DogTrainingPlace

Over-excitability And Inhibition Behavior In Dogs

Over excitability is the term used to describe most of the problem dogs we see, especially when they are stressed by new surroundings, strangers, other dogs, social isolation, physical restraint, stimulation, and sudden loud noises. At the other end of the spectrum of behavioral reactivity, we see highly inhibited animals that react to stress by total inaction or slow, stiff movements, and apparent depression, seeming to lose contact with environmental stimuli. The problem usually occurs while the owners sleep at night, or when the dogs are left alone, especially for a long period of time. The stress of being ignored, even if the owners are there, stimulates the mother to introverted behavior (self-mutilation) and stimulates the extremely excitable son toward extroverted over-activity.

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Hyperkinesis In Dogs

Anyone who has worked extensively with dogs has occasionally been confronted by an over-active, sometimes raging, vicious kind of dog, the handling of which has required a heavy duty tranquilizer and several helpers. In many cases, such behavior cannot be explained by improper handling or cruelty and neglect by their owners. When it seems that nothing can be done to correct the problem, then he is written off as “just a plain vicious dog” and relegated to the end of a chain or destroyed as a menace to the neighborhood. Since the early 1970s, such excitable and mean behavior has been identified in some dogs as hyperkinesis.

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