as sheep to herd. Should your dog ever go into herding mode, commanding her to stop is unlikely to help, as she will be acting on instinct, and will likely be oblivious of any obedience training she may have had. It will help greatly to teach your child not to respond to herding attempts by running away, but rather standing still.

 

[Cannottakethis]

Do you challenge your cat in areas where he has trouble or back off and let him do what he is comfortable with? I am never sure what to do for myself so it's doubly hard to guess for my dog.

I did challenge him in certain things and in others left it up to him. He really didn't like men after that incident, when he met my now husband he was a little reserved. 5 years later he WORSHIPS my husband. Sits next to him, begs for food from him, talks to him. But, he sleeps next to my head at night lol.
He was social till the abuse, then he was shy, and he's now very friendly. He enjoys hanging out with adults. Kids not so much.