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Originally Posted by DBlain  Hi, I am a newbie and this forum is great, lots of good information and stories, LOL I could spend all day here if I let myself. In reading the posts about so many different situations I have started to think about something I never asked a vet about. Has anyone owned a dog that they would say had true mental problems (not behavior problems) but major problems like autism, bi polar, detachment disorder, ADD etc. People always say when you have problems with a dog it's the human owner and how they are raising their dog, but after 5 dogs of the same breed, raised the same way over a 25 year span I can't agree with that statement. My last male yorkie, Kirby was completely different from all the others. From the first day I brought him home at 4 months old I felt something was not right, but after spending $1,800.00 with a reputable but intimidating show breeder I kept him. He had so much anger, showed little affection, had tons of quirks and fears and an almost spiteful behavior, all of which got worse as he got older. His life sadly ended at age 5 after he tried to attack a Weimarimer (sp?), who he had known since birth and who never went after him. After Kirby passed several of my friends commented that he may have been demented or something along those lines. I have thought about this a lot and I have felt both guilty and embarrassed to admit that I never really bonded with him, but in truth he never let me. I would hold him often and he would refuse to look at me, he would turn his head to the side, when i was not in the house people would tell me Kirby would shake and tremble but when I would return after a brief greeting he would ignore me. I can't help but wonder is mental illness something just reserved for us humans or can animals have it as well. Please fee free to post your thoughts and experiences. Thanks Donna |
I rescued a french brittany spaniel at a couple months age. She would not associate with males her entire life. The exception was me. She lived a long happy life, but trembled at the site of a man. I'm a guy and she trembled if i left her for just a minute. If a guy came around that she was not familiar with, she would run in circles and bite her tail.
What ever the reason( and im well aware of the reason), this was a mental disorder.
Id imagine anything to be possible