Aggression
Aggression may be caused by behavioral problems, including:
- Fear based aggression
- Dominance aggression
- Breed associated dominance
- Mistreated and neglected animals
- Unsocialized and poorly trained animals
Aggression can also be normal in many situations, such as:
- Dogs protecting their home or people
- Birds that are protecting their nests or people
- Animals that feel threatened
Aggression is best handled using the following approaches:
- Run conventional Western diagnostic tests and radiographs
- Treat any underlying problems
- Pain is often an underlying cause of aggression. Painful animals feel less secure and are more likely to respond aggressively out of insecurity and fear.
- Pain is often best managed with acupuncture and herbs. If the pain is due to arthritis of the legs or back pain, consider using Arthroplex
- Consult with a behaviorist for training advice
Try not to use herbs or drugs that are designed to suppress aggression:
- Suppressive therapies include pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, tranquilizers and mood altering drugs
- It is better to cure a problem than suppress symptoms; work hard to find the root cause of the problem and fix it
- Suppressive therapies are much more indicated when the animal is extremely dangerous to people or other animals
- Suppressive drugs, when used, should always be used with behavior modification and the therapies listed below.
Complementary Therapies
-
Phosphatidylserine
(See the article on Phosphatidylserine) - Arthroplex
- When arthritis is causing pain that creates
the aggression, consider adding Arthroplex
- dl-phenylalanine
-
Endorphin or relieving effect
-
Feverfew
-
To control pain and fever
-
Chinese Herbs
- When used to control aggression, each animal must be individually evaluated to prescribe the appropriate Chinese herbs.
-
Consult with a local holistic veterinarian or call for a Phone Consult
-
Migraway - an herbal product we often use that relieves pain, call us for availability of this product
- Bach Flowers
(Flower Essence Therapy)
- Homeopathic Therapies
- Homeopathy is very individualized, please call for a Phone Consult