This month I want to explore two common beliefs about health that particularly complicate the resolution of behavioral-bond problems: the beliefs that animals with such problems are healthy, and, two, that these problems are like medical ones which, when treated with drugs, are cured in a relatively short time. Of all the issues that those seeking to resolve serious behavioral-bond problems must address before they can make the necessary consistent, meaningful changes, these two often create the biggest stumbling blocks.
Perceiving an animal with serious behavioral-bond problems as healthy is an illusion (delusion?) more often attributed to animal-care professionals, probably a carryover from similar views once common among human healthcare professionals. Mary Smith requests euthanasia for her dog because he has bitten several people, and the naive veterinarian replies, “I don’t kill healthy animals.” If these veterinarians and other animal-care professionals who ascribe to this view understood the physiology that commonly underlies negatively aggressive behavior, they would never consider those animals healthy. However because they don’t, they rely strictly on what they can actually see: an animal with no visible symptoms of anything they would consider illness. According to that limited definition then, those lacking these symptoms are healthy.
For as frustrating as this restricted professional view can be to those who seek to terminate their relationship with a dangerous animal, related views also may afflict owners willing to treat serious behavioral-bond problems. For example, suppose Mary decides to treat rather than euthanize her aggressive dog, Ben. She may be willing to make the comprehensive changes necessary to relieve the stress that fuels Ben’s biting, but if her family and friends see no need to do this because Ben is fine around them, she faces an uphill battle. Not only won’t they properly relate to Ben because they consider him normal/healthy, the inconsistency this creates when added to Mary’s proper response will make the dog’s problems worse rather than better. At this point, the situation very quickly can go down the proverbial toilet as Mary pleads with, then rages at, these folks to get with the program–literally!–and they try to convince her that the program is turning a once normal dog (to them) into a monster.
The second belief, that behavioral-bond problems should respond in a relative short period of time like medical problems treated with drugs do, is actually a medical as well as behavioral fallacy. We live in an age in which the mass media is filled with ads for drugs or medical procedures that imply practically instant cures. John Doe drags around with horrible symptoms, takes a certain drug, and becomes a new man, all within the span of a 30-second commercial. Granted, if you read the fine print, you discover all kinds of restrictions and sometimes nasty side-effects that might cause you to think twice about taking that particular approach, but fewer and fewer of us have the time, knowledge, or eyesight to plow through that jargon-laden material. Barring that, the primary message from the medical media community is that, one way or another, they can make us healthy in a relatively short period of time.
Simultaneously, rather than dismissing those with “mental problems” as healthy, these same forces have redefined behavioral problems in accord with that same logic. To them, a behavioral problem is like a disease: all that’s needed is the right drug to cure it.
Naturally, people struggling to resolve serious animal behavioral-bond problems would want to take such simplistic representations to heart. Who wouldn’t? However, relative to medical analogies, some behavioral-bond problems are more akin to those infections that no longer respond to antibiotics because the microorganisms causing them have been become resistant, often as a result of the inconsistent use of those drugs. Sound familiar? Animals with other behavioral-bond problems are more like those who have suffered traumatic injuries requiring extensive care up-front, and then daily rehabilitation and other accommodations that may last months to restore them back to health. In still other cases, owner limitations and lifestyle may preclude optimum treatment, resulting in animals similar to those with chronic medical problems; although not well-behaved (i.e. cured or healthy) in the traditional sense, it may be the best that can be achieved under these particular circumstances. And, finally, we have those serious behavioral-bond problems that function more like cancers. Some are benign and others are malignant; all require immediate, often extensive, and always committed attention over a long period of time, often with no guarantees.
I doubt I said anything surprising here and yet, when people are faced with such problems, the idea that they’re going to need to make major changes in their lives often hits them like a ton of bricks. Some go into denial, thinking they can implement the changes 10 minutes a day or on weekends when they have more time. Others who have put up with the problem, sometimes for months and even years, decide they want the problem solved now, and seek some miracle drug or device that will do all the work for them. Everything has to get fixed before the wedding/ the vacation/ the baby arrives next month. We all know these expectations are unrealistic and yet..
So the message is that animals with behavioral problems aren’t healthy; nor are their relationships with their owners. Like those with contagious diseases, some need to be kept away from other animals so they don’t pass on their bad habits, while others need this same consideration so they don’t pick up more. Like those with injuries, some need to be confined temporarily while the behavioral-bond healing takes place because they can’t handle the stimulus of extended or novel environments. And like all those suffering from serious illnesses or injuries, they need our commitment and confident assurance, not our pity.
No one can make our pets well-behaved any more than they can make our pets healthy. But by gladly assuming the on-going responsibility for ensuring our pets’ behavior and health ourselves, we can prevent problems and successfully resolve them should they occur. Better yet, the willingness to do so simultaneously serves as the keystone of a solid bond. Three benefits in one. A great bargain at any price.
This month I want to explore two common beliefs about health that particularly complicate the resolution of behavioral-bond problems: the beliefs that animals with such problems are healthy, and, two, that these problems are like medical ones which, when treated with drugs, are cured in a relatively short time. Of all the issues that those seeking to resolve serious behavioral-bond problems must address before they can make the necessary consistent, meaningful changes, these two often create the biggest stumbling blocks.
Perceiving an animal with serious behavioral-bond problems as healthy is an illusion (delusion?) more often attributed to animal-care professionals, probably a carryover from similar views once common among human healthcare professionals. Mary Smith requests euthanasia for her dog because he has bitten several people, and the naive veterinarian replies, “I don’t kill healthy animals.” If these veterinarians and other animal-care professionals who ascribe to this view understood the physiology that commonly underlies negatively aggressive behavior, they would never consider those animals healthy. However because they don’t, they rely strictly on what they can actually see: an animal with no visible symptoms of anything they would consider illness. According to that limited definition then, those lacking these symptoms are healthy.
For as frustrating as this restricted professional view can be to those who seek to terminate their relationship with a dangerous animal, related views also may afflict owners willing to treat serious behavioral-bond problems. For example, suppose Mary decides to treat rather than euthanize her aggressive dog, Ben. She may be willing to make the comprehensive changes necessary to relieve the stress that fuels Ben’s biting, but if her family and friends see no need to do this because Ben is fine around them, she faces an uphill battle. Not only won’t they properly relate to Ben because they consider him normal/healthy, the inconsistency this creates when added to Mary’s proper response will make the dog’s problems worse rather than better. At this point, the situation very quickly can go down the proverbial toilet as Mary pleads with, then rages at, these folks to get with the program–literally!–and they try to convince her that the program is turning a once normal dog (to them) into a monster.
The second belief, that behavioral-bond problems should respond in a relative short period of time like medical problems treated with drugs do, is actually a medical as well as behavioral fallacy. We live in an age in which the mass media is filled with ads for drugs or medical procedures that imply practically instant cures. John Doe drags around with horrible symptoms, takes a certain drug, and becomes a new man, all within the span of a 30-second commercial. Granted, if you read the fine print, you discover all kinds of restrictions and sometimes nasty side-effects that might cause you to think twice about taking that particular approach, but fewer and fewer of us have the time, knowledge, or eyesight to plow through that jargon-laden material. Barring that, the primary message from the medical media community is that, one way or another, they can make us healthy in a relatively short period of time.
Simultaneously, rather than dismissing those with “mental problems” as healthy, these same forces have redefined behavioral problems in accord with that same logic. To them, a behavioral problem is like a disease: all that’s needed is the right drug to cure it.
Naturally, people struggling to resolve serious animal behavioral-bond problems would want to take such simplistic representations to heart. Who wouldn’t? However, relative to medical analogies, some behavioral-bond problems are more akin to those infections that no longer respond to antibiotics because the microorganisms causing them have been become resistant, often as a result of the inconsistent use of those drugs. Sound familiar? Animals with other behavioral-bond problems are more like those who have suffered traumatic injuries requiring extensive care up-front, and then daily rehabilitation and other accommodations that may last months to restore them back to health. In still other cases, owner limitations and lifestyle may preclude optimum treatment, resulting in animals similar to those with chronic medical problems; although not well-behaved (i.e. cured or healthy) in the traditional sense, it may be the best that can be achieved under these particular circumstances. And, finally, we have those serious behavioral-bond problems that function more like cancers. Some are benign and others are malignant; all require immediate, often extensive, and always committed attention over a long period of time, often with no guarantees.
I doubt I said anything surprising here and yet, when people are faced with such problems, the idea that they’re going to need to make major changes in their lives often hits them like a ton of bricks. Some go into denial, thinking they can implement the changes 10 minutes a day or on weekends when they have more time. Others who have put up with the problem, sometimes for months and even years, decide they want the problem solved now, and seek some miracle drug or device that will do all the work for them. Everything has to get fixed before the wedding/ the vacation/ the baby arrives next month. We all know these expectations are unrealistic and yet..
So the message is that animals with behavioral problems aren’t healthy; nor are their relationships with their owners. Like those with contagious diseases, some need to be kept away from other animals so they don’t pass on their bad habits, while others need this same consideration so they don’t pick up more. Like those with injuries, some need to be confined temporarily while the behavioral-bond healing takes place because they can’t handle the stimulus of extended or novel environments. And like all those suffering from serious illnesses or injuries, they need our commitment and confident assurance, not our pity.
No one can make our pets well-behaved any more than they can make our pets healthy. But by gladly assuming the on-going responsibility for ensuring our pets’ behavior and health ourselves, we can prevent problems and successfully resolve them should they occur. Better yet, the willingness to do so simultaneously serves as the keystone of a solid bond. Three benefits in one. A great bargain at any price.