Canine PTSD Blue Ribbon Panel Meeting Summary

Canine PTSD Blue Ribbon Panel Meeting Summary

BACKGROUND: Beginning in 2007, Army Veterinarians began to observe that there was an increase in reports of MWDs experiencing behavioral problems that interfered with their ability to serve effectively and which appeared to be related to combat exposure, concussive events, and repeated or prolonged deployment. Two efforts were made to assess the extent of the problem - DODMWDVS and AFSFC issued a joint data call to identify potentially-affected MWDS, and MAJ Wendy Mey completed an epidemiological investigation of problems reported in veterinary records of MWDs that had been recently deployed. Both of these attempts had shortcomings that prevented a comprehensive view of problems, but each estimated that 5 percent or more of deployed MWDs experienced behavioral problems that either interfered with or ended their military service.

CHARTER: In 2010, BG McMillian (AF A7S) and BG Adams (Army Veterinary Corps Chief) asked for and received briefings regarding these problems. As a result of those briefings, each asked DODMWDVS to develop a way-ahead to gather data to track the scope of loss of service in deployed MWDs, and develop methods to screen, prevent, diagnose, treat and follow-up MWDs that are experiencing problems. BG Adams proposed that these behavioral problems be tentatively called Canine Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), in part because of some similarities to PTSD seen in humans, and also to provide a better identifier for the effort.

EXECUTION: DODVSA funded ITOs that allowed DODMWDVS to indentify panel members and sponsor a Blue Ribbon Panel, which was held at the LTC Daniel E Holland Military Working Dog Hospital on 4-5 January 2011. This panel consisted of over 35 participants both at Lackland AFB and via webinar representing the MWD Program Manager, 341 TRS, Service Component MWD representatives, Army veterinarians, as well as academic representatives from WPAFB Human Factors Wing and 6 major US universities. These participants represented expertise in areas as diverse as molecular genetics, database and statistical design and analysis, veterinary and human medical and behavioral specialists, and two major centers/consortiums involved in human PTSD research.

OUTCOMES: The group received 15 presentations from key experts, and then worked to develop a consensus-based working definition for C-PTSD, and way-ahead to address service loss in deployed/combat exposed MWDs (and more specifically C-PTSD) through ongoing characterization of service loss in MWDs and to develop a plan to continually refine methods of candidate MWD assessment to reduce lost service due to selectable traits, develop and evaluate medical and training methods to reduce the expression of behavioral problems resulting in lost service, and to support continual refinement of medical and behavioral evaluation, treatments, and follow-up for MWDs found unserviceable due to behavioral problems (and in particular, C-PTSD).

FUTURE PLANS: All attendees agreed that this should become an ongoing process, and a draft document was distributed to Panel members for coordination and refinement before presenting the products to BGs McMillian and Adams.

Prepared By: Walter F Burghardt, Jr, DVM, PhD, DACVB (6 JAN 2011)