Separation Anxiety
Posted: 31 Mar 2023, 11:03
Good morning! It’s been awhile so to review - Our boxer Ruby a year and 4 months old. She has been losing weight since last Fall and had on and off chronic soft stools that progressed to explosive diarrhea until enzymes came into our life and then most of our problem has been solved with Purina Pro Plan EN being added, all that remains is poop eating, pica, and non stop scavenging.
We had our visit with an IMS yesterday at a veterinary hospital at a state university. We walked through Ruby’s history and they reviewed all her blood work. She had a body condition of 3/9 but her muscle condition is very good. She is very slender but they think part of that is just puppy stage still and her being a very active breed.
The IMS there thinks that we have caught the EPI very early. She doesn’t suspect any IBD due to age and lack of other symptoms like regular vomiting or lip smacking, and the fact that the enzymes at a low amount changed everything for her. They do recommend the powder but said she should stay on the tablets until they no longer work for her, since our trial with enzyme Diane didn’t go well. She just doesn’t need a lot right now. She said she will likely eventually need the powder as more of her pancreas atrophies and wants to retest her in 4 months for TLI levels. Her previous 2 tests were 21.7 (unfasted) and 15.5 (fasted).
They did physically take her to the “panel” of docs to review because of how young she is and they all agreed that EPI is what they would diagnose and now it is wait and see. I am thankful that we didn’t end up wasting money on a bunch more blood work that our vet already did, because he did a lot. They just reviewed all of it when we were there.
They reviewed her caloric intake with Purina Pro Plan EN and said she is getting adequate calories for the condition and her activity level. Which is a relief because I feared I was under feeding her. She actually has gained a pound or two since her loss. So that makes me think I just need to keep at it and she will just gain super slow.
Finally we talked about her extreme separation anxiety. Which could be why she eats poop and has pica. Ruby’s breeder ran a daycare and she spent her first months constantly surrounded by kids and activity. They were inside puppies. This was so great for us because we have a son who doesn’t always respect dog’s personal space and we feel safer knowing she has a good temperament. What is not so great is she does NOT like to be alone and her and our frenchie female (queen bee) can not be trusted alone unsupervised. She does really love our cats company and is calmer outside alone with him. In fact he often kennels up in her dog run with her.
My question is does anyone have any experience with CBD and dogs with anxiety? I ordered her some oil from Honest Paws and plan on trying that before using trazadone for her anxiety when she will be in there for extended periods. I have read that these anxiety drugs can cause stomach upset and the last thing I want to do is upset the apple cart now that she is stable. The IMS said she isn’t against CBD so she recommended trying that first. My next question would be if anyone has tried trazadone with an EPI dog and had success without stomach upset? We may keep it in our emergency arsenal when she cannot get into doggy daycare and needs to remain unattended.
My final question would be about a basket muzzle to prevent scavenging when unattended. That is what the IMS suggested since she is an indoor (on furniture) dog and we can’t be having her bringing poop in on her face and paws…. Anyone have any luck with one? She is good at the leave it command while walking but I think being able to just roam the backyard while I am gone instead of being kenneled will help her anxiety. Plus we are moving and will not be able to take her kennel with us. I am going to try a mesh basket muzzle first. She is so food motivated I think I can train her to be okay with it if I put some of her enzymed kibble a treat in it to get her to accept it. Of course I will rinse it each time so they don’t irritate her muzzle.
I appreciate this forum. If it were not for you all, Ruby may not be with us still. Thanks in advance for the advice!
We had our visit with an IMS yesterday at a veterinary hospital at a state university. We walked through Ruby’s history and they reviewed all her blood work. She had a body condition of 3/9 but her muscle condition is very good. She is very slender but they think part of that is just puppy stage still and her being a very active breed.
The IMS there thinks that we have caught the EPI very early. She doesn’t suspect any IBD due to age and lack of other symptoms like regular vomiting or lip smacking, and the fact that the enzymes at a low amount changed everything for her. They do recommend the powder but said she should stay on the tablets until they no longer work for her, since our trial with enzyme Diane didn’t go well. She just doesn’t need a lot right now. She said she will likely eventually need the powder as more of her pancreas atrophies and wants to retest her in 4 months for TLI levels. Her previous 2 tests were 21.7 (unfasted) and 15.5 (fasted).
They did physically take her to the “panel” of docs to review because of how young she is and they all agreed that EPI is what they would diagnose and now it is wait and see. I am thankful that we didn’t end up wasting money on a bunch more blood work that our vet already did, because he did a lot. They just reviewed all of it when we were there.
They reviewed her caloric intake with Purina Pro Plan EN and said she is getting adequate calories for the condition and her activity level. Which is a relief because I feared I was under feeding her. She actually has gained a pound or two since her loss. So that makes me think I just need to keep at it and she will just gain super slow.
Finally we talked about her extreme separation anxiety. Which could be why she eats poop and has pica. Ruby’s breeder ran a daycare and she spent her first months constantly surrounded by kids and activity. They were inside puppies. This was so great for us because we have a son who doesn’t always respect dog’s personal space and we feel safer knowing she has a good temperament. What is not so great is she does NOT like to be alone and her and our frenchie female (queen bee) can not be trusted alone unsupervised. She does really love our cats company and is calmer outside alone with him. In fact he often kennels up in her dog run with her.
My question is does anyone have any experience with CBD and dogs with anxiety? I ordered her some oil from Honest Paws and plan on trying that before using trazadone for her anxiety when she will be in there for extended periods. I have read that these anxiety drugs can cause stomach upset and the last thing I want to do is upset the apple cart now that she is stable. The IMS said she isn’t against CBD so she recommended trying that first. My next question would be if anyone has tried trazadone with an EPI dog and had success without stomach upset? We may keep it in our emergency arsenal when she cannot get into doggy daycare and needs to remain unattended.
My final question would be about a basket muzzle to prevent scavenging when unattended. That is what the IMS suggested since she is an indoor (on furniture) dog and we can’t be having her bringing poop in on her face and paws…. Anyone have any luck with one? She is good at the leave it command while walking but I think being able to just roam the backyard while I am gone instead of being kenneled will help her anxiety. Plus we are moving and will not be able to take her kennel with us. I am going to try a mesh basket muzzle first. She is so food motivated I think I can train her to be okay with it if I put some of her enzymed kibble a treat in it to get her to accept it. Of course I will rinse it each time so they don’t irritate her muzzle.
I appreciate this forum. If it were not for you all, Ruby may not be with us still. Thanks in advance for the advice!