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October, 1999
Sunday 10/17/99
meds given approx 9am, 8:30 pm
Started the day a little jumpy, which grew worse as
the day progressed. Showed some snappishness with Bogart
both inside the house and out in the yard. Very oriented
on the cats all day, giving chase a few times, but responded
to being called off. Very active while outside, racing
around yard area. Ignored initial recall once, but otherwise
responded immediately to commands to come, as well as
whistles, and just her name. Also responded when Bogart
was commanded to recall (though Bo did not).
Crated overnight due to being too jumpy and hyped.
Monday 10/18/99
meds given approx 9am, 9pm
Slightly less jumpy today. Greeted UPS delivery and
phone company repair men with slight timidness and the
usual head down, hackles up, barking posture. Allowed
both to pet her, but stuck very close to me on the road
while each was around. Once each man was gone, she relaxed
and ran around. Raining today, so we didn't spend too
much time outside. She has not been as focused on the
cats today, and only had to be called off of one once.
Tuesday 10/19/99
meds given approx 8am, 9:30pm
Was relatively stable during the day. Walked with me
to the gate today and I noticed that she stays very
close to me on that walk if I'm carrying something (in
this case, garbage bags), or if I'm walking with someone
(the delivery and repair men yesterday). Once all is
"normal" (I'm not carrying something, or strangers
aren't there) she is relaxed and runs around in the
underbrush by the drive. I was out for a few hours early
evening, and returned with friends (two male, one female,
all adults) from out of town, whom she has not met before.
The three new people stayed outside and I turned all
the dogs out into the yard. It was dark, and she was
very hesitant to approach them. She did not have hackles
raised, but had ears back, head low, slightly crouched.
She wuffed, occasionally, and also barked. This is the
first time this many strangers have ever come into her
"home territory" at once, that I can recall,
that she's not been crated. Not just this home, but
the entire time I've owned her. (Golly gee, I just confessed
to how terribly dull and domestic my life is.) The only
other times when that many people have come over at
once was to help move, and she has always either been
crated or put in another room with the other two dogs.
Tonight she was even a little stand-offish and cautious
with the woman, where she normally is more relaxed with
women. Bacall let the woman pet her after a few minutes,
though she never got really 100% relaxed. One male instigated
contact with her, getting down with her. She eventually
warmed up to him as well. The second male did not get
down with her or encourage her to come to him. She eventually
relaxed more with him as well, though at one point when
he was walking across the yard she nipped at his hand
lightly from behind (typical Heeler type herding nip).
A few times while they were here (about 45 min total)
that she wandered off on the property and returned to
the group, she would bark at the people as though she
was again not sure of them. While she did relax somewhat,
she never became 100% at ease. She and the other two
dogs did some playing while we were all out, and she
showed no aggression with them. The other dog on property
(Duke) came to see what all the hubbub was about, and
played for a minute with Bogart. Bacall spotted him
and played with him some. While she is normally very
good with Duke, she seemed just a tiny bit more aggressive
with him. Play growls where she normally does not play
growl with Duke. The two didn't seem totally at ease
with each other, and Duke went back home after just
a minute or two.
While she was never truly aggressive this evening,
she was also not ever 100% relaxed and at ease. She
will be seeing these people again, and hopefully she'll
be a little better.
She was good with the cats all day, playing some with
Blackbean.
Wednesday 10/20/99
meds given approx 9am, missed evening dose
Spent about an hour in the morning with the same three
guests over. Bacall was slightly more relaxed in the
daylight, but still somewhat cringy on occasion. More
or less was "typical" Bacall...a few incidents
without a really obvious trigger where she would cringe,
crouch, or hackles would come up. At one point she nipped
at my finger tips (from behind, as always)...just a
light nip, barely contact.
Thursday 10/21/99
meds given approx 9am, 9:30pm
(I was concerned over the missed dosage on top of her
increased aggression over the last few days, so I gave
her a full pill for her morning dose, and back to a
half pill for her evening dose.)
Same guests over early afternoon, and again late afternoon.
All three dogs outside playing with the people. Nipped
at female guest (back of the leg). Male guest whom she
is most comfortable with was sitting on the ground and
talking close with her when she snarled and snapped
at his face (made no contact, he's pretty quick to back
up). I'm not sure if his face might have appeared like
he was going to blow at her, which seems to be the face-to-face
trigger for her. (This trigger is only if you your face
is on level with hers. You can come in from above her
without a problem that I've ever noticed. She will trigger
if you make a "kissy" face, lips puckered...which
looks similar to the face one makes when one blows.)
Bogart spent quite a bit of time playing fetch with
each of the guests, and typically Bacall would chase
out with Bogart, but not go for the ball herself. Only
once did I see her lean in and touch the ball with her
mouth on her way past it. Her main objective seems to
be to engage in the chase of the game, not the retrieve.
If she was laying down, and saw Bogart head out for
the ball, she would leap up and chase with him. Samantha
spent much of the time wandering around the property
looking for hoof trimmings to munch on. When she finally
came back to the "yard" where we were, she
joined in a few of the chases with Bogart and Bacall.
On one chase out, Sam got a little too close to Bogart
and he stumbled over her, giving a "hey, watch
it" growl in the process. This triggered Bacall
immediately, and she turned on Samantha, taking her
by the shoulder. All four adults present immediately
yelled NO in sharp corrective tones (nothing like a
group of dog knowledgeable folks for dealing with such
a situation), and Bacall released right away. Samantha
was uninjured, but a little shaken up. A few minutes
alone in the house with one of the guests had Sam feeling
better and relaxed again.
Other than these incidents, Bacall was generally relaxed.
The other thing we did notice over the two visits today
is that sudden movements of the hands/arms seem to trigger
her into a barking fit, with hackles a little raised,
head a little low (the start of her hyena impersonation).
But she was friendly with all three of the guests now,
coming up to each of them and letting them pet her.
She did alert (head down, hackles up) when they first
pulled up, and any time that they seemed to be someplace
she wasn't expecting them to be. I haven't pinpointed
this behavior yet, but it seems like occasionally she's
forgotten who they were, or that they were here. She
might have gone off to the neighbor's trailer to see
if Duke is around or to investigate something, and when
she comes back she might get barky (again, head down,
hackles up) at one or more of the people. After a moment,
she seems to "remember" that everything's
okay, and relaxes.
Friday 10/22/99
meds given approx 9am, 11pm
We were out for a few short sessions today, as Bogart
is stiff from yesterday's activities. When guests came
over in the evening, the dogs were kept inside since
they'd just come in, and to keep Bo from overdoing it
again. Bacall. was fairly calm with all three of the
guests, and I didn't see any aggression from her. She
was more relaxed with both men than she has been, and
even stood up with front feet on the one male she's
been most relaxed with. Was willing to settle in next
to me while I napped this afternoon, and was also on
the bed snuggled against me when I woke up this morning.
Played with the both Blackbean and Tucker a few times,
and was readily called off of them after a while.
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Excerpt from "Thyroid
Aggression" article posted on the
Beardie
Health site.
(Emphasis added by myself.)
The mechanism whereby diminished
thyroid function affects behavior is unclear.
Hypothyroid patients have reduced cortisol
clearance, and the constantly elevated levels
of circulating cortisol mimic the condition
of an animal in a constant state of stress,
as well as suppressing TSH production and
thereby further reducing T4 and T3 levels.
In humans, and seemingly in dogs, mental
function is impaired and the animal is likely
to respond to stress in a stereotypical
rather than a reasoned fashion. We have
noted that the type of aberrant behavior
exhibited by hypothyroid dogs tends to be
typical of the behavioral problems seen
for its breed, or predominant breed, rather
than hypothyroidism producing a specific
behavioral problem. Chronic stress in
humans has been implicated in the pathogenesis
of affective disorders such as depression.
Major depression has, in turn, been shown
in imaging studies to cause changes in neural
activity or volume in the amygdala, prefrontal
cortex and hippocampus - areas of the brain
which regulate aggressive and other behaviors.
The role of the neurotransmitters dopamine
and serotonin has been clearly demonstrated
in aggressive pathways in the CNS. Hypothyroid
rats have been shown to have both an increased
turnover of serotonin; and dopamine receptors
with an increased sensitivity to ambient
neurotransmitter levels. Interestingly,
several of the dogs which failed to respond
to thyroid replacement or in which response
was suboptimal have subsequently been treated
with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
or tricyclic antidepressants either without
or with limited success. Given the far reaching
effects of thyroid hormones throughout the
body it is likely that these as well as
other mechanisms are involved in its behavioral
role.
Thyroid
Dysfunction as a Cause of Aggression in
Dogs and Cats
L.P. Aronson DVM & N.H. Dodman RVMS
Presented at the 43. Jahrestagung der Deutschen
Veterinarmedizinischen
Gesellschaft Fachgruppe Kleintierkrankheiten
29-31 August 1997 in HCC Hannover
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I'm wondering if the calmer behavior is her getting
more accustomed to the guests, the start of an upswing
in her mood cycle, or the result of the increased dosage
yesterday morning.
Saturday 10/23/99
meds given approx 9:30am, 9pm
Today was a calm day, and I was gone for the afternoon
and evening. Guests did not come over, so she had no
contact with strangers today. She seemed quite relaxed
and at ease, playing with Blackbean and Tucker. I did
have to call her off of Tucker once this morning. She
spent the afternoon and evening crated while I was out,
and when she got outside this evening she had to race
around for a few minutes. But she's calm, not bothering
the other dogs any, and seems to have settled in for
an evening nap quite nicely.
Sunday 10/24/99
meds given approx 8am, 10:30pm
Was okay in the morning, though a little jumpy. I left
home for the day so she was crated while I was gone.
One of the male guests from the last week and I stopped
by late afternoon to let them all out. Bacall was somewhat
timid with him, but settled down after a minute. They
were out running around for 15-20 minutes, then she
was crated again until about 10:30, when all three of
the guests and I returned. We spent about 90 minutes
inside, where she was a little nervous with the people,
but not at all aggressive. At one point the male who
has been most inviting with her walked into the back
room. When he reappeared, she barked at him (hackles
slightly raised, head lowered) for a few seconds. As
before, it was like she had completely forgotten he
was around at all, and wasn't sure who he was when he
reappeared in her kitchen. This (the last week) is the
first time I've had a chance to see this kind of behavior
from her, since I don't often have people over that
she doesn't know. I don't recall having really seen
this sort of thing before, where she forgets that someone
is over. But guests don't normally wander away, I guess.
I'm not sure why she's doing this.
She had to be called off of Tucker this evening, as
she wanted to play, and he didn't. But she called off
immediately. She has been a little jumpy while sleeping
the last few days, though she is sleeping close to me.
But the slightest movement from me or one of the other
dogs causes her to jump up. Most of these incidents
the last few days have not been her leaping and spinning,
just jumping up and moving off. So we seem to be in
a mid-cycle area.
Monday 10/25/99
meds given approx 8am, 10pm
Spent a calm day with the dogs, resting. We were outside
only for quick trips, and I left the house late afternoon,
returning late evening. Bacall was crated while I was
gone. No aggression shown today, but she really had
no stimuli or excitement.
Tuesday 10/26/99
meds given approx 7:30am, 10:30pm
Bad day. I was gone most of the morning into early
afternoon (she was crated), but was home the rest of
the day. I'm about beat from the running around the
last week, and spent most of the afternoon and evening
vegging and not doing much of anything (since I go back
to work tomorrow). Bacall has been jumpy as all get
out today. When I laid down for a brief nap, she tried
to settle on the bed, but would no sooner curl up than
she was right back up again. Any movement at all from
me, however slight, had her leaping up and away. She's
been nagging Tucker all evening, and I can't get her
to leave him alone for more than a few seconds. He finally
went back to the office to hide from her (doorway is
gated, and she will not go over the gate unless I leave
her unattended while I'm not in the house). When I fed
them, she couldn't seem to figure out where her "place"
was. She was obviously stressed, and when I tried to
move her gently into her place, she urinated on the
floor. This is the first submissive urination I've seen
from her since a few days after the thyroid meds were
started. I got her fairly close to her place, and she
held until told it was okay to move, but then seemed
unsure about whether or not she would eat. She was very
hesitant, and kept leaving the bowl, looking around.
A brief while after dinner, she was annoying tucker
some more, and I finally pulled her physically off of
him (this is when he disappeared into the back of the
house). She wasn't being aggressive . . . just playing.
But Tucker wasn't in the mood, and she wouldn't let
up. I got her sitting, and was holding her muzzle. I
looked into her eyes, and realized they were quite dilated,
even though she was facing the light source. They also
didn't contract down. I moved closer to the light source,
and called her to me, and she again urinated on the
floor as she came to me. I gently tilted her head up
towards the light, and watched her eyes. The pupils
did stayed dilated for about 20 seconds, and then slowly
contracted down to a more normal size. I'm not sure
if this has anything to do with anything, but it's odd.
She is currently laying on the floor obsessively chewing
on a bone. Not a calm, leisurely chewing like she's
done the last few weeks, but an aggressive chewing,
without seeming to be aware of anything else around
her.
I will crate her tonight, just to isolate her a bit,
and make sure everyone is safe.
Wednesday, 10/27/99
meds given approx 8am, 10:30pm
Another bad day. I think I may have figured out Bacall's
problem about taking her "place" before feeding.
At the last apartment (moved about a 5 weeks ago), while
the dogs were not lined up in a row, if you faced the
dogs, Bo was on the left, Bacall in the middle, and
Sam on the right. Samantha was always all the way against
the back wall in the dining area (under the desk). Bacall's
place was in the corner of the little doorway area where
three doors met, and Bo was just on the edge of the
living room. Now, Samantha is the undisputed omega dog
in the house (ranked under the cats even in status),
so I suppose it's feasible that Bacall would not really
relate herself to where Sam was, but rather to where
Bo was, since Bo is alpha among the dogs (right under
ME, damnit). Here, in the new house, the livingroom
and the kitchen are one large open room. The living
room is carpeted, the dining room vinyl floored, and
there is a metal runner where the two meet. The dogs'
new "places" are lined up in a row along that
strip, all feet on the carpet. I have placed Bo on the
right (as you face the dogs), Bacall in the middle,
Sam on the left. Now, yesterday and today Bacall is
having trouble with taking her place. At the old house,
back when she was bad off, Bacall was hyper-accurate
about taking her place, never even an inch off the mark,
always the same position, etc. Yesterday and today I
tell them to take their places, and she keeps trying
to be over on the right of Bogart. In the old house
she was on the right of him, even though they were about
eight feet apart (and not really in line-of-site of
each other). She is also placing herself in a corner-like
area, where the bookshelves meet the wall. I'm not sure
if she's trying to be in the corner, like before, or
to the right of Bo, like before. But I think that she's
trying to revert back to "comfortable" or
more importantly (in my opinion) "imprinted"
behavior patterns. I am going to try VERY hard not to
let her revert. I prefer not to support her dependence
on patterns. In my experience thus far with her, this
dependence always leads to more trouble with her.
As happened yesterday, Bacall urinated on the floor
again this evening (but not this morning) when I tried
to put her back into her new place. And again, she was
very hesitant to eat, kept leaving the bowl, and was
slinky and cringy.
She did another odd thing tonight. I was cooking eggs,
and when I dished them onto my plate, I dropped some
on the floor. Well, that's what dogs are for . . . cleaning
up the kitchen floor, and saving paper towels for counter
cleaning (when the cats aren't around). But the
eggs were hot, and I didn't want Bo to burn his mouth.
I wanted Bo to have the egg, since he's the least likely
to have his diet routine upset by a small snack. I've
also been very careful to watch over Bacall's protein
intake by not letting her have extras. So, Bogart was
sitting a few feet away watching it, and waiting for
me to tell him it was okay to get it. When I moved a
few minutes later, and was about to release Bogart to
get it, Bacall hurtled in out of nowhere. I literally
didn't see it. I saw movement, looked around, and she
was sitting by Bo. I looked at the floor, and the egg
was gone. And Bacall was very jittery about having just
"stolen" food, even though I've never reprimanded
any of the dogs for taking food off the floor. I can't
put my finger on exactly what was so very "off"
about the situation, but it was quite wrong.
Of course, I didn't think during any of this tonight
to check her eyes again. I would VERY much like to have
her thyroid levels checked again now, while she's so
far "off". Unfortunately, I don't have the
time or the cash to get those tests run again now.
Thursday, 10/28/99
meds given approx 8am, 8pm
Well, Bacall took her place in the center this evening
just fine. Her tail was wagging, she didn't cringe,
or try to be on the right side of Bogart. She laid down
in her place while I dished up food in the other room
(something she does only when she's relaxed). And she
ate just fine, without being jumpy or stepping away
from her dish, even though I was walking around the
kitchen putting groceries away -- and her dish is right
next to the fridge, so I had to keep walking right behind
her.
She is still a little jumpy while sleeping, but better.
Friday, 10/29/99
meds given approx 7:30am, 9pm
Was fine during feeding this morning. Tonight I came
home with guests who were helping me move in some new
furniture. One she knows fairly well, the other she
met one time when I took her to the office with me.
She was barky and jumpy as always at first, then settled
down with the guy she knows. The other she never got
really comfortable with, but they weren't here more
than 15 minutes, and we were moving pieces of furniture
in, so I didn't expect much. She did finally go up and
sit in front of him and let her pet him, but only if
I was right there also.
At dinner time, Bacall started to take a place on the
right side of Bo, then moved over to her correct place.
She did pee just a little on the carpet, but managed
to hold her place while I dished up dinner, and fed
the cats.
She continues to take her pills quite easily.
I've just realized that she is continually more at
ease in the mornings than the evenings. That may be
because mornings are typically not very active around
here. The dogs get out, then fed, then rest a bit while
I get ready for work. Then she gets crated for the day.
Also, mornings are more closely on a regular schedule,
and the routine rarely varies. In the evening, however,
I can't ever guarantee what time I'll get home. If I'm
home early-ish, we spend some time outside playing or
hiking around the property. Then once we're back inside,
I have to wait an hour or more before feeding for Bogart
to settle in (large dog, bloat risk).
Saturday, 10/30/99
meds given approx 9am, 9pm
It rained all day, so we didn't get outside for more
than quick trips. But Bacall took her place both morning
and evening without any trouble, and didn't pee on the
carpet at all. She bolted after Tucker at one point
with a growl, but responded immediately to my calling
her off. There was also some sort of incident behind
my back between her and Bogart over the new sofa. I
missed whatever it was, but saw her bolting off of it
and across the room as Bo snapped up from his nap with
a loud reprimand for her. The good news is that she
did NOT return immediately to him cowering and annoying
him with submission displays. She merely curled up on
the floor out of the way.
Sunday, 10/31/99
meds given approx 9am, 9pm
Wet and cool, so again we spent most of the day inside.
I'm not seeing any submissive urination, but she is
also not as relaxed and at ease as she was a few weeks
ago. She's playing with Tucker and Blackbean, without
causing them too much undue stress. She comes immediately
on recalls inside or out, even from a long distance.
I haven't seen any aggression or snapping the last few
days. But she's still sort of torqued a little too tight.
She has that edge to her that I've always had so much
trouble explaining. She doesn't seem 100% at ease, even
when everyone's just laying around in the evening.
Monthly Journals
Thyroid Links
Copyright © 1999, 2001 by OffLead Productions.
Reprinted with permission of the author.
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