 reactivity post
#355385 - 02/13/2012 08:31 PM |
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I can understand how hard reactivity can be.
My dog Terra is on prednizone and even though we are weaning her off,she is very reactive as far as barking.
When I do anything she barks, when the other dogs bark, even after I say enough and they stop she barks repeatedly, over and over this monotone bark. It gets my other dog Cody very riled up. I send them to their mats and she barks all the way there and as she sits on her mat. She barks when I tell the other dogs to do anything. We are hoping when she is completely off the pred. that she will be more mellow. It has increased with the medication.
So, we are at our wits end. Now cody barks and circles and circles.
I really need help. I just sent them to their mat for barking. She goes to it and just sits and barks and barks. I have to walk up on her and give her a dirty look before she stops and then she barks under her breath. Today she was looking at me and barking after all the dogs were quite, so I just walked her to her crate and closed her in. When I try and train her she is so hyper she shakes as she tries to obey but her only thought is to get to the treat.
Presently, it is raining outside. I thought if I could get her tired out, it might help. Lord willing, tomorrow may be sunnier, but if not I am going anyway.
Before this our house was some what calm, but now as soon as anything gets her attention , any behavior I ask her to do, she barks. She barks when I get her food ready.
Any suggestions?
I have thought of keeping her in her crate, taking her for walks and going out on the leash and training her and then putting her back in her crate. To help her understand I mean business. but I do not know if that will only make things worse.
Please help!
sharon
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#355387 - 02/13/2012 08:48 PM |
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Long-term Pred can be linked to all kinds of behavior problems like fear, aggression, bark-bark-barking, and more.
Of course you know never to withdraw it on your own without vet-supervised weaning.
What are you doing for mind-engagement for the dog? (You know the dog might be almost under a "spell," right? Pred reactions like this are even less fun for the dog than for the humans around them, I believe. Distractions and upbeat absorbing interests can be somewhat helpful, I believe.)
Extended protocols of these drugs can even produce what looks like disassociative disorder and even what mimics canine cognitive dysfunction.
Is the vet fully aware of the situation?
Of course, all JMO. I am not a health professional.
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#355389 - 02/13/2012 08:53 PM |
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There ARE mental effects from steroid in some dogs. Exercise helps a ton. So does a high protein low energy (low carb/sugar) diet.
Walking, ball chasing isn't usually enough IME to quiet a dog who is "high" from steroid.
Giving the drug in the am followed by a ton of exercise really helps, assuming the drug is not being given for an orthopedic condition which prevents exercise.
Talk to your vet: perhaps it's time to wean this dog off the pred.
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#355482 - 02/14/2012 05:57 PM |
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thanks Betty. Terra is being weaned off the pred at this time. I will exercise her more and see if that helps. Normally she is a very sweet dog and the lowest in rank in our pack. Thanks so much. sharon
Sharon Empson
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#355484 - 02/14/2012 06:03 PM |
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Connie: yes the vet is aware of the situation. Since it was life threatening we went ahead with the pred. Not my favorite cause of the side effects. So, her red blood count has gone up to normal normal and now we are beginning to wean her off. I understand how hard it is for her. We are doing what we can, but the barking is the worst, she barks at everything we do or tell the other dogs to do, or her to do. Since we have 3 dogs our days can be very noisy. Our withdrawal is vet supervised.
THanks so much. She is fed a raw diet and a small breakfast. She is starving all the time. Thanks again. Sharon
Sharon Empson
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Betty Landercasp ]
#355488 - 02/14/2012 06:41 PM |
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Giving the drug in the am followed by a ton of exercise really helps, assuming the drug is not being given for an orthopedic condition which prevents exercise.
There are even more reasons for this than I used to know, too. The drug can adversely affect the release of certain endorphins, and exercise stimulates the release of them.
So one of the most unpleasant effects of the med can potentially be minimized by the method Dr. Betty mentions (on top of lessening the terrible "jitteriness" experienced by many individuals on long-term Pred).
JMO, and of course I am not a health professional.
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#355490 - 02/14/2012 06:56 PM |
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Sharon, do any of the veterinarians in your area practice homeopathy? From my experience (both personal and for our dog) homeopathy can sometimes provide help when nothing else seems to work. A qualified veterinarian will evaluate your dog's problem (physical, psychological, or other) through asking a ton of questions in an initial consultation, and will recommend a homeopathic remedy (probably with some alternatives, should the first remedy not achieve the desired results.) Might be worth a shot, if there's one in your area. I could also recommend trying the Bach Rescue Remedy to see if it might calm things down -- a few drops daily in your dogs' drinking water (or directly in their mouths if they will let you). It has no negative side effects -- it will either help or have no effect. Maybe milk thistle too, for detoxing Terra from the prednisone?
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#355523 - 02/15/2012 12:15 AM |
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My holistic vet passed away last december, and there are none now in our area. It has been a great heartache to me, he was my vet for 20 years.
Terra is on Milk thistle now. So far her liver is fine.
Thanks for the info. Sharon
Sharon Empson
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#355526 - 02/15/2012 01:06 AM |
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I don't get how this morphed into a health or medicinal thing but to me it sounds like a training issue. Teach the dog to shut up when you tell it to, put a leash on the dog and enforce the command every single time, it keeps barking when you tell it to stop give a correction, dog keeps barking give a harder correction till you get the dogs attention.
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Re: reactivity post
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#355544 - 02/15/2012 10:57 AM |
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Good point.
I believe this is a new behavior for this dog (if not, I hope I will be corrected) that coincided with the extended Pred protocol. Extended steroid use has several common side effects, and this kind of behavior is one of the most common. For me, it's common enough that I'd work pretty hard to override the Pred effects with exercise.
Of course, my POV is colored by having adopted two seniors in past years who came to me complete with a too-long history of Pred use (far overprescribed for poor reasons, both involving skin pruritis) and all the "reactive" side effects that can come with it. One was jumpy and anxious and one had short aggressive episodes. Both behavior issues were resolved with weaning off steroids and using different therapy.
But Al reminds me that training cannot be ignored .... and there's no reason why the med-followed-by-extensive-exercise idea can't be combined with consistent training.
I know I certainly did not ignore training and focus entirely on the med problem, and I sure don't want to lead someone else down that path! For one thing, a dog who may be anxious/jumpy around steroid use really needs the structure and security of strong pack leadership and consistent training.
Or JMO, anyway.
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