From the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center, Wentzville, Missouri (L.R.M., K.L.C.).
From the Lincoln Land Animal Clinic Ltd., Jacksonville, Illinois (C.S.K.).
J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2022 Jul 1;58(4):161-167. doi: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7210.
The goal of this study was to determine if anxiety, aggression, and fear-related behaviors are more common in pruritic dogs with atopic dermatitis than nonpruritic, healthy dogs. One hundred forty-one pruritic dogs >1 yr of age with a clinical diagnosis of atopic dermatitis and a >3 mo history of pruritus were recruited. Dog owners completed a behavioral survey (canine behavioral assessment and research questionnaire) and a pruritus scale (pruritus visual analog scale). Pruritic, atopic dogs showed significant increases in fear- and anxiety-related behaviors as well as aggression compared with a large control group of healthy dogs. Stranger-directed aggression, owner-directed aggression, familiar-dog aggression, dog-directed fear, nonsocial fear, touch sensitivity, excitability, and attention-seeking behaviors were all increased in the study group. Trainability was decreased in the study group. Chronically pruritic dogs experience fear and anxiety and are more likely to display aggression. This is an important welfare issue for these animals. Early recognition of the behavioral derangements that can be associated with chronic pruritic skin disease could allow early intervention with a multidisciplinary approach for these patients, thus improving patient and owner quality of life and long-term treatment outcomes.
本研究旨在确定瘙痒性特应性皮炎犬是否比非瘙痒性健康犬更常出现焦虑、攻击和与恐惧相关的行为。招募了 141 只年龄大于 1 岁、临床诊断为特应性皮炎且瘙痒史大于 3 个月的瘙痒性犬。犬主人完成了行为调查（犬行为评估和研究问卷）和瘙痒量表（瘙痒视觉模拟量表）。与大型健康犬对照组相比，瘙痒性特应性皮炎犬表现出明显增加的恐惧和焦虑相关行为以及攻击性。陌生犬导向性攻击、主人导向性攻击、熟悉犬攻击、犬导向性恐惧、非社交恐惧、触觉敏感、兴奋性和寻求关注行为在研究组中均增加。研究组的可训练性降低。慢性瘙痒犬会经历恐惧和焦虑，并且更有可能表现出攻击性。这是这些动物的一个重要福利问题。早期识别可能与慢性瘙痒性皮肤病相关的行为障碍，可以为这些患者早期采用多学科方法进行干预，从而提高患者和主人的生活质量和长期治疗效果。
