Sudden New Anxiety

[greydad92]

Hi Greyhound Community,

It’s been awhile. Our little girl Lucky is doing well. If uploading photos to this forum was easier, I’d update my “signature” and add  updated photos of Lucky, but that’s a whole different forum. So, for the time being I’ll leave my “signature” as our beloved Mr. Spock.

Lucky is our latest greyhound from Ireland that we got three years ago. Her racing name was Some Cut Too (or Two), not 100% sure off the top of my head. She’s a healthy, happy and well loved 7 year old. As of about three days ago she’s become very anxious: panting, walking around the house, more clingy than normal and just uneasy, almost how some greys can act toward thunder.
She’s eating ok, though greyhound finicky, drinking ok, though she’s never drank a lot of water which we supply plenty of fresh water for her. She’s pooping and peeing fine, no limping or pain that we can tell, no ticks. She’s sleeping well, not up at night. In fact sometimes rather than playing or being curious she’s sleeping a little more. It’s just that she doesn’t seem herself, again when awake and alert, panting and occasionally whinning. The weather has suddenly gotten hotter as it’s late May in New England. It’s gone from being in the 60’s during the day to being in the mid-high 80s, though cooling back down again. We’ve had some brief thunderstorms and she is pretty sensitive to that, but not terrified. These latest episodes don’t  seem thunder-related. We’ve had the windows open and when a breeze comes by and moves the curtains she gets scarred from that, so if it gets windy we’ll close the windows a little more. I’m going to put in our air conditioners this weekend. 

So the question for you all……could this just be a phase? Should we consult our vet? I guess we’ll just keep our eye on her and if she doesn’t go back to her normal self, we’ll set up a vet visit. I just told my wife I’d come on here and check with you all. Thoughts that I’ve had: Maybe some low frequency thing she’s hearing and we aren’t? When we had our short bout of thunder, maybe she could sense it before and after the storm more than we could? I just hope it’s not a health issue. Again, if she doesn’t improve in a couple days we’ll go see her vet. 

Thank you in advance for your positive input. Sorry I’m not more active on these forums, but ya know, “life” happens.

Peace,

Greydad

 

[MP_the4pack]

A change in temperament can be so many things. From pain, to brain issues to just a phase. I'd probably watch her a bit more, but eventually take her to a vet. If she get a clean bill of health, then maybe a behaviorist.

[racindog]

Maybe her "energy" is out of balance.  Sure couldn't hurt to give her some Bach's Rescue Remedy twice a day (4 drops each time) and also put a few drops in her water.  See if theres not an improvement in 2 -3 weeks. I have had amazing success with BACH's flower remedies. There are lots of copy cats out there so be sure and get Dr. BACH's. If you see improvement don't stop giving it to her.  It is safe and effective-Goldie got his daily doses for 2 years before I cut him back. His was a miraculous change for the better.

[Jerilyn]

It could just be the heat. Greyhounds seem to get hot quickly. I know that, combined with their love of comfort, has made my dogs unsettled when it's too warm for them. They want to be in their bed, or the couch, or whatever their comfy place is but it's too hot and they can't get comfortable. A fan has helped here to make them more comfortable. I hope it's nothing more serious for Lucky.

[greysmom]

If she's due for her annual check up soon, I would just take her a bit sooner.  Do some labwork, have a good physical exam, make sure her weight is steady - just to check things out.  But it's likely a behavioral phase.  It seems mine get some sort of anxiousness each time the seasons change from warm to cold or cold to warm.  In the absence of anything physical, I'd just wait her out and see how she does going forward.  

If you want to try something really non-aggressive there's a product that was reccommended to me years ago called "Calm Shen."  It's a chinese herbal/homeopathic powder that helps them deal with anxiety.  It may help, it may not, but there's really no danger or side effects.

[Time4ANap]

I think you're getting some good advice above from people with lots of hound experience. 

Most of our dogs have been sensitive to the heat once the temperature gets above mid 70's.  At age 7 I would try to get some video when it happens so that your vet has something to reference. I would try to rule out pain and any type of thyroid issues. I think a vet visit is in order, but definitely get some video first so that your vet has something to work with. I always feel foolish when going to the vet and the dog stops doing whatever it is I took him/her in for as soon as we are in the exam room. 

[greydad92]

Update on Lucky: I just don’t get it, it’s almost like she’s a different dog. During the day when my wife and I are home she walks around panting. Tonight when my wife took her out and back in through our basement she didn’t want to bolt up the stairs like she normally does, so she had to bring her in through the front door. This is the third time she’s done this in a week. Tonight when we were watching TV, Lucky was laying on her bed relaxed, but when we got up to go to bed she was shaking, like she’s afraid of something, but nothing has changed. We’re very loving and caring greyhound parents. 
She didn’t eat her breakfast or dinner. It’s stinks too because it’s Memorial Day weekend so her vet won’t be open until Tuesday and it’s only Saturday night. We’ll see how she does during the night and tomorrow morning before we decide to take her to an emergency room. She’s eating dog biscuits, so it’s not like she’s not eating.  
So what the heck cod this be, some kind of an anxiety disorder? I know, once we take her to a vet’s office they can do a bunch of tests to see if there is anything chemically wrong with her. 
Is this something we could wait until Tuesday on? Wha would you all do?

[greydad92]

On 5/24/2024 at 8:41 AM, racindog said:

Maybe her "energy" is out of balance.  Sure couldn't hurt to give her some Bach's Rescue Remedy twice a day (4 drops each time) and also put a few drops in her water.  See if theres not an improvement in 2 -3 weeks. I have had amazing success with BACH's flower remedies. There are lots of copy cats out there so be sure and get Dr. BACH's. If you see improvement don't stop giving it to her.  It is safe and effective-Goldie got his daily doses for 2 years before I cut him back. His was a miraculous change for the better.

As far as Bach's Rescue Remedy, 10ml or 20ml dosage?

[1Moregrey]

My previous GH would jump in the car to go for a ride then would not get back into the car would just put on the breaks.  Everything else was fine, so lifted her into the car she started panting and drooling up a pool.  She was never a big fan of walking would go if you picked up a leash was fine if you did not.  She was also terrified of storms so just thought it was more of that.  Vet saw her have a meltdown in the back of the car still thinking anxiety.  Turns out she had LS it just took us a while to pickup the signs.  She failed the right your foot test and it seemed getting into the car was what set her off she did stairs ok and walked fine or not long enough to have a foot drag be apparent.  She ate well most of the time and had slo she was on prednisone, niacin, fish oil, and tramadol if I remember correctly.

Hope you figure things out for Lucky, it is hard to watch when they do not feel well.

[ramonaghan]

We've been going through the same thing with 6-year-old Doolin. He's always been timid, but in February we were on a walk when it thundered out of nowhere, and his anxiety has skyrocketed since then. He doesn't want to go on walks in our neighborhood or out to pee at night, and noises that didn't used to be bother him, like trucks driving through the alley behind our house, now set him off. After a vet check to rule out anything physical and a failed trial of Prozac (among other non-prescription options), we took him to a behaviorist who explained that dogs are associative thinkers, and even a one-time incident can trigger major anxiety. So in our case that thunderclap made him decide our whole neighborhood is dangerous and scary. All this to say: is it possible something happened while you weren't home, like thunder or a wild animal outside or someone banging on the door, that set off this new behavior? 

I would start with a vet check and then consult a behaviorist. Our behaviorist prescribed daily Zoloft and Sileo for during storms and we have seen some improvement with that combo. He's still not willing to walk in our neighborhood, but he is at least being social with us again and eating well (the Prozac killed his appetite and made him a slug). We're hopeful the meds will get him to a point where he can be receptive to positive reinforcement training and re-learning that he is safe with us. 

Good luck. I know how sad and frustrating this is. Please keep us posted!

[greydad92]

58 minutes ago, ramonaghan said:

We've been going through the same thing with 6-year-old Doolin. He's always been timid, but in February we were on a walk when it thundered out of nowhere, and his anxiety has skyrocketed since then. He doesn't want to go on walks in our neighborhood or out to pee at night, and noises that didn't used to be bother him, like trucks driving through the alley behind our house, now set him off. After a vet check to rule out anything physical and a failed trial of Prozac (among other non-prescription options), we took him to a behaviorist who explained that dogs are associative thinkers, and even a one-time incident can trigger major anxiety. So in our case that thunderclap made him decide our whole neighborhood is dangerous and scary. All this to say: is it possible something happened while you weren't home, like thunder or a wild animal outside or someone banging on the door, that set off this new behavior? 

I would start with a vet check and then consult a behaviorist. Our behaviorist prescribed daily Zoloft and Sileo for during storms and we have seen some improvement with that combo. He's still not willing to walk in our neighborhood, but he is at least being social with us again and eating well (the Prozac killed his appetite and made him a slug). We're hopeful the meds will get him to a point where he can be receptive to positive reinforcement training and re-learning that he is safe with us. 

Good luck. I know how sad and frustrating this is. Please keep us posted!

Excellent information. Thank you. She hasn’t eaten her breakfast yet, so not that’s no food yesterday and no breakfast today. She does are Mother Hubbarts treats and she was drinking water this morning, that’s a good sign. She’s not nervously panting today either. She’s actually doing better. Temperature in only 74 degrees with no humidity, which I’m sure that makes her feel better as well. 
Keep the comments and suggestions coming all. This is all greyt stuff.

[greysmom]

It could be something weird, like if you're turning the heat or AC on more, ceiling fans are a big culprit, or plumbing sounds if you're watering or running the sink faucet, construction sounds or vibrations, chain saws or those big tree mulchers the arborists use, static electricity from thunderstorms, critters in the walls or crawl spaces - it could be anything.  Even something from long ago that is coming back to remind her of being scared.  I had one girl who was afraid of the sound of the wind because she'd been through two hurricanes in Florida - but only when she was inside the house.  She wasn't afraid of it if she was outside.  So, it could be anything.

I would suggest keeping her schedule as normal as possible, keep putting her food down as you normally do and just pick it up after a normal amount of time.   Do turn outs and walks at the same time - if she doesn't want to go, just tell her ok and skip it.  

It's also important for you and your wife not to be stressed about this.  They pick up cues from us.  So until you can get her into the vet, go into "watchful waiting" mode.  She will probably work through whatever it is, in her own time, which won't have anything to do with when we want them to do it.  

If you want to jump start her appetite you can switch to a bland diet.  She will eat eventually - no dog will starve herself on purpose - so you'll need to decide if she's losing weight, or is getting diarrhea or vomiting from not eating.   Cook some rice or pasta in broth until it's well done (helps with digestion), and add in some low fat protein that she tolerates well - chicken or turkey, beef, white fish.  You can cook it fresh, get it already cooked from a store or restaurant, or use canned (which is fine for a limited time but expensive for long term).  There are also actual pet food options of plain canned meats, or fresh option like FreshPet from the store that can be used for limited times.

I would definitely add in a probiotic if she's not already getting some with her meals.  The relationship between gut health and mental health is now pretty well proven.  In racing kennels they tend ot use just plain old buttermilk or full fat plain yogurt, but there are tons of products out there to choose from.

Good luck.

[greydad92]

Thank you so much greysmom (love your name 😀). 
 

Absolutely, I agree with everything you’ve said. Lucky is my third greyhound so I’ve been here before. Your suggestions are excellent though. I agree, don’t let ‘em see you sweat. 
 

Lucky ate a little bit of her dinner, maybe 1/2……yay!! She’s still peeing and pooping just fine, taking treats (dog biscuits) and drinking plenty of water, all good signs. 
 

Her meals actually already consist of: 1 cup Jasmine rice, handful of black beans, handful of peas & carrots, 1/6 grated apple, handful of hamburger or turkey burger or pork burger and a handful of Fromm kibble. 
 

i will keep you all up to date. As always, thank you so much for your input. 
 

🙏🏻