hi all,

i don't know who may remember a previous post about the way my lab, Teka, was behaving when trying to go out for a walk etc, but the fear has returned.......

yesterday afternoon i got in from work, opened the back door, and went about my usual business, as did the dogs. abot half one, i heard a helicopter hovering behind my house. Tkea was quite nervy by this point, huffing and puffing, shaking etc. I went outside to see what it was doing (turns out some numpties on a scooter were being followed-i hope it the twits that live round the corner..), and Buna (puppy) came out with me. Teka eventually joined us, but just stayed close.

i tried taking her out on her own about half two-ish, but she got down the drive, to the car and stopped dead. I let her watch the world go by for a bit, and tried walking forward, but she didn't move, so after waiting a little while talking to her, i brought her back in.

she then spent half an hour sat in the corner of the room shaking and panting-more so when i spoke to her.

i took her out again just after four, and took Buna too, to see if would put her at ease. With a little coaxing (and a stick!), she came, and we were out for 25 mins or so, went to see her boyfriend etc.

i came i from work as normal today, to be greeted by her. again-normal. I went upsairs to let Bu out, and they both trotted downstairs. I went out in the garden and called them both. Little one came out no problem, but she was very reluctant, panting and generaly looking worried. Eventually the need for a wee got the better of her and she came over, had a wee, then went back in. since then she's been huffing and puffing, and has only just gone to sleep.

she's been standing against me looking for reassurance i think (i've just put her down on the floor and not acknowledged he really), following me like a lost puppy. She was sat next to me on the sofa a few mins ago shaking like a leaf.

last time took perserverence and two weeks of trying, and i thought i'd cracked it. She's still a bit funny now and again, but 98% of the time she's ok.

admittedly, i haven't tried taking her out yet, because she's so nervy, but i will try.

i'm not quite sure what to do. I'm pottering round as normal, and i'm going to take Bu out for his afternoon stroll soon, leaving her here, but is that the right thing to do?

i don't want to pussy foot round her, so i'm doing the normal things etc, stroking her on my erms and when she's not shaking, panting, jumping on me etc.

has anyone got any ideas?  Similar experiences?

last time i was at the vet about it, we put it down to a fear response from something, but because she'd literally changed in the space of me going and coming back from work, we couldn't pinpoint what would have caused it, he gave me some Selgian for if it got any worse etc. I decided not to use this, and did the patient and perseverence route, and took the selgian back.

why can't dogs talk????

any thoughts will be greatly received, as always.

Hi

You dont say how she is?

If shes a little older it may be worth seeing a behaviorist to see if that helps as it must be very upsetting for you both when shes shaking and panting and if shes like this for too long the stress of the way she is feeling could be inprint on her and hard to reverse.

If she is youngish dog then I wouldnt worry too much and would just carry on doing what youre doing, giving lots of reassurance and showing that you and your other pup are not scared and are having a great time playing in the garden.

With regards to shaking more when you speak im not sure why she does this but mine is the same when hes fightened. I just give him a big hug, almost covering him with the warmth of my body and just keep stroking him until he comes around.

Sorry I cant be more help but Im sure you are doin a great job anyway.

Have a look here I've used T Touch to good effect on a good few rescue dogs who have had bad experiences or who have been nervous

quick question about T-Touch and how to use it....

how long do you do it for and when? Presumbly when the dog in anxiuos? Do i do it all over the body, at random points?

what about when out on a walk? If she pulls / freaks at a motorbike (she was hit by one a year ago-luckily it was going slow and it only just nicked her face)do i just stop walking and start t-touching?

You can use T Touch any time & my dogs get massaged at the vets, at home when the come for a cuddle, before they go in the ring(to chill out & calm down as they are not nervous)I used it on my cousins cats recently as he went into hospital & I was feeding them & spending time woth them in their home. You can use it as a reward lol I used it on a dog that I had trained to work on stage, he got his T Touch before & after being on stage & he loved it so much he would go straight onto his bed & laid waiting for his massage at the interval between acts.

do you start in any particular area? Work from the shoulders down the length of the body, or random movements? Sorry to seem a bit dense, but i'm new to all this, although i'm sure i've seen it used on tv before...

thanks! 

caroline-she's two in september. She's always been a very bold confident girl, but something knocked the stuffing out of her a few months back. The only thing i can think was that next door were having an extension done, and one day their automatic garage door was being fitted. she was fine when i left her, then when i cam back she was freaked. Must have been the noise of the garage door being fitted? She was absolutely fine with the rest of the work-she even pined to go see the builders!!!!

i feel so sorry for her. Its definately noises that are affecting her. A plane went over half an hour or so ago, and she just went into the downstairs loo. I've just coughed, and she's just shaken for britain! she's laid on the sofa with her dad, and she was quite settled, snoozing. I went over to give her a stroke, and she turned away and started shaking. I sat back down and it stopped. Great! Looks like she doesn't like me either now!!!

i did manage to get her out today-i had to take out in the car mind, but i don't care.

i went to go pick the hubby up later, and as i went to set the alarm, she stood, tail between her legs and just shook. Yet she's brilliant when left-she gets her kong, takes it upstairs and snoozes on our bed. I had to take her with me in the end...then when i got home she wouldn't get out of the car.......Since i got back (about an hour and a bit ago), she's been breathing really quickly, and has been laid in the downstairs loo. She's only just nodded off on her dads knee.

i just wish i knew what it was thats caused this....

moonmaiden-thanks for that link. I'm just reading it now. Might have to pick your brains about it if you don't mind..?

Munkeemojo,  Are the calms for you?  You sound as if you need them - or at least a strong drink!!  I don't know if PAH will sell DAP diffusers.  I have a sneaky feeling you can only get them from specialist outlets or your Vet.  I might be wrong though.  If she really likes going to PAH it might be worth a try taking her anyway just for an outing to boost her confidence a bit.  Poor you.  It must be really hard for you to leave her in the morning.  As I say the DAP diffuser worked for my friend.  It gives off some sort of smell/hormone (correct me if I am wrong anybody!) which replicates the smell that puppy's get from their mum.  This is supposed to calm them right down.  Of course you have to take that description with a whole load of salt but that is definitely the general idea.

Annie

BTW I should be working too but once I start reading this forum, work goes right out the window.  I used to get loads done but now end up having to work late into the night!!!

you were right annie-there wasn't any at PAH. I'm going to order one online. I bought some "Serene-Um" instead, which is suppoosedly recommended by Sara Whittaker. She's only had two doses, so i can't say if its helped yet!

its definitely things in the sky. I was at the park with them both today, and a plane flew over. She started the run back to the car. One was circling about 20 mins ago and she was shaking and puffing. Saying that though, it is a distinct improvement to the last few days.

nicola x

(by the way-yes the calms or for me-god knows i need them!!! Thats what comes of speaking to moaners all day!)

Hiya

Perhaps it was the sight of you drooling over Robbie that started all this up again - or maybe she just wants to stay in the kitchen with Robbie!!!!  Seriously though, this must be pretty horrible for you not to understand what is going on in her head!  Do you think that something could be happening while you are out at work in the morning?  Or maybe something happened in the garden that you were unaware of.  Either way it is a tough one to crack because you don't know what's causing it.  I have heard that the T Touch is excellent and have you thought about getting a DAP diffuser?  I have never used one so I can't tell you how they are from personal experience but one of my friends is using one at the moment on her cat and it is working a treat.  He is back to his usual self.

Poor you!  I hate it when I can't fathom out what's causing something with my babies!

Annie

hehe anna. Robbie did just scare the pants out of her-he just feel off the fridge....sure he must have been willing his was to me.....
......if only :D

i've heard of DAP diffusers, so might just give one a go. I'm definately going to look into the T-Touch. And i'm going to ask aformentioned behaviourist to come and have a look if she's still the same at the weekend. The last bout of this behaviour took to weeks to rectify. Luckily puppy-boy can't  go out for long, so if she refuses to go, i'll just be out for 15 mins.

annie even-sorry!!

Sounds like it is the hellicopters and scary flying things that have her worried. 

My first dog was frightened to death of hot air balloons.  We have lost here as Bristol holds a huge fiesta and flights all summer.

After the first fright when one flew very low (she was about 6 months old then) it would be enough for there to be one very far away, just a pin prick in the distance and the agitated dancing and panting would start, even if we were in a car and she spotted one in the sky. 

There was no way to predict them so no way of desensitsing her. :D

How is she with Fireworks and Thunder storms.  Sadly some dogs are just very sound sensitive, this often gets worse with age, or starts when a dog is old (probably the eharing is not so good, so the noises are more frightening???).

hiya brainless (i love that name-sounds like me today, hence typing this when i shoulf be typing letters to customers),

i completely agree with the noise issue, but like you said, i can't predict what'll happen, so i can't try desensitization. Its so random.

this morning she was a nightmare. We shut all the windown, vents, left the tv on in the bedroom where she normally sleeps while i'm at work, i gaev her a kong, to which she's normally waiting on the bed for, she just sat on the floor and shook. I went to elave (i sooo didn't want to), and she stayed up there for a bit. She heard her dad set the alaem, and she bolted downstairs sitting at the door shaking and panting. She reeeally doesn't want us to go anywhere. I felt awful leaving her, but i did.

i really am stuck in respect of what to do. The last thing i want is for her to start with seperation anxiety. She's always been fab about being left-never once batting an eyelid. She used to get excited about it, herd the cats upstairs, and the puppy, then run and do a flying leap on bed waiting for her kong wagging her tail and smiling!!

its soul detroying. she was such a bold confident dog, and now she's a nervous wreck-even when i talk to her! Yet her dad she's ok with. I mad ehim be the one to leave her upstairs this morning (second attempt round) while i got in the car.

as for thunder and fireworks, she didn't bat an eyelid until this year. I went out with her one saturday and unfortunately we got caught in a storm. She started to run home, so i had to put her on the lead for her safety and we ran home (well i wobbled like a weeble!). She was ok the next day though.

the problem started one day when something unknown must have happened. We didn't have the pup then, so it wasn't him-it must have been the afformentioned garage door, as it was the only thing different about that day.

i'm going to take her to Pets At Home tonight seeing as she loves it there, and see if i can get a DAP diffuser to try. I'll have a search on here when i get in from work to see what people say about them.

i did try a bit of t-touch last night, but she was just beside herself, so i gave in after 15 minutes.

might have to invest in some calms or herbal remedies too i think. Poor baby....i've thought about her all morning.....i can feel a sickie coming on tomorrow!!!!!

nicola x