calliecritturs
Posted : 3/17/2011 9:13:58 PM
There comes a point where they learn to live in that high-stress state and it becomes almost "Normal" to them.
My first question is this -- when she's at rest (i.e., asleep) does she breathe hard? It sounds to me like you've observed her carefully -- we just want to rule out heart problems.
This isn't something I often suggest, but given that she's increasing in anxiety and it's becoming more 'normal' for her to be anxious, you may need to medicate her *with* the training you do.
Rather than recommending a hard-core sertonin drug like Chlomicalm (which is not a bad thing -- i just tend to use natural,alternative methods preferably) -- which you'd need to talk to your vet about -- you might want to try either herbals or homeopathy to reduce her stress/anxiety. They can work faster, which might help.
Herbals? Try a tincture (rather than capsules - those have to digest in the stomach before they work -- tinctures work much faster -- 5-10 minutes). Preferably something like valerian root (non-alcohol is generally more palatable). Probably two droppers full mixed in a minimal amount of tahini or peanut butter -give it to her about 5 minutes before you want to transition her.
As much as possible, it would be my bet that ignoring her would be better. Sort of like the reverse process of coming home to a dog who gets over anxious at your return - ignore her when she first gets out of the crate.
valerian, passion-flower, St. John's Wort -- all 3 are nervine herbs. i.e., "relaxants".
St. John's Wort, however actually has some sertonin properties and it might be a darned good one to start with. It's not habit-forming (none of those are).
On the other hand -- homeopathics can really work very well. Probably the best known is Hylands "Calms Forte" -- but it is the only homeopathic I know of that *has* to work in the stomach, so it takes about 45 minutes to work.
**However** there are others. -Heel/BHI has a formula called "Calming" that works pretty darned fast. 2-3 minutes.
You need to crush the tablet (fold a piece of paper and use a small hammer or something hard to crush ANY homeopathic that way) and then pour it into her mouth or get her to lick it up. They're sweet -- mine think they are a treat. don't mix with food at all -- you don't even want her to drink water with it -- it needs to absorb into the mucus membranes of the mouth.
YOu can follow it with another in 3-5 minutes if you need to.
Boiron singles (another health store item -- but the Boiron display is a bunch of tiny blue tubes) -- chamomillia (it's a homeopathic made from chamomile tea) is another really good calmative.
The advantage of the homeopathics over anything else is they are gentle but extremely effective. But they don't last a long time -- you may have to give again in 3-4 hours but it's ok, you won't over-dose.
If you want to email me if you are interested -- that's fine. I can 'teach' you a bit about homeopathics. It would be a good thing if we chatted about her -- if her heart rate actually skyrockets -- particularly if you think this stress covers *fear* then there'd be another one I'd suggest you couple with the chamomilia. In fact there are several you could try.
Or -- if you are really uncomfortable with anything alternaitve you could talk to the vet about Chlomicalm or prozac. When you get a dog that is this deeply traumatized and who spends this much time in such a hiighly anxious state, then sometimes the stronger pharmaceuticals are needed just to bring her down out of that highly anxious state so you *can* desensitize her further. It may not need to be a long term thing -- but convincing her brain that something other than high anxiety is 'normal' can be tough.