Another Hattie Update

[Guest hattiepumpkin]

Hi,

Ok, so here's what is happening with Hattie. She went to the dog-sitter's on Thursday, which was the same day I took her to the vet and got a clean bill of health. As I said in previous posts, my sitter is VERY experienced with greyhounds--she has owned many, she is involved with adoption groups, etc. So, as per my/my vet's instructions, Sue (dog-sitter) gave Hattie 1 Xanax pill (.5 mg) Thursday night. Friday, Sue reported that Hattie slept through the night just fine, but that she wasn't herself--she was far more anti-social than she normally is. We agreed that we would try a half a pill Friday night--so, that's .25. Hattie slept great Friday night, too. So . . . Saturday night, Sue gave Hattie no pill, and . . . . you guessed it! Hattie slept through the night just fine. I picked her up Sunday, and she was happy to see me. We took her home, she ran in the house, and immediately started whining. This is not TOTALLY unusual, since she usually whines when she gets home from Sue's, or when it's hot out, etc. Rather than give her any heavy drugs, I gave her a Pro-Quiet--that herbal stuff I ordered from Amazon. Another user on this sight uses it. My husband and I went to our neighbor's house for a BBQ, and when my husband went home to check on her, he reported that she was in the closet panting, but she came out wagging her tail. She seemed OK when we got home from the BBQ--that was around 8:30. Because she slept so well at Sue's house, I decided to try and not give her anything other than the Pro-Quiet last night. Everything was going well until around 12:30, when nice, massive, violent thunderstorms rolled on through the area. She started FREAKING OUT, so then I had to get up and give her a Valium, because it sounded like she was not only choking on her own panting, but that she was about to keel over. She then proceeded to quietly pant until around 4:30, when she finally settled in. She got up for her morning walk, destroyed her breakfast, and was happily sleeping when I got home. Does anyone have any thoughts? I have NO IDEA what to think anymore. Is it our house? Is it me and my husband? I'm lost.

[Shaysmom]

Have you considered acupuncture? I have heard that it can be effective in dealing with canine anxiety. Perhaps someone here has experience with that? I am so sorry for you and for Hattie. I hope you find the answer soon. Sending good thoughts to you both....

[macoduck]

Maybe she was sensing the impending thunderstorms. My boy Oliver used to.

[Guest scfilby]

Mickey, who is perfect in every other way starts to get nervous, pants and whines sometimes hours before a storm, so it could be this. Does your sitter have other hounds? Some greys do better with pup company..

[GeorgeofNE]

Those herbal remedies in my opinion (having tried them) are totally useless. I did try (on my former vet's suggestion) Valerian Root extract, and it made George's liver enzymes go WAY up...so no more "natural" remedies for me.

 

My dog is fine at home (now, took him a long time!) but he is MUCH happier when we go to my parents, who have two dogs of their own. I'm guessing your very experienced sitter has other dogs??? That's probably it.

 

Hang in there! They change SO MUCH for quite a while. Try and be consistent, try to ignore the whining if possible, and above all, be patient!!

[Guest Tequila]

I'm gonna guess it was the thunderstorms as well, ad the herbal remedy wasnot nearly enough to calm her. ((FYI -Rescue Remedy, calmingcollars -- none of that works at all for Tequila).). So maybe it was just the thunderstorm. I'drecommedn givingher the Xanax every night around bedtime until she learns that everythning is okay. That'sthething (theysay anyway) about a med like Xanax is that the dog can actually learn whileon it,that it'sokay, and there is nothing to be afraid of.

[gryhnd_adoptee]

Our Willa Bean was very sensative to barometric changes, and would begin to panic before storms were even anywhere near us.

 

We insulated a closet for her to go into, but her alltime favorite place to ride out storms was in the back seat of my car while it was closed up in the garage. I would leave the door open that led to the house, and the car door was left open so that when she felt safe, she could come back into the house on her own. Some storms were so bad that she would spend hours in my car. I also left the garage lights on for her to "mask" the lightening flashes.

 

In her closet, I would close the door part way and put a small fan in the opening which kept her ventilated, and also masked the sounds a bit more. I also closed blinds and doors to any rooms which were near the closet so she would not see any flashes. By the advice of our vet, we also gave Melatonin supplements which did not completely calm her, but seemed to take a bit of the edge off.

 

Good luck. It broke my heart to see Willa go through that fear when the storms came through.

[Guest hattiepumpkin]

So, I came home from work yesterday, and Hattie was fine. Then, she started whining, panting, the whole nine yards. I ignored her, and called my vet. He said the same thing you said, Kathy/Tequila. He said that she needed time to adjust to the medication, and that she would gradually adjust to it and be more "normal" on it. I gave her the half a tablet of Xanax at around 10:00, and she slept through the night until 4:45, when there was something that happened outside that literally shook the house--I don't know what it was. It wsa big, whatever it was, because it woke me up out of a dead sleep. Hattie jumped up and started whining and panting and trembling. The interesting thing is that she immediately walked over to my side of the bed, stood on her bed, and panted in my face. I put her harness on her, wrapped the leash around my hand, and she laid down almost immediately. She was still panting very hard, but she did not seem nearly as upset or crazed as she usually is. Hopefully, the harness trick is working--I've done it for 3 or 4 nights now. I will keep everyone posted!!!