Think I need advice here without another trip to vet

[Sus]

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In less than 12months have been to vet for general check up, tooth abscess, ear infection, teeth extraction, anal glands, skin problem, 'sleep in both eyes needed cleaning' and dandruff like stuff on head, basically have spent a fortune and ended up complaining and moving to a different vets
I think vets are brilliant when you you need a diagnosis about something serious but day to day things I think this site is the best
My little rescue has come on leaps and bounds considering what she has had to go through since I have had her but I felt restricted so went out yesterday for 3 hrs and today for 4 hrs and she seems to have stopped eating, for last 3 meals
She is tiny only 3. 6kg (vet would like her to be 3Kg)#
Is it because of the heat? or is she holding it against me for leaving her

 

[JoanneF]

When you say her last three meals, the first question is over what period of time? For example if she is only fed once a day and it's been three days, that would be more of a concern than if she is fed three meals a day and it has only been one day, if that makes sense.

But I don't think dogs do things like stop eating because they are holding a grudge, it really is more likely to be because of the heat. A lot of dogs go off their food when it is hot and humid.

I'd also be less concerned if she is drinking normally.

 

[Sus]

Thank you for replying JoanneF, I feed her twice a day, I would not be so concerned if she was not so greedy normally. I have a job keeping her weight down, she even turned her nose up at chicken last night. She also seems more lethargic, but I did put that down to the heat
I have bought her a cool mat which she will not lay on and a fan which she will not go near
I do not think she likes not being able to go out in the day because of the heat, it has been 7.30 in the morning which is not ideal as she is normally a late riser and about the same at night
I will see if she eats today, I am just worried because she is so small, at least she has got a few grams to lose i suppose

 

[JoanneF]

Is she drinking?

 

[JudyN]

Some dogs do struggle with the heat, so that could well be a factor.

 

[arealhuman]

Yes, the heat isn't great for me either, or my dog. Our boy Rusty was scared of fans, so we just left them in the rooms he goes in most, turned off, so he would get used to their presence. When he was relaxed, we tried turning them on and hey presto, he seemed OK with them, if a bit startled at first. We run one all night now and he's fine with that.

Like you - and a lot of dogs and their humans around me - we got out early (05.45) and late (19.00 - 20.00) so it's cooler for us and Rusty.

Rusty is our second dog and is a rescue, as was our first, Jimmy. I have discovered that changing their routine can impact on them, so perhaps you going out did have an effect. We have yet to leave Rusty, but when we do, it will be by increments. So maybe 5 minutes here or there, with that gradually increasing over time. He's only been here 3 weeks tomorrow, so we're not trying this just yet. Obviously we don't really know what happened to our rescued friends before they came to us, so being left could conjure feelings of abandonment, moving to a new environment, not feeling safe and so on. I'm not saying this is the case, but might be something to consider if you haven't already.

Keep an eye on her eating today and let us know how things go. Hopefully she's drinking as @JoanneF has asked. It's cooler here in the south west where I am, hopefully where you are, to give us all a respite (I get hot and don't have a permanently attached fur coat!).

 

[Sus]

At last, she has eaten her food this morning after we got in but I think there may be something related to me leaving her for 2 long periods of time. Her behavior has changed a little bit, I am hoping it is the heat but maybe it is'nt
In the house she always lays in one of her donut beds, she loves them and I think she thinks of them as her safe place. Because they can be too warm I have placed a cushion by each of them which she uses when she gets too hot (will not go on cooling mat at all but have left it out just in case)
She has started disappearing upstairs and on 2 occassions she was not even near her beds but across the other side of the bedroom in the corner
This is new behaviour and I'm not sure what it means
I will not leave her at all for rest of this week but next week I think I am going to have to start going out for short periods every day. I have been so tied down with her since last summer that it is bothering me now. I cannot even go to the beach, I took her once this year but she looked so hot and bothered I came home and have not gone to any of the beaches since
The 2 occasions I left her was to go out for a meal as friends have been down visiting and both restaurants were not dog friendly, does'nt look like I will be doing that again
This is my own fault as I should have started leaving her at the beginning but I just felt so sorry for her. I have created a rod for my own back

 

[arealhuman]

I'm glad she's eaten this morning. I think you'll need to build up the time you leave her alone for. I do think the heat doesn't help.

If it makes you feel any better, our previous dog Jimmy was so embedded into our family as a member, rather than a pet, we would only go out socially if we could take him. This was our choice. I wanted to take him to my son's wedding, but could only take him for the ceremony, fortunately he was used to be at home on his own and a neighbour was able to pop in to let him out and fed him. I would have loved to have him with me for the entire day! Anyway, what I'm trying to say is it's not just you! I'm sure given some more time you'll be able to go out and leave your little friend at home, safe in the knowledge she's OK. We also bought a cheap webcam, so we could keep an eye on proceedings when we were out for any length of time.

 

[Sus]

Thanks for your reply, am going to start leaving her daily for 10 mins at a time next week.
I have started this a few times before but always gave in and stopped doing it. I think I am going to have to persevere this time as I have groceries delivered now as I do not even go in a shop anymore unless they are dog friendly.
I wish I had done it throughout the winter so that I would not have been stuck at home during the day all summer when it is too hot for Biddy to go out.
I do think the heat is not helping her though

 

[JudyN]

Have you seen our article on separation anxiety? There's quite a lot of steps you can do even before leaving the house for a few minutes: Separation anxiety

And don't beat yourself up. Remember that when Biddy came, she was quite traumatised and stressed, and you had an enormously steep learning curve. It was probably some time before she had the stability in her life to adjust to anything else new. You've done an amazing job with her so far

 

[JoanneF]

always gave in

Is that because she was showing signs of being distressed?

If so, definitely start with the Flitting Game described in the link that Judy gave before you leave her alone for anything even close to ten minutes.

 

[Sus]

Thank you so much for your replies and after reading your article on Separation anxiety Judyn I do not think this was the cause, she has never displayed destructive behaviour and I always leave the radio on and the patio doors open (I asked the neighbour if she had heard any barking or howling but she said no)
She gets excited when I came in but not excessively so and on Tuesday she ignored me and would not come downstairs
I think (though could be wrong) that she has had an upset stomach.
She did not eat Monday evening or all day Tuesday (normally feed twice a day) but was drinking ok
She did eat Wed morning but not with her usual gusto
Thursday she refused food in the morning but ate in the evening
Her poo has been firm but lighter in colour and not as hard as usual
She has been lethargic and sleeping more, not necessarily in the same room as me, I kept checking on her but did not force her to move rooms
She seemed to eat ok yesterday but last night there was such a smell I thought she must have pooped in the house, it must have been wind. That has never happened before
Today she went to the toilet and it looked normal, she then had 2 bouts of diarrhoea and then leaked a bit of mucous. I think she is empty now, but best of all she seems more lively and is playing with a squeaky soft toy which she has not done all week
My question, is what do I do now? She has not eaten today yet. I have a tin of Chappie on standby as I have heard is good for an upset stomach or should I just give her some rice or feed a small amount of her normal food (mix of wet and dry kibble)
Not sure what to do for the best

 

[Sus]

Could it also be that the weather has cooled down a bit too

 

[Sus]

Could not wait any longer as she kept staring at me and I know it was because she wanted food
I gave her 50gms of chappie with 25gms of boiled white rice which she gulped down
That was 30 mins ago and she seems fine, definitely more awake and alert than previously
Hopefully it was just a stomach bug and she is now back to normal (I do hope so)
Thank you all for you replies
JudyN for all your advice on everything, especially separation anxiety and your very kind reassuring comments
arealhuman for sharing your experiences with Jimmy and Rusty, you have made me feel so much better
JoanneF for informative advice that I know I can trust, asking questions that I had neglected to insert in my initial message.
I will keep an eye on her and will be straight back on here if I think she is not 100%
Just do not feel like going back to the vets for nothing, which I do think only 4 out of previous 8 vet visits was necessary and one of which caused the damage which ended up in 2 extra visits

 

[JudyN]

I'm glad she's perking up - long may it last Now you know there was something quite right, you probably don't have to worry about separation anxiety. Bear in mind, though, that not all dogs with SA are destructive, and they might not even make that much noise - not enough to be heard by neighbours, anyway. So given her past, and because you haven't left her enough, I do recommend making at least an audio recording when you leave her so you can hear if there's any quiet whimpering (you should be able to do this on your computer). A video recording would also reveal any signs of pacing, panting, etc. Hopefully you'll see that she's absolutely fine and you can go out without worrying at all - and you'll also get an indication of whether it's OK to leave her for one hour, or two, or more... and build up gradually accordingly.