My heart goes out to you as you have tried so hard with Max and clearly love him. I don't have any advice or experience to offer you as you have had that from Heidrun and Snowbunny. I just wanted to say how very sorry I am Max is so anxious, poor boy, poor you and your family. I really hope someone very experienced steps forward who might be able to help Max. Heartbreaking to read xx
I also feel desperately sorry for Max and for you, he sounds highly distressed. I still wonder if there is something in the house that scares him as well as separation anxiety.
You mentioned that Max had been checked over by the vet. Did the vet have a look at his thyroid function? The dog with SA I fostered had hypothyroidism which no doubt made his problems far, far worse. Some of the symptoms are severe anxiety and paranoia. It has got something to do with the very high levels of cortisol in the body. It might be worth looking into.
That's really interesting, Heidrun. I'll ask my vet to run a test next time I'm there. I doubt it is with Willow because she isn't prone to putting on weight, but it's worth a look at her bloods anyway, just to rule it out.
The spaniel I had here with SA was as skinny as a rake, had a nice shiny coat and didn't have any of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism, definitely wasn't lethargic! His initial tests came back just at the lower end of the normal scale but not totally abnormal. But I had read about a more in depth test somewhere for borderline patients so I asked the vet about it. They ran another test were they looked for both, T4 and T3 markers, and it was that test that gave the diagnosis.
Might also be a link with hyperthyroidism in dogs..due to interplay of hormones. Certainly anxiety is a feature in humans..
Thanks, ladies. It would be interesting to have bloods done to see if there is anything there that could be a factor. Hmmm! I might just drop my vet an email and ask his opinion
