Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  Prevalence in, and prevention of, separation distress in dogs following longterm medical isolation?

    Posted 12-03-2021 12:44 PM
    Hi all. I'm wondering what our community knows about the impact of longterm medical isolation on behavior--particularly relating to separation anxiety.

    At the shelter where I work (on the behavior & training team), we have a young adolescent dog (8 months old at intake) who was picked up as a stray, tested positive for ringworm, and according to our vet protocols, had to go into medical isolation. We've had a tough time finding a foster placement for him because of ringworm's high transmissibility. So he has been in iso for more than 5 weeks now. He does have regular daily interactions (walks, play, etc.) with a few staff members, but most of the time he is alone.

    He was adopted on Monday 11/29 but returned 48 hours later due to behavior consistent with severe separation distress. According to the adopter, the dog panicked immediately whenever the adopter closed the bathroom door or the front door. He scraped so frantically that the adopter worried the dog would injure himself, and within a few moments damaged the wood on both doors. The adopter also reported that the dog had to be in physical contact with him at all times. He said he literally could not leave the dog alone for a minute, never mind being able to leave his apartment. We've started the dog on situational and daily anxiety meds and are seeking a foster who's willing to work with the issues reported by the adopter.

    So I'm wondering whether colleagues have seen much of this. Do you feel that long term iso can be a significant factor in separation anxiety that subsequently shows up in a home environment? Do you know of any research--published or ongoing--on the subject? Do other shelters have experience treating ringworm with less isolation? How do you recruit fosters for dogs with ringworm given its contagiousness? Thanks for any ideas & information.
    #Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment

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    Karen Baragona, CPDT-KA
    Training & Behavior Associate
    Animal Welfare League of Arlington (VA)
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  • 2.  RE: Prevalence in, and prevention of, separation distress in dogs following longterm medical isolation?

    Posted 12-04-2021 11:50 AM
    Hello Karen,

    There have been some evidence of shelter dogs being at increased risk for separation anxiety.  There was a study published in 2014 that looked at the effects of preadoption counseling on the prevention of separation anxiety in newly adopted shelter dogs (Herron et al).  They found that brief preadoption counseling (description of SA clinical signs, food toy at departure, safe haven, exercise, downplay departure and arrivals, no punishment, and crate training instructions)  did not prevent the occurrence of separation anxiety in dogs.  Neither did other dogs in the home. 

    Separation Related Problems can be complex and multifactorial.  Some dogs have medical conditions, some confinement anxiety, some noise phobias/storm phobias that contribute or cause the behavior. In other words, these dogs often need a medical work-up with the veterinarian and often help from a veterinary behaviorist. 

    To answer your questions, I do feel that long term confinement can contribute to separation related behaviors with confinement anxiety and not primarily separation anxiety being the most likely consequence. Obtaining behavioral help for these dogs is important as many need pharmaceuticals to reduce the anxiety or "panic" component of the behavior. Identifying the underlying cause will be needed before behavior modification can be considered.  

    In regards to your ringworm question, I will let someone else answer that question. I am pretty sure that American Pets Alive has a unique way in which they manage their ringworm cases. They adopt them out rather than isolate them.

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    Christine D. Calder DVM
    Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
    Calder Veterinary Behavior Services
    www.caldervbs.com

    Veterinary Behaviorist
    Behavior Specialist, MPF
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  • 3.  RE: Prevalence in, and prevention of, separation distress in dogs following longterm medical isolation?

    Posted 12-05-2021 03:38 PM
    Dr. Calder, thanks so much for your response. I do wonder about confinement anxiety with this particular dog. The adopter lived in a studio apartment and couldn't really experiment with giving the dog access to a larger space. How do you distinguish between confinement anxiety and separation anxiety when taking a history? When dogs are returned for presumptive separation anxiety, we do try to get the adopter to describe the behaviors in very objective terms, and it would be great to know more about which symptoms tend to go with which syndrome.

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    Karen Baragona, CPDT-KA
    Training & Behavior Associate
    Animal Welfare League of Arlington (VA)
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  • 4.  RE: Prevalence in, and prevention of, separation distress in dogs following longterm medical isolation?

    Posted 12-06-2021 06:33 AM
    Hi Karen,

    This: "How do you distinguish between confinement anxiety and separation anxiety when taking a history? " would be hard to do without video evidence.  With these dogs it is often best to get them into foster so that you can better assess their behavior in a home environment. 



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    Christine D. Calder DVM
    Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
    Calder Veterinary Behavior Services
    www.caldervbs.com

    Veterinary Behaviorist
    Behavior Specialist, MPF
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  • 5.  RE: Prevalence in, and prevention of, separation distress in dogs following longterm medical isolation?

    Posted 12-05-2021 10:20 PM

    Hi Karen.

    Perhaps reconsidering the shelter's approach to animals ringworm would  avert the animals' suffering from being isolated and prevent  the resulting anxiety problem altogether.  I think it's important to remember that though ringworm is gross, it's basically just a rash, easily and cheaply treated (the name "ringworm" so let's call it tinea).  Maybe your team could put tinea's gross factor aside (not as easy as it sounds!) and reexamine whether they think it's worth subjecting social animals to isolation over a rash.  


    We're in South Texas, the ideal climate for tinea, so the dogs and cats we take in very often come with it.  We treat them with one of the topicals if it's not severe and with oral terbinafine if it is severe. We don't let them come in physical contact with other animals but we do not isolate them.  They stay with us until the rash has cleared which can be a few days to a couple weeks for the most severe.  I've been infected a few times myself from handling dogs and cats (I don't let tinea stop me from showing them affection).  My dermatologist tells me to use the over-the-counter topicals on my rash and encourages me to continue to work in the shelter.

    Good luck in addressing this problem at your shelter and thank you for the good work you do for the animals.

    Best,
    Pamela Buck
    Wilson County No-Kill Animal Shelter
    Wilson County Cats
    Floresville, TX




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    Pamela Buck
    Wilson County Cats
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