anxiety isses?!

[megs]

Hi all, Its been a very long time since I've posted anything as I've been so occupied dealing with ongoing health issues with our beautiful 15month old boy. Although his health issues are still not resolved, I was hoping you lovely people might have some pointers as to how to help our boy.... so here goes!! Our boy has been and is constantly socialised he is lovely with other dogs, most people when out, and other animals (except birds he believes ALL birds must be chased!!) he is not de-sexed yet however will be within the next few weeks, he is normally a love bug, however over the last few months he has become very anxious (I believe this is mostly due to his illness and constant vet visits). To give examples, he has reverted back to mouthing and biting moving feet, he will not accept any care such as clipping claws, examining minor injuries, wound care and giving medication to name a few! he panics if put outside and will injure himself to get back in, however does ok inside when left alone but wont eat or drink,he wines or barks if me and my daughter are playing (like chasing or giggling!) and has also become very destructive killing eight dog beds in about 4weeks.... I think you get the idea!! anyway any ideas to help curb these behaviours an anxiety before it becomes habit?!

 

[musicdeb]

Sorry to hear about your pup's health issues and anxiety issues. May I ask why you are neutering him at 15 months? Mastiffs should not be neutered until 18-24 months because they need the hormones to continue to grow until 2-3 years of age.

It could be his health issues causing his anxiety. Is he trained? Does he know leave it, drop it? Teach him "calm." When Titan gets too rough or wants to play after eating, I tell him "calm" and raise my hand like a stop signal. He will calm down and lay down.

Is the mouthing and biting play time to him or does he mean it?

How long do you keep him outside? Is it hot? Mastiffs generally do not do well in heat. Titan hates any temps above 78 degrees.

How much exercise does he get? At 15 months, he should be exercising at least 1 hr a day.

 

[megs]

hi musicdeb thanku for responding! I was hoping to avoid desexing until he is older however his health issues require that I do it as soon as possible. the mouthing and biting is definitely playtime to him its like watching a huge 12week old puppy!!he is trained although I must admit I have been a tad lax in furthering that since he got sick. he knows "on your bed" but will not respond to anything when he has his im-a-crazy-puppy-eyes on!! it is freezing where I am at the moment and although he is inside most of the time I do try to encourage some outside dog time but not normally more than an hour a day and only toilet breaks in very hot or very cold weather!! he gets between 1/2 an hour and an hour walk each day most days plus play time however this is not always possible due to his health. I do believe his issues may be health related however I cant be certain we are still working on diagnosing some of his issues!!!!

 

[musicdeb]

I forgot to add that neutering him for health issues is understandable in his case.

When he starts to play with the biting and mouthing, redirect to a toy or teach him "calm."

If possible, try to extend his exercise (walking or running) to an hour a day to see if that helps with the biting and mouthing. A good, stern and calm "no" works too.

Keep us posted on his progress.

 

[megs]

thanks again Musicdeb. I will try calm ive not thought of that before so thankyou!! I will also attempt to increase his exercise. He has surgery and an x-ray tomorrow so ill update you after that!!

 

[musicdeb]

Your welcome. Let us know how de does with the surgery. Ask your vet to use the "greyhound protocol" for anesthesia which is usually better for mastiffs.

 

[megs]

oh no I only just read this! Our boy is home snoring after a very big day for all concerned! our boy was neutered today among other things and due to vomiting blood immediately after being put under anaesthetic is now on every medication known to man and beast to fight off pneumonia and other nasties. I haven't slept for two days due to this surgery and other testing and all came back relatively ok! Now the battle to be really creative with dosing medication!!! forgive my ignorance but what is "the greyhound protocol" is it a lighter anaesthetic? if so this knowledge will be very useful as ive also been told he will need bowel biopsies in the not so distant future and our boy takes at least a few days to recover from an anaesthetic. I feel awful for him....

 

[Smokeycat]

The best way I found to give Kryten, my EM, pills is to put them into a blob of coconut oil. He wants the oil so badly that he will take it even knowing that I put pills in it. It was the only thing that worked following his surgery when he was refusing to even eat.

 

[DennasMom]

I hope your pup is recovering from surgery well!
Glad he's home snoring. That's always a good sign.

For his anxiety - I'd practice some obedience commands a little more, and start teaching some new tricks... see if you can exercise his brain a little with mental work, so he's too tired to worry about stuff. If you can do mental exercise (in addition to what ever physical stuff he's allowed to do post-surgery), that should help him relax a bit. Things like scent-work or hide-and-seek are good ones to work on (searches on youtube often provide lots of ideas). More structure is also helpful - so if you can add a little more routine to his life, that might help him settle a bit, too.

Hope all the health issues get resolved successfully!!
Keep us posted.
And, I'd love to see some recent pictures of the big guy.

 

[musicdeb]

oh no I only just read this! Our boy is home snoring after a very big day for all concerned! our boy was neutered today among other things and due to vomiting blood immediately after being put under anaesthetic is now on every medication known to man and beast to fight off pneumonia and other nasties. I haven't slept for two days due to this surgery and other testing and all came back relatively ok! Now the battle to be really creative with dosing medication!!! forgive my ignorance but what is "the greyhound protocol" is it a lighter anaesthetic? if so this knowledge will be very useful as ive also been told he will need bowel biopsies in the not so distant future and our boy takes at least a few days to recover from an anaesthetic. I feel awful for him....

Yes, greyhound protocol is anesthesia best suited for big dogs, i.e. mastiffs. I'm glad to hear that he's doing ok after surgery. Does he like creamy peanut butter or deli meat like turkey or chicken? Bury the pill in peanut butter or wrap it in the meat.

 

[musicdeb]

Here's the link about greyhound protocol: Greyhound Anesthesia Protocol

 

[megs]

Thankyou Dennasmom, ill give your suggestions a do however I only have old photos at the moment as my computer has decided its not friends with my phone anymore and I cant upload them!! Smokeycat and musicdeb, unfortunately Its a massive struggle to get him to eat anything (part of his illness) but ive managed to get all medication into him today so Im hoping he will just keep being compliant!!! musicdeb just want to say thankyou soooo much for all your advice and tips that first post I was feeling really down and guilty about all he has been through and it was calming to just talk it out with someone!! ill keep you all posted!!!

 

[musicdeb]

How's the boy today? What is his name, BTW?

 

[2nd Chance]

What are the health issues?
why biopsy? is there a lump?
is your vet milking you is what i wish to know?

many health tests can be tested at home, that's all.

Brian has just come out of a fear period. Something set him back, but consistent message going in, eventually seems to result in consistent obedience coming out.

They are bloody stubborn though. Id say its taken me a year to have brian in same room as my terrifying son in law, and not act fearful. To be able to switch off, trusting that ive got his back.
mines a psychiatric disaster rescue

 

[megs]

2nd chance, thanks for your response. Its hard to sum up the the health issues ive had with him without writing a novel and trust me its a very long story!! but I will say that not even two months ago I was having to seriously consider putting our baby boy to sleep (I was truly broken at the thought) but after numerous vets ive found one that has been amazing and our boy has really taken to her. She has been awesome at keeping cost to a minimum while still providing wonderful care! The tests he needs are mostly diagnostic and cannot be done at home.

Ive wondered of late if all the vet visits began whilst he was going through a fear stage and that I was so concerned for his physical health that I didn't notice how else it was effecting him... however now im determined to help him get through it and try not to focus on who is to blame!!! He is overall a big love bug and I know if I can be more patient than he is stubborn we will get there!!!

Musicdeb, his name is Leon, and he is doing really well however he wont let me remove a bandage he has on his leg and is so sick of being on house arrest that he decided he is going to eat the house!! im just happy he is his normal cheeky self, and lucky for us we have a check up at the vet tomorrow and they can take off his bandage!!!

 

[megs]

yay I got photos on from my phone they are not great but here is our beautiful boy Leon!!!

 

[megs]

And one more!!

 

[megs]

Ok ill stop now!!!

 

[Smokeycat]

Love the second pic. If looks could kill. Lol.

 

[musicdeb]

Well Leon is one handsome boy! He looks a lot like Titan. Keep us posted on the handsome boy's progress.