Bill
05-04-08, 04:06
I took our dog to the vets today and you'll be pleased to know that he is back to normal and no longer needs any tablets!!! Considering how he was, I can't believe how much better he is!:yesyes:
I was talking to the vet and he started telling me about a dog he's been treating. This dog had to have a leg amputated which of course is a trauma to the dog so would you believe he gave it valium to ease its anxiety just for a week until he re-gained his confidence.
I was telling the vet about how our dog won't eat his dry food or even out of his bowl like he used to. This was because while he was ill, he felt sick when he attempted to eat. However, he's better now but is still refusing to eat as before.
The reason? The reason is because he remembers how sick he felt when he tried to eat when he was ill so is now afraid to attempt eating his dry food because he fears feeling sick again and because he fears being sick, he actually does feel sick!
I can't force him to confront this fear so now I'm having to moisten his food and tempt him with other flavours which of course he has now come to expect just like a safety blanket.
Sound familiar? What happens when we experience a panic attack? We stop doing what we've done for years without thinking. How do we tempt ourselves to confront it? We take medication and fear the panics will return if we stop taking them.
All our dog needs to do is try eating as he did before without worrying about feeling sick by realising he was ill at the time.
Often stress and pressures in our lives cause our panic but then we become afraid of placing ourselves in the situations where we experienced our panics even though often the stresses no longer exist.
I just found it interesting how even a dog can suffer anxiety........and a dog doesn't act on "thoughts", he acts on instinct and sometimes "incorrect" learnt behaviour!:winks:
I was talking to the vet and he started telling me about a dog he's been treating. This dog had to have a leg amputated which of course is a trauma to the dog so would you believe he gave it valium to ease its anxiety just for a week until he re-gained his confidence.
I was telling the vet about how our dog won't eat his dry food or even out of his bowl like he used to. This was because while he was ill, he felt sick when he attempted to eat. However, he's better now but is still refusing to eat as before.
The reason? The reason is because he remembers how sick he felt when he tried to eat when he was ill so is now afraid to attempt eating his dry food because he fears feeling sick again and because he fears being sick, he actually does feel sick!
I can't force him to confront this fear so now I'm having to moisten his food and tempt him with other flavours which of course he has now come to expect just like a safety blanket.
Sound familiar? What happens when we experience a panic attack? We stop doing what we've done for years without thinking. How do we tempt ourselves to confront it? We take medication and fear the panics will return if we stop taking them.
All our dog needs to do is try eating as he did before without worrying about feeling sick by realising he was ill at the time.
Often stress and pressures in our lives cause our panic but then we become afraid of placing ourselves in the situations where we experienced our panics even though often the stresses no longer exist.
I just found it interesting how even a dog can suffer anxiety........and a dog doesn't act on "thoughts", he acts on instinct and sometimes "incorrect" learnt behaviour!:winks: