Dogs and cats experience genuine psychological disorders including anxiety, phobias, and obsessive behaviors that deserve recognition and treatment.
Companion animal mental health deserves recognition as a legitimate welfare domain alongside physical health. The tendency to dismiss animal behavioral problems as disobedience or training failures rather than psychological disorders delays appropriate treatment and prolongs suffering. A dog who shakes with terror during thunderstorms, destroys furniture when alone, or compulsively chases shadows is experiencing genuine psychological distress that, in a human, would prompt compassionate response rather than behavior correction. Veterinary behavioral medicine, a recognized specialty, provides evidence-based diagnosis and treatment for animal psychological disorders using validated assessment tools, pharmaceutical management, and behavior modification protocols. Treating animal mental health disorders is not anthropomorphism - it is the appropriate welfare response to genuine suffering that can be alleviated through appropriate intervention.