Stress

helenweekley · #1 22nd April 2012, 11:47 AM

Ok the dog I am dog sitting got dropped off yesterday and she is very stressed and I was just wondering if there is anything I can do to help her. She cried for like 3 hours straight but that has stopped and now she just whines every now and again but she has a little diarrhea is shaking and chewing her nails. I still have 6 days to go until they pick her up and I hate to see her like this she is such a sweet good girl and my dog really loves her so it is so cute my dog goes and gets her toys and lays them beside her hoping for play time but it just isn't happening right now. I also wanted to mention she is completely deaf and has some brain damage so she spins a lot.

Gatorblu · #2 22nd April 2012, 12:29 PM

Poor thing! Can you contact the owners and see if you can give her some Rescue Remedy? It calms Arabella when we need a little something. I use the spray. Just a couple of squirts in her mouth, well in her gums is more like it. I think I have seen it a Walmart.

helenweekley · #3 22nd April 2012, 10:12 PM

Thanks I tried calling and it went straight to voice mail so I think his phone is dead so I sent out an email. I did talk to him this morning he called to check on her and I told him about her stress and he said she is usually stressed for a couple days in new situations and then should be ok. But I also noticed the stress is more with me and she calms down around my husband unfortunately I am the one home all the time and he will be heading back to work tomorrow. The poor girl just follows him around like she is saying please don't leave me again. I'm really afraid she is going to hurt herself chewing her nails, when she is doing it it sounds like crunching rocks. I feel so bad for her.

TwoDogs · #4 23rd April 2012, 07:01 AM

You could try using a DAP (dog appeasing phermones) product. It releases the same phermones into the air that a nursing female dog does and helps to soothe and calm some dogs. It is available as a diffuser (like those room fresheners) that you plug into a socket near where the dog spends most its time. These can be pricey--I think my local pet store carries them for about $40-50 US dollars. You can also get DAP as a spray that you can spray on a bandana and tie on the dog, or spray on bedding in the crate. The spray is more affordable. Lastly, DAP is available as disposable wipes that you can rub on stuff but personally, I think the wipes work the least.

I second the idea of asking the owner about giving the dog Rescue Remedy.

I would also do stuff with the dog. Keep her busy so she doesn't think about her missing owner. Take her for a walk with your dog so she can expend some nervous energy sniffing stuff. When you bring her back to the house have a really great long-lasting treat waiting for her so she feels that it was good to come back to your home. Try giving her a big ol' Kong stuffed with super good food to occupy her.

helenweekley · #5 24th April 2012, 09:21 PM

She is doing much better today I ended up using the dap as I already had that but for some reason totally forgot about it. We use it sometime with our dog. She is doing so much better today. My question now is, is water drinking also a sign of stress because she drinks a massive amount of water I have had to pick up the water bowl in the evenings but as soon as I put it down in the morning she drinks it all. She is drinking so much she is peeing in her sleep. I'm also talking to her owner tomorrow about this but I'm assuming this doesn't happen at home since he said she sleeps with him sometimes. My husband thinks it's just because it is a new place but I'm not sure.

TwoDogs · #6 25th April 2012, 08:14 AM

Drinking can be a displacement behavior and if the opportunity is there some dogs will drink excessively if stressed or anxious. It can also become a learned behavior--they have self-soothed by drinking so often that it becomes almost a habit to look for something to drink when feeling stressed or anxious. Excessive drinking can be a true compulsive behavior as can compulsive licking.

On the other hand, excessive drinking and frequent/uncontrolled urination are both symptoms of some rather serious medical issues. I would be concerned if a dog in my care were doing both. Does her owner have a dog door at his home. If so, it's possible that he isn't even aware of the frequency of his dog's nighttime urination.

You said the dog is "brain-damaged". Do you know this for a fact, or are you saying that because of the spinning behavior? Spinning can be an OCD behavior in dogs and if this is the case it's likely that it can be effectively treated with medication and some relatively simple behavior management. Spinning can also be caused by high arousal/stress and anxiety. Given the dog spins and perhaps comupulsively drinks, I'm thinking anxiety disorder, OCD, or neurological issues aren't out of the question.

helenweekley · #7 25th April 2012, 09:55 PM

The vet told him it was brain damage and the spinning is due to her equilibrium getting thrown off, they believe it is a lesion on the right side of the brain because she only spins to the right. This poor dog has so many problems she doesn't even act like a dog she's got the brain damage, deaf, she is also double jointed in both her front legs so she trips over her own feet and falls sometimes she is very clumsy she also seems to have some weird head movements. But she is such a sweetie and my dog really loves her. When she whines my dog will go start licking her which does seem to help her some.

Well I think I have proven to my husband that we can have two dogs and make it work but I will never dog sit again. I really like her but I couldn't take care of her long term and it has been very frustrating at times.