Going Back to Work

I went back to work today after spring break, and Stella was not a happy camper! Well, neither was I, but Stella is the important one here. I had to hunt her down in the "garden" this morning. The garden is all of the dead matter that I did not clear out in the fall. Nothing is coming up yet, so it was easy to spot Stella's pink bow peeking out from behind a clump of straws that will be the obedience flower in the summer. Poor little girl was curled up there, ignoring me while I called her. She also hides in the garden when it's nice out, but today was not about hanging out in the shade of the plants. She was making herself into a tight little ball of dog. I had to carry her upstairs. She was able to take some food after expressing a bit of misery.

Now, at night, she is isolating herself. She comes down to eat and play, but unless I am holding her or interacting with her, she dashes upstairs and curls up on her favorite dog bed. If I want to see her, I bring my homework upstairs and Stella and Douce and I pile up in the big bed. She will lie under my arm at the computer, helping to check email and overseeing her blog.

A Little Setback--Urinary Tract Infection

One setback that we have had is that Stella developed a urinary tract infection two weeks ago, and broke her house training. She hasn't had a UTI before. We don't have a clear explanation for the origin of the UTI. The Clomicalm can cause urinary retention, and if Stella is not able to empty her bladder when she goes outside, this might be the cause of the infection. She has also been on huperzine, which causes increased urinary output. So she is experiencing what might be called "urinary contradiction" . . . In any case, it's not clear whether the infection is coincidental or caused by the Clomicalm. And it's not clear what role the huperzine is playing here.

My own hypothesis is that the huperzine is playing a role here. She was still on the antibiotics when I increased her huperzine, and she started having accidents again. I took her off the huperzine, and the accidents stopped. Dr. Dodman's office would like me to put her back on the huperzine after the infection clears. I think, though, that it would be better to leave her off the huperzine for a month or so, to see if the infection recurs on the Clomicalm alone. Otherwise, I will not be able to separate any future accidents from the huperzine effect or the clomicalm effect.

Doing Much Better!

Stella has been on Clomicalm for over six weeks, and she is making great progress. I first started to notice small changes in her behavior after two weeks, but it took the full six weeks to see her return to "normal"--which for her, still includes noise phobias. However, her bed time phobia about the heater pinging is gone! She goes to bed with no problem at all. She went from having a bad night every night, to having a few good nights with some recurrence of bad nights, to going to bed looking a little nervous, to finally to asking to be put in the bed and sleeping soundly all night.

She has also made amazing progress with separation anxiety. From screaming, trying to escape, and refusing food treats, she has gone to a much calmer state, and even takes food treats when I leave. I won't say that she's excited when I get ready to go in the morning. She still watches me very vigilantly, but she is able to respond to her counter-conditioning program, which involves aromatherapy (lavendar and vanilla), dog music, a warm room with a light on, novel toys and a food treat. She also has a cozy crate for retreats, but I'm not sure how much she uses it. I'm planning on designing her a new one with bumper pads, a really soft bed (maybe in chenille), and a custom cover in a pretty design that will match the decor in my study. My grandmother is an avid sewer, and all she needs is fabric and dimensions. Nothing is too good for my girl.

And if Stella doesn't use it, Douce might! He likes all of the foufy wicker and floral dog beds. He was so jealous when I got one for Stella that I had to call the store and put another on hold for him, in blue instead of pink and green. And he was very happy when I brought it home.

Meanwhile, Back at the Farm

It's "Mud Season" in Maine. I had never heard of this "season" before moving to the Northeast. If you don't live here, this is what happens. The top of the soil starts to thaw, but the deeper layers of soil stay frozen. As the snow melts, the water can't absorb into the ground, so the surfaces of dirt roads, fields, and hiking trails turn into muddy, slushy mess. You could lose your shoes in the muck. Everyone is anxious for spring, but nothing is in bloom.

Stella, being low slung, gets the worst of the mud, but she never lets it stop her from getting out and running with the other dogs. One of her favorite things about mud season is the geese stopping in the fields on the way south. More specifically, she likes the poo they leave! Eew! The past few farm walks, I've had to leash her to prevent her from eating too much--she knows no limits. She comes back from her walks smelling like the barn with goose poo breath. I have to dunk her in a bucket before I can even put her in the car.

Here she is, in all her glory!

Nature vs. Nurture--the Genetics Diagnosis

Lots of people with shy dogs can attribute their dogs' behavior issues to abuse or fairly severe lack of socialization--for example, dog that have spent most of their young lives kenneled and have had very little human contact can develop "shyness." Even people that have lots of experience with dogs will comment that Stella must have been abused as a pup.

Knowing Stella's history, I can say with certainty that abuse is not the cause of her anxiety. She was raised by a very loving breeder in a litter of four. It was the only litter that the breeder had, and she doted on the parents and the pups. The pups were raised indoors. They were handled extensively and were used to the noises that accompany living with people. Stella was, in fact, the brave one in her litter! I can see this in her personality now. She chases terriers, swims with the big dogs, tears through the woods, and loves people. She has a strong personality! Many people that know Stella have never seen her shy behavior, because it's not the defining feature of her temperament. When they do see her shyness, the comment is always "she's like a different dog."

While Dr. Dodman described Stella's behavior as "atypical" in that she is not always fearful and can exhibit confidence, he did not think that anything about my training would have caused her fear. He feels that if anything, the training may have helped her manage her fear. And when I gave Stella's early history to Dr. Dodman, he said that she was raised in ideal conditions. He was interested in the fact that she exhibited noise shyness within a few weeks of coming to Maine. I had always wondered whether the switch from a suburban to a city environment might have accounted to her fear, because neither Stella's parents nor her siblings seem noise shy.

Dr. Dodman explained that it could be very complicated to identify the cause of noise phobia, but that she seemed predisposed to develop it, and that noise phobias often progressed to separation anxiety, or "globalized anxiety disorder," which is how he characterizes Stella's condition.

Globalized anxiety disorder means that Stella has fear of inanimate objects (the toaster, the fireplace), animate objects (toddlers), and situations (indoor training environments, mom leaving). She covers all of the bases! There is a good link to the development of phobias in the Shih Tzu on the American Shih Tzu Club web site. The only section that I do not like, and I will discuss this later, is the passage that discusses "reinforcing fear." After much research into the subject, I find myself in agreement with those who argue that if a dog is exhibiting a degree of anxiety that prevents her from taking food and/or responding to simple, familiar commands (such as "sit"), she will not respond to reassurance for better or worse. With that caveat, please visit the link in the bar to the left!

Dr. Dodman's Assessment: Genetics

Our appointment at Dr. Dodman's was interesting. He does not handle or "test" the dogs, but he did observe Stella's tendency to sit "back to" most of the people in the room. She's infamous for doing this when she rides along to agility trials. All the other dogs are looking out of their crates, and Stella has her back to us, studying the tent wall?? She also has bouts of lip licking or "air licking," which she also did at Dr. Dodman's.

Tufts takes an extensive history. I included a list of noises that used to bother Stella, that I worked on with counter-conditioning, and the noises that bother her now:

Noises that scare/bother Stella:

The toaster
Logs popping in the fire place
Creaks in the baseboard heater/the house
Water drops crackling under the tea kettle
The remote, phone, etc. falling on the floor
Dishes clattering
Gunshots
Fireworks
Thunderstorms (not as a puppy)
The teeter banging
Articles and dumbbells being thrown in obedience class
Raised voices/strong verbal corrections
Baby gates falling (they are mounted now)
Dog tags jingling on her collar
Dog tags banging against her dish—cannot eat
Grocery carts

Things that scare Stella:
Indoor training facilities with lots of dogs in smaller spaces
Baby gates and ring gates
The wicket for measuring dogs
Toddlers
People walking behind her, sometimes
People falling
Fire in the fireplace, in general now


Things that used to bother Stella:
Walking in the neighborhood
The air brakes on a bus
All young children
Wheel chairs
The change of footing from the ground to the inside of a tunnel/agility
The chute/agility
The wobble board/agility


Dr. Dodman noted that the list was top heavy; the number of things that scare Stella is large compared to the number of fears she has overcome. He thinks that there is a genetic and/or neurological factor in Stella's behavior, as she had a pretty ideal upbringing as a puppy. Apparently, it is not unusual for noise phobias to progress as a dog ages, but he also speculates that she may have a partial seizure disorder. He added a Chinese herb, huperzine, that is being tested in Alzheimer's patients, to the clomipramine. He has seen some success in treating seizures with huperzine. We follow up with the Doctors at Tufts every week, and so far have made no changes to her medications. It's a waiting game, as it can take months to see the full effects of the clomipramine.

Dr. Dodman saw lots of videos of Stella having hard times. I wanted him to see her "other side," and played a short video of Stella at the beach in February. We all agreed that it was nice to see happy times, so here she is! Stella is the one in the red coat, barking her head off!

The Six Pack

Meanwhile

It's hard to find the time to write all the background chapters for Stella's blog. I work full-time as an English Professor, and the grading really eats into any free time I might find. When I get a window of opportunity--or make one even though I should be working--I usually spend it on "dog stuff": cooking for dogs, shopping for dogs, training dogs, and my favorite, exercising my dogs.

A really good outing for my dogs used to be a leash walk through Munjoy Hill and down to the Eastern Prom beach for some off leash time. The Eastern Prom beach is a small spit of sand, even at low tide, and it's very heavily used. Lots of people take their puppies and dogs of all sizes to run and play together, so it's hard to find quiet, uncrowded time when little dogs can have some freedom uninterrupted by big goofy dogs invading their space. You really have to keep an eye on your small ones. I pick mine up without hesitation if I feel they are overwhelmed.

But, that's all behind us now that Roscoe and Colby (the Min Pins), Spur (the Papillon mix) and George (the Border Terrier) are in the picture! These are Stella's small dog friends, and we love to go for walks on George's farm, hikes in the woods, and in the winter, runs on the beaches that allow dogs off-leash. Stella and Douce are completely spoiled now, and think that the Eastern Prom, their old favorite place to go, is completely lame.

Today we carved out some time for a beach walk. It was a bit windy, but not too bad a day at 33 degrees. The sky was bright blue and the water darker and green where the waves break. The salt marshes are still frozen over, but the path down to the beach was muddy. Why this grosses Stella out when she is about to get a coat full of wet sand is beyond me, but I carry her over the yucky parts. Stella gets the best exercise chasing George and Spur, and she's in heaven. She races at her top speed, which means she still has to take short cuts to keep up with the boys, and she vocalizes, and not very politely bites George on the butt whenever she catches up with him. We are all hoping that George will put an end to this bad behavior with a firm correction, but he is ever the gentleman.

Exercise is important for all of us, but for Stella and I, who are both prone to anxiety, it's huge. There's nothing like the "Prozac effect" of a bracing walk on the beach or an hour exploring what's new on the farm. Stella is at her happiest when the "six pack," as my mother refers to the small dog pack, is together.She does nicely as a lap dog, but maybe she has the heart of a farm dog.

The Prescription

Stella and I went to see our vet on February 8, after a terrible night with the noises from the baseboard heater. I had been able to calm her down at bedtime on previous nights by holding her lightly across the chest and covering her with a blanket until she relaxed. This night, however, she never relaxed, and it felt like she was trying to crawl into my skin. She lay with her feet against my chest and her face on my face; her respiration was increased and I could feel her heart beating too fast. After 40 minutes, she heard a particularly sharp noise from the heater and jumped from the bed, which is not something that she usually does, and not something she should do--it's too far down for her. I finally let her pace, and eventually, after I fell asleep, she must have gotten tired enough to fall asleep in one of her dog beds.

I had been videotaping her in preparation for our visit with Dr. Dodman, and took the camera in to show our vet. Stella, paradoxically, is very happy to go see the vet, so he hasn't had a chance to see her in a different state. The videos struck him as revealing a "Jekyl and Hyde" personality--outgoing, happy Stella and agonized, terrified Stella. He decided to get her started on meds, which we predicted Dr. Dodman would suggest, and prescribed clomipramine at 20 mg per day (she weighs ten pounds) and xanax prn.

Posted are the videos I showed to our vet.

The Meltdown

The whole family had a difficult summer and fall. My father, who was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma last year, went for a 3 month checkup in July 2007 and they found lesions on his brain. I drove the dogs from Maine to Cape May New Jersey, to help my mother and family care for him as he underwent radiation and a trial drug therapy. He died August 23. We were devastated, and the dogs looked after us well. I took family medical leave to stay with my mother, and we were in Cape May with her two cats until October. The dogs like Cape May, and they love my mother, and the cats became part of their "pack." When we moved back to Maine and I returned to work, they adjusted pretty well to their life at home, but they loved loved loved it when "Grandma" and the cats came to live with us for 6 weeks. Having someone who loved them stay home and keep them company?? Having cats to curl up with and play with? What could be better.

We all weathered our first Christmas without my father and a long drive to Florida, where my mother lives for the winter. The dogs love her condo, especially the lanai. The pack had expanded to include my girlfriend, whom they adore. She had spent the end of December with us in the ice storm, gone with us to Cape May for Christmas, and had met us in Florida for two weeks. We all survived the plane ride home from Florida. And then, when the semester began in mid-January and life returned to "normal"--no grandma in the guest room, no girlfriend at home, no cats in the dog beds, and mom back at work--Stella had a meltdown.

She developed separation anxiety, which she had never exhibited before, and her noise phobias snowballed. New household sounds, such as the baseboard heaters pinging, sent her into full-blown panic. She paced, panted, and trembled. She vocalized when I left the house. She developed anxiety about coming to bed at night, when the heater noises seemed unbearable and sent her flying for cover downstairs. She chose a safe place in the living room, under a table at the far end of the couch, and began to spend hours there. Sleeping at night with a panicked dog was becoming difficult, and leaving Stella in the morning was heart-wrenching. I had to make an appointment with my vet, even though we were scheduled to see Dr. Dodman at Tufts 10 days later. We needed help NOW.