Veterinarians and staff often ask me if the behavior problem is the dog, or could it really be the owner. Once in a while, a dog has normal behaviors, but the owner has unrealistic expectations of the dog. These are more likely first time dog owners or an owner who has had an elderly dog die, then gets a puppy or a young dog. The owner is no longer as young as they were when their deceased dog was a puppy, so their lifestyle might be quite different. Also, the owner's memory of their deceased dog's puppyhood might not be 100% accurate.

In most of the cases, the dog is behaving abnormally to varying degrees. How the owner has managed the dog with its behavior problem can improve or worsen the dog's behavior. A common example that I have often seen is to take a dog-aggressive dog to a pet store and sit in the doorway to `socialize' it with other dogs. The owner often reprimands their dog for growling, barking, and lunging at the entering dog. If their dog doesn't react to it, the owner might give verbal praise and/or treats after the entering dog is gone. The reprimands can worsen a dog's behavior. The dog might associate the reprimands with the other dog and not with its reaction. This incorrect association may then worsen the perception of other dogs, resulting in a worse reaction in the future. The dog might not associate the treats or praise that was given after a dog has past without response as being a reward for not reacting. If an owner just avoided other dogs so their dog didn't react to them, then at least they are not making their dog worse. If the avoided dog passes by at a sufficient distance without the owner's dog feeling threatened, the dog may gradually react less.

Often these abnormally behaving dogs are more reactive in a given situation than other dogs and/ or might be more impressionable than other dogs. Taking the above example, many dogs can sit in the doorway of a pet store and not react. Some dogs only react if another dog is passing on the same side of the street. Other dogs are more reactive and bark and lunge at the sight of another dog 2 blocks away. For some dogs, one negative situation makes a lasting impression. It can be lunged at or attacked by another dog so it then expects other dogs to do the same thing. The impressionable dog might then react to defend itself by barking and lunging at other dogs before it can determine if the other dog was really going to attack. Other dogs seem to be less impressionable and after one dog attacks it, the dog resumes playing with other dogs. The association might be with the individual rather than the species.

The owner's role is more in the way of setting up the environment that the abnormal or impressionable dog is exposed to. Rarely do I encounter a dog that seems like the owner might have made it reactive or impressionable. Some owners seem to be more likely to try different methods of changing a dog's behavior. Often they follow the advice of a book or a friend because the suggestion `worked' for the friend. The owner

Infrequently, I see dogs that were not exposed to different environments and situations as a puppy. The owner might not have realized the importance of allowing their puppy to experience other situations in a non-frightening manner. For example, taking the puppy out to meet strangers is a good idea; it isn't a good idea to do it on July 4^th where the puppy might then be scared by fireworks.

The owner does play a role in the dog's behavior. How much of a role depends on the dog.

a. Azathioprine
b. Glutamine
c. Cyclosporine
d. Probiotics
e. Marine fish oils
f. Short-chain fatty acids
g. Other investigatory drugs used in human medicine include:

i. Growth hormone
ii. Heparin
iii.Nictotine patches
iv. Thalidomide
v. Rosiglitazone
vi. Other (interleukins, anti-interferons keratinocyte growth factor, mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus, p38 inhibitor, anti-integrins, bactericidal-permeability-increasing protein)

Inflammatory bowel disease is a commonly-diagnosed condition in dogs and cats. Elucidation of specific etiologies of subacute to chronic enteritis continually chips away at the number of truly idiopathic cases of IBD and allows us to provide our patients and their owners increased specificity in treatment and in prognosis. There remains, however a large number of cases in which a specific cause is not identified. This can give rise to frustration for the practitioner and confusion for the client. We can only seek some solace in that our cohorts in the human field experience the same frustrations as we…