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posted by martyb on Thursday March 19 2020, @08:35AM   Printer-friendly
from the dogged-determination dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Separation anxiety in dogs should be seen as a symptom of underlying frustrations rather than a diagnosis, and understanding these root causes could be key to effective treatment, new research by animal behaviour specialists suggests.

Many pet owners experience problem behaviour in their dogs when leaving them at home. These behaviours can include destruction of household items, urinating or defecating indoors, or excessive barking and are often labelled as 'separation anxiety' as the dog gets anxious at the prospect of being left alone.

Treatment plans tend to focus on helping the dog overcome the 'pain of separation', but the current work indicates dealing with various forms of frustration is a much more important element of the problem.

[...] The team, led by scientists from the University of Lincoln, UK, identified four main forms of distress for dogs when separated from their owners. These include a focus on getting away from something in the house, wanting to get to something outside, reacting to external noises or events, and a form of boredom.

[...] Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln, said: "Until now, there has been a tendency to think of this as a single condition, ie "My dog has got separation anxiety" and then to focus on the dependence on the owner and how to make them more independent. However, this new work indicates that having separation anxiety is more like saying "My dog's got an upset tummy" which could have many causes and take many forms, and so both assessment and treatment need to be much more focussed.

Journal Reference:

Luciana S. de Assis, Raquel Matos, Thomas W. Pike, Oliver H. P. Burman, Daniel S. Mills. Developing Diagnostic Frameworks in Veterinary Behavioral Medicine: Disambiguating Separation Related Problems in Dogs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020; 6 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00499


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by barbara hudson on Thursday March 19 2020, @03:17PM (1 child)

    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Thursday March 19 2020, @03:17PM (#973190) Journal

    More and more psychiatrists and psychologists are joining the anti-psychiatry movement, which is and isn't what it sounds like. They reject the medicalization of normal emotional reactions to stressors. One example is the removal of the grief exception that was made in the DSM5 - until then. it was considered normal to be depressed for up to a year at the loss of a close one, such as a child. Not now - you're depressed because your kid just died, you're considered mentally ill and here's a bunch of pills that probably won't work, have terrible side effects, including doubling your risk of suicide, but hey, we want you on the treatment treadmill.

    Back in 2017 the UN recommended we stop medicalizing social and economic problems, and treat the social and economic problems that cause emotional stress. Lost your job? You don't need a pill because you're depressed over it, you need support to help you find a new job and financial aid in the meantime.

    But that would mean more social workers, and more help retraining people, and that costs more money than forcing people out of the job market by labelling them depressed. It also takes them longer and doesn't make money for drug companies and lobbyists.

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2020, @04:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2020, @04:27PM (#973230)

    Never met a psychologist who didn't need one.