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Author Topic: Dogs suffering from PTSD  (Read 638 times)

Ned Hamford

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Dogs suffering from PTSD
« on: December 03, 2011, 12:10:07 AM »
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/us/more-military-dogs-show-signs-of-combat-stress.html?_r=1

"By some estimates, more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are developing canine PTSD."

 =(

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wmenorr67

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Re: Dogs suffering from PTSD
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2011, 12:14:26 AM »
I would put the number higher.

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Monkeyleg

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Re: Dogs suffering from PTSD
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2011, 12:52:56 AM »
It's not surprising. The dogs we've had have been stressed by the most minor things, such as trips to the vet, firecrackers, vacuum cleaners, and so on. I'd imagine that the noise and chaos of war are a bit more stressful than that. On top of that, the dogs don't know why it's going on. Maybe knowing what's going on is of no help to humans, either.
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vaskidmark

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Re: Dogs suffering from PTSD
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2011, 07:20:55 AM »
The fact that the military is paying attention to this is encouraging.

In former times military working dogs were often not "retired" but put down.  Knowing that practice, many handlers attempted to hide or disguise the problems, putting themselves in a Catch-22 situation of trying to protect their dog and their fellow servicemembers.

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BlueStarLizzard

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Re: Dogs suffering from PTSD
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2011, 07:31:48 AM »
 =|

So basically, a fancy, catchy name for something that is normal (if upsetting canine behavior) but applied only to military dogs?

You want upsetting? The fact that I see this behavior all the time, in dogs that never went to war and are supposedly beloved pets.

I'm glad the military is approaching the issue and trying to deal with it. I'm sad to say, in some cases (and more then some cases with the dogs trained to fight) that this type of stuff does not end well for the dog.

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wmenorr67

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Re: Dogs suffering from PTSD
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2011, 07:56:34 AM »
Liz unfortunately it took the current situation for this type of stuff to come to light.
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Perd Hapley

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Re: Dogs suffering from PTSD
« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2011, 11:04:36 AM »
Quote from: Monkeyleg on December 03, 2011, 12:52:56 AM
It's not surprising. The dogs we've had have been stressed by the most minor things, such as trips to the vet, firecrackers, vacuum cleaners, and so on. I'd imagine that the noise and chaos of war are a bit more stressful than that. On top of that, the dogs don't know why it's going on. Maybe knowing what's going on is of no help to humans, either.

Maybe knowing why is worse?
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