Insomnia??

Stella has been on buspar and generic clomipramine for three days--since Wednesday. The generic clomipramine comes in 25 mg capsules, so she's getting a bit more of that than she used to. There's so much powder in the capsules! I feel like I must be giving her 5 times as much medication as she got in the tiny Clomicalm pills, but I checked the capsule image online, and it is the 25 mg dose that she has. I think I'll try leaving some powder on the plate instead of mixing it all into the pill pocket.

On Thursday morning, she woke me up early. I think she had to pee after all the water she drank in agility class! For the last two nights, she has jumped out of bed in the middle of the night. Thursday, I got up and brought her back to bed. Last night, I left her alone until about 4, when I woke up missing her. I found her sleeping under the bed in the guest room. Maybe I should leave her where she is, but I like to have everyone in the bed. She stayed with me the rest of the morning. I'm not sure that there is any connection here to the change in drugs. It has been warm and a bit breezy for the past two nights, so the windows have been open and the curtains have been blowing. Maybe that keeps her awake.

She's still stressed in the morning, and skipping her breakfast. Her baby fat is gone and she looks very trim. Dr. Dodman says that the clomipramine can cause a loss of appetite. Her anxiety seems worse in the morning, though, and I think that's also why she is not eating.

Medication Adjustment

After a conversation with Dr. Dodman this morning, we are going to add a little bit of buspirone to Stella's drug therapy to see if that will help with the noise phobia. It was good to get a "big picture" sense of the treatment options. Apparently, and unfortunately, there are not many good pharmacological choices that target phobias, in humans or dogs. The plan is to treat the global anxiety, and hope that in that process, we see a decrease in Stella's reactivity to noise.

The risk of switching from Clomicalm to a new "background drug" is that we would lose the improvement in separation anxiety we have seen with the Clomicalm, so combination therapy seems the best way to go at this point. Dr. Dodman, Dr. Ogata and I will check in again in two weeks.

I did discuss the possibility of using xanax to relax Stella enough for desensitization and counter conditioning, which I had read about on some shy dog sites. But I had also read that xanax can cause memory loss, which would obviously negate any learning that took place during training. Dr. Dodman said that dosing to avoid memory loss was very tricky, and that xanax was therefore not used for training, but for episodes of panic.

I realize that med trials can take a very long time and may not ever result in 100% success, but I am relieved to be trying something different, as Stella's behavior seems to be worsening. So, Stella's medication changes are the following:

• Discontinue huperzine

• clomipramine 25 mg/day (up from 20 because the generic, which is MUCH less expensive, comes in 25 mg capsules vs. 20 mg. tablets)

• buspirine 2.5 mg/day

We also reviewed the possibility that Stella is having some type of focal seizure disorder, which is apparently more common in bracycephalic dogs. Neurological testing is available. The issues are that the tests are expensive, and not always conclusive. If her EEG showed evidence of seizure, we would know that was the problem. A negative test, however, doesn't rule out the possibility of seizures. So treatment "as if" she had a seizure disorder would be the way to pursue that possibility in the future.

More Clomicalm??

I talked to the doctors at Tufts yesterday, and they want me to try increasing her Clomicalm. I have very mixed feelings about this, and do not really understand the logic behind this decision. One the one hand, the Clomicalm has proven effective for the separation anxiety. Although Stella does not come upstairs on her own like she used to when it is time for me to leave, and she still exhibits some anxiety--her tail is down and she hides in her crate--she is able to take a food treat, and she is no longer pacing, vocalizing, panting and clawing at the gate. I am happy with her progress in this area, and I think that we could both live with this if it never improves.

On the other hand, Stella is getting worse in the noise phobia department, and her mornings seem really horrible. Even when I am not making any preparations to leave, Stella often seems particularly stressed in the morning, and the noise phobia is worse throughout the day. These are the behaviors that I think are new or worse:

• Dislike of getting out of bed in the morning.
  
• Reluctance or inability to eat in the morning.
• Hiding in the yard in the morning; when I bring her inside, she tucks tail and runs upstairs to hide there, often under or by the bed.
• Hiding in the living room under the coffee table, unless she is being held.
  
• Increased sensitivity to noises such as a cell phone or laptop being shut, pages of a book turning, tea kettle activity.
• Fear of objects that might be dropped or make noise--remotes, phones, books.
• Brand new-- fear of clippers, generalized immediately to wanting off the grooming table..

Why, I wonder, can this dog sit calmly in the yard while Lisa runs the weed whacker not ten feet away? Why can she watch the city workers tear up the street in front of the house with curiosity, but startle when I turn the page of a book? It's not the size of the noise, I think, it's the suddenness.

Those questions are interesting, but my questions about her treatment are nagging, and as persistent as her decline in behavior.

• If she is becoming more sensitized to noise, and her other fearful behaviors are getting worse, and in fact never seem to have improved on Clomicalm, why are we pursuing treatment with the Clomicalm alone?

• Is there a larger treatment plan that includes the Clomicalm, or are we hoping to see improvement with this drug? If so, why would we expect improvement in noise phobias?

• Is the improvement with separation anxiety predictive of improvement with noise phobia on Clomicalm? If so, why have we not seen improvement in this area already?

Agility Builds Confidence

Wednesday was full of highs and lows for Stella. Her grooming anxiety is detailed below, but we've been so busy that I haven't been able to report on her agility class. I took a different dog to class with me than I had on the grooming table in the morning. She turned from a shrinking violet (at least she was trying to impersonate one in the garden) to a happy and brave soul! She did a 19 obstacle sequence that seemed like it had lots of yardage for a little girl, and she was focused throughout. She even did the dreaded teeter. I was very proud of her. I've attached the video from the afternoon, where she is practicing agility. No comment on my clothes, please. Clearly, I need to get my track pants out of storage for the spring. Stella looks great though.

Circular Thinking--Behavior, Neurology and the "Ambipawed" Dog

Well, here's a new anxiety for Stella's list--grooming anxiety. She is usually an absolute angel on the grooming table--endlessly patient, and easy to work on. Last night she had a bath and blow dry. She always enjoys her blow dry. I scissored her ears and face, and she was as calm as could be.

Today, I put her on the table and turned on the clippers, and she shrank into a tiny ball. I have never, ever seen her do this, and I have been grooming her since she was a puppy. I had to do a really quick job with the clippers, as I had already made a path through an inch of fur on the middle of her back. Her cut is not even, and I didn't get to scissor her legs, but I had to let her off the table after she defecated. She ran into the garden and hid. Even a half an hour later, she was miserable when I put her top knot up, and usually she is just fine with that process. I'm at my wit's end. Everyday life seems to get harder and harder for her. Last night, she startled when I turned the page of a book.

I have been giving some thought to the possibility that she has seizures, and I really cannot decide if what I am seeing in her are behavioral responses to fear (freezing, retreat), or are focal seizures. The autonomic responses would be similar (trembling, increased heart rate)?? It seems very hard to sort out. What I'm not seeing is behavior that seems suddenly different. Stella can be playing one minute and fearful the next, but I can usually detect a noise stimulus. She can sometimes recover in the presence of a reward (food), which would suggest that her problem is primarily behavioral. The whole question starts to feel very circular to me though--how does one separate behavior from neurology?

For example, if, as some research suggest, the dog's paw preference ("pawdedness"??) is correlated with their susceptibility to phobias, aren't we talking about neurology? My very random trials with Stella and Douce suggest that she may have less of a paw preference than he does (she is "ambipawed"?). If true, this would correlate with her noise phobia. But I haven't done the recommended hours of trials.

Oh, just someone help me find a way to make this little Shih Tzu feel better!

Running With Poop Bags

School is out for summer, and I have decided it is time to address the problem of not being able to keep up with my dog Douce on the agility course. If, in the process, I learn to put down my pocketbook and run with my arms, all the better. Although my dad was a track coach for many years, I never could learn to like running. Now, it seems, I will have to.

I am starting with a super easy walk/jog program. Today, I took the dogs with me, so that if I had to stop, I could blame it on Stella, who is the only creature I know that gets tired exercising faster than I do. Also, I figured that potty breaks for the pups would give me a good excuse to dilly dally. How pitiful am I, using my poor Shih Tzu for an excuse to look less out of shape than I am??

So, I did a walk 5 minutes jog 1 minute program. It's the second week of the program, but I will probably do it for, like, three weeks before I move up. Any running program I do has to be super painless for me, or I will quit. Today was a perfect start. It was supposed to be a 30 minute "workout," but as Stella was actually getting tired, I had to cut back to 20 minutes. Love that dog! At the end, I had jogged for a total of 3 minutes, and it was quite apparent to me why I cannot keep up with Douce. He walked/ran ahead of me the whole time and I don't think he ever broke into a real pant. The third minute, I could feel my shins begin to hurt. 3 minutes and I feel it?? No wonder I hurt all over after a two day trial. I probably run a total of 8 or 9 minutes on a weekend like that.

The dogs were great company for me today. Personally, though, I don't want to continue running with them. First, Shih Tzu overheat so easily, and although you can watch for signs of over exertion, if they are on leash and you are thinking about your own workout, I think it would be harder to tell how the dog is doing. Second, it is awkward running with leashes and poop bags in hand. Why do I never see any joggers with dogs slinging poop bags?? It makes me suspicious. And third, it's not really that fun for me, so why would it be fun for the dogs? They don't get to sniff, bound, chase, eat gross stuff--all of the dogs' favorite things. They get good exercise on their farm walks!

Stella is still having a tough time in the mornings. Maybe, if I do my walk/jogs in the morning, it will do her good too. She could get over the worry that I will leave, because I will, but I'll be right back. I don't know. She has been freezing up in the house, no matter the time of day. I will notice her standing still, not moving towards anything to do, not able to lie down comfortably. She will circle the room, trying different spots, but resume the standing and staring, unless I put her into the bed, where she does seem to relax. I think she's been on the huperzine for two weeks, so tomorrow I will call Dr. Ogata at Tufts.

Back at Treefrog Farm!

Wednesday was our first outdoor agility class night at Treefrog Farm, so Stella is back in the game. It was so muddy! The Shih Tzus decided that they are not mudders. In the really sloggy parts of the course, they just stopped in their tracks and looked at me like "Really? Jump into that? Umm, you just go ahead without me." I have to confess that I didn't want to run in the mud either. I was running pretty darn slow, and didn't avoid the puddles anyway. My sneakers are still drying out.

Stella had a good time. She wagged her tail at all of her agility friends and ate lots of treats, and I think she did a fine job running her first little course since last summer. You will see that she pops out of the tunnel over and over. It was still a bit crunched up from being stored, and she likes her equipment just so--neatly laid out with no bumps in her path. It's so nice to see her having fun. She shut down as soon as we came home. I keep telling her that as much as she loves the outdooors, she's just not ever going to make a good yard dog. We are still toughing out the huperzine trial, but I want to call Tufts again soon.

Okay, This Is for My Students

So, I've mentioned the blog to a few of you, and you have heard about my secret life in dog agility. These are some videos of me running with Douce. You will notice that I am actually wearing running shoes and some type of athletic pants. It was a shock to me to discover that I had to run with my dog in agility, but he loves it so much. I would do anything for him--even wear running shoes.

You will also notice that I am not extremely good at this sport. For example, I run slow, and um, I run like a girl. Shocking. My dog is way faster than I am. Wherever he goes wrong on the course, it's because I confused him. I also get lost on course, especially when I have to try to remember more than one "map" of obstacles at a time. We qualified in both of these runs--just barely in the first one! The timer went off just as we finished the last jump there. In the second run, it looks like I almost pull Douce off of the last jump--I'm too slow to keep up with him. Last summer, we ran for three months without qualifying in one single run. That means we made a mistake that disqualified us every time. I tried to find something good about every run we did, which is easier to do when you have a great partner like Douce. Occasionally, I even find things that I do well.

I do think it's good for teachers to do something that is challenging for them, and to watch people for whom it seems really easy. Maybe teachers forget that learning is hard when they are only in front of the classroom, and never in the middle of it. In agility, there are some very athletic teams out there--the human handlers can run and remember where they are going and where their super fast dogs are, all at one time! Doing agility reminds me that learning is fun, but also difficult. Success is not just about talent, but about perseverance, practice, repetition, and working with instructors that can help you figure out how to tackle problems. My dog has talent, and my instructors are great. I persevere.

Stella also has a great time doing agility, although her phobias have kept her from competing. For Stella, competition is not the goal. She loves practice, and it makes her feel good about herself! Her classes start soon, so I hope to have some videos of her posted within the next few weeks.

I had a farm in Cape Elizabeth . . .

for a weekend. The dogs and I went over to look after the minis and the horses for two days while their mom and dad were away for a quick vacation. Yesterday was beautiful! It was short-sleeves and sunscreen weather. The Shih Tzus played ball in the yard and went for a farm walk by themselves. Stella is so out of shape!! She's pretty pudgy, for her, and couldn't even make it around the farm without getting all out of breath. I had to carry her part way. SOMEONE is feeding her too much . . .

Roscoe the Min Pin was very needy and monopolized all of my lap time. It was great. I love that dog, and he never hugs me when his mom is around! Douce and Stella were a bit put out by this, but they made up for it at bed time when Mr. Roscoe had to sleep on the floor. Stella spent some time upstairs, but maybe a little more time downstairs with everyone else than she does at home. I don't see much difference in her behavior during this first week that she's been back on huperzine. She had a rough time on her farm walk this afternoon. There were lots of gun shots from the target range and she had her tail down and was worried the whole time. The sight of George perked her up momentarily, but the noise overcame her and she really tried to run home without us. I would really like to try a medication that worked better for her noise phobia.

Of course, once she got back the the house, she did not want to leave. She hid from me and I had to carry her out of and put her in the car. I feel so guilty for not being able to buy her her own farm!

It is so nice to watch the gold finches come back and the daffodils come up. Today I finally saw the mayflowers blooming on the edge of the woods, and the fiddlehead ferns are coming up.