What does a traumatized dog look like? The most common image that would pop into people’s heads is a dog that looks dejected. However, traumatized dogs look well, but they feel distressed at random times. This is the case with a dog named Tanya.
Tanya seems normal most of the time. However, her owners would often find her making a squealing sound. During this ordeal, Tanya would scratch her face uncontrollably.
The owner believes that the scratching is due to Tanya’s skin disease. They’ve tried to apply every medication and even changed her diet three times. However, none of those made any difference regarding the scratching and squealing.
The owners brought Tanya to an animal hospital, where they subjected her to an MRI scan. Fortunately, the scan results showed that Tanya had no health issues. However, this made the problem harder to figure out. The veterinarian suggested putting a cone on Tanya’s head for a day and seeing what happens.
To the owners’ surprise, Tanya never attempted to scratch her face for a whole day. When they reported this to the vet, it became clear that Tanya’s issue was psychological. It turns out that she got hit by a car in the past, and that event still haunts her daily.
The owners sought the help of an animal behavior expert to help them with Tanya’s problem. The expert suggested putting Tanya in a situation where she had to remove a stimulant. In this case, a piece of tape was wrapped around her paw. Whenever she successfully removes it, she gets rewarded with food.
The training taught Tanya to overcome an annoying sensation by herself. She was also given a special type of toy that allows her to focus on her sense of smell. Lastly, Tanya was taken on strolls every day to release her energy.
The expert presented a good solution to follow. However, Tanya won’t get over her trauma in a single day. The owners will continue to work with her until she no longer randomly squeals or scratches her face.
Source: SBS TV Animals via YouTube.
