By December 2010, I was exhausted, my life had been become structured around my dog to an extent that I never would have imagined, and we had been doing this for six months. It was simply too much combined with the demands of my job. I had been asking a few dog people who knew Pooh about anxiety medications or additional treatment options. My husband and I had bounced the idea around and it seemed ridiculous to medicate our dog for anxiety issues. I began making a list of the "destructive behavior" incidents that had occurred over the months...and it was quite an eye opener. How quickly we forgot! My little piece of paper filled up with incidents I had discounted with statements like,
"Well, that cat tree was old anyway."
"We weren't using that poker table."
"It was an old sheet anyway."
"She's a larger dog so she needs a sturdier gate."
I reached my limit one day. I'm not sure what it was exactly that made me decide it was time for medication. Perhaps the approach of our wedding anniversary and the hope that medication would allow us a weekend getaway? I made an appt with Dr. Erion and took my list and Pooh in to see him. In his usual style he was calm and informative, but I was embarrassed that I had not accepted defeat sooner and called him for medication. In my mind, it was defeat...I was unable to "fix" Pooh and could never have imagined that I would medicate a dog for anxiety.
After discussing some options we decided on Clomicalm (40 mg) for Pooh. Her 30 pound weight put her right in the middle of 20 or 40 mg dose. Based on her constantly present anxiety we ruled out short term or as needed options. Nearly every single minute of every day presented something that was scary for Pooh.
Dr. Erion gave me articles to read, reminded me to strengthen deferment training so that Pooh understood she had to sit to go out, sit to come in, always wait to be released, sit & wait to eat, that each of her actions must require asking me before she did it. He explained that removing her decision making would also decrease uncertainty and anxiety. He went over all the same topics from our talk in June, deferment training, safe room, NO excitement at coming/going just basic hello or bye. Then, he coached me about "triggers" what are her triggers? Well, nearly everything was a trigger for her and I didn't understand how to identify triggers. He said to identify the main ones (whatever was setting her off in the morning was big one) and work through it. He explained to me that it wasn't that Pooh was afraid of me vanishing into the shower, but that it was a trigger because she associated it with being left alone. So, I had to work through that with her by taking shower and doing every single thing the same as if I was leaving for the day...then just go in garage for a minute and return. Work up to getting the mail or walking around the block. He explained that since nearly every action I performed in the morning seemed to be a trigger that I needed to do it exactly the same. Get ready, get the coffee from the kitchen, open the fridge to get the lunch, put socks on by the door, put her in her room with treat, shut gate and leave. I speak from experience when I say that getting up and performing your entire weekday routine on the one day you have to relax is not ideal! Let alone, doing it again that same day!
"Well, that cat tree was old anyway."
"We weren't using that poker table."
"It was an old sheet anyway."
"She's a larger dog so she needs a sturdier gate."
I reached my limit one day. I'm not sure what it was exactly that made me decide it was time for medication. Perhaps the approach of our wedding anniversary and the hope that medication would allow us a weekend getaway? I made an appt with Dr. Erion and took my list and Pooh in to see him. In his usual style he was calm and informative, but I was embarrassed that I had not accepted defeat sooner and called him for medication. In my mind, it was defeat...I was unable to "fix" Pooh and could never have imagined that I would medicate a dog for anxiety.
After discussing some options we decided on Clomicalm (40 mg) for Pooh. Her 30 pound weight put her right in the middle of 20 or 40 mg dose. Based on her constantly present anxiety we ruled out short term or as needed options. Nearly every single minute of every day presented something that was scary for Pooh.
Dr. Erion gave me articles to read, reminded me to strengthen deferment training so that Pooh understood she had to sit to go out, sit to come in, always wait to be released, sit & wait to eat, that each of her actions must require asking me before she did it. He explained that removing her decision making would also decrease uncertainty and anxiety. He went over all the same topics from our talk in June, deferment training, safe room, NO excitement at coming/going just basic hello or bye. Then, he coached me about "triggers" what are her triggers? Well, nearly everything was a trigger for her and I didn't understand how to identify triggers. He said to identify the main ones (whatever was setting her off in the morning was big one) and work through it. He explained to me that it wasn't that Pooh was afraid of me vanishing into the shower, but that it was a trigger because she associated it with being left alone. So, I had to work through that with her by taking shower and doing every single thing the same as if I was leaving for the day...then just go in garage for a minute and return. Work up to getting the mail or walking around the block. He explained that since nearly every action I performed in the morning seemed to be a trigger that I needed to do it exactly the same. Get ready, get the coffee from the kitchen, open the fridge to get the lunch, put socks on by the door, put her in her room with treat, shut gate and leave. I speak from experience when I say that getting up and performing your entire weekday routine on the one day you have to relax is not ideal! Let alone, doing it again that same day!