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!