Help needed please

[Rachelleigh]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hi all - my first post here - really hoping for some positive and helpful feedback. I have a 6 year old male Jack Russell cross (Toby) who had been badly treated before he came to me at around 7 months old. He has always displayed symptoms of separation anxiety. Recently he has shown an increased level of anxiety around my 2 year old niece (my sister and I live together) and we have experienced a number of bites, which have been distressing to all concerned. We are lucky that these bites have not been puncture wounds and have been limited to my niece's hands. We have made several changes around the house - use of child gates etc. We have tried various medications without success, and had a behaviourist on board. Her approach was a desensitization separation anxiety programme with the aim of helping Toby to be kept separated without distressing him (he barks, howls, defecates). However - I feel this approach hasn't worked - we are months down the line without improvement. I feel we are running out of options - our vet raised rehoming/euthanasia routes during our last visit. I don't feel ready to give up (though I realise I may have to). This post feels like a last roll of the dice - a plea for help. Can anyone contribute anything that we haven't thought of/tried? A behaviourist with a different approach? An unconventional therapy with a proven success rate? A medication route that the vet might not be aware of? All help appreciated - thanks for reading.

 

[arealhuman]

Blimey, sorry to hear about all of that. I'm a relatively new owner myself so can't really offer any reliable advice, however I would urge you to not to go down the euthanasia route. There are some very helpful and experienced people on here and I'm sure you'll get some good advice, but as an aside, this forum has just had a massive redesign and part of that necessitated some downtime, so it may be a bit longer than usual for you to get a response more helpful than mine if people don't yet realise it's back online.

Some things that spring immediately to mind are as follows, but I'm sure you've already consider them:

• Is it practical to invest some time "training" your niece on how to act/not act around the dog?
• Does the dog have it's own place of sanctuary where it won't be disturbed? Sometimes kids like to stroke/pat/prod dogs and if he has a place he can go where this won't happen, it might help.
• Have you tried any calming formulations such as Adaptil? You can get collars, sprays, diffusers.
• I was told my a behaviourist that there's a particular dog food engineered to have calming properties for dogs, she was going to let me know the name but never did :-| I'm sure someone on here will know what it is.
• Is a muzzle an option?
• Behaviourist - it might be worth getting a second opinion, although I appreciate this can be costly (been there myself).

I'm really sorry I can't be more helpful than that, but I'm sure someone will be along soon with something more credible. Again, I would urge you to avoid euthanasia, and please keep us updated with things you're trying and how they've worked. Try and stay positive.

 

[Josie]

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation @Rachelleigh - what a tough place you are in, I really feel for you. I really think you will get some great support and advice from everyone here but like @arealhuman mentioned we have just done a massive relaunch (intending to email everyone today to let them know) so please bare with us if the responses are slow to start.

I'm afraid I don't have much experience either on the matter but also have a few questions about the situation:

• Is it only your niece that Toby has a problem with?
• How did they first meet? Has it always been an issue?
• Has he only nipped your niece or has this happened with others?

Euthanasia would be awful

Hopefully you will get some good help and advice from others who have been in a similar situation.

 

[Rachelleigh]

A big thank you for the replies above - I'm very grateful. To answer the various questions:
We are actively working on 'retraining' my niece - though she is very young and very hyper. Toby does have safe places - but because he is highly sociable and has separation anxiety he tends to want to be in on the action rather than sensibly tucking himself out of the way. We have just fitted a dap collar and a thunder shirt. I also have the dap spray. I would be interested to find out more about recommended foods for calming - will have a google. And yes - I am in the process of choosing another behaviourist. Toby has always been a reactive dog so everyone at home has always had to be a bit mindful, but his anxiety levels seem to have become elevated recently. However it is with the little one that the biggest risk lies - I think Toby finds her very frightening. I live with my sister. My niece is quite a handful and as she has grown older and more mobile so the problems have increased. We are practicing complete separation as the safest way forward, but the separation anxiety means Toby is often distressed at being apart from the rest of the family. It feels like a complex problem that we are struggling to get a grip of. Euthanasia is the absolute last resort and I am committed to doing my very best to avoid that outcome - he's my baby, we are very close and I will have a terrible time coming to terms with that decision. Equally - if something more serious were to happen between Toby and my niece that would be terrible too. Time to up my game considerably ...

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks for the update. The folloiwng to me suggests that your neice might be the crux of the problem, so teaching her her to conduct herelf around Toby might be a good start - that way he has company and your little neice is hopefully less stressful to the dog:

However it is with the little one that the biggest risk lies - I think Toby finds her very frightening. I live with my sister. My niece is quite a handful and as she has grown older and more mobile so the problems have increased. We are practicing complete separation as the safest way forward, but the separation anxiety means Toby is often distressed at being apart from the rest of the family.

That said, I'm obviosuly not present so may be completely off the mark! I'm sure more experienced people will be along soon....

 

[JudyN]

What a difficult situation. Just one thought - have you tried upping his physical and (possibly more important) mental exercise? I'm thinking interactive toys, teaching hide & seek, impulse control training, treat balls... anything that will keep that terrier brain active, in the hope that he'll be able to relax better when you're not with him.

Ideally, to work on the separation anxiety, you'd need to commit to spending most of your time with him rather than with your sister & niece, only leaving him for as long as he is cope with... which might actually mean not leaving him alone at all for a while, to give his stress levels a chance to drop a bit, then building up to leaving the room he's in for 5 seconds... I'm guessing that's pretty much what the behaviourist would have described too though, and what you've tried as far as possible.

In your position I would actually consider finding a place of my own, but that may be financially impossible.

Good luck - I hope you find a solution.

 

[Rachelleigh]

Thanks for the additional replies. We have upped Toby's walks and have lots of exciting parcels being delivered for him too - Nina Ottoson interactive toys and other goodies. Financially I can't afford to move out - and the fact that this is a busy family home means that he is rarely home alone. I'm just hoping with all the changes we are making and a new behaviourist on board that we can turn this around.

 

[arealhuman]

Let us know how it all goes.

 

[JoanneF]

I am sorry you are in this situation. The advice given above by @arealhuman and @JudyN is all good.

You said

his anxiety levels seem to have become elevated recently

- has anything in particular happened?

Our behaviour guru, @gypsysmum2 has a lot going on at the moment but may see the tag and come back with more advice.

To add to the above advice I see this problem falling into two areas - managing the situation, and working on Toby's behavioural issues.

In terms of management, baby gates definitely are a good idea and muzzling him may help. You can still get a sore injury from a muzzle but it could help prevent a more serious bite. Use meat paste or squeezy cheese or similar to introduce the muzzle as a good thing if you choose to use one, and make sure it is a Baskerville type that will allow him to lap water and won't restrict his breathing.

In relation to Toby's behaviour, dogs find toddlers scary sometimes. They are loud, unsteady on their feet and move in an unpredictable, jerky way. So keeping Toby and your niece apart will be very important.

Another thing to add is that it is vital you are aware of his body language. Dogs give a series of signals that they are unhappy, but unfortunately most people don't recognise them because they can be quite subtle. To begin with there is often wide eyes, lip licking and yawning. There is also muscular tension in the body. Then the ones we sometimes do see - growl, snarl, nip then bite. If the early signals are not seen (or, in the dog's view, ignored) he won't bother with them because us stupid humans pay no attention anyway; so he may go straight to the bite. So it's important never to ignore a growl or other early signals. Toby may have already discovered this if he was badly treated before so you need to be hyper aware of his signals.

I can't remember the food that Gypsysmum recommends but @excuseme is a food expert and may have some ideas. Do be aware food can have a massive impact on a dog's behaviour - some foods are full of sugars and additives and make them hyper. What are you feeding?

If you change behaviourist try to find one that is accredited by COAPE or the APBC. Certainly avoid anyonanyone who suggests dominance and the widely discredited pack theory. Your boy is already anxious, you don't want to add to it.

The last thing that comes to mind for now is that your vet might be able to prescribe a calmative that is stronger than Adaptil. It's worth asking.

 

[Mayblossom]

Do you have a crate for Toby? Only asking as our little terrier, who is now 8 , has issues occasionally and when my granddaughter is with us Lily gets over protective and will growl if our granddaughter sits with us, so we put Lily in her crate in the same room as us so she doesn’t feel she’s being isolated. Makes for a more relaxed atmosphere really hope you can sort little Toby out so you can all enjoy him. When you rescue a dog I guess you never really know exactly what happened to them and what triggers the aggression, must be tough for the little fella too

 

[excuseme]

What type of food are You feeding Toby ?
Food can affect temperament and behaviour!

 

[Rachelleigh]

Thanks for the further replies - I really appreciate everyone taking the trouble to share their thoughts. I can't seem able to identify any reason for the increase in anxiety - except that he has been meds free for a couple of months. I'm wondering if the meds were having some low level benefit that we simply didn't appreciate at the time. He is starting back on fluoxetine to work with the dap. We have an accredited behaviourist visiting next week so hopefully will get more changes in place to help. Toby has never been crate trained - we have one but he rarely uses it - it may be that we begin to make better use of it going forward. I have looked at calming muzzles online - but will get the behaviourist advice before buying one - I don't want to do anything that might add to Toby's anxiety. And foods - he has Harrington's kibble with a pouch of wet Winalot. We've upped his treats lately - I can imagine a lot of those might not be the healthiest choices in terms of additives etc - will need to do some research on better treat choices. Any recommendations greatly appreciated - and thanks again to everyone who has contributed - it helps x

 

[JudyN]

Harringtons and Winalot aren't great foods: this is a good website for checking out different foods: Harringtons Adult Complete rated 2.9 out of 5! All About Dog Food

In my opinion changing diet to reduce stress levels is a long shot (unless they're on Bakers or similar) but certainly worth a go. Also in my opinion, the BEST diet to eliminate potential negative effects is raw. Giving raw treats is messy - unless you make/buy dehydrated ones but something like diced cooked chicken, or even carrot if he likes it, would be good.

I would imagine a 'calming muzzle', i.e. one that holds the mouth shut. would be about as effective as taping a person's mouth shut. They may sound quieter but.....

 

[Rachelleigh]

Thanks for the link and advice JudyN - just checking it out now ...

 

[JoanneF]

Raw is excellent but there is a food that has been developed for anxious dogs. I will try to find info.

 

[JoanneF]

Breakthrough™ | Mind to Tail Nutrition for Dogs

 

[excuseme]

Raw would be my suggestion. There are reports of dogs with temperament and behavioural problems who have responded well to a raw diet. A perfectly natural method of feeding with no overload of convenient, cheap grains, which no wild dog would ever consume!
Raw feeding does not have to be messy at all. There are plenty of raw food suppliers who produce either "complete" meals or selections of prepared blocks or freeflow, all of which are convenient and clean to use. Natures Menu is one of the most convenient with a lot of variety (Hunters Menu) is their best , a raw diet does not have to be balanced every day! This method of feeding balances itself with good variety over a period of a few weeks.
There is a nice easy to read and understand little book that can be purchased from Amazon for 1p (used as new)
"Honeys Natural Feeding Handbook for Dogs". There is loads of good information and help about raw feeding here, a great little book if you should be interested.

 

[Rachelleigh]

Thank you JoanneF and excuseme - diet is one of the areas to be covered by the new behaviourist and feels like a relatively easy step in the right direction...