Photo of soldier Dereck Stevens and his military working dog, courtesy of The New York Times
We're all familiar with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the medical term used to describe various and sometime devastating symptoms that occur after experiencing a traumatic event-like soldiers returning from war, and 9/11's first responders. So we thought it was important to pass along this recent article from The New York Times, titled "The Dogs of War, Suffering Like Soldiers." to remind us that the four-legged heroes of war suffer alongside their human counterparts from this disorder.
According to this article, "...the four-legged, wet-nosed troops used to sniff out mines, track down enemy fighters and clear buildings are struggling with the mental strains of combat nearly as much as their human counterparts." And as do humans, different dogs show different symptoms: some become hyper-vigilant, while others exhibit major changes in temperament, like becoming unusually aggressive or in the opposite extreme, clingy and timid.
Highly trained military working dogs have become increasingly important to helping our troops (active duty military dogs have risen from 1800 in 2001 to at least 2700 today-a large increase considering the extensive training and cost required), and so has devising effective treatments for the canine version of PTSD. "Care can be as simple as taking a dog off patrol and giving it lots of exercise, playtime and gentle obedience training." But more serious cases demand more aggressive treatment, like "desensitization counter conditioning" which involves gradually exposing the dog to sights and sounds (like a gunshot or loud bang) and rewarding them for not reacting.
In a letter to the editor commenting on this article, a concerned medical doctor commented that "we owe our four-legged friends yet another debt of gratitude," for providing additional proof that these symptoms must be taken seriously: "If trauma-in a battle or elsewhere-can unhinge the uncluttered mind of a dog, how much more readily it must affect the complex mind of a human." And we couldn't agree more (although I take offense at the comment that my mind is uncluttered!)
As always, let us know what you think about this very important topic.
