Dog distress - Seeking ideas

[sasha_feather]

Sorcha is still whining incessantly. I see from my journal that this has been going on for more than a month -- probably more like six weeks. I'm taking her back to the vet on Wednesday to get her thyroid levels checked.

Other things we've tried:
I moved my bed so she can see me better from my crate.
I turned a night light on overnight.
Sitting with her on the couch to watch TV and movies. Three feet away in my chair isn't close enough-- I have to be like, touching and petting her to stop her whining. And I can't type with her on the couch because she paws at the screen and keyboard.
Distracting with treats.
A thundershirt. (Had to take a break from the shirt today because I may have left it on too long yesterday.)

The worst is when I try to lie down for a nap and she won't let me sleep.

I posted on the Greyhound bulletin board-- run by the rescue group-- asking for advice. So far, no help.

She does not seem to be in pain, not that I can tell. She still runs hard at the park, some days, and still hops in and out of the car, walks fine, etc. It seems more like anxiety, but that strange thing it how it started relatively recently.

Any ideas??

Comments

[toft]

How stressful and exhausting, for you and her. Really hope you find a solution soon. <3

[sasha_feather]

Thanks <333 I'm pretty much at the end of my rope with this rn. uuuggghh.

[j00j]

hugs. I don't really have any ideas; just don't feel like I know enough. I hope you are able to find some solutions soon, though.

I forget if you have housemates right now. If you do, are they willing to spend some time with Sorcha while they're around so she gets some additional attention and you get a bit of a break?

[sasha_feather]

My housemate is rarely home; when she is here she is usually sleeping. She hasn't complained about Sorcha whining, so maybe she doesn't whine when I'm not here? IDK. At least I do have the option of leaving the house, I suppose.

[dogstar]

To be honest, if you were one of my training clients and you'd ruled out a pain issue, I'd be telling you to talk to one of our good local behavior vets about medication, because at that level of anxiety, it's really hard to address the problem with training. I've had meh results with some of the herbal and homeopathic remedies with my anxiousdog clients and excellent results with prozac and ... argh. One other med, I'd have to dig out my notebook to find the notes for that dog.

Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol (http://www.dogdaysnw.com/doc/OverallRelaxationProtocol.pdf) can be a good first step, training-wise, for addressing anxiety, but at an incessnent level of whining, I'd be pretty concerned about getting the dog to a point she could relax as a baseline.

[meloukhia]

I'm seconding the recommendation for meds, which is something the vet will probably bring up when you take her in. While dogs are not cats, when Leila was at her extreme anxiety state, *nothing* worked to calm her down because she was so spun up, and putting her on ativan made a huge difference in her quality of life. Once she settled down, it got a lot easier to start working on socialising her with Loki (of course, we all know how well THAT'S turning out).

[deakat]

That's a hard place to be. I would try rewarding her for being quiet, and completely ignoring the whining. No attention whatsoever for the whining, aside from a single "That's enough, Sorcha" when she starts.

It's something I struggle with, because Summer is a barker. We're doing better, but sometimes I wonder what the neighbours think, because if I give in once, the next time she keeps going even longer before she remembers nothing good will happen if she keeps it up.

[sasha_feather]

I talked to my mom tonight and she agrees with you. She thinks that Sorcha is testing her boundaries, and thinks herself to be in charge. Which is better than there being something wrong with her health! But still a challenge to deal with.

[deakat]

I wouldn't attribute it to Sorcha thinking she's in charge; she's just learned that whining gets her what she wants, so she has to learn different. :)

[eruthros]

That sounds really stressful! I'm with dogstar - it sounds like extreme anxiety? Maybe separation anxiety? Which can come on suddenly especially if it's prompted by a triggering noise/experience, especially if Sorcha has some prior anxiety experiences (or PTSD). I have known dogs who were on doggie prozac as a first step, and it was very helpful for them both because it made the dogs calmer/less afraid and because it helped their humans to be less stressed or fearful as well, so they stopped reinforcing each other's feelings. And if Sorcha were calmer, it might be easier to work with her in terms of behavioral solutions to anxiety? When you see the vet, if the vet doesn't find any pain or physical health issues that could be stressing her out, you could ask about anti-anxiety meds for dogs? Most are generic and not very expensive iirc.

It is so tough to have a dog who is freaked out, I'm so sorry you're dealing with that for weeks on end :(

[amadi]

I'd agree with the suggestions to look at medication. My dog went through an anxiety period after I got sick while on vacation and ended up hospitalized, which left him in the kennel for twice as long as intended, and unable to talk to me on the phone. Prozac helped him through it, and we were eventually able to wean him off.

I'm sorry you're both going through this. I hope you can find a solution soon for both of your sakes.

[littlebutfierce]

OMG so stressful, I am sorry. ;__; Meds might be a good idea, as mentioned, & then maybe when that takes the edge off, idk if something like clicker training might help? I say that b/c we tried that w/our cats to give them something to focus on/more structured positive interaction w/us. It had mixed results, but was a lot of fun anyway. Good luck finding a solution. <3

[futuransky]

Poor Sorcha and poor you! I don't have any experiences to share, but I definitely agree that meds sound like a good idea if it seems to be anxiety and nothing else works. <3<3<3