Stryker does pretty good with the noises now. After all the racket I made pulling up the carpet and putting new wood flooring in. I'm assuming he got used to the saws and other loud tools. When I was doing the floor he even started to explore the work area and any chance he got he ran off with a tool and a few dozen carpenters pencil's. He's still weary at night but nothing as bad as the truck and trailer over the speed bump. When he hears a plane going over, he'll sit and watch it until he can no longer see it.
Just made things worse! I took Homer far a walk this evening (after him eating chocolate brownies but that's another story). Homer stopped to sniff at the side of the path when young lad come up and shouted Booo! Loudly right behind him. I was so mad! I called out to him and stopped him and gave him a piece of my mind. He was all full of himself and said it was just a joke and refused to apologise. Which made me even more mad. He was trying to tell me Homer wasn't scared and tried to pet him. Homers ears were back and his tail down nervously swaying from side to side. I know my dog but this lad was trying to tell me otherwise and got quite shirty with me. So Once he walked off Homer refused to go any further along the path. I'm still so angry! I think I'm the one whose going to need the happy drugs!
@Jes27 just catching up with your thread, so sorry to read how scared poor Homer has been. I'm sorry I'd don't have any insight at all as Mabel gets so scared at times but it's all down to her surgery etc, which in one sense, although troubling, is far easier to deal with.
Who are these people acting like complete plonkers around dogs? Is this common behaviour? I'm so sorry this happened to you and Homer.
@Jes72 gosh, sorry you and Homer had to deal with such an idiot. I really don't know what to suggest, just hope Homer isn't set back too far.
That's just stupidity,hopefully on the inside the cocky sod was embarrassed and will think twice about doing it again......and the brownies? Everything ok? X
Poor Homer and poor you! Most people on the street are so lovely with dogs, but you always get the occasional complete idiot who feels he must prove his macho factor by being "tough" around a big dog. Makes me want to carry bear spray and give them a snoot full. Grrrr!!!!
What a ****! That's such a rude and unnecessary thing to do. I really hope you can get Homer over this. How is he in the car? Could you take him somewhere really isolated?
What a ****! That's such a rude and unnecessary thing to do. I really hope you can get Homer over this. How is he in the car? Could you take him somewhere really isolated?
So, we've started H on Pexion, which is mainly used for epilepsy in dogs. Sounds quite drastic. Side effects so far are hunger and over active for a short period of time then he settles.
Best of luck for you and Homer. It must be so distressing to have a dog who was fine with noises one day, and completely terrified the next.
Wow, that is a big step. Why was an anticonvulsive prescribed for fear? How do you feel about it? Snowie is on anticonvulsives (potassium bromide) for epilepsy and, prior to starting him on them, I was terrified of side effects. But it's had such a great effect on him that I try not to worry. I have just done a quick read of Plexion and it sounds like it has very few side effects, which is great. Before starting the KBr, Snowie was not a normal Lab in the sense that he stopped eating when he was full (obvious sign that something was not right!! ). After starting KBr his hunger was insatiable and he now begs and wants to eat non-stop, also started drooling when anticipating food, which he'd never done before. We've had to have nerves of steel to resist his hungry eyes. He also got really over-active to the point that he seemed a bit loony a few days after starting the drug. The vet said to halve the dose and he went back to normal. When we tested his blood levels after about 4 months, they were dangerously high and we reduced the dose dramatically. It's a year on and we're on a tiny dose and his blood levels are in the normal range. Did you vet say anything about how to assess if you're dosing correctly?
The Pexion will only be for a few weeks, until first week of November or so, then he'll change over to Selgian. As far as I understand Pexion has similar active agents as Xanax but safer to use for longer periods of time. We're giving weekly updates on how he's getting on. So far walks are to normal places where he's happy to go, or has not recently refused to go, which have been fine. The drugs are quite scary, but hopefully won't be for long or forever. I now have greater understanding of all the conflicting emotions and decisions parents must go through when feeling the necessity to medicate children for conditions such as ADHD.
Best of luck and hopefully you'll see a great change. We so want the best for our dogs and it's not always an easy road, especially with nervous system issues. Yep, lots of conflicting emotions and decisions! A friend who had a baby at the same time I got Snowie commented that raising a puppy and raising a child had so many similarities, many times the anxiety over decisions and supercilious advice! We'd often chat for ages about the parallels! Please keep us updated on Homer's progress -- he's such a beautiful boy with such a sweet face. I am so sorry he has such fear issues. But hopefully you'll see improvement soon.
