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Post by suziriot on Jun 17, 2010 20:01:02 GMT -5
So..... yeah. Her Highness Lady D has put the "d" in destruction the past week and a-half. Suddenly she is barking at everything and nothing, throwing tantrums and flailing around in her crate, and just seems really high-strung and anxious ALL THE TIME. She even was banging her kong against the wall the other day and hit her head. This is not normal behavior for her. Nothing traumatic or new or negative has happened to give me any clues about why she's acting this way. She's not behaving fearful or aggressive... it's just like she's "on alert" constantly. Brook and I have our work schedules set so that the dogs are never home alone for more than 3-4 hours each day. Today they were actually only alone about 2 hours. Dharma and Otis are crated in a room together. Today when I got home and opened the door to their room, Dharma was wandering around and there were little plastic pieces everywhere. My little 39 lb three-legged wonder had busted the screws out of their sockets and broke the crate open, then tried to break Otis out his crate by chewing it up!
Dharma loves being in her crate when we are home. Sometimes we have a hard time getting her out of it. She loves to relax and chew on a toy, or take a nap in there. It's where she goes when she's freaking out during a thunderstorm, etc. I talked with our trainer Laura this afternoon and she suggested starting out with having our vet do a thyroid panel on Dharma to rule out any medical issues that may be causing the anxiety. I feel like that's a good start. Thoughts or suggestions everyone?
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Post by michele5611 on Jun 18, 2010 8:05:41 GMT -5
Suzi can't believe that innocent little face busted out of her cage and tried to bust Otis out as well!
I agree with your vet and would start with the thyroid panel so that you can rule out any medical problems.
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Post by sugar on Jun 18, 2010 8:40:44 GMT -5
Well, Chubs one day decided no more crate and smashed it (and scarred his poor snout in the process). Hope everything turns out well at the vet's office (if it had just been one of those things I would have said something different but all of those things combined def. warrants a vet trip).
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Post by suziriot on Jun 18, 2010 9:46:09 GMT -5
Michele, I know. She is sweet, but she's tough too! She's scheduled to have the thyroid panel done tomorrow morning. Thanks ladies!
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Post by michele5611 on Jun 18, 2010 10:10:25 GMT -5
They all seem to have a mischevious side to them!
Harley has the face of an angel but believe me she has caused some major destruction in my house and much like Dharma somehow managed to get her self out of several different types of crates!
Let us know the results of the thyroid panel.
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Post by zueszena on Jun 21, 2010 18:07:12 GMT -5
ok guys im gonna say this and live with the BACKLASH,,, i know it's comin lmao,,,,but with no crates and 2 7 month olds,,,,had no destruction,,,or weird problems,,and i still am against crating,,,,,that said,,,remember i have 24-7 with my animals and still believe thats the real difference,,,and i know most are not capable of that and realize crates are needed,,,but good luck with the problem and keep us updated,,,hope we can help ,,,and hope panel turns out ok
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Post by michele5611 on Jun 21, 2010 18:24:54 GMT -5
Matt you are def. lucky that you are with the pups during the day! Harley is never crated when we are home but unfortunately she has to be crated during the day when hubby and I are at work because left to her own devices her separation anxiety gets the best of her and it is carnage when I get home...LOL.
Suzi any update!
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Post by zueszena on Jun 21, 2010 19:34:05 GMT -5
i know Mich,,,,tryin to say one thing and support it too ya know lol
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Post by suziriot on Jun 21, 2010 20:36:31 GMT -5
No updates on the thyroid yet, but my vet really does not think that's the explanation anyway. I really trust her and she still did the test to rule it out... thank goodness they're inexpensive and give me a discount! She did recommend the Rescue Remedy, so I ordered some and we'll see how that goes. Matt, I'm SO envious that you and your wife are with your pups 24/7. Brook and I have arranged our schedules differently from each other - I work 9-5 and he works late afternoon/evening - so that our dogs are never home alone for more than 4 hours every day. But when I'm at work I miss them so much! And I'm not going to have the crating argument with you. As long as they're not left together unsupervised, it's all good.  |
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Post by maryellen on Jun 21, 2010 21:36:36 GMT -5
has the weather changed like bad storms when she is home alone in her crate? or workers working on your house? sometimes bad weather or workers can disrupt a dog and catch them off guard.. i had that happen with a foster husky , dog was fine crated until one day there was a really bad tstorm while i was at work, from that day on she busted out of every crate i had her in and had such bad SA i would come home to her crate soaked with saliva and she would act up like darma...
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Post by suziriot on Jun 21, 2010 22:45:12 GMT -5
Maryellen, she's always been bad with storms but she found a way to self-soothe by hiding in her crate with her kong. In fact we're having a thunderstorm tonight and she's pacifying herself by sucking and chewing on her kong. But she's been acting out when we don't have storms. And there's nothing new with the house or neighborhood or anything. That's why I wanted to rule out anything medical. I'm starting to think that it might be a combination of separation anxiety and something else about Brook (her daddy). She loves me, but she ADORES him. Gale has seen how he tends to spoil her. She tries stuff with him that she never tries with me. He tries not to reward her attention-seeking behaviors, but he's just not as "strict" as I am. Here's an example: Brook is sitting on the couch in the living room, Dharma is relaxed on the floor. He gets up and starts walking around, she flips out and starts hopping around and barking at him frantically. He sits back down and she jumps into his lap and gives him kisses while he snuggles her. She was just rewarded for being a total brat. So, in this period of time I've been talking about she's been flipping out like that over everything, but only at home. She's still completely calm and well behaved everywhere else we go. And she's usually pretty calm just hanging out with me and the other dogs. Although the past couple weeks I've been reading her as just anxious in general.
Brook has been better about ignoring her bad behavior and not giving in. We've had her on NILF since last Friday and she's been much better behaved the past couple days. We left her in the bedroom rather than crating her when we weren't home, and there was no destruction. She seems less anxious overall. Long story short, my preliminary conclusion is separation anxiety plus extreme spoiled brat behavior. Fortunately, I at least feel like this is stuff I can deal with.
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Post by suziriot on Jun 22, 2010 11:46:04 GMT -5
Thyroid came back normal.
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Post by michele5611 on Jun 22, 2010 12:30:54 GMT -5
Glad everything came back normal!!!! You are right the behavioral stuff you can def. deal with! I am no trainer but I think it def. is a combo of what you posted above. Could be she just does not want to be crated when you are not home as that just adds to her stress. If you can leave her in the bedroom and she seems to be less anxious then maybe that is the way to go.
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Post by sugar on Jun 22, 2010 13:31:46 GMT -5
Yep bedroom-ing it is what I'm doing with Chubs (also one day justd decided to bust of of his crate and torn up his snout to boot). So far he seems fine (also suprisingly non-destructive) now that he is being left alone in my bedroom.
Just be sure to extra-super puppy proof
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Post by maryellen on Jun 22, 2010 14:26:50 GMT -5
it could very well be some SA and some bratty behavior if Brook lets her get away with stuff and rewards her for being bratty...
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Post by loverocksalot on Jun 25, 2010 21:48:11 GMT -5
Matt-no naughty stuff cause you are there 24/7. First times I allowed Rocky run of house when he was about a year old just for an hour he found and chewed up things I did not know were at his reach. He got sunglasses a roll of tape and a tape measure. I have not been crating him for a while and am sorry because now he cries and complains. He use to love his crate.
As for the D woman. wow that crazy girl. maybe she could have her crate some place in a room where she can go in and out of her crate but not leave the room IDK like with baby gates. Rocky is scared poop of baby gates and would never go near one. After it fell in a storm when the front door blew open he was cured of trying to go past the baby gate. I dont even have to put it up just lean it against door.
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Post by AmyJo27 on Jun 28, 2010 15:22:40 GMT -5
Rocky is scared poop of baby gates and would never go near one. After it fell in a storm when the front door blew open he was cured of trying to go past the baby gate. I dont even have to put it up just lean it against door. …You are rather lucky there…Boomer would bulldoze them and Even my little Marley flies right over them like they are nothing. LOL! |
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I look forward to learning much here