Keeping Miltie calm for 6 weeks: dress rehearsal was disasterous

[sam.i.am]

So, we start his treatment on Monday.

He will obviously need to be kept quiet for the next many weeks. My silly fluffies have a morning routine that consists of bouncing, playing, tugging, chasing, and all that jazz from 6 AM until 7:30 AM, after that, they agree to relax for the next hour before eating. This 1.5 hours of wack-a-doodle behaviour is their favorite time of the day. Miltie smiles the whole time and bows and bounces and has a grand time.

Today I decided that I'd try to rearrange the schedule and see if I could just distract them from this 1.5 hours of shenanigans. NOPE

Delilah was easier to convince. I just said, 'time to relax' and off she trotted to bed. I was left with the fluffy tornado who decided to FIND stuff to do. So, he flung stuff around and bounced and trounced on his own. I distracted with something to chew....no dice....until he found that he's like to chew on my computer cord...back to more toys and distractions...he just seemed so dissatisfied with those things and kept looking to go rouse Delilah.

So, if you have had any experience with trying to quiet a fairly stubborn/self-directing dog, I'd LOVE to hear your advice. I'd love to hear any advice, really.

Thanks
My vet said that we could sedate him a little if absolutely necessary as she is very adamant that he not be a spaz. We'll do that if we really have to, but I imagine we can come up with something for him to do that is not spaztic.

[random aside] Oh, I found out from the vet yesterday (after she spoke to the vet in MS who boarded Miltie and his brother and treated the brother for HW (he was + while Miltie was not yet) and the vet said that the brothers loved each other so much that they had to be separated during the brother's treatment b/c they were so rambunctuous. The saddest part of that is that we offered to adopt them both originally, but the rescue thought that they were not very bonded (they were relying on vet staff assessments b/c they had not met the boys yet), so the rescue thought it wasn't really necessary. I'm thinking they really really were very bonded and that when the separated them they just both shut down a little (the report was that they 'didn't seem to care', but had a ball together before being separated. Knowing Milton now, I think he is just really stoic when he is sad, so maybe they just didn't know that they may be really stoic dogs when unhappy, so maybe confused that for not caring.
The happy-ish part of this is that we will be getting the boys together every year for a reunion (always has been planned that way), so they will always know each other. Some years it will be more than once a year that they see each other.

[Swissies4Me]

That is awesome that Miltie will get to reunite with his brother. I can't wait to hear all about it.

All I can say is good luck keeping him quiet.

I know Benadryl can make some dogs drowsy, would that be better than sedating him (if it even works)? I know he's not super fond of outside, but would a raw bone keep him from bouncing around, maybe you could give it in a crate? I'm sure a bully stick would only last a few minutes so that wouldn't do the trick...

It's so great to hear that he's so happy and playful! Are you going to have to keep him and Delilah separated the whole time? And, how long is the treatment?

[sam.i.am]

My vet did mention Benedryl, so we could try that first before trying a 'real' sedative.
He needs to be 'calm' so even if he is not bouncing but he is riled up, that will be bad, from what I understand. The vets all say that it's a blood pressure thing rather than just a movement thing, so if he is confined and stressed out, that could be just as bad as him running. I feel like I need a sedative just thinking about how to keep him calm. Since he was still active after Delilah went to lay down elsewhere, I am not thinking that separation will impact his spaztic time in the AM. The rest of the day is easy peazy. He's a lump after 8:30 AM.

I just found out that the heartworm treatment is unavailable in the U.S. right now. WTH. We thought Cornell had some as they gave us a quote a couple of days ago, but when my vet went to call it the prescription, they said, "oh, we don't have any." So, now we have to go to the company and beg for it.

I'm excited about the brothers' reunion. They have so many of the same odd personality characteristics, so it will be funny to see them together. I saw a video of his brother playing and running and I would have bet that it was Milton. They are like twins.

[NickandNora'smom]

Seriously WTH? It's not available? I know that benedryl did nothing to calm my two when they were on it, so it might not do anything. I wish you luck with him. Does he have any quiet activities that keep him busy?

[sam.i.am]

My vet had to call Merial (manufacturer) and ask them to release the exact amount we need and had to name the dog, me, his weight, etc. It's a very weird process. Something about a shortage and then some other foreign company's supply being used with Merial as a middle-man? I don't really understand, but this 'shortage' and weirdness has been going on for several months, apparently.

My vet was told that it would arrive late this week or early next week, so *fingers crossed* we are still on the same schedule as before. Nothing like a little excitement in an already stressful plan.

Carmela, I vaguely remember giving Milton benedryl when he first came and it did not allow him to be calm at all. I was hoping that maybe it would be different, but I may ask our vet for something just in case rather than having to make an emergency trip to get sedatives for my silly dog. If I take Benedryl I cannot keep my eyeballs open, but my dogs seem very mildly affected.

I have a feeling we will go through a lot of chews (like those disgusting cow esophoguses or something like that?) during the 6 weeks? He also likes his antlers but I cannot count on him to chew on them at a particular time. He doesn't do anything as a sustained activity other than eat or randomly sleep LOL

I think I need to buy a few food puzzles. I JUST threw away a food puzzle that I got Delilah when she had her hip surgery b/c it did not really work for her, but it may have worked for him. DUH. Why did I throw that away like 2 weeks ago??? [I did not donate it to the shelter b/c it looked beaten up and the rope was in fair condition]

[ALDOGMOM]

I have heard about heartworm treatment shortages in the last year...I thought they had been resolved.

Believe it or not - Bogey was harder than Birdie and they don't get much more laid back than Birdie.

His was more anxiety and we used a little bit of valium at the beginning...Then after our vet said he could go for a short, low intensity walk things got much better...

The most difficult part was not being able to just open up the back door and let them out to go potty. I had to take them out on a leash.
That was hard - on me...LOL..

[sam.i.am]

LOL, Kim. Miltie and I may need to share the valium.
I thought they said the problems would be resolved by now, too, but there is maybe a second problem...I'm not sure. At least Merial releases the drug when a vet calls for it, though. I was worried that we'd have to literally wait a while for it.

[ToBScholarly]

Maybe they have to control it because someone in the midwest has figured out how to make meth with some of the ingredients?

Cow esophagus is not a chew toy in our home. They eat it. And it doesn't take long either. Just a heads up. I have no other suggestions though because my dogs either eat it, or have no interest in it. There is no happy medium. Do you use Wubbas?

[Itsapyr]

Benadryl has never phased mine at all. Abby took 2 a day for allergies forever. Cow knuckles helped to keep Jasper quiet for the 6 weeks of no play when he had his shoulder surgery. When he got tired of those I covered them with canned cheese or smeared them with Pnut butter. Then of course the bully sticks were a big hit and now he won't touch them. The hardest thing was to keep them separated with no play.

[mezmerelda]

I would still try keeping Miltie calm for a few days before the treatment to see if he gets the hang of the new routine. It might take a day or two...

Good luck.

[sam.i.am]

Jodi, I don't even know what a wubba really is except maybe that terrycloth toy? Is it just a fluffy toy? What do they do with them?

I have 4 soup/marrow/knucke-type bones that I was going to give away b/c I don't give them bones to gnaw on b/c I worry about their teeth -- is that crazy? They are from free-range grass-fed cows. Do you worry about the tooth breakage?

Mez, that was my initial hope....I will try again tomorrow. Maybe I can redirect the morning in a more effective way.

thanks everyone!

[ToBScholarly]

WUBBAS ARE AWESOME and they are fun to say.

I give my dogs marrow bones. They have yet to break a tooth. I don't see what the difference between a marrow bone and an antler are, risk wise.

But I am not the most vigilant or protective dog owner either.

[sam.i.am]

yeah, I'm not sure if there is a difference between the antlers and the bones. I am just slightly crazy.

Thanks for the Wubba info.

[ALDOGMOM]

Our vets must be using a different protocol because I have two friends with rescued dogs that are undergoing treatment now.
Probably possum spit and beer...

All I know is that it works. Both of my dogs tested negative on their first test post treatment even though I had been warned not to freak if their first test was still positive.

[dogsDearly]

Heres a crazy idea..
How bout trying Bach's Rescue remedy? I was being advised by a couple of friends that they give a couple of drops on the tongue or in the water when they want to calm the dog and take the edge off. Actually i know some peeps who use it for themselves.

[kasmith]

I don't know that by itself this will be enough, but perhaps in combination with some of the other things it might be a good idea. Before I started Abby's relaxation protocols to help with her anxiety, we started trying to just teach her to relax. While I worked on this with her, I always had some sort of white noise on or music. At first I tried Ocean Waves (the sound generator we had I think was one the trainer had used with her infant and it had waves, a heartbeat, and other types of sounds to choose from). But additionally I downloaded "Through a Dog's Ear" and the music on that is actually pretty calming. Maybe playing that, plugging in one of the DAP plugins, and doing that with everything else you're going to try will also help? If anything these two things can't hurt.

[Itsapyr]

Nope I don't worry about them breaking a tooth on a knuckle bone at all. They might, but they way these 2 crash into each other and clack teeth I think its a bigger chance of breaking them that way. :-)They love gnawing on them. They don't eat them thought Jasper has actually managed to get into the marrow pretty good.

[sam.i.am]

Thanks for the additional ideas!

Today was much better....he's a smart guy, so a little persistence on my part maybe sends him the message that it's a 'real' request rather than just a fleeting thought that I had. He did try to find stuff to do, but I told him it was 'time to sleep' from 5:30 AM until when I fed them. So, I got to sleep and Milton decided to, too.

We have a D.A.P. plug-in and I can add RR again. He's on other meds to calm him, too, so I just have to let my vet know about the combos I'm considering if it's oral and uses the same biochemical pathways.

After this lazy morning, I'm a little more hopeful that he can be convinced that mornings can also be low-key and relaxing...I just hope they go back to playing in a couple of months.

[Itsapyr]

I don't think you have to worry about the "back to playing" part :-)

[Lora]

There are alot of medications that are having shortages right now. I have several meds that are on backorder or unavailable for Mike and its causing significant issues. Im not sure what the deal is but its pretty widespread at the moment.