(Canine Fear Aggression--Continued from page 5)

proaching people. Treatments tried included obedience classes and private training. Medical treatments tried included (sequentially, in order) amitriptyline (Elavil) for 3 weeks, clomipramine (Anafranil or Clomicalm) for approximately a year, fluoxetine (Prozac) for about a month, and acepromazine. The medications may have helped initially but did not seem to remain effective. The patient had gone through both basic and advanced obedience training, and the patient wore a muzzle whenever she walked through the client's building.  For three weeks prior to the appointment, the patient had been restricted to the client's apartment and their 50-foot outside terrace.

During the appointment, the patient stayed between the clients slightly under their chairs.  While walking her outside, she barked and lunged at another dog, which the clients felt was a good example of her behavior at the apartment building.  The patient's ears were back flat against her head, her tail was down, her body tensed, there was slight piloerection along her dorsum and she whined while she stared intently at the dog before barking and lunging.  This appeared to be a straightforward case of fear aggression.

Dogs with fear aggression will have similar body postures when presented with the stimulus of which they are afraid.  The dogs that lunge and appear to react intensely on a leash may react differently (and, some clients report, are much better) when they are off leash. This difference in response may be due to the leash restricting the amount of movement that a dog has so the dog might feel trapped or cornered when it is on leash. Because of the risk of injury I never suggest clients test this and let a dog off leash when it has exhibited aggression on leash. Many times clients have reported their dog behaves worse on a leash in their own neighborhood but is better when they go other places.  This may be because the dog is quite familiar with its own neighborhood and can better focus on the unfamiliar individual. In other places there may be so much going on (new things to smell and see) that the client's dog notices the unfamiliar individual less.  I distinguish between fear aggression and territorial aggression based on the body postures the patient exhibits, the details surrounding the events that occurred, and the client's description of the first event they can remember. It is usually clear that a dog is trying to protect itself from a perceived threat and is not trying to protect a certain territory.  However, some dogs that have been reacting the same way over and over again lose some of the more obvious signs of fear. Whenever possible, as long as it does not involve potential injury to a person or another animal, I like to see an example of the behavior the dog is exhibiting.  When the aggression is severe, I rely on the client's description of what the patient is doing.  Often, the behavior occurs so fast that clients are busy dealing with getting their dog away from a situation and they don't necessarily notice the minute details of what the patient is doing.

While we were discussing the Dalmatian's treatment plan, the

complexities of the case began to emerge.  The clients were both retired, and one had some difficulty walking and used a cane.  Also, three weeks prior to the appointment, the clients were given a notice stating they had one month to get rid of their pet.  I advised the clients to seek legal advice so they could see what their options really were.  The clients had also received two anonymous pieces of hate mail. I found this surprising since, in comparison to many of the fear-aggressive dogs that I see, the patient was significantly less severe.

I created a treatment plan that was more restrictive than most. The apartment board had based the decision for removal of the patient on her barking and lunging, not on the biting (which had not occurred for quite a while). If the clients were permitted to keep the patient, there would not be any tolerance on the part of the apartment board for the slightest problem. Numerous methods of correcting the patient had been tried, but none in a manner which taught the dog an alternative behavior -- just what she shouldn't be doing. I worked with the clients to teach the patient how to ignore what was going on in the surrounding environment and just focus on the clients. The patient did extremely well with this. The patient was using the terrace to eliminate. I questioned the clients extensively about her exercise level over the previous three weeks. Since the patient was not any more or less active than she was when she was walked outside, we decided to keep letting her use the terrace for elimination and exercise while the clients were working with keeping her focused on them. We also fit the patient with a Gentle Leader head collar. The clients were to practice with the head collar in the apartment so, when they reached a point that they could resume walks, both the client and patient were comfortable with its use. The patient was much easier for the clients to walk with the head collar, and they were able to turn her head away from what they anticipated she would react to. They would be more confident when they walk the patient and not tighten up on the leash which previously resulted in her amplifying her response to the perceived threat.  The wife commented about her fear that either she or her husband would be injured walking the patient in the slippery weather and how helpful the head collar would be.

Three weeks after the appointment the patient was doing well. There had not been any incidents and the apartment board allowed them to keep the patient as long as there were no complaints about her.  The clients had also received another anonymous piece of hate mail where the author threatened graphic bodily harm to both them and their pet. The hate mail was turned over to a law enforcement officer and is being evaluated. The patient no longer enters the hallway as they enter and leave the apartment. She is also barking less in the apartment. Six weeks after the appointment the patient was still doing well, although the clients were not able to work with the patient as much as before due to an illness. The clients were still pleased with her progress. The patient was using various areas on the terrace for elimination and no accidents had occurred in the apartment. I suggested they plant

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