Does ADHD exist in Dogs?

What is ADHD?

Autism describes a huge range of problems, each very different to the next, and is a disability that is thought to be the result of unusual brain development before or shortly after birth.  The reason this happens is not properly known, but it is probably due to a variety of conditions that affect the foetus during its development.  Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is on the Autistic spectrum and is characterized by poor attention, hyperactivity, poor memory and a lack of impulse control.

So what about the dogs?

ADHD is currently only diagnosed in children and adults, however, there is no reason in my opinion why it should not affect dogs.  In fact many may argue that all dogs suffer with ADHD in some degree or other.  There is no evidence that I have seen, to suggest that the development of the dogs brain could not be affected in the same way as a baby’s at the same crucial developmental stage.  This is not a cop out; most dogs are simply hyperactive and just need a behaviour modification plan like any other.  If ADHD is in dogs, and I believe it is, then a very different approach needs to be taken.    

Abbey

Abbey is a deaf, two year old merle collie living at Assisi Animal Sanctuary.  She a loving and calm dog that loves her cuddles and really enjoys human contact, she wasn’t always like that though.  When I first met her I could only describe her as a lunatic.    My observations of her were that she was unable to cope with the outside world, she couldn’t be walked because she would be constantly having ‘blind fits’, almost like a tantrum.  She had been seen by a vet who had ruled out any other medical condition.  I established a set of triggers that were common in setting off a ‘fit’ – the list goes on but the main ones were cars, people, dogs, traffic cones, crisp packets, carrier bags, sheep and grass.  Well, she just needs socialisation, you may say, and I would agree with you if it weren’t for the fact that she would walk past one sheep but not the next.  One minute she would ignore the cars and the next she would be going loopy.  A dog that required socialisation would be uneasy in all situations and over a period of positive sessions would have started to accept them.  This kind of training made no difference at all to Abbey.  In the house, she would be calmly sitting with you enjoying cuddles and then all of a sudden her state of mind would change and she would start leaping up and down obsessively at a book case.  She was fidgety and restless; her responses to stimuli were not proportionate to what you would normally expect from a dog even in extreme circumstances.  She was not motivated by toys, treats or a fuss and as such there had been no formal training and she was also so easily distracted that you could rarely get her attention for more than a second.

Now, Abbey is a happy dog that walks calmly on a loose lead and really enjoys her walks.  They said we would never get her to walk past another dog without a scene, but now she doesn’t bat an eyelid at them, she is a wonderful dog who didn’t respond to any normal dog handling methods but has responded so well to normal behaviour management techniques used with ADHD children and herbal remedies that are also effective with kids.

So if you ask me, ADHD is in dogs and if left untreated it will make for a very unhappy dog and owner, and sadly a dog that is so out of control in many cases that it will probably end up in a Sanctuary or worse still be put down.  There is hope for these dogs.

If you would like to know more, or think you may have a dog with ADHD, please get in touch.