Puppy got problems? Take it to Vet School's canine clinic

They are supposed to be man's best friend. But Patty Barrett found little comfort in this adage after her two mutts left their mark on all of her furniture. Barrett visited the University's Puppy Problem Prevention Clinic yesterday in hopes that the Veterinary School's program will set her newest dog Finian apart from his mischievious parents. "I own Finian's parents and they're a nightmare," Barrett said. "They chew table legs, windowsills and stairs. I want to prevent him from having the same problems as they have." Barrett is one of 180 Philadelphia-area pet owners who hope the clinic can prevent and head-off misbehavior in their pups before it begins. Vet School lecturer Karen Overall, who oversees the puppy program and directs the school's behavioral clinic, said the study is being conducted simultaneously at the University of Minnesota and the University of California at Davis. "I want to see if there is preventitive medicine for behavioral problems, like there is preventitive medicine for infectious disease," she said. "[The Morris Animal Foundation] wanted to know what we can do early on in an animal's life to start it off right," Overall said. "Will there be fewer behavioral problems or is there nothing we can do?" The clinic is being paid for by a grant from the Morris Animal Foundation and Miles Laboratories. Overall said that most dogs which are turned into humane societies are rejected by their owners due to behavioral problems. These problems include aggressive and destructive behavior and lack of bladder control in the house. "Millions of dogs are being euthanized each year for these reasons," she said. During the study, the dogs and their owners will be divided into three experimental groups. Each will receive different treatment or education and the three groups will be compared in one year. The first group will only be given lectures on preventitive information. The second will also receive some training. The third group will receive the lectures, extensive training, and a "PERFECT system canine head halter." The halter encourages dogs to correct themselves, without the threat of a choke chain, according to Overall. Pet owners at the program's first session yesterday said they were excited about the experiment. Arthur Johnson said he was led to buy a dog to have something "warm and furry around the house." But noted that unlike the other dogs he had when his children were young, Johnson wants Polly to "be under control and remain responsive." "We want to know what to expect," Johnson said. "Hopefully this can help us to get the dog to be companionable and responsive." "Owners not only gain free preventitive medical care for a year, but they also receive information on what normal is and what to expect," Overall said. "Because the dog owners came to us, we hope there is a real willingness to learn." In addition to helping both the owners and the pets, the study is designed to provide facilitators with results which could be very useful. "We have seen the connection in other areas that early intervention can prevent behavioral problems, but does this apply to animals as well?" asked Overall. "We know for instance that it is cheaper to prevent crime than to house criminals in penitentiaries." The clinic, which currently treats between 300 and 500 dogs a year for behavior problems, usually receives 100 phone calls a week. But, according to Overall, the clinic has received over 200 calls per day since announcing the program. Due to the large demand, Overall told a group of veterinary students to get ready for "Puppies R Us." The program will discuss basic dog-to-dog and dog-to-human responses. Dogs will be taught to "sit" and "stay" on command and will learn how to greet others with control. Overall said the project has taken up more time than she anticipated, but said it is worthwhile if it is successful. "If we can demonstrate that early intervention makes a difference in how willing people are to work with pets and prevent problems, we will substantially decrease the number of dogs thrown on the streets or euthanized for behavioral problems," she said.

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