Rex the German Shepherd A case of Anger

 

Case No. 001:

Introduction:

A German shepherd dog named Rex, age 4 years almost and sex is male. Rex is owned by Mr. Naveed Shahbaz of DHA Lahore. Mr. Naveed was out to US for a two weeks visit for business purpose, he was there and returned back after completion of his visit to Pakistan. When he came back he met with Rex, and surprisingly Rex’s behavior was out of routine and he was growling on Mr Naveed. It was the first time from last 4 years that Rex growled on Mr Naveed. Mr Naveed got worried and as soon as he turned, suddenly Rex attacked on him and bites him on his hands, though it was really a painful act by Rex. Later on servants of Mr Naveed came and rescue him from Rex and then tie the Rex to his kennel. Even though after getting closed in kennel the Rex was still growling on Mr Naveed, here one thing was important to note that Rex wasn’t attacking and growling on other persons present in the house. So Mr Naveed was taken to the hospital urgently where he got ATS and Rabies injections. After treatment of almost 5 days when he came back to home Rex was again start growling on him. It was very surprisingly revealed that Rex haven’t growled and attacked anyone during his absence.  Again he tried to get closer to Rex but again Rex tried to attack him but fortunately Mr Naveed got saved from second attack. After the second they contact Dr Zahid Afzal and told him about the problem of his dog which was changing with him with passage of time.  Dr Zahid Afzal reached at their house and observed Rex thoroughly, upon checkup Dr Zahid revealed that Rex is in a severe stressed condition and he needs some extra and special care. So after examining and taking history he told the owner that Rex was too attached to him and he suddenly got a plan to US, which makes Rex angrier and after that a servant was serving the Rex with food and other items. But definitely a servant can’t make attachment just like the actual owner of dog, so this makes Rex more restless and he pull out his anger on Mr Naveed when he came back home.

Treatment Plan Suggested:

Treatment plan suggested was not medication it was just a psychological treatment, which includes petting of Rex by Naveed as much as he can. He should try to give food to Rex by his own hands and not let the servants to feed Rex. Along with this Rex also need a special training from a dog trainer to cover up his mental state. After 2 weeks of this routine General Veterinary Hospital Lahore again contacted Mr Naveed to take follow back and was really great and good. Rex was now completely recovered and stabilized with Mr Naveed.

Conclusion:

The important thing was here that Mr Naveed was a anxiety patient along with hypertension, so he easily got fear of Rex when he attacked first time. This was so bad for Rex that his owner fears from him and also his owner left him alone for two weeks. So finally he attacked. But after Mr Naveed cover up his anxiety and fear, Rex also got relaxed. So remember medical treatment is not the only solution in all cases sometimes behavioral treatments can also provide relief.