Military dogs being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder

2425 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Danusmc0321, Nov 27, 2012

kwflatbed

Discussion Starter · Nov 26, 2012

Military dogs being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder

Published November 26, 2012
FoxNews.com

Experts say dogs, like humans, can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Case in point: Cora, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, who spent months in Iraq sniffing out buried bombs. A 'push-button' dog, meaning she didn't need much supervision, Cora would roam around detecting explosives and lie down when she found danger. In return, she would be rewarded with treats or play time.
However, Cora's happy disposition didn't last long after her work in Iraq - she didn't want to leave her handler's side, loud noises bothered her and she would pick fights with other military dogs.
Marine Staff Sgt. Thomas Gehring, a dog handler at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, works with Cora on a daily basis and said she has canine PTSD, most likely due to the many stressful situations, loud sounds and the sights and sounds of death.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/11/26/military-dogs-being-diagnosed-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/?test=latestnews#ixzz2DLLd3wwV

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Danusmc0321

· #2 · Nov 26, 2012

I'd have PTSD if i had to put my nose on top of IED's too. My bomb dog got her tail blown off...god bless em

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· #3 · Nov 26, 2012

Danusmc0321 said:
I'd have PTSD if i had to put my nose on top of IED's too. My bomb dog got her tail blown off...god bless em

Dogs don't know that what they're sniffing for can blow them up......I call BS on this.

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Dan Stark

· #4 · Nov 26, 2012

I love dogs, especially my GSD, but my gut feeling is dog is reacting to owner, or just anxious because its not working. Working dogs need to.... Well... Work.

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Mr Scribbles

· #5 · Nov 27, 2012

Coming home can be "RRRUUFFF"

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Herrdoktor

· #6 · Nov 27, 2012

Wait a canine that doesn't like other dogs, doesn't want to leave its handler and is afraid of loud noises?

Sounds like a normal dog to me

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Herrdoktor

· #7 · Nov 27, 2012

Find them a good home and let them live fat and happy. They earned it

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pahapoika

· #8 · Nov 27, 2012

Herrdoktor said:
Find them a good home and let them live fat and happy. They earned it

hope to do just that when i get my own place next year.

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Harley387

· #9 · Nov 27, 2012

This smells like someone needs a reason to spend tax dollars. Really? PTSD counseling for dogs? I love dogs, but this sounds like BS to me.

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Danusmc0321

· #10 · Nov 27, 2012

They do all the training with the troops and they do get used to the sounds but there is a point where they are exposed to it too much and will just shake. At that point, the treat reward isn't worth it for them to work. The dogs don't work very well in country because of the way the IED's are rigged up and the environment they are working in. I had one near our base that I knew was there, but had to confirm to call EOD, ran the dog over it 4 times with no detection and then it blew from a cell phone command det. launching the dog into the air. Dogs are great for certain things, but harsh temps and loud noises they will refuse to work. The VA is way underfunded so spending money on trauma recovery for dogs doesn't make much sense to me. But if the 'Save the animals' people want to spend their money on them I say rock on..

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