Continued from Part 2 In clinical practice we have observed cases where phobic behavior (both towards the dog’s immediate surroundings and towards humans with which the dog has little contact) and anxiety develop in pre-puberty. This occasionally leads to an anxiety syndrome which I call “anticipated defense behavior” (Dehasse, 1990a). A Bernese sheep-dog (raised …

Continued from Part 1. The emotional self-regulation (homeostasis) phase Homeostasis is the ability of an organism to maintain an equilibrium in a variable environment. Just as we have thermo-regulation (thermal homeostasis), we can also speak of emotional and relational homeostasis (Vincent, 1986). And we could even stretch the analogy somewhat: the organism has a …

Introduction In our Western culture, the relation between humans and dogs is played out in a historical and socio-economic context that fosters the emergence of behavioral dysfunctions in animals (the discrepancy between the imagined dog and reality). Many behavioral problems in dogs arise from a failure to recognize social and environmental constraints during their growth. …