She's driving me crazy!

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

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Hello all,

I do apologise, I don't want to be the person who only contributes when I have a problem but I haven't been on here for a while and I have a problem so please forgive me!
My 12 year old JRT is annoying me quite frankly (sorry Roxy). Due to her vomiting if she goes too long without food she has to have 4 meals a day and this seems to make her fixate on food and it's resulting in her not being able to settle in the evenings.
She'll have a meal (dinner for example) and 10 minutes later she'll expect more food! She doesn't just curl up with me and sleep like she used to in the evenings, she'll lay down and her eyes will start closing as if she's nodding off but a second later they snap open, especially if I move (even an inch). She'll sit there and stare at me, lip smack, get down on the floor and wag her tail. stretch, play bow, roll on her back and jump up and down to get my attention. This is obviously a pain for me since I want to relax after work.
She has 2 walks daily, one in the morning before work and another after work before dinner (both at least 30mins with trick training in each walk) followed by a 10-20 min walk later on to make sure she's done her business before bed (we live in a flat with just a small yard outside). Her meals are breakfast (around 7:45am), lunch (12:30-1ish), dinner (5:30), and bedtime snack (9pm, usually reserved food taken from her dinner portion). Even a 30min walk followed by 45mins with a frozen dinner kong wasn't enough to make her settle until snack time!
I have noticed that she seems a lot more settled in the bedroom (she sleeps with me in bed), she prefers to sleep there while I'm at work and I sometimes have lazy mornings off where I watch tv in bed. So I'm wondering if she associates relaxing more with the bedroom and not the living room (which is open plan living room/kitchen)?
I've just spoken with a trainer who believes that the lip smacking (which I took to mean was her thinking about and anticipating food), is a sign of pain and unlikely to be about food unless there's food in front of her. She's suggested that I stick to 2 meals a day and snacks between the meals and a vet check to look for signs of pain.
She had a vet visit a few months back and got the all clear (she has to have 6 monthly check ups as she's on apoquel). I will book her in again if need be but thought I'd try the snacks first (I didn't do it this way before because I didn't want her to gain weight), and thought I'd seek any help I could on here first. Any tips on getting her to associate the living room with relaxing?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post!

 

[JudyN]

I do apologise, I don't want to be the person who only contributes when I have a problem but I haven't been on here for a while and I have a problem so please forgive me!

No need to apologise, that's what we're here for

I'm wondering about canine cognitive dysfunction, or 'dog dementia'. Being unsettled in the evening is common, and this could also explain why she seems to forget she's eaten (my MIL, when in the early stages of dementia, would have a glass of wine, forget she had it, and have another... and another... until her daughter realised and rationed her).

So I'd definitely see a vet, for a general check and to discuss this possibility - there are a lot of treatments that, though not a cure, can help a lot. Jasper had CCD, so I gathered together a lot of info and posted it here: Canine cognitive dysfunction (dementia in dogs)

 

[Hemlock]

As I read the opening post, that was foremost in my mind too. People with dementia issues often either forget they have just eaten, or forget to eat at all. It's heartbreaking. But if this is the problem for Roxy, there are meds that can help, so the vet. is the port of call. I'm surprised that they didn't suggest it, but now you can. Hugs.

 

[JoanneF]

My first thought you, it's definitely worth checking.

Unlike your trainer though, I wondered if splitting her meals into more frequent but smaller portions might help?

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Thanks for the replies all, I had thought about CCD but then why is it mainly between dinner and snack time that she acts this way?
I've noticed she seems satisfied and relaxed after breakfast and lunch (until about an hour before dinner time as I'm sure a lot of dogs do as they know when it's din dins time)?
I did a little test yesterday and spent the evening in the bedroom rather than the living room to see if she'd be any different...she was slightly better but still a bit unsettled. Do I need to change walks at all? I can't increase them over 30mins as she tends to get tired due to her heart condition and I'm cautious of this and also her joints since she's getting older (although she's still active and happy).
Also I feel like more even smaller meals would make her worse, she was on 3 meals, breakfast lunch and dinner and would settle down after dinner but then she'd wake up in the night to vomit so vet suggested an extra one later on and it's caused all this.

 

[JudyN]

It's normal in CCD for a dog's anxiety to increase in the evenings and early hours - for a long time Jasper would be fine in the day, but want to go out, and in, and out, and in, many times in between late evening and around 1am. This mimics 'sundowner syndrome' in humans with dementia, which may be the first symptom to show: 'The term "sundowning" refers to a state of confusion occurring in the late afternoon and lasting into the night. Sundowning can cause different behaviors, such as confusion, anxiety, aggression or ignoring directions. Sundowning can also lead to pacing or wandering' (Sundowning: Tips for dealing with late-day confusion).

 

[Hemlock]

Having experienced Sundowning with both humans and animals, I agree.

Good for you to recognise what she needs from walks now. Plenty of smell-checking is like window-shopping for us.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Oh wow that's really interesting, thanks for the info! I've just messaged my sister as she looks after Roxy when I'm away (quite often have weekends away as my boyfriend lives 2hrs away). So I've asked if she's the same when she's at her house. In the meantime I'll have a read about CCD and I'm ringing the vet next week for more of her tablets anyway so will ask them about it too.

 

[JoanneF]

A lot of humans find it helpful to use a SAD lamp that provides light similar to daylight.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Thanks JoanneF

 

[Feverfew]

I agree that CDC is a distinct possibility (my JRT was the same) but also wouldn't discount the possibility that she might be in pain. You could ask your vet to try a pain trial for 6 weeks with one of the many anti inflammatory drugs, eg galliprant or onsior (am not a fan of metacam and wouldn't use it as it can cause internal bleeding).

Good luck, and don't forget to come back and tell us how you get on.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Hello again all,

So today I took her to the vet because I'm off on holiday in the next few days and wanted peace of mind, especially because she's also had a runny tum on top of the rest!
They gave me a choice of either a painkiller injection and tummy settler injection with some tummy paste for me to give, or full bloods. Decided on the injections to start with and they said to see how she is tomorrow and bring her back if she's still the same. Was meant to leave tomorrow lunchtime..they do pick their timing don't they! (Luckily I don't fly out until Friday so at least I'll still be in the country until then!)

 

[JudyN]

Hopefully the treatment will do the trick and she'll be back to her normal self

This may be stating the obvious, but make sure your sister is aware Roxy isn't herself and that it's possible she has dementia. It's much easier to be patient with a dog who is being whiny and needy, particularly when you want to relax in the evening, if you know there is a reason for her being that way.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Hope so, at the very least even if just her poop goes back to normal I'll feel better!

Yes, she's fully aware of what's going on and she knows she's been to the vet and may need to go back. Also let the receptionist at the vets know that I'll be away and my sister will bring her back if needed and I'll settle any bills once I return.

At the moment she's acting worse, whining and not settling, shifting between the bed and sofa. Apparently with some dogs the meds zonk out and some dogs it unsettles. Why couldn't she be the zonk out kind!

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Also she did mention CCD but of course there's no specific test for it so not really a way of knowing for sure if that's the cause of the unsettled behaviour.