Anxiety

[rnor1120]

you are very close to this case so don't take this wrong.

I had another vet look at her and okay the script for me. I mentioned somewhere I went back and forth about putting her on meds, and I didn't feel okay with it until another doc okayed it (plus, a lot of anxiolytic drugs are controlled substances, and I am NOT getting tangled up in writing controlled scripts for my own animals).

Anyway, I'm already seeing improvements and I feel much better in my decision to medicate her. Just for the benefit of others reading - meds are not the only thing I do for Cricket. I walk her about 1.5 miles daily and do regular obedience training with her. I work anywhere from 8-12 hours per day, but more often than not I can make it home for my lunch hour and take the dogs on a walk.

[WufWuf]

I walk her about 1.5 miles daily

FWIW this wouldn't be enough to keep Honey happy and calm. She needs at least an hour and a half a day to keep her at a base level. At the moment she gets around 2 1/2 hours a day walking (including periods off lead) a good few days in the week and around 2 hours the rest of the days. This is on top of training, bones, kongs, games and cuddle/grooming time. She's still a live wire and has now give herself the job of performing extended downs at my feet during the evening when she feels she needs more activity (this is in place of barking/growling at the window which she can not see out of BTW).

When she asks to do them I reward at a good rate and then slowly extend the time in between rewards. She will do these until she gets sleepy and then goes off to bed (could be up to an hour but more likely 20 - 30 mins) .

I say this to show that some dogs are just busier than others and even though Honey is not that foody (and gets lots of activity by many dogs standards) she will do a job she likes just to be doing Something. She would be happy enough having a blast barking away at nothing and getting all riled up but she's managed to figure out that she can be a "Very Good Girl" and get some food to keep her interested in the job (she'll still have a go at getting riled up if an oppertunity presents its self ). In general she will conk out in between activites and then make her case for entertainment after a good sleep.

Honey has a background in a rescue situation and was/is extremely fearful so if she doesn't get enough good activity her "problems" will start to resurface and she will go backwards behaviour wise. Most recent instance of this was a period of minimal walks (90 mins a day) and a little added stress (noisy fire alarm installation guy) and she got riled up at the "imagicats" (half drain pipes that over hang walls in a lane and look like cats peaking over the wall, even me sometimes ) she hadn't done that in I guess over a year.

I know you are a very busy lady but it might be worth seeing if you can add some more walking into her day or if she's not up to it with her hips I'm sure we can help you come up with some easy ways to keep her mind a little busier and see if over time that helps the situation at all.

[JudyN]

"imagicats"

Oh, I just love that expression! Some days we have walks when there is an imagicat up every drive and I really have to keep my wits about me

Jasper needs around 1.5 hours walking a day minimum (generally he gets 2-2.5 hours), though games and training seem a lot less important to him. So I suspect Cricket may be understimulated. But of course, you can only do as much as you can do! I'm really glad that she seems to be improving

[bendog]

I picked up on that too WufWuf! Must be a terrier thing.

I notice my lot are a lot more reactive to noises and a lot more "stressy" in general if they haven't had enough exercise.
Mine get 3-4 miles a day. Often more. They'd be climbing the walls on a mile and a half unless I did a heck of a lot of training at home instead.

Although the refusing to pee outside does sound like it might be an anxiety/hypervigilence thing? And so if she is finding walks stressful then more walks isn't going to help much.

[WufWuf]

WufWuf wrote: "imagicats"



Oh, I just love that expression! Some days we have walks when there is an imagicat up every drive and I really have to keep my wits about me

Feel free to use it in your book Judy

[rnor1120]

Where on earth are you all finding the time to walk that much?!

I'd love to walk my dogs more, but I straight up don't have the time to devote to walking 2.5 hours per day. As mentioned, I work anywhere from 10-12 hours during the week, and if I'm getting home at late, I still need to make myself dinner, study, shower, and get myself ready for the next day on top of walking and training the pups. As much as I'd love to, walking any more than I do is just not feasible during the week. They seem to be content with the exercise they get, they're not insane-bouncing off the walls-destroying everything-barking-fighting-etc. Plus, we run the route a few times per week just to knock them down a little more (and also because beach season is approaching...).

Time is not the only factor either. I live in South/Central Florida and the temps are generally in the high 80's to high 90's (Fahrenheit that is; 29-32ish Celsius for those using Metric ). Cricket is not tolerant of higher temps, either due to stamina, her coat color (dark blue), or a combination of both. Chance the Island Dog could care less about temperatures, but Cricket will actually try laying down mid-walk when she can find shade if we've gone too long. Summer is approaching - I just treated the first heat sickness of the season at work!

Other things I've tried with her:
-Puzzle feeding toy: destroyed
-Kong: still works, but only lasts 10 minutes
-Clicker training: will not do anything if not getting food. Our sessions can only be a few minutes long, I haven't been able to lengthen them out. If treats are hidden out of view she'll try to find them vs. working. If treats are in view she just goes through her list of tasks without me telling her to do anything figuring she'll get a treat if she just does everything at once. Think child with extreme ADHD and you've got Cricket.
-101 things to do with a box: we got to one thing (destruction) and I had to take the box away before she ate it.

Don't get me wrong. She seems to be happy and well adjusted. She's not an insane, ill-behaved dog. Before me, I don't think she got much in the way of training, socialization, rules and boundaries, etc. I honestly think her issues have a lot to do with anxiety, and perhaps still being a bit immature.

[minkee]

I can't remember what you feed - is it raw or kibble? I find that my dogs find chewing a good bone or bully stick or something that lasts is really soothing for them. My big dog will also lick a kong full of tinned fish for aaaaaages and I do think it helps him relax. Box puzzles (cardboard boxes with food wrapped up inside - box in box in box in paper sort of thing) might give her an outlet for her destructiveness that might also take the edge off things a bit? I don't think any of these things will be a wonder cure, but couldn't hurt to try, right? And even if they just enjoy it then it's a win.

I don't get to walk my dogs near as much as these guys either! Usually it's an hour out a day, plus a bit of entertaining here and there through various means each day (training, bone chomping, playing, etc).

What probably helps, though, is that on friday, sat, and sun we go out on longer walks, an hour or two, at somewhere different and exciting, the beach or the woods. Scout would not cope with your temperatures though at all, we usually go out just after lunchtime.

[JudyN]

Where on earth are you all finding the time to walk that much?!

I work from home, so it's easy (in theory) to fit work round dog walks and other stuff. In your position I definitely wouldn't be able to do long walks either. (I wouldn't find time to shower or eat, either, come to think of it...)

A game that might work for her is hide & seek (apologies if you've tried it, or know it won't work for her). Show her a toy, say 'hide and seek', ask her to wait, then hide it in another room. Then call her, say 'Find it!', and when she finds the toy, get her to bring it to you in exchange for a treat. It works on plenty of skills, you can extend the time she has to wait for and make the toy harder to find, every time you hide it in a different room or use a different toy it's a whole new game. It doesn't involve what she might see as pointless repetition - every bit of it has a point, so she might feel more engaged with it.

Jasper already feels the effects of the warmer weather here and it's only got up to about 15c! He does adapt, or we'd have to live indoors with the fridge door open in the summer

[Sweetie's Human]

It sounds like you're doing a good job with her. Don't be too hard on yourself - you've taken in a difficult dog and she's showing real signs of improvement and now essentially has a very nice life. Any legacy issues from her past life are not your fault and she's in a much better position now than ever before. Everyone has different amounts of time they can give their dogs and you're doing your best - it's not like you're sitting on your backside yelling at them to stop barking instead of walking them!

I'm no help with the anxiety part, but I live in a very hot climate. We have 30C+ days (often closer to 40) for more than 6 months of the year and I reckon our winters are like a British summer, without the rain

I have to move Sweetie's morning walk to 5am in summer to beat the heat, and in the afternoon we just don't walk her at all (2 walks a day in winter). It's just too hot and the pavement stays really hot well in to the evenings. Instead in the afternoons in summer, we play games in the backyard with her toys and have a kiddies paddle pool in the yard so she can jump in and cool off whenever she needs to. It's the only way we can get her any decent exercise for the second time in the day. I'm not sure if you have a yard, or could you maybe make one of the walks a swim instead if there's a beach nearby?

We also keep some beef neck bones in the freezer and give them to her frozen. They last longer, cool her off, and she has to work harder on them.

[rnor1120]

A game that might work for her is hide & seek

Hmm, that actually sounds doable. At the very least it may keep her entertained trying to find the toy or treat.

I can't remember what you feed - is it raw or kibble? I find that my dogs find chewing a good bone or bully stick or something that lasts is really soothing for them.

I do kibble. I freeze her kibble in the Kong overnight, and that seems to do the trick for about 10 minutes or so. I've tried smashing smaller bits of treats toward the bottom, but she gives up if she can't get it right away (like I said, ADHD). They do love bully sticks, and when I can find good ones they provide a few minutes of entertainment. I did do cow hooves for a while, but the dogs started biting off big chunks and swallowing them - 4 weeks later I was still getting the sporadic puke containing cow hoof. One thing I haven't tried yet is antlers, so perhaps next paycheck when I'm feeling wealthy I'll splurge on some good thick antlers.

We also keep some beef neck bones in the freezer and give them to her frozen

My only beef with that (heh heh) is that the dogs will bite big chunks off and swallow them. When they're frozen, are they harder to bite the big pieces off? Forgive me, I'm a seven-year-vegan and I don't handle meat at all.

[Sweetie's Human]

We also keep some beef neck bones in the freezer and give them to her frozen

My only beef with that (heh heh) is that the dogs will bite big chunks off and swallow them. When they're frozen, are they harder to bite the big pieces off? Forgive me, I'm a seven-year-vegan and I don't handle meat at all.

Nice pun

Ummmm? Not sure. Sweetie is an 8yo pug with 7 teeth (and she was pretty much this toothless when we got her 2yrs ago -we're not neglectful)... I'm sure someone else knows the answer to that though. Maybe leave that idea until someone whose dogs have teeth and strong jaws replies! Or maybe someone (Clare?) will know which bone type that is least likely to happen with.

Also, if she's losing interest in the kong, try mixing some sardines in with it, frozen also. It stinks to high Heaven so it's a hit in our household.