ASSOCIATION OF BEHAVIOURAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPY IN AN AGGRESSIVE DOG

Abstract Dog aggression is a serious public health issue. More than 4 million dog bites to humans are estimated to occur each year, and up to 42% of dogs presented to behaviour clinics do so for aggression toward other dogs. Aggression places a serious strain on the human-animal bond. Dogs frequently are surrendered to shelters for behavioural reasons, including aggression. Several therapeutic approaches have been proposed, here, a combination of pharmacological and behavioural therapy has been used for the treatment of a severe case of aggressiveness in a dog. Extreme aggressive behaviour (general anxiety, fear aggression and possessive aggression) was diagnosed in a male pit bull aged 10 months. Two behaviour-therapy techniques (relaxation and counter-conditioning) were associated with a pharmacological therapy The pharmacological approach consisted in the per os administration of fluvoxamine as follows: 2 mg/kg/day every 12 hours for 30 days, 4 mg/kg/day for 150 days. The dose was then gradually reduced in 90 days. The behavioural therapy started after three weeks of drug administration. After 180 days no aggressive behaviour was detected anymore and the drug administration was gradually reduced in 90 days. The positive follow up suggests that behavioural therapy may be effective, by itself, in controlling aggressive temperaments but the combination with pharmacological treatment is often necessary to start applying behavioural techniques.