Key determinants of dog and cat welfare: behaviour, breeding and household lifestyle.

The changing role of companion animals, accompanied by changes in human lifestyle and demands, places them at risk of poor welfare. They are increasingly subjected to stressors that prevent the adequate expression of normal behaviour. Fear and anxiety often go unrecognised, leading to behavioural disorders that are accompanied by negative affective states and poor welfare. Irresponsible breeding practices result in increased incidences of inherited defects in pets, which adversely affect physical and mental aspects of welfare, either directly, through the anomaly itself, or indirectly, due to secondary effects. Increased urbanisation has resulted in smaller living spaces, higher population densities and longer working hours, all factors that affect the well-being of pets. A better understanding of animal behaviour by both pet owners and professionals, to more effectively meet the needs of dogs and cats and recognise their problems, should inform the formulation of objective welfare assessments to ensure a better quality of life for the animals. Responsible breeding practices that increase genetic diversity and select for traits that help dogs and cats fill their niche in a changing world should be based on evidence to minimise welfare risk.

Summary of a National Institute of Mental Health workshop: developing animal models of anxiety disorders.

RATIONALE: There exists a wide range of animal models and measures designed to assess anxiety or fearfulness. However, the relationship between these models and clinical anxiety symptoms and syndromes is unclear. The National Institute of Mental Health convened a workshop to discuss the relationship between existing behavioral models of anxiety and the clinical profile of anxiety disorders. A second goal of this workshop was to outline various approaches towards modeling components of anxiety disorders. OBJECTIVES: To briefly describe epidemiological and behavioral manifestations of clinical anxiety syndromes and how they relate to commonly employed animal models of anxiety. To describe approaches and considerations for developing, improving, and adapting anxiety models to better understand the neurobiology of anxiety. METHODS: Clinicians, psychiatrists and clinical and basic neuroscientists presented data exemplifying different approaches towards understanding anxiety and the role of animal models. Panel members outlined what they considered to be critical issues in developing and employing animal models of anxiety. RESULTS: This review summarizes the discussions and conclusions of the workshop including recommendations for improving upon existing models and strategies for developing novel models. CONCLUSIONS: The probability of developing comprehensive animal models that accurately reflect the relative influences of factors contributing to anxiety disorder syndromes is quite low. However, ample opportunity remains to better define and extend existing models and behavioral measures related to specific processes that may be disrupted in anxiety disorders and to develop new models that consider the impact of combined factors in determining anxious behaviors.

Frequency of nonspecific clinical signs in dogs with separation anxiety, thunderstorm phobia, and noise phobia, alone or in combination.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of nonspecific clinical signs in dogs with separation anxiety, thunderstorm phobia, noise phobia, or any combination of these conditions and determine whether these conditions are associated in dogs. DESIGN: Case series. ANIMALS: 141 dogs. PROCEDURE: Diagnoses were established using specific criteria. Owners of dogs completed a questionnaire on how frequently their dogs exhibited destructive behavior, urination, defecation, vocalization, and salivation when the owners were absent and the types and frequency of reactions to thunderstorms, fireworks, and other noises. RESULTS: Associations of the 3 conditions and of various nonspecific clinical signs within and between diagnoses were nonrandom. The probability that a dog would have separation anxiety given that it had noise phobia was high (0.88) and approximately the same as the probability it would have separation anxiety given that it had thunderstorm phobia (0.86). However, the probability that a dog would have noise phobia given that it had separation anxiety (0.63) was higher than the probability that it would have thunderstorm phobia given that it had separation anxiety (0.52). The probability that a dog would have noise phobia given that it had thunderstorm phobia (0.90) was not equivalent to the converse (0.76). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that dogs with any of these conditions should be screened for the others. Interactions among these conditions are important in the assessment and treatment of dogs with > 1 of these conditions. Responses to noise were different from those to thunderstorms, possibly because of the unpredictability and uncertainty of thunderstorms.

Pharmacological treatment in behavioural medicine: the importance of neurochemistry, molecular biology and mechanistic hypotheses.

Psychopharmacology has become a popular, and sometimes mandatory addition to treatment regimes for canine and feline patients with behavioural problems; however, clients and practitioners should be dissuaded that behavioural drugs are 'quick fixes'. Veterinarians should only prescribe psychotropic medication when they have a specific idea of how the mechanism of action of the drug will affect the target behaviours associated with a specific diagnosis. The diagnosis must be treated rather than non-specific signs. Newer psychotropic medications demonstrate the extent to which truly abnormal behaviours are dysfunctions of neurochemistry; synaptic or cellular metabolism; or genetic encoding and 'learning', or LTP, hence there is a clear role for the interaction of neuropharmacology and behavioural and environmental modification.Future advances in treatment in behavioural medicine will be pharmacological and neurophysiological. As the field of behavioural medicine expands, its paradigm will enlarge to include combination therapy and the implementation of neuropharmacological intervention as a diagnostic tool. At present, the veterinary practitioner can effectively aid many common behavioural problems using extant drugs to treat animals with true behavioural pathology. Rational pharmacological therapy requires complete medical and behavioural histories, requisite laboratory work, complete client understanding and compliance, and an honest and ongoing dialogue between the client and veterinarian that includes frequent follow-ups and re-examinations.

Electrocardiographic assessment of antianxiety medication in dogs and correlation with serum drug concentration.

OBJECTIVES: To determine effects of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) on the ECG of dogs treated for behavioral conditions and to examine correlations between ECG findings and serum concentrations of these medications. DESIGN: Repeated-measures study. ANIMALS: 39 client-owned dogs with behavioral problems. PROCEDURE: Two groups of dogs with behavioral problems were evaluated. In group 1 (n = 20), ECG tracings were recorded before starting treatment with TCA and again after treatment for > or = 1 month. Dogs in group 2 were already on long-term maintenance amounts of antianxiety medication when ECG tracings were recorded and serum concentrations of medications were obtained. RESULTS: Significant differences were not detected for dogs in group 1 between ECG values measured before and after TCA administration. The ECG values for dogs in group 2 did not differ significantly from the mean of group-1 dogs before receiving medication or from the reference range used at our facility. Duration of the P wave had a significant positive correlation with serum concentrations of clomipramine but significant negative correlation with serum concentrations of amitriptyline. The QT interval corrected for heart rate had a significant negative correlation with serum concentrations of amitriptyline. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Amitriptyline and clomipramine administered at standard dosages apparently do not cause ECG abnormalities in healthy dogs with behavioral problems. These medications should be used cautiously in dogs with conduction abnormalities, and clinicians should periodically monitor ECG and use good clinical judgment to weigh risks and benefits of medications for the safety of each dog.

Natural animal models of human psychiatric conditions: assessment of mechanism and validity.

1. The classic animal models for human psychiatric conditions involves rodents. As prey species, their normal behaviors of avoidance would be considered pathological in humans and dogs. Hence, such models may not be homologous for similar behaviors found in psychiatric pathology in humans. 2. Dogs exhibit pathological behavioral conditions that may be equivalent to certain human psychiatric conditions. These canine conditions appear spontaneously or endogenously in the absence of genetic or neurochemcial manipulation, and as such, may be homologous to the human condition. 3. If canine conditions approach homology with human conditions they should have excellent face, predictive, and construct validity. 4. The canine conditions of separation anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, cognitive dysfunction, dominance aggression, and panic disorder have good to excellent validity at all explored levels for human generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Alzheimer's disease, impulse control disorders, and panic disorder. 5. Natural canine models can aid our understanding of human psychiatric conditions.

Pharmacologic treatments for behavior problems.

Most of the future advances in therapy with behavioral medicine probably will be pharmacologic. Newer developments in tricyclic antidepressants, specific and nonspecific anxiolytics, narcotic agonist-antagonists, and benzodiazepines will have great relevance for veterinary medicine. As the field of behavioral medicine expands, its paradigm hopefully will enlarge to include combination therapy and the implementation of neuropharmacologic intervention as a diagnostic tool. At present, the veterinary practitioner can effectively aid many common behavioral problems, with the glaring exception of most aggressions, using extant drugs.

Use of clomipramine to treat ritualistic stereotypic motor behavior in three dogs.

Atypical, stereotypic motor and locomotor behavior was observed in 3 dogs. In 1 dog, the behavior included circling, vocalization, and snapping; in another, circling associated with pica and aerophagia; and in a third, gradually intensifying locomotor behavior stimulated by bright light. This behavior interfered with normal interaction between their owners and the dogs, and has been associated with obsessive-compulsive disorders. Treatment with clomipramine, along with other psychotropic medications and behavioral modification, suppressed the inappropriate behavior in all dogs; in 2 of the 3 dogs, the condition worsened when clomipramine treatment was withdrawn. Clomipramine may be helpful in treatment of such behavioral disorders, but one should consider the ability of such drugs to mask or worsen metabolic or neurologic problems, to induce toxicoses when used at inappropriate dosages, and to be abused by human beings.