Self-Harming in Pets - What Triggers It?

While it’s not an uncommon term in the world of humans, it’s unusual to hear the term “self-harm” when talking about dogs and other family pets. It caught my ear when I learned of a boxer that had been returned to a shelter for the third time in their short life and the rescue team reported the pooch had begun to self-harm.

So, what does this look like in animals and what causes of it?

According to the National Library of Medicine, it’s a well-established phenomenon although not necessarily a well-known one. Because it’s reported most frequently in zoos, we don’t connect the dots when it comes to that fur ball lying on our living room sofa. However, the triggers that cause self-harm in wild animals can also be applied to most animals – including dogs, cats, and other family pets.

Researchers note that in addition to early life experience, isolation is one of the influencing factors and the situation can often be exacerbated by a sudden stimulus. For wild animals, not being able to meet their physical and emotional needs can cause the abnormal behaviors we’ve all seen in video clips - pacing, head-bobbing, over-grooming or excessive licking. These are the actions of an animal with emotionally impaired brain function and who are now trying to find a way to deal with the situation.

Similarly, when we look closer to home, stressors such as separation anxiety are known to cause pets to become both ill and destructive – chewing, barking, vomiting, pooping, or urinating. And for owners of multiple pets, many will attest that when one passes away, the others do seem to mourn, often refusing to eat and displaying the typical traits of humans going through the grieving process.

So, if our pets can feel emotion and act out in response to it, the question that’s been bantered around for decades is how far can it go? Are our pets capable of taking it one step further and intentionally ending their lives? Now, for any pet parent who has cared for a lethargic animal who suddenly refuses to eat or interact with his favorite people, the question doesn’t seem all that far-fetched.

However, the short answer is no. Animals don’t make a conscious choice to stop living. According to Professor of Zoology David Eilam who is also Head of the Laboratory for the Analysis of Humana and Animal Behavior at Tel-Aviv University, while the precursors to human suicide may be present (depression, sadness), it doesn’t translate into the same action when it comes to animals.

And because our fur-kids are incapable of premeditation, their behaviors don’t have a sad end goal. They’re just a coping mechanism to get them through the immediate situation.