Homebound

Katie is finally trapped at home. She is no longer able to fight off the demons as they now accompany her in both of our vehicles. I know there are many dogs that get car sick or who associate cars with a bad experience, but Katie is the worst I have seen. She is truly panic stricken. She refuses to load and if given a chance will jump out and run to the house. It truly boggles my mind when she has thousands of positive experiences to draw from.

We started Katie on the generic form of Prozac. My dream would be that she regains her mental balance and can once again go every where I go. Her quality of life would be so much better. If not, maybe the drug will reduce her overall stress level and reaction to noises.For now, I do my best to entertain Katie at home. She gets 2 stuffed, frozen Kongs everyday and I groom her. I work with her when the backyard is dry. I occasionally bike her around the neighborhood... unfortunately, her nails wear down excessively in the rear so I cannot do it more than once a week. I would love to teach her some tricks, but she gets really stressed when we fluctuate from the usual. Katie is a machine and will do the things she is trained to do all day long, but she seems unable to download new programs at this point. We also do not allow our dogs on the couch, but decided to start inviting Katie to sit with us. However, it is a new thing and Katie is not comfortable on the couch at all and gets off as soon as she is given the opportunity. Maybe the Prozac will ease the stress of new things as well.

Trade

Since Katie hates the van, I cannot take her with me when I take Riley and Reagan out to train (because we take the van). Stephen can't take Katie on hikes with his hounds because his Volvo will only accommodate 3 greyhounds. And neither of us wants to leave Katie home alone. So we solve the problem by trading dogs.

Of course, I think Stephen gets the best end of the bargain. Katie has to be one of the best trained greyhounds on the planet with an agility championship and a utility level obedience title......... and I get Allie. Allie is alright, but she is no Katie. I am sure Stephen would like you to know that she is a Field Champion lure courser and has a Canine Good Citizen.

Allie bounces between two extremes..... a live wire and near death. Allie is so lazy. Difficult to rouse, she can be slow to potty in the mornings and before bed. Allie would happily trade a long walk for a piece of kibble. She LOVES her crate..... because she eats in there and if she is in her crate she may get to eat again. Allie does not mind being left home alone. We could easily leash up the other 5 hounds and walk out the front door and she probably would not even get up. But wave a crumb under Allie's nose and she comes alive with dancing feet. "Do you want to see me sit? Down? Sit? Down?"

So we did a little free shaping with a box. Free shaping is when you do not provide the dog with any clues as to what you want him or her to do. You simply click and treat when the dog does something in the right direction. I provided Allie with a big box that I wanted her to step her front feet into. I clicked and treated for her interactions with the box. Eventually, I only clicked and treated for a touch with her foot. It took several sessions, but she finally understood that I wanted her front feet in that box.

I think Allie has enjoyed the extra attention and food. And as you can see, both are fans of the large round bed in our living room.

Hiking Together

The family that hikes together.... Takes separate cars. Thanks to Katie and her van terrors. Katie gets her own ride.

Don't worry. She is panting because it is 90 degrees. She is happy as can be in the car.

Valium

This weekend was the annual Bring-Your-Greyhound-Meeting at the farm. Stephen and I decided to take all 6 greyhounds and spend the night at my sister and Matt's (fiance) house.

Despite having an almost new van that any dog (except Katie) would love, we had to do some extra planning. I had not yet tried Katie on Valium and decided this would be a good trip to try it. Stephen and I had to take separate vehicles and once we arrived at the farm, Katie would be able to resume her travels and return home in Stephen's car (she still approves of Stephen's car).

Thirty minutes prior to our departure, I gave Katie 2 tablets of Valium (the dosage calls for 1 - 4 tablets). 15 minutes later, I put Katie in the van. As usual, she flat our refused and I had to shove her into her crate. I waited another 20 minutes, hoping she would settle down and fall asleep before starting the engine. I peeked in on her.............

...... hmmmm, looking kind of perky still. I gave her a 3rd tablet and 15 more minutes.

Once we got on the road, she looked like this. Panting, shaking, bracing herself, and hanging on for dear life. "Katie, I'm sorry, but you are a dork."

Katie never settled down. We arrived at the farm an hour later. I took the hounds out for a walk around the pastures. It quickly became evident that NOW the Valium was starting to kick in.

Valium seems great for exaggerating neurological problems. Katie was perky, eager for treats, and energetic, but she was a tangle mess of legs going every which way. I put her back in the van hoping she would fall asleep, but she did not.

Stephen arrived with his car and I moved Katie to it. She was happier, but still wide awake and alert. I just wanted her to fall asleep and let the Valium run its course. She obviously slept well later that night.

It was a good test run. Luckily, Katie was able to ride in Stephen's car the rest of the weekend. In the future, she is probably going to have to stay with my parents who live close by. It just is not economical to take Katie's car AND the van everywhere we go with dogs.

I'm just glad Katie traveled well until she was 10 years old. She is the first greyhound to earn a Master Agility Championship and she also earned a Utility Dog Title. She is a big deal, so I guess she has earned the right for one old age quirk. :-)

Katie Update

The Clomicalm has had no effect on Katie's recent van phobia development. We have found that Katie rides in Stephen's car fine about half the time. She will sometimes ride to the destination just fine (picture below), but stresses on the way home. There seems to be no rhyme or reason about it.

At nearly 11 years of age, I am not going to rack my brain over it. If she doesn't want to travel, we will minimize her travel. Each day, I work with her in the backyard on rehab exercises and Stephen has been taking her hiking with his dogs a couple of times a week since the drive is only 10 minutes.

I really miss having her along with Reagan, Riley, and I. The van seems empty transporting just 2 tiny greyhounds.

Lions, Tigers, and Vans, Oh My!

I really am sad to say that Katie has full blown anxiety about riding in vehicles. The new van has a well established pattern at this point. We thought she was doing well riding in Stephen's car, but recently started to show similar signs of anxiousness.


As soon as the vehicle (especially our new van) begins to move, she begins panting, shaking, and refuses food. I wish I knew what she is afraid of. Does it produce an uncomfortable sound (I'm thinking no, now that she has showing problems with other vehicles)? Do the bumps in the road scare her? What is it? What makes a 10 year old greyhound suddenly fear her second home? The van used to be a means to all the fun stuff we do, a safe place to rest, and a comfortable way to travel.


I have tried placing her in a big crate, a small crate, and in different locations in the van. I have tried letting her ride loose. I have tried giving special treats and stuffed Kongs during the ride, but she will not touch them until the ride is over. I have tried giving her an herbal supplement with calming properties to no avail.


Katie's first thyroid test was slightly low, but a second test result came back as not low thyroid. The vet humored me and let me try treating her for low thyroid anyway, but it had no effect. She has had acupuncture again and appears to be free of any pain or physical problems.


I never thought I would leave her behind, but I have started to. I try to pick her trips wisely. Minimize the drive time and maximize the exercise, play, and work time. Stephen has been great about taking her hiking with his greyhounds which is a short drive away. I never thought she would stand for me to leave her behind, but she almost appears relieved as I walk out the door without her now.

Not So Hot

Katie (age 10) is not her usual self these last few days. If she were just a house dog, I would be none the wiser, but that is not the case with a hound usually so active.

Her anxiety about traveling in the van has escalated to full blow resistance and panic attacks. Katie is not just uncomfortable, she is now panting and shaking and refuses food. Katie has NEVER refused food before now. She also resists loading and is clearly indicating that she would prefer to be left behind. I hate that she feels this way.

Katie, by nature, is sassy, confident, and fearless, but that greyhound has been gone for awhile now. Over the last year, I have seen fear and anxiety start to wash over her. Her sensitivity to noise has gone from nonexistent to significant. Her confident attitude has diminished to one of caution. I attributed the caution to her Fibrocartilaginous Emboli. I can understand how not having full control over your body's movements can be scary at times, but this is starting to be excessive.

Last week, I had blood work done. I was most interested in Katie's thyroid since that sometimes can produce strange behavior. Her blood work looked great, but her thyroid levels are low.

Today, I had Katie chase a lure on a lunge whip. Normally, she chases, catches, and hands me the lure. Its great exercise because I can make her travel in both directions to ensure she is working her muscles evenly. Unlike the youngsters, she is not a maniac for this game anymore, but she enjoys the fetching aspect of it since I trade her a treat. Her halfhearted attempts today were pathetic.

So I tried throwing the stuffy Frisbee. Normally, Katie will try to take the toy from me, chases the toy with a lot of enthusiasm, and gallops back to me. But not today. She fetched each time, but not with her usual gusto and she trotted back leisurely every time.

I am going to pursue thyroid treatment and a session of acupuncture. If there is any back pain, hopefully the acupuncture will provide some relief. Other than that, the blood work and exam gave me nothing to check further. From a physical standpoint, she is in great shape.

Family Trip

Stephen, the greyhounds, and I took our first family trip in the new van. We traveled to Alabama to visit with Stephen's parents.

Happy Driver

Happy Passengers

..... Stacker, the hound who rides uncrated because we can only fit 5 crates.

..... Reagan and Riley sleeping soundly most of the way.

And then there is Katie.

Katie does not seem to travel as well as she used to. I cannot pinpoint it exactly, but I think this may have started after her spinal stroke.

When Katie's left hind leg was dealing with some paralysis and neurological weakness, she became extremely fearful of laying on her left side. I believe this was because she could not jump to her feet quickly because the left hind leg was not able to do its job.

Once she had partially recovered, I started to work on getting her to lie down on her left side again using a clicker and food. If anything, I felt that getting up and down using the left hind was good rehab exercise. I also would have her lie down and I would get her to roll from one hip to the other as practice.

At this point, I would say that Katie is back to being about 90% functional. Part of the decrease has to do with her age (10 years). At some point, you just don't jump as high or feel as stable as you used to. I could see that happening a little prior to the spinal stroke and I think the spinal stroke simply sped up the process.

So back to traveling. I think that some of this caution and fear that developed due to the hind leg weakness has had a residual effect on how she reacts to being jostled or rocked. There were several occasions that I or the vet techs fought with her to make her lie down not realizing that she simply did not want to lie on the left side. At the risk of over analyzing this, I think that sometimes the traveling reminds her of the fear and fight of avoiding the left side and it creates an unhappy experience in the van.

It is uncomfortable to watch her for 3 hours. Most of the time I am driving so I do not see how uncomfortable she appears. She will stand up, turn around, and fluff bedding over and over and over again. Bumps and noises cause worrisome expressions.

I may have to come up with some creative ways to improve the traveling experience for her. Maybe even something like a stuffed Kong or a bully stick each time could make traveling more fun and help Katie to forget the bad experiences. With her intense food motivation, changing her mind is always easiest to accomplish through her stomach.