Pain rewires the brain....is the webinar series I just finished through Behavior Vets. It has me thinking so much about many of my clients whose dogs have behavior issues. Pain is so darn tricky since the original pain can be resolved but now the brain is in a maladaptive state. The body continues to recognize a pain state even though the pain is gone. Ugh.

Did you know that signs of pain could show up behaviorally in the following ways?

* Decrease in sleep
* Repetitive behavior like chasing a ball endlessly
* Increased arousal
* Sensitivity to touch
* Sensitivity to sound
* Sensitivity to sights
* Anxiety

And that's just to a name a few. These really aren't well known and most of the time pain isn't even explored as a possible cause or exacerbating factor, especially in young dogs. More & more, with many of my clients I recommend exploring pain detection and pain medication trials with their veterinarian as part of our behavior modification plan.

Getting veterinarians on board with intense exploration and/or pain medication trials can be really, really hard. It usually takes multiple conversations, and we need to provide documentation via behavior logs and videos. Sometimes my clients need to switch vets to one that is more open to hearing our concerns. If you find yourself in this situation, advocate kindly and persistently for your dog and switch vets if ultimately that's needed to move forward.

A recent scientific paper found that up to 80% of dogs with behavior issues have a pain-related component. When I read that, my heart hurt. Pain is being overlooked time and time again as a possible cause of behavior problems. This paper (as I understood it) recommends veterinarians do pain medication trials more readily to see if there's a positive change in behavior. If there is, then you know there's pain and then the client and the vet can decide together how to proceed. I love this approach and hope more veterinarians begin to do this in the coming months and years. 

I work with a lot of dogs that need help calming down, and one tool that is always useful is scent games. Dogs are designed to sniff & smell...deep sniffing can reduce their heart rate, help them regulate their nervous system, and reduce the emotional load they may be feeling. Scent games are easy to do and require basically no expertise to implement. 

Start by saving boxes of all shapes and sizes, along with brown packing paper & cardboard tubes from your toilet paper. If you have other toys, like a food-dispensing toy, a puzzle toy or a snuffle mat, use them too!

Put the boxes, tubes and packing paper inside of each other to make it really hard (don't hesitate to make it easier if your dog needs) and sprinkle smelly food & treats inside, the smellier the better. Sharp cheddar cheese is one of my faves to use, along with freeze dried beef tripe treats. For the snuffle mat I love using Saint Rocco's sprinkles (use code DAY15 at checkout). 

Once it's set up, let the dog at it! There's no right or wrong way for them to sniff out the treats. Some dogs will be dainty, others will bulldoze their way through everything and may even tear or chew the cardboard. It's their time to play, so let them play as they wish! Some dogs do this independently and others want some support from their person. 

Once they are done, refill everything and repeat it 2, 3, even 5 more times. Reconfigure the items a little each time to make it different. For example, put the snuffle mat under a table or put a smaller box into a bigger box.

Is your dog tired after a few rounds? I know mine is! Happy sniffing!

Watch Brown (available for adoption at the Montco SPCA)  play scent games in my car on a rainy day!