| In contacting me for behavioral help, it's
important to understand that there WILL be charges incurred... because
I'll require veterinary testing (particularly if your dog is aggressive,
but also when other behavioral issues are present), I'll do nutritional
counseling with you, concerning your dog, and because I may ask you to
purchase supplements (not medications, unless the supplements don't help
in some cases). So, here is a synopsis of the protocols that I
require, routinely, for help with aggression, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, separation anxiety: First,
I require that a COMPLETE thyroid panel be run. The sample
should be sent to Michigan State University for evaluation,
I think it takes 10 days to get results via
MSU)... and your vet should request total thyroxine (TT4), total TT3, free
T4, T4 autoantibody, T3 autoantibody, thyroid stimulating hormone and
thryroglobulin autoantibody. If your vet does the test in-house, or sends
it elsewhere for evaluation, the test likely won't test for this entire
RANGE. The diagnosis should be "aggression", so that they test for the
right things. If you'd like to learn about why I request that the
thyroid panel be done this way, or if you'd like to pass information along
to your veterinarian, here is a link that will help you:
http://www.beaconforhealth.org/Thyroid-Aggression.htm. There is
a table in the center of this article that discusses over 300 dogs that
were assessed at Tufts University for fear and aggression-related
problems. These dogs were tested as per Jean Dodd's protocols (the
protocols I've listed in the first paragraph)... had they been tested per
the previously-accepted methods, almost HALF of these dogs would have
tested in the NORMAL ranges! Instead, the new testing found
insufficiences, they were treated with replacement -- with a VERY high
rate of improvement!
Second, proper nutrition is INCREDIBLY
important, when your dog is suffering behavioral issues! If you're
feeding a substandard kibble, I will request that you feed a better
quality food. There are many, many wonderful kibbles to choose
from... yes, they'll cost more money than a lower-quality food... but
you'll feed less, and end up saving money in the end! Here is
one of the foods that I've chosen
for my own dogs, and there are more listed at the end of my article on
nutrition.
Third, I request that owners consider
supplementing their dog's diet for Serotonin,
an important neurotransmitter that regulates behavior.
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