Military Dogs and PTSD

We all know that some dogs are afraid of thunder or fireworks, and that for some dogs, bad experiences in their early years can create lasting impressions. Beelzebub, the GSD I grew up with, was hit by a delivery truck when he was a puppy. The driver stopped and carried him to the house. It was an accident and he did what was right.

Still, from that day forward, Beelzebub hated large trucks and men in delivery type uniforms. The UPS man and the milk man were his favorite targets. My mother used to always try and make sure he was closed away when we were expecting a delivery. One time, the UPD man actually had to lock Beelzebub in the cab of his truck in order to get to our door.

Luckily, while he was most definitely my father’s dog, he recognized my mom as capable of making decisions about these things and she was able to safely get him into the house.

I say all this because a recent report has come out that the dogs who serve in the military can end up suffering from a canine version of PTSD.

This does not surprise me at all. I remember reports about both the Oklahoma City and World Trade Center rescue dogs where volunteers would occasionally hide in the rubble just so the dogs could find a live person, as the constant death got them as depressed as the people.

We have made humanity such a huge part of dogs that we cannot be surprised when they respond to certain things in a way similar to humans. We have bred ourselves into them.

I hope very much that now that vets are willing to call it PTSD, there can be more research and we find a way of helping these dogs. After all, so many dogs are helping our soldiers who are suffering from PTSD, it only seems right we return the favor.