Press Release: Manage Stress and Fear Related Signs in Dogs - Naturally
Revolutionary Way to Calm and Reassure Dogs and End Destructive Behavior

Received 11-8-02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gina DePinto (602) 664-1218
gdepinto@mail.farnam.com

PHOENIX, Ariz. - (Sept. 30, 2002) If you own a dog, you're one of about 68 million Americans who share their lives with canines. However, most of these households are empty during the day, leaving the family dog home alone. Dogs are not naturally solitary animals, so when they're left alone, they may exhibit annoying or destructive behaviors such as chewing, digging or excessive barking - signs of separation anxiety. But now dog owners have a sensible, or scent-sible, answer that uses a dog's own "language" to discourage it from destroying the family home, ending frustration.

The D.A.P.™ (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) diffuser provides an effective way to control and manage unwanted canine behavior associated with fear and/or stress, such as separation anxiety, destruction, vocalization and house soiling. It also calms dogs with thunderstorm or fireworks phobias. According to Wayne Hunthausen, D.V.M., director of Animal Behavior Consultations (Kansas), it is important to understand the causes of behavior problems, so they can be prevented or readily managed when they occur.

"There can be several reasons for anxiety related behaviors, such as a change in environment like moving to a new home, a new baby in the house or a new social relationship for the owner, or temporary events like a stay in a kennel, visit to the veterinarian or being separated from it's owner," says Hunthausen. "Regardless of the cause, the end result can break the human-animal bond to the point where an owner asks us to euthanize a pet."

Indeed, behavior is a serious issue. The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy conducted a study of pets involved in relinquishment cases compared to those who stayed with an owner. Included in their findings, relinquished dogs were reported to be house soiling, destructive and fearful more often than dogs in the comparison population.

Consider the Statistics of Pet Relinquishment:
According to The Humane Society of the United States, it is estimated that eight to 10 million dogs and cats are surrendered to our nation's animal shelters each year, and sadly, an estimated four to five million are euthanized. Millions more never make it to the shelter. Instead, they are given away, put on a chain in the backyard or, worse still, abandoned.

Today, most of the dogs and cats relinquished to shelters are not puppies and kittens, but animals that are older than 6 months. These are pets that once had a home but were given up after their caregivers were unable to meet the challenges of caring for them.

D.A.P. mimics the properties of the natural pheromones of the lactating female. Within three to five days after giving birth, the milk-producing mother generates pheromones that give their puppies a sense of well-being and reassurance, known as appeasing pheromones. Pheromones are picked up and detected by a specific animal's sense of smell producing specific responses. By replicating this signal of comfort, D.A.P. helps alleviate fear and stress related signs in the puppy and adult dog.

Previously only available in Europe, D.A.P. is an easy-to-use "plug-in" diffuser that consists of an electrical plug-in unit and disposable (30-day) bottle that will deliver the pheromone 24 hours a day. It continuously releases the active ingredient into the dog's environment and allows trouble-free treatment for approximately four weeks. In clinical trials1 with D.A.P., destructive behavior and vocalization (excessive barking and whining) were improved or resolved by 72 percent and 85 percent respectively.

D.A.P. was developed by the same experts that introduced Feliway®, an environmental spray containing synthetic analogues of naturally occurring facial pheromones. Feliway replicates pheromones cats use to mark territory when they rub their cheeks against people and objects. Feliway also is being introduced with an electric diffuser.

As Hunthausen explains, dogs are highly sociable and exhibit attachment behaviors that serve to maintain social contact and bonds between adult individuals as well as between parent and offspring2. In situations where a dog loses contact with the group, the resultant anxiety can trigger behaviors that will attract other members (vocalizations), behaviors that help remove barriers (digging, chewing) or ones that facilitate the restoration of contact (increased activity) with other members. It is this underlying drive to be with members of the established social group that provides the foundation for hyper-attachment problems to develop.

There are other causes of destructive behavior that should be ruled out, however. Destructive behaviors in the owner's absence include teething, play, investigative behavior, hunger, barrier frustration, and inadequate exercise or stimulation. Another explanation for intermittent destructive chewing around windows and doors is territorial behavior. Displaced chewing or destructive escape behaviors can be triggered when the pet sees another dog or a person outdoors.

Once destructive behaviors have been identified as resultant from anxiety, stress, fear and phobias, Hunthausen recommends D.A.P. "This product provides the veterinarian practitioner with a tool to comfort and calm the dog, and relief for the owner," he says. "The changes in the dog's behavior are visible...from pacing, chewing and constant whining, to calm and quiet."

D.A.P. and Feliway plug-ins are marketed through veterinarians by Veterinary Products Laboratories, and through specialty pet retailers by Farnam Pet Products under the brand name Comfort Zone™ with D.A.P. and Comfort Zone™ with Feliway.

For more information about Comfort Zone Diffusers or Farnam Pet Products, go to farnampet.com or call toll free at (800) 234-2269.

Veterinarians looking for information about D.A.P. and Feliway Diffusers or Veterinary Products Laboratories, go to vpl.com or call toll free at (888) 241-9545.
-30-

MSRP: Electric Diffuser with 48 ml vial: $39.99; 48 ml Refill Vial: $21.99
Product information

D.A.P.™ is a trademark of Ceva Santé Animale.
Feliway® is a registered trademark of Ceva Santé Animale.