"Untreated
behavior problems are the largest preventable cause of death in companion dogs
in this country," Steve Applebaum, president and CEO of Animal Behavior
& Training Associates and president of Animal Behavior College in Northridge,
Calif., said.
But what can be done to break a retriever of his destructive chewing habit?
Will a recently adopted puppy ever overcome his separation anxiety? What,
if anything, will make a cat stop scratching the furniture? Whether they
like or not, Applebaum said, "Vets are in a position where they are going
to be asked these questions."
"Veterinarians, we have found, are more involved with behavior modification,"
said Laura Sutherland, senior brand manager with Premier Pet Products in Richmond,
Va. "Owners are asking more questions," she reported, and, "Interactive
toys, more and more, are becoming part of the veterinarian's arsenal."
Most experts agree that a lack of physical and mental stimulation directly contributes
to behavior problems. By supplying the appropriate stimulus, interactive toys
can help redirect potentially destructive behavior into acceptable activity.
"We think we're doing our pets a favor by giving them a bowl of food,"
Rolan Tripp, DVM, founder of the Animal Behavior Network in La Mirada, Calif.,
and consultant for PetMate.com in Arlington, Texas, said, "but they're
bored." Without the challenges involved in hunting prey or patrolling
territory as they would in the wild, both cats and dogs will have excess energy
to burn.
"Increasing exercise is one of the universal recommendations in behavior
modification," Dr. Tripp said. Household destruction, improper vocalizing
or elimination and aggression are all stress-related and, as Tripp pointed out,
exercise helps reduce stress just as effectively in pets as it does in people.
"A tired dog is a well-behaved dog," he added.
For cats, Tripp says the most successful toys trigger a predatory instinct.
"I like to call it prey play," he said. Since mice are the number
one food source for cats in the wild, Tripp recommends looking for toys that
move along the floorboards in a short, jerky fashion. Other effective
toys might mimic the movements of birds, lizards or bugs. It is important,
however, Tripp noted, to reward the cat for its efforts.
A dog's prey drive can be activated by interactive toys like Kong, known for
its distinctive shape and unpredictable bounce. "Dogs still have their
instinctive needs," Janet Randall, director of marketing for the Kong Company
in Golden, Colo., said, "They become bored or suffer from separation anxiety
when they're left home alone a lot." To incorporate the reward process,
Kong toys can be stuffed with anything from peanut butter to dog biscuits.
"A
lot of people stuff them and freeze them, then hide them around the house,"
Randall said. The hunt for the hidden toy keeps the dog happily occupied
in the owner's absence; freezing the contents prolongs the reward process even
further.
Providing pets with effective toys is no game to Wayne Hunthausen, DVM, director
of Animal Behavior Consultations and owner of Westwood Animal Hospital in Westwood,
Kan. "I think toys are just as important as vaccinations," he said,
"There are more dogs losing their homes to bad behavior than to distemper."
"Ninety percent of the time when there's a problem behavior, the owner
thinks in terms of how to stop it," Dr. Hunthausen said. That approach,
he insists, is bound to fail. "It's natural for a dog to chew," he
said, "You can't get them to stop, and you shouldn't try."
You
can, however, teach them what to chew.
"You want a toy that's interesting and safe," Hunthausen specified.
He gravitates toward interactive toys that dispense food rewards, but, "With
any toy," he emphasized, "the owner should observe the pet with the
new toy to be sure they don't chew through it."
Some
veterinarians and trainers choose to sell interactive toys directly to their
clients; others prefer to recommend specific toys. "I would say prescribe,"
said Tripp, who devotes 80 percent of his practice to behavioral issues.
Among those that earn high marks from Tripp are the recently introduced Busy
Buddy toys from Premier Pet Products. Examples include the company's Twist
'n' Treat, which allows owners to adjust the level of challenge involved in
dispensing a reward, and the Waggle, a dumbbell shaped toy, that randomly dispenses
treats as a dog shakes it in his mouth, as he would his natural prey.
"Random reinforcement is the most powerful stimulant, it's like gambling,"
said Sutherland in explaining the appeal of such toys.
PetStages, in Highland Park, Ill., categorizes their products according to the
stages of a pet's life. "Pets have different needs at different ages,"
said Torjus Lundevall, the company's president, "A good toy for us is a
toy with a purpose." That purpose might be soothing a puppy recently separated
from his littermates, satisfying an adult dog's natural chewing urges, providing
cats with interesting activities that stimulate vigorous exercise or strengthening
the bond between pet lovers and the pets they love.
Applebaum, on the other hand, simply separates toys into two categories: chew
toys and play toys. "Play toys," he said, "are outstanding
for separation anxiety and boredom."
"The key to dealing with separation anxiety," he explained, "is
understanding that the symptom is not the problem." While it's easy
to understand how symptoms like chewing, digging or jumping the fence could
appear as problems to a frustrated pet owner, Applebaum stressed that, "The
owner has to be aware of what they are doing to stimulate the pet's behavior
and then establish a positive association with being left alone."
Recommendations include changing the routine generally followed before leaving
the house and, to create a positive association, providing access to the dog's
favorite toy only when the owner is away.
When it comes to chew toys, Applebaum said, "Nylabone is a safe durable
toy that can be highly effective in chewing problems."
"We are not a one-size-fits-all company," said Mark E. Johnson, senior
vice president at TFH Publications, Inc. & Nylabone Products in Neptune
City, NJ. In addition to providing appropriately sized chews for large
and small dogs, Nylabone produces durable chews, designed for dogs with strong,
powerful jaws, and flexible chews, which may be more appropriate for puppies,
older dogs and carrying breeds.
"Destructive behavior - particularly chewing - is one of the leading reasons
that pets are turned in to shelters. But destructive chewing need not be a death
sentence," Johnson said, "Good training, appropriate chew toys and
a good chew toy habit can spell the difference between a happy life and a sad
ending."
Increasingly, veterinarians face the challenge of responding to the need for
such solutions. According to Applebaum, that challenge is unlikely to
go away.
He sees the introduction of prescription medications for the treatment of behavior
problems as among one of the "greater and greater forces on veterinarian
hospitals to address behavior." The relationship between the pet
owner and veterinarian is another.
Sutherland identified yet another factor in the equation. "Pets are
being considered more and more part of the family," she said. As
a result, people are taking better care of their pets than ever before - and
they are showing up at the veterinarian's office with higher expectations.
"It makes sense for vets to ally with trainers or to put trainers
on staff," Applebaum said. From his perspective, behavior represents
one of the last unchartered growth areas for veterinarian practices. And
that should give many practitioners something to chew on.
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