Mental health (grey and me)

[Car]

Hi any help would be amazing. I have 2 rescued GH. Been with us for 2 yrs. One of them, Olive has always had such a nervous, anxious and obsessive disposition. Any change in routine will unerve her and shows allot of anxiety in behaviour e.g paces, shivers/trembles, won't eat, body language very tort. My partner who she loved, passed away from cancer in October last year. He was starting to get sick (but we didn't know it was cancer) just as we got them. As a result I have always been primary carer for dogs as he increasingly couldn't. They spent allot of time with him in bedroom when sick. Since he passed away I notice both have become more anxious but Olive is sometimes off the scale. I get really upset by seeing her like this as nothing I do seems to help. I've tried dog behaviourist lessons for her reactivity with other dogs (very aggressive presentation when out but OK when friends bring their dogs round), cbd, calm tablets, lots of chewy toys and snacks, walks (she refuses to leave the house allot of the time), she is also reactive when sleeping and woken or people too in her face which I have asked people not to do. Otherwise show growls. She will stay out in the rain shivering but won't want to come jn, she paces and paces. She will suddenly be scared of something in the home that has always been there or decide to start sleeping in the most random uncomfortable looking places around the home. I cant work out any triggers, why she is always so anxious.  She adores people and will almost go Ott when seeing new people not being able to control her exitement . 

 

Since we got them, I suppose there has been allot of change. I was my partners carer allot, I worked and still work full time, allot of which I do from home so they are not often left. When they are maximum 5hrs maybe once a week, other times an hour here or there. I have dog walkers 2 x week to help me on days I am at worker longer . Olive loves them but somstimes won't go for a walk with them.

Admittedly I am very anxious and depressed allot for the time since losing my beautiful partner. I feel like she doesnt want to be around me or is not happy with me. Can anyone give any advise. I feel like I'm failing her . thank you xx

[macoduck]

My Howie, a Podengo, came from a huge rescue shelter in Portugal, just another dog abandoned and possibly abused by his hunter owner. No one showed interest in him because he was so shy and fearful until a US group brought him over. For many months I had to leash walk him in the fenced backyard or else he wouldn't come in the house. Everything scared him. He's been with us over a year now and it has been a rollercoaster of an emotional ride for all of us.

I am fortunate in that my vet has a pharmacology background and was willing to have long talks about what medications might help him. He also has severe elbow pain in that the joints were bone on bone grinding. His anxiety symptoms manifested in terror, yet he never tried to bite or even growl. He would only allow me to touch him.

We tried trazodone, clomicalm, prozac, Adaptil plug-in and collar, essential oil diffuser and rub ons (from animalEO brand made by a trusted vet), melatonin, L-theanine, Rescue Remedy, and CBD chews. I didn't pile them all at once, but it was trial and error. Some worked briefly but the terror always came back. Trazodone zonked him out temporarily. With prozac he had the worse of its listed side effects and refused to eat. Vet said no to xanax and zoloft because they were in the same class of meds that we'd tried.

Recently we started amitriptyline and the improvement was immediate. It doesn't dope him up. He's interacting with my other dogs again. He doesn't have to be carried or leashed up to do outside to the backyard. 

Are you in an apartment or a house? I'd change walks to just short potty outings rather than exercise walks for a while. I'd limit her being around over-stimulating rowdy dogs. Sleep startle is definitely a thing - some dogs are like that forever, some not. Guests leaning over her are a big NO to them.

Ask your vet for a trial of Amitriptyline. Howie has no side effects from it. It's also used as a pain med which was a bonus for him. It's also inexpensive.

[FiveRoooooers]

I am sorry for your loss, that is rough. I wonder how much Olive is picking up on your own sadness and grief. These hounds are so sensitive. Hugs to you. 

[greysmom]

What you're experiencing is common with greyhounds, and you can search here in the forum for the many (many!) threads related to spook dogs, idiopathic fear syndrome, anxious dogs.  There's tons of information for you to read through in those threads, along with a lot of ways to help her.

I have had a dog like this myself, so I know how difficult and frustrating they can be to deal with all day, every day.  The best advice I can give you is to consider that she has a mental health challenge herself.  She's not normal.  She's effectively disabled with a condition much like autism.  It's probably genetic in nature, and breeders say they can actually see individual dogs - or even whole litters - turning reactive as they grow.  Spooks are *extremely* sensitive to any change in their environment.  They often won't respond to their names.  They often don't like to be touched.  They can engaged in obsessive behavioral cues like licking, pacing, and chewing and scratching themselves raw.  They can be very reactive to strangers, both human and animal.  They can be overly protective to invasions of what they consider their personal space.

They do better if you keep their world very small, and on a very strict schedule.  One or two rooms in the house, same walking path, same feeding schedule - every day.  Give her a "safe spot" in your house where she can retreat to when she's feeling threatened - a nice crate, a dogbed in a separate, quiet room that she won't be disturbed in.  And make that spot completely off-limits to any guests.  Do NOT expect her to interact with anyone, and keep curious people out of her space.  You need to be her advocate and protector.  If you have to do potty walks, try and time them when the streets are less busy and noisy (they are often sensitive to noises).   Don't expect more than she can give.

Unlike autism, these behaviors in dogs can often be helped by anti anxiety medications.  It can help rebalance their brain chemistry and help them be more relaxed.  Macoduck above outlined her journey to find the proper anti anxiety medication for her dog.  As she mentioned, her vet has a background in pharmacology, and could help direct this search in an informed way.  You may want to consider a consult with a canine neurologist, or a certified behaviorist with a experience working with dogs with anxiety disorders.  Many of the medications that could help your girl will be off-label uses of human anti anxiety medications, and that's a huge complicated knowledge base that's changing all the time.  You will probably need to try several different drugs and doses to find the one that helps her the most. 

It's a long road that needs to be traveled from here.  Good luck!

[Car]

Thank you so so much for your advise. This has given me allot of food for thought for ways to help her . thank you xxx