Murphy - Stress Relief
Eats dirt constantly, he is totally obsessed with eating dirt, I should of named him Excavator. Licks his chest and air licks obsessively (not food related) Is the biggest whinny cry baby, he will stand and stare at me for no reason and cry. There is absolutely nothing wrong with him physically, he was just at the vets for blood test and his annual wellness check and teeth cleaning. He is fear aggressive, he will lay under things, coffee table, dining table, picnic table (you get my point) and shark his brother if he comes into his breathing space. But 2 minutes later, he will be licking Roman's face off. He is NOT good with other dogs.. and that is putting it mildly. Shakes.. the only time he doesn't shake is when he is sleeping. After consultation with my vet, whom I trust completely, she has suggested we try him on some anxiety medication. So my choices are: Anxitane (vet perscribed) - http://www.dogsincanada.com/anxitane Homeopet - http://www.homeopet.com/anxiety.html Bach Tromos (which I think is Rescue Remedy) http://www.alypsis.ca/tromos.php Has anyone ever used any of these products? and for your viewing pleasure (or not), Murphy in all his chunky glory. Telling me to "hurry up Momma"  Smelling the flowers  Out for a stroll  Looking sad and pathetic  |
|
|
Poor Murphy.  I don't have any experience with the calming meds you mentioned, though Oscar takes amitriptyline (anti-anxiety) for his IBD. Just a thought. Has Murphy's thyroid been checked? According to Dr. Dodds, "There are more than 50 different symptoms of hypothyroidism. Classic signs include chronic skin disease, hair loss, weight gain, lethargy and slow metabolism, although behavioral changes (aggression, hyperactivity, poor concentration, passivity, phobias, anxiety, or neuromuscular events such as seizures) and many other signs of metabolic imbalances can also occur." Just a thought. Laurie and Oscar |
| Ditto Laurie. Read Dr. Dobbs stuff in hypothyroidism. There are different tests, perhaps your vet is using the old one. He doesn't have an idenity crisis....that's what we assign to them. He doesn't have a job and since neither breed is a lap breed, he needs to be a responsible member of the pack. You can try adding a pack to him on walks......he has to carry the water for the crew. Maybe eventually get him into carting....small cart on walks to carry the picnic basket. (Yeah, I'm food oriented too) He won't be good with other dogs until he feels secure with you. The dirt eating is another symptom. While Pica may mean hookworms or an iron absorption problem, more often it is a psychological problem. Perhaps he needs a bit of obedience training every day......he has to earn his treats, earn his praise...to give him self worth. Walk him by himself and with other dogs. Could be your adorble curly guy does have that thyroid condition and he doesn't feel right thus it comes out as these unwelcome behaviors. |
Love the pics  Definate pleasure! I have not had any luck with anything calming Devyn and Pancakes are both FREAKS! Devyn has been on every drug imaginable and we finally gave up! Deal with the whack-o BUT, it may work for Murph so, I would give it a try! On the other hand wine helps me cope with it!   |
| I'd go with the one the vet prescribed. I've used the other two with no obvious benefits so we went with a prescription. Hugs to both you and Murph. |
| Please go with the medication your vet will prescribe. Among other things, homeopathic remedies are exempted from regulations that require testing to prove their efficacy. What your vet will prescribe may be (will be) more expensive, however, you will know that it has been tested and approved under FDA guidelines and regulations, including long-term studies for side effects and testing for consistency in the production of the drug. That being said (too bad there's no soapbox smilie ), we had a kitty on amitriptyline for his behavioral issues, and it was a lifesaver. Good luck!  |
| Hi brenda I've used bach flower essences which includes "Rescue Remedy" at times it has worked other times totally useless. Found this and is a natural remedy and I had brilliant results. http://www.petsuppliesaustralia.com.au/ ... p1711.html The reason I used this was for Syd when girls were in heat, he lost every brain cell in his head (which I cant blame him and mother nature). Previously to using this "Bach Flower essences did diddly squat"!! I wanted to take the stress levels off him as prior before finding this non drowsey, non druggy natural remedy Syd was a nightmare for 5 days. Sooked all night, would not eat, was everytime I came near him latching onto my leg and really hurting me and so stressed out too. So I needed something to take the edge off him at that time and also to take him off me as well Choice was to try this one next time around or board him at mims at bachelor camp for a few days while all his brain cells were non existant!!!  So this was a miracle but also with Murphy if you think he is getting worse then I'd go with the vet prescribed medication if his thyroid is fine and also ask the vet does this make them drugged up and drowsy? If not then go for it and while he is on it start easing him into more situations where you know his behaviour has not been great and de-sensitising him while on the prescription drug from the vets for all his aniexties(sp) and if you get that under controll and he is progressing then you can start to lower the doses if the vet feels he is progressing, keep up getting him use to things that previously you had problems with and take it from there with your vet to hopefully have him weaned off it slowly over time as he hopefully gets better and better with each little quirk he has .He is do darn cute, but yes you do need to try something to help him Wether that be a natural approach to try first or a prescribed medication under the vets guidence, in the long term all worth it to make him a "Happy and Accepting Chappy" of situations he has not been too good at previously.Oh and mim has taken the rest of the bottle after syds brain cells came back LOL. that succeeded on the stressed out horn dog to try on her dalmation "Rastus" as he has issues too, scared of thunder, can suck himself sore etc etc. I dont know if she has tried it yet on Rastus and if she has maybe she can post wether it has made any difference and helped him or not. |
| Murphy has had his thyroid check 3 weeks ago and it was normal, it is the one test that I ask to have done specifically every year. He has always been a little neurotic, but it seems to have gotten worse in the last year. I have racked my brain to try to figure out what has changed, we still follow the same schedule, other than getting older, not much has varied. If anything he is exposed to different places more and situations, always under my control. Maybe the problem is me, I will need to reevaluate. I don't baby him; I don't really want to reward his behavior. I will try Dudley's back-pack on him on our walks and spend more one-on-one with him on our walks, I really don't want to have to medicate him, I would rather figure out what the bee is in his bonnet. But if I have to, I will go with the vet prescribed medication. SheepieBoss wrote: He doesn't have an idenity crisis....that's what we assign to them. I know he doesn't have an identity crisis, I was being humorous, I thought. Thanks for everyone's imput, I apprecaite it  |
| Thanks Brenda, you'd be amazed how people really do put human emotions on dogs. |
| Just a little tip.....Over the years I have had my vet call the scripts to my drug store. The meds are cheaper 99% of the time. MOST are available. |
| We used Anxitane with Mattie. It really seemed to help her accept Frankie a little better. I started with the full dose then after a couple of weeks slowly weaned it down. Babysheepie Lisa Frankie and Mattie |
dogmom wrote: Just a little tip.....Over the years I have had my vet call the scripts to my drug store. The meds are cheaper 99% of the time. MOST are available. That is an excellent idea, they have done that for us for our allergy issues with my boyfriends dog. |
| How old is the Murph boy now?? I do know with Simon, age has made his anxieties worse. Way worse. He has the trembles, whines, more irritableness. It all was made suddenly way worse when he got so sick and nearly died. The rest of him has seemed to bounce back OK, but not some of these new behaviors. Well, not entirely new, they just got noticably worse!  I had him with me at class last week, thinking for orientation night he would enjoy it. Maybe he did (his tail wagged and he liked greeting the people), but the whole time he was either trembling or whining. It is no fun to see him like this - so I know what you mean about Murphy. |
| by the way, Murphy is ONE OF THE CUTEST DOGS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!! |
| Aw Murphy... maybe he just needs more snacks? |
got sheep wrote: How old is the Murph boy now?? Murphy was 8 this past February, where has the time gone? I am going to try the vet prescribe medication to see if it makes a difference. dogmom wrote: by the way, Murphy is ONE OF THE CUTEST DOGS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!! : Thanks he's special HeatherRWM wrote: Aw Murphy... maybe he just needs more snacks? LOL NO!! When the dirt eating escalated, I thought it was due to his being on a diet, but several people have reminded me that he has always eaten dirt, but not to this extreme. |
| I have nothing useful to offer but I hope you will have great result with the meds. The title "Murphy - Stress Relief" is so true  I am taking a break from the stressful work day and the moment I saw Murphy's pictures, my stress was all gone  |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|