Medicating Pooh was not the relief that I thought it would be. Instead of happy go lucky and relieved, we were just dealing with new issues. She was a bit hazy and groggy so we had to work even harder to convince her to do things. Instead of not being able to "hear" us because of her anxiety it was like we had to fight through the medication haze too. After a few weeks on the medication I saw huge improvements in "hearing" instructions. There was noted improvement in getting in/out of doorways and less impact if something did cause her anxiety. I began keeping a journal and there are notes about my husband coming/going twice during the day with "smooth transitions" and that she even ate dinner alone. We defined, and still do, smooth transitions as not having to physically contain, not having to "talk her down" or resolve an issue, but simply asking her to go in her room and getting out of the house before any whining or problems. For months we operated on the "can't go back" system when we left. If we forgot something it was just too bad because getting out the door took at least ten minutes and going back in the house could set her off. She had shown huge progress in spending day alone in her room and not being stressed out for the rest of the night when we came home. While we were thrilled with the progress we were concerned about how lethargic she was.
After nearly a month on the medication my husband and I decided to decrease the dose down to 20 mg (the lower dose for her weight) after a call to the vet's office one day, even though our vet was out of the office and didn't get to vote. Pooh was still hazy, sleeping a lot, and my husband was concerned that she was "twitchy"...in a different way than before. So we lowered the dose a week before her medication checkup. Her appetite returned within 24 hours after lowering the dose and she became more bright eyed/interested, which she hadn't been during that month. When we went in for her medication checkup Dr. Erion explained to us that we probably should have waited it out another week because Pooh's body was still adjusting and would likely level off once accustomed. He also explained that even while she was lethargic she was learning that the world around her wasn't quite so scary because the new experiences were being recorded without her typical panic. Still, we decided to stay at the lower level of medication since we had already made the change. He said that if she began to amp up again to call right away and we would try modifying medication level. We talked about concept of CALM dog and how important that is for her...not just following commands, but that her manner must also be calm. Don't talk to her if she isn't calm, no treats, no sweet talk to calm her because it only reinforces the anxiety. He explained that we were striving toward calmly telling her to go in her room, giving her treat, shutting gate, saying goodbye calmly, and leaving. I could hardly imagine such a day would come!! (It has and I'm so glad he explained that it was possible.) Dr. Erion was very patient and explained simple things like, just because you're home doesn't mean the gate to her room has to be open. Why didn't I think of that?? Instead of hurrying in to open gate before her panic amped up I began setting down my keys. Then, I worked up to taking off my shoes. After several weeks I could take off my shoes and walk to the kitchen to drop stuff onto kitchen counters before there was an whining. Sometimes the simplest things make such a difference...for Pooh and for me.
After nearly a month on the medication my husband and I decided to decrease the dose down to 20 mg (the lower dose for her weight) after a call to the vet's office one day, even though our vet was out of the office and didn't get to vote. Pooh was still hazy, sleeping a lot, and my husband was concerned that she was "twitchy"...in a different way than before. So we lowered the dose a week before her medication checkup. Her appetite returned within 24 hours after lowering the dose and she became more bright eyed/interested, which she hadn't been during that month. When we went in for her medication checkup Dr. Erion explained to us that we probably should have waited it out another week because Pooh's body was still adjusting and would likely level off once accustomed. He also explained that even while she was lethargic she was learning that the world around her wasn't quite so scary because the new experiences were being recorded without her typical panic. Still, we decided to stay at the lower level of medication since we had already made the change. He said that if she began to amp up again to call right away and we would try modifying medication level. We talked about concept of CALM dog and how important that is for her...not just following commands, but that her manner must also be calm. Don't talk to her if she isn't calm, no treats, no sweet talk to calm her because it only reinforces the anxiety. He explained that we were striving toward calmly telling her to go in her room, giving her treat, shutting gate, saying goodbye calmly, and leaving. I could hardly imagine such a day would come!! (It has and I'm so glad he explained that it was possible.) Dr. Erion was very patient and explained simple things like, just because you're home doesn't mean the gate to her room has to be open. Why didn't I think of that?? Instead of hurrying in to open gate before her panic amped up I began setting down my keys. Then, I worked up to taking off my shoes. After several weeks I could take off my shoes and walk to the kitchen to drop stuff onto kitchen counters before there was an whining. Sometimes the simplest things make such a difference...for Pooh and for me.