Our poor dog is terrified...

[disykat]

Our dog has been going nuts. Another time this happened, it was our previous dog and there was a cat trapped in our crawl space. DH went under and looked around and set some mouse traps just in case. Sure enough, he caught a mouse. Yuck! (He puts down traps periodically because we live in the woods, but has only caught three in the 25 years we've lived here.)

I'm hoping that was it, but our dog is a basket case! I know from our previous dog that as dogs lose their hearing it can be very scary for them so I'm guessing that's what's going on. Meanwhile my dog is crying and trying to wedge herself behind the tv!

Wind, the icemaker, windows occasionally creaking, and now at least one mouse. I'm sorry for our poor dog having to live in such a house of horrors!

Anyone else live with a scardy dog? I'm looking at thunder coats...

 

[evilmommie]

I have a scaredy cat/anxiety dog named Gidget (wheaten terrier mix). Complete sweetheart but freaks out over the weirdest things. If she hears a beep from the instant pot or the TV, she'll freak out and hide. Hates firework sounds...the list goes on...whereas I have a dog that none of this phases them. What's interesting with Gidget is that she isn't really phased by the wildlife around here. Coyotes, bobcats, raccoons...

Anyway, she seems to respond well to CBD. I give her the Charlotte's Web Calming CBD chews to help take the edge off.

 

[disykat]

I've wondered about that! Maybe I'll work up the nerve to give it a try. She has allergies so giving her something new is always a worry.

 

[RamblingMad]

My dog is a 75 lb Ferdinand the Bull. And he's constantly pissed at the world. He was born a grumpy old man. He takes a while to get over his fears. It's slow and gradual. My last dog was fearless, so I'm still adjusting.

 

[Mokat76]

Poor pup. My scaredy dog did well with his thunder coat. It really seemed to help. And calming chews.

 

[evilmommie]

I've wondered about that! Maybe I'll work up the nerve to give it a try. She has allergies so giving her something new is always a worry.

I hear you. Gidget has horrible allergies. These chews don’t affect her adversely. You’re such a good dog mom…looking for the right solution to help calm your baby’s anxieties.

 

[DodgerGirl]

My cat often gets spooked and scared much like your dog does Disykat and it could be that your dog might be sensitive to some sounds and gets spooked so you might need to be careful around what sounds your dog might hear and be scared of. Take for instance my cat gets easily spooked when somebody sneezes and he will just jump and go crazy and run around the house like a maniac. Other noises that scare my cat are buzzers hair dryers vacuum cleaners and fireworks but he mainly is scared of pillows. But every time my cat hears fireworks or a buzzer he gets spooked and jumps into my mom's arms and growl and growl but will scratch but not bite. I would say to talk to your vet and see if your dog's hearing needs to be checked because it would seem that your dog might've developed a fear of something that happened a long time ago. What noises scare your dog the most? Because that could play a factor in your dog's behavior as well and do check your dog's ears and clean them to be sure that nothing is bothering her
Hope I helped you Disykat and hope you find the answer soon
Dodger

 

[Malcon10t]

I've wondered about that! Maybe I'll work up the nerve to give it a try. She has allergies so giving her something new is always a worry.

Have you talked with your vet? We have a dog that suffers from anxiety. The vet has her on Fluoxetine. It has made a MASSIVE difference. I feel bad it took us this long to get there.

 

[LuvOrlando]

That happened when my dog's illness was deteriorating this time last year, but I didn't know what was going on. He also never wanted to be alone and would snuggle in really close. I think he was hurting and trying to get away from something inside, pretty sure there were seizures from his heart valve going or something like that, so I'd see a Vet to get input. Now the Vets I saw were not of any help and didn't prepare me but maybe yours is better, at the least I'd want to give one a chance. I think there could have been treatment.

 

[disykat]

Thanks! She is on prozac and we have fluoxetine for when she is really upset, not as a constant. She has been doing a little better. She had to have some cysts removed and is wearing a cone and is pretty subdued. We've totally switched gears. Prior to this latest incident, she was improving a bit with the fear and trembling. We had family around for Thanksgiving and that was a good distraction for her. Her thunder shirt seems to be a little helpful too - though she can't wear that right now due to her surgical site.

We went through this with our last dog in her last years too, but her fears centered around more noises etc. that were more noticeable to us. We can't really identify what it is that is upsetting our poor pup. I do know her overall health is deteriorating, but it's hard when we don't really know how old she is. We've had her almost 9 years, so think she is probably around eleven. Our last dog's issues happened around age 12.

Our last dog developed tumors and cysts too and we think she probably died of cancer because one changed shape decidedly and she went downhill fast. It's hard to see the same thing seeming to happen to this girl. One cyst suddenly became a problem and got infected so they removed it and another one adjacent to it. They did biopsy and it is benign but will probably grow back and continue to be problematic. We don't plan on "treating" any cancer if it's identified, but we'll certainly take comfort measures!

It is so hard losing a pet! We noticed her health was going downhill last year and were so thankful that she stayed relatively healthy through a very difficult time during which we cared for and lost elderly parents. Now it might be her turn.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Our dogs are terrified of fireworks we have thundercoats for them and herbal remedies, but nothing beats cuddles and blankets.