Does Your Dog Have Severe ADHD?
Does Your Dog Have severe ADHD? 32.1% of South Dakota households own a dog. That's a lot of dogs. If you have a dog at your house have you noticed that it has been a little high-strung?
It turns out that just like humans dogs can suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD.
The University of Helsinki studied over 11,000 dogs to see what was causing certain dogs to be more excitable than other dogs.
They figured in gender, age, breed, behavior problems, and certain environmental factors to see which dogs exhibited the symptoms of ADHD.
Among the findings, Professor Hannes Lohi, head of a canine gene research group at the University of Helsinki stated that “Dogs share many similarities with humans, including physiological traits and the same environment. In addition, ADHD-like behavior naturally occurs in dogs. This makes dogs an interesting model for investigating ADHD in humans.”
Some of the findings in the University of Helsinki study include:
- Hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention were more common in young dogs and male dogs.
- Dogs who spent more time alone at home daily were more hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive than dogs who spent less time on their own.
- There were significant differences between breeds of dogs.
- Dogs may also develop obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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