Anxiety And Panic Attacks

[Josie]

(not sure if I should have post in behavior section)

 

for the past 4 months Otis behavior has change and is guetting worse.

We have him since june 2011. He will be 5 in July.

He always been a talker/whinner grey, Always vocalized about everything. He loves meeting people and other dogs, loves to go to the dog park.

Heis a anxious grey but also a curious grey, he needs to see and sniff and know everything that is going on in the house or on walks.

He always slep all nights and never had SA issue.

 

Since the beggining of winter he started waiking up in the middle of the night and walks around, not wanting to go back to bed. He will also stand in a corner, doing the statue.

We notice that the normal sounds of the house cracking due to the cold weather will make him jump out and make him anious.

We tried to ignore him but things are guetting worse.. now he will whinne and shake...

during those panic attacks he is completly ignoring us and does not responds to anything. wont take any cookies or treats.

 

and now he will react to any cracking, clicking sounds..even during the daytime. He wont stay with us in the living room during evenings. He goes to the guess room where his bed is (he have 3 beds in the house).

 

We notice also that he is shedding more then usual.

 

His appetite is ok and eats good. Pee and poops are normal too.

We walk 2 times a day (30minutes in the morning, 45min /1 hour in the evenings)

 

We got a thunder shirt that we are trying since las week but his behavior is not changing (I know it's not a miraculous thing), but the thing that makes it not usefull is that Otis wont lay down when he wears it!!!

 

We give Otis 2 puff of rescue remedy before bed time and more whe the panic attacks occurs... it seems to work at first but now doesnot make any diffrences..

 

last night Otis woke up again, panic mode and shaking.. it continued most of the night and this morning.. at the moment he is sleeping on his bed probably because it's exhausting to be scared...

 

what's your thoughts about this?

 

we have an appointment at the vet Tuesday. Our vet is not a grey savvy one (there's not many grey around here).

 

should we do blood test (what should we be looking for?)

should we medicate? (what's working best for our situation?)

 

thanks!

 

[greysmom]

If this is new behavior that has started since you moved, I would do a full medical check-up with blood work and a urinalysis - just to check and make sure he's OK medically. If those tests come back normal or near normal, I would then probably ask for a referral to a canine neurologist for a consult.

 

Is he any better on the days when you go to the dog park? If he is, that could mean more exercise will help - a tired dog is a happy dog.

 

Does he sleep in jammies or with a blanket? He could be cold and that is what is waking him up. Does he normally sleep in your room? Crated or uncrated? You can also try setting up a sound machine at night to make some white noise for him. This might cover up some of the house noises that are bothering him.

 

In the short-term, ask your vet about some anti-anxiety meds. If you can pin down a time when he is most anxious, a short-term, quick acting drug like xanax or valium could be appropriate. If Otis has more generalized, all-day-long anxiety, he'll need a longer acting, systemic drug like Clomicalm or Prozac or Paxil.

[FiveRoooooers]

Is this a new house? Don't laugh, because dogs have been known to react to weird wiring and other quirks of a house. Definitely first rule out something medical for Otis, and I would pay close attention to what he may be trying to tell you about the house.

[Guest grey_dreams]

This late-onset anxiety could be a reaction to an underlying medical condition. Ask your vet to run a full blood chemistry panel. Also ask your vet to run a full thyroid diagnostic test, including every possible parameter that the lab can measure. From your description, it appears that his anxiety is related to noise (noise phobia). There are some natural herbs and supplements that can help with noise phobia, and there are some pharmaceuticals that can help too. But first you need to rule out possible medical reasons for the anxiety.

[Josie]

Thanks!

 

Today it's been 1 year that we moved in our house and this winter is way colder then the first one in 2012 so back then the house did not crack like this winter. The house was buit in 1938.

 

DH says that the electrical wiring is a mess and he is gradually changing it (he is a electronic tech). Maybe ther's a EM fiels somewhere? And Otis responds to it?

 

We all sleep on the second floor. Otis dont have a crate. He has 1 bed in our bedroom, 1 bed in the office and the futon in the guest room. The second floor just have those 3 rooms. I babygate the staircase at night so Otis dont go downstairs unattended.

Otis dont wear pjs but has blankets on his bed (he dont seems to like behing cover up by them)

 

During the winter months we did not go to the park, too cold and ir can be really icy there. But we walk at least 45minutes in the evenings.

 

 

I read that greys normally have lower thyroid results... how can my vet know if it's abnormal?

[Yamaha_gurl]

I know this may sound weird, but could he be having a seizure? Some seizures are the type that the dog will just stand there and pant, and not focus.

[Josie]

I know this may sound weird, but could he be having a seizure? Some seizures are the type that the dog will just stand there and pant, and not focus.

Mhh...I dont know... I would think it's more like a panic mode, similar to what some other gters describ when grey freezes on walks...

Edited February 3, 2013 by Josie

[JJNg]

Did you notice if the initial problem and worsening of his behavior started with the crackling house sounds? Some dogs are very sensitive to noises, and it could be as simple as that. Always a good idea to have a complete vet check with any sudden change in behavior too.

I read that greys normally have lower thyroid results... how can my vet know if it's abnormal?

That's why it was suggested to do a full panel, and not just a T4 which is what most vets use as an initial screen. Normal greyhounds will often have a low T4 and free T4, but most truly hypothyroid greyhounds will have a high TSH.

 

If his vet check and bloodwork are normal, I'd try to approach this as a noise sensitivity. I think the suggestion of using some background noise, like white noise or a radio to try to mask the house sounds is a good idea. If there are any softer crackling or clicking sounds that get his attention but don't send him into full panic mode, try to start with those and reward with lots of praise and special treats whenever he hears one of those sounds. The goal is to create a positive association so that he starts to see those types of sounds as a predictor of good things and not something scary and strange.

 

Also remember that dogs are very sensitive to our moods. This may not be an issue since you said you initially tried to ignore it, but if you're really worried about him, he'll sense this. But he will just know that you're worried, and might think that you're scared by the sounds too. Rather than ignore him, try to provide calm, confident emotional support. Try to redirect him to a game or treats if he's showing mild anxiety but still able to respond to you.

 

And don't worry about 'rewarding' his anxiety. You don't make emotional states worse by rewarding them. If he's able to take treats, you'll be helping to change his underlying emotion to a better one.

[hikinghounds]

The first thing I thought when reading your post that this kind of sounds like a seizure/partial seizure too. It sounds similar to some my greyhound has had. I'm sure it's scary for you all. I hope Otis feels better soon.

[rschultz]

Can u put some kind of portable radio near him at night so he will hear the music instead of the house noises?

[Josie]

I could try white noise but DH points out that Otis reacts to the cracking sounds when it's happening in the living room while we are watching TV...

[a_daerr]

Just wanted to give my $0.02 on partial seizures. Henry has them (in addition to grand mals), and it's pretty obvious when he's having one. He'll stand in one spot, blinking and twitching. Sometimes one part of his body will be affected, like a back leg. Afterwards, it feels like he's snapped out of a trance. He'll usually void his bladder and start panting. Every dog is different, but those are things to watch out for as far as seizures go.

[Guest alannamac]

Just a possibility....

If your husband is gradually replacing electrical fixtures....can you remember which ones he was working on around the time this all started up? I remember reading someone else's post years ago where their grey was absolutely freaking out and it turned out to be some sort of strange little high pitched noise one of the light switches would make when it was in a certain setting. Barely audible to the people but obviously upset the dog. It took them a long time to figure out the correlation...they were worrying about ghosts and all sorts of things!

[Josie]

alanamac: yes I thought of that.. but how can I check this theorie our? if the sound is not audible to human ear.. is there a machine that could tell me?

[Josie]

UPDATE

 

Returning from the vet.

He does not think it's anything physical, having no other symptomes, weight is stady, no other behavior change he said that there's no need to do a blood test.

Instead he guide us to the clinic behavior specialist.

We talk to the behavior specialist for about 40 minutes and explain everything (A real nice guy).

We decided to start some natural remedies for 1 month and we will keep in contact each week to see how it goes.

We will give L-tryptophan (NutriCalm) and put a DAP diffuser.

If those dont give results we will try other chemicals....