(H)ealth

In early July my well housebroken miniature poodle started having accidents in the house. Not only that but some of those accidents happened when she was fast asleep!  This was very unusual behavior, and I was concerned.  My first action was to take her to the vet.  Her blood work and urine analysis turned up normal and together the vet and I determined that the culprit was a few things.  

• You may have noticed, I said this started in early July.  We had a very active thunderstorm season this year and when there weren’t storms there were fireworks.  Anxiety was definitely a part of the picture.
• But, health and development were still a part of the picture.  Piper is 14 soon to be 15, and while her liver and kidney are functioning great, her bladder is still showing the signs of age. Hormones and a weak sphincter muscle are part of the cause.

Both of the factors contributed to Piper’s issue. As the thunderstorm/ fireworks of July decreased so did Piper’s housebreaking problems.  Knowing that there is a medical component helps me know that I need to prepare for the future.  In addition there are medicines and herbals that can help.  For now, a few changes to our daily routine (and the end of thunderstorm season) are enough. 

Lots of behavior problems have a medical component.  Remember, dogs can’t tell us in words when things are wrong.  Instead, it shows up in anxiety and aggression.  Research indicates that between 30 and 80% of aggression cases have a hidden pain component!  And allergies are known to contribute to unexplained anxiety.  Sometimes a dog refuses to sit not because of a training problem but because of hip pain (or in the case of my 7 month old puppy who just went into her first heat, because things feel weird and different!) When unexpected behavior shows up it’s often important to consider the health and the developmental stage of the dog.  It’s not all in the training.