BehavioRx Case of the Month
for February 2003
A 10 month-old, intact male Labrador/Golden Retriever's owners, Tim and Donna, said they were about to give up on their "behavioral cyclone." Since they got him at 8 weeks of age from a supermarket boxful of 7 other littermates, he had lived up to their first impression about him... "He was so lively compared to the other puppies, and our boys, 5 and 7 years old, needed a lively pet. We though it would slow them down a little."
"Buddy" now tipped the scales at 67 lbs., and every ounce was in action unless he was asleep. When we met him, he was friendly and he fit all the behavior profiles of dogs in our experience who might be suffering from a "sugar high," prediabetes, thyroid disease, or genuine hyperkinesis.
Buddy would sit when Tim commanded him sternly, but he wouldn't stay sitting; after 5-10 seconds, he would bounce up on all fours and start straining at his leash to go anywhere but where he was. Off leash he was uncontrollable. When we asked Tim to hold him tightly, Buddy struggled for freedom, started panting heavily and salivating, as if something terrible might happen if he didn't get free.
We sat down and allowed Buddy complete freedom of the training area. He started investigating everywhere, as if each nook or canny contained another animal. Even though he was panting heavily, a bowl of fresh water was simply sniffed at. After almost 20 minutes of hyper-activity Buddy didn't even appear to be thirsty. Buddy was fast fulfilling the symptoms of hyperkinesis.
When we explained that we had seen great success through a coordinated holistic
approach to dogs like Buddy, Donna and Tim agreed that finding the cause would be better
than struggling to control the symptoms Buddy was displaying. They agreed to start feeding
a diet suited to a true meat-eating canine carnivore versus a
vegetable-eating equine herbivore. We recommend they investigate the following internet
web sites:
http://www.drianbillinghurst.com
http://www.stevesrealfood.com
http://www.wysong.net
By selecting one of the high protein foods available, they could get Buddy off his
current diet, which was a dry kibble, having only 23% protein and more than 50%
carbohydrate, to one that afforded at least double the amount of protein and less than
half that in carbohydrate. As with most dog owners today, Tim and Donna were unaware that
canines have absolutely no need for carbohydrate in their diet; and when they ingest it,
they convert it to a form of sugar which is either burned as energy or stored, mainly in
the liver and muscles, plus other tissues. Whether or not hyperkinetic, giving Buddy the
food that matched his genetic needs made good sense to both owners. Further, in a short
time, usually less than a week, most carbohydrate-sensitive, "hyper" dogs start
calming down dramatically. While Buddy
relished his new diet, his hyper-activity did not lessen noticeably. Buddy's low-level
water intake versus his high-level activity, his salivation and panting when physically
restrained all fit the profile for a genuinely hyperkinetic dog. His veterinarian
performed blood chemistry examinations which ruled out thyroid dysfunction, allergies and
other health problems.
To investigate the possibility (now a probability) of hyperkinesis, the doctor
administered the clinical test as detailed in Behavior Problem in Dogs. Buddy was
held by an assistant as the doctor recorded his heart and respiration rates. Compared to
normal dogs, Buddy's rates were "sky high." He was then administered a minimal
dose of the stimulant, methylphenidate. 90 minutes later his readings in mild restraint
had fallen dramatically. He was also quite calm on the examination table,
rather than struggling as before. The veterinarian was satisfied that Buddy had responded
to a stimulant paradoxically, by actually calming down. A positive sign of
hyperkinesis.
Once the program was started and the ideal dosage of methylphenidate was found, Buddy's behavior was described by the family as "He's great now." During the remedial program, Buddy learned to respond off- and on-leash to training commands, stopped jumping on everybody and overreacting and interfering when the boys tried to play, both with and without him.
After seven weeks the dosage of the drug was gradually reduced until Buddy was
drug-free. While still a very active family pet, Buddy remained totally manageable.
Donna commented profoundly about the program relative to one of her 7 year-old son's
friends who had been recommended for drug treatment due to unruliness in the classroom.
"I hope they'll run the same tests for him as we did for Buddy's problem. Think of
all the trouble that might avoid."
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