My dog has mental health problems

[RebeccaMillet]

My friend has scoffed at me for telling her my dog has mental health issues. She said it was disrespectful to humans who have mental health issues.

she came to visit last night and I feel a bit annoyed by her response.

for context
I have a rescue Vizzler who was neglected as a pup before arriving at the rescue centre. I have had him for almost a year and he’s about two years old. He wolfs his food down and needs a lot of reassurance as he almost certainly has feelings of abandonment. He is the most affectionate and loving animal and I happily spend loads of time with him cuddling and playing. My husband WFH so he is never alone.

He cries if either of us leave the room and follows us everywhere.

my friend recognises that animals (dogs) have feelings but thinks that my use of words ‘mental healing problems’ is way over the top as dogs can’t possibly have depth of feelings like humans. Obviously I know they can’t but don’t feel IABU for what I said?

My friend has a dog and he definitely has MH issues and they have 'managed ' him since birth really. He's getting worse I think. Not sure what my decision would be to be honest.

Some dog problems are caused by generations of interbreeding, some are caused by trauma. The second is treatable, the first rarely.

I'd say trauma is a mental health issue that can be treated. But wouldn't confuse it with genetic traits.

1. dementia is a mental health condition (classified as an organic mental illness)
2. I’ve known dogs diagnosed with anxiety, and with schizophrenia (on medication for this)
3. I’m not certain your dog reaches the threshold for clinical diagnosis, though it does seem to have psychological problems potentially.

That imo is genetics

Does your friend have mental health issues or is she offended on behalf of everyone with mental health issues?

Whatever you choose to call it, dogs do suffer mentally.

Sorry, I'm with your friend, I would have rolled my eyes too
The mental health card is literally worn out from overuse, and yes I do find it disrespectful to actual people with issues.

I think "mental health problems" is the wrong framing for a lot of the psychological issues which affect dogs because it implies there is something essentially wrong with the dog. Whereas in reality, the dog is usually reacting in a perfectly logical way to a perceived stimulus which harmed them in the past. Dogs don't have the cognitive capacity to understand that there is a difference between the one man who abused them in the past, and all other men. If you're a dog, it's perfectly logical to be scared of men because men hurt you in the past. Obviously these issues are still problematic when they affect the dog's functioning, and need to be addressed, but I don't think it's right to imply that the dog is somehow unhealthy for having these responses.

I also think it's true that while dogs can have psychological issues, they have nowhere near the same depth as many human mental health issues and therefore it is crass to lump them into the same category. Dogs are not lying awake at night contemplating their value as a dog, wondering if they should end it all, worrying they might be too fat, feeling like they're a burden to their owners etc. As a previous poster said, because they're dogs.

Your dog sounds like he has some typical vizsla traits. They can be quite neurotic. You are not helping him by saying he has mental health problems. You can encourage new behaviours and set new pathways in the brain that, over time, help dogs to be happier and feel more confident.

Don't listen to your friend . My gorgeous Jack Russell girl was diagnosed with a form of canine autism. I have had her since she was 8 weeks. She is 5 now her mental age has been diagnosed around 10 months which will probably never change . I am self employed and work from home so that I can be with her ,she goes everywhere with us . My other little jack/westie who died a year ago was deaf and I taught her sign language.I thank god every day that they were /are with me and not someone who would mistreat them because of not understanding their needs.

@bluetongue

I did actually used to say my dog was on the spectrum too 🤦‍♀️.

So, interestingly, if the general consensus is that yes dogs do suffer from poor mental health (usually anxiety etc) we all put it down to trauma or poor dog handling. But yet if someone says all mental illness in humans is down to trauma/poor parenting you get shot down in an instant.

ok, dogs aren’t humans, I get that…. But still. We are all animals.

Never known a Vizsla that wasn't a bit loopy.

How do we diagnose dog mental health? Their brains work so differently to ours, some general things like nervousness or anxiety, may be obvious, but other than that it is guesswork.

Because adult humans are responsible for their own actions. They have the brainpower and ability to improve their situation, no matter what caused it.

Dogs do not.

Can’t believe that needs explaining 🤦‍♀️

I can't see how recognising mental ill health in animals in any way detracts from mental ill health in humans. Animals get cancer, catch viruses, have personalities - why is it only mental health issues they're not allowed to have? I speak as a person with mental health issues.

@LemonsOnTheMelons

Well, you’ve actually proved my point. If we, as humans have all that brain power and ability to solve problems then surely mental illness (that isn’t caused by trauma or poor parenting) is a choice? A choice to feel a certain way, a mindset. You’re just a glass half empty sort of person.

No, mental illness is not a choice. How we deal with it is a choice, however. It’s a very important difference.

Yes dogs can have mental health issues, but I think most people will raise an eyebrow and think you're a loon if don't just refer to it as "behavioural issues".

They definitely have mental health , why wouldn't they . My dogs companion died and he had a complete mental crash . Vet couldn't find a single physical thing wrong with him .

There is a book floating around about the dogs left at home (normal) who went through the midday Christchurch earthquake (not normal). Much of the land in Christchurch liquified which meant those dogs were standing in deep liquid mud or demolished buildings etc for hours until someone got home to them. Some went through a terrible, terrible time.

Many had to be rehomed in Aus as they were so distressed they needed to be off the Earthquake zone completely. Dogs really can suffer mental health problems.

Dementia services come under mental health services. It's considered an organic mental disorder (as opposed to functional).

@LemonsOnTheMelons

All open to interpretation really. Dementia is organic everything else is fairly questionable, unless of course you have an active period of psychosis.

That doesn't mean it's comparable to say, depression or anxiety though.

One of my dogs ( he’s a rescue we’ve had for many years now) has massive anxiety issues stemming from some very serious abuse as a youngster. He takes fluoxetine daily. Recommended by our behaviouralist who we have been working with for years. Unfortunately for my dog no amount of training and behavioural work will ever help him get over the abuse he suffered. It’s ingrained to his brain. The fluoxetine helps him cope with normal life. The same way it helps people who suffer with mental ill health. I would definitely say he has mental health issues. I don’t really give a hoot what anyone else says about that or him.

@user1745
I think "mental health problems" is the wrong framing for a lot of the psychological issues which affect dogs because it implies there is something essentially wrong with the dog. Whereas in reality, the dog is usually reacting in a perfectly logical way to a perceived stimulus which harmed them in the past. Dogs don't have the cognitive capacity to understand that there is a difference between the one man who abused them in the past, and all other men. If you're a dog, it's perfectly logical to be scared of men because men hurt you in the past.

How is that massively different from mental health issues in people caused by trauma - they're often described as a normal reaction. Look at triggers etc. in humans.

I've had two cats that showed signs of trauma, both rescues. And one cat who I think was just born anxious.

(They can also grieve - I don't know what else you'd call it when your cat dies and your other cat looks for his friend, realises he's gone then disappears for 36hrs and when you eventually find him, he's been hiding under a cupboard the whole time.)