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I'm so sorry this got long...I'm a bit distressed right now.
As many of you know, Alvin and I moved out of my parents' house three weeks ago today. Initially, Alvin was rather fearful in the house. He didn't like the floors and had trouble getting around. In the intervening weeks his fear has improved in some ways and, I think, greatly worsened in others.
The improvement is that he will now walk on the floors in the house. He physically moves with confidence. Also, he treats the front yard like his own, seeming to feel very comfortable there.
Otherwise, his behavior is getting more and more weird.
He whines almost constantly. He has never done this before. Now there are only three times he does NOT whine: 1) When we are on a walk, 2) When I am in physical contact with him, and 3) When I have been sitting doing a quiet activity for a prolonged period of time.
He seems to enjoy his walks, to a certain extent. He starts out well, trotting merrily away from the house. But it doesn't matter how long or short the walk, as soon as we turn around to come back, I practically have to drag him. Now, this could be because his leg pains him...although you would think a shorter walk would mean less pain, but even if we only go down to the corner, he straggles several steps behind me on the way home. The moment we walk through the door and I take off his leash, he's whining again.
If I get down on the floor to pet him or Furminate him, he stops whining. In addition, if I am watching tv on the couch, grading papers at the table, or using the computer at the desk, he'll settle down next to me fairly peacefully. But the second I get up, he's on the alert and whining again. It doesn't matter what I get up to do...make myself dinner, vacuum the floor, go the bathroom, unpack a box...he's watching/following me and whining.
The more active I am, the more stressed he seems to be. Last night my parents were over. My dad was doing some handyman jobs for me and my mom was helping me put together a bed I just bought. All of us were paying attention to him as we worked. He had been walked. He had been fed. Nothing particularly loud or scary was happening. But he wouldn't settle down. He paced around the house until I got irritated enough to make him lie on his bed. Then he laid there and panted as though he'd been on a run. The next time I went over to visit with him, I realized he'd been drooling in a big puddle on the floor.
There are some toys he simply won't play with anymore. He won't play soccer with his ball and he won't chew anything that isn't a bully stick. At the old house I would sit on the floor and pet him while he chewed his Nylabone or antler, but he won't do it anymore, even if I'm down there with him, holding the chew.
I can give him pain meds for his leg and his behavior doesn't change. He's eating, drinking, and eliminating normally. He's getting the same amount (if not slightly more) exercise than he was at my parents'. When I am home, I make very sure to pay extra attention to him.
The whining, the drooling, the shadowing, and the heavy breathing all seem like an anxiety thing to me. Does that sound right? If it is anxiety, shouldn't it be getting BETTER, not WORSE, after three weeks?
If I had no other options, I would work him through it...stick it out until he was okay. But he's an older dog and has never been very adaptable. Back at my parents' house I moved his bed once because it's location was becoming inconvenient. For a couple weeks he would lay on the bare floor in the old location of his bed, rather than on the bed in its new location! I don't want to torture him with this move and this new house just because I want him to live with me. He could easily go back to his old house and live with my parents. Would this be better?
ACK!
As many of you know, Alvin and I moved out of my parents' house three weeks ago today. Initially, Alvin was rather fearful in the house. He didn't like the floors and had trouble getting around. In the intervening weeks his fear has improved in some ways and, I think, greatly worsened in others.
The improvement is that he will now walk on the floors in the house. He physically moves with confidence. Also, he treats the front yard like his own, seeming to feel very comfortable there.
Otherwise, his behavior is getting more and more weird.
He whines almost constantly. He has never done this before. Now there are only three times he does NOT whine: 1) When we are on a walk, 2) When I am in physical contact with him, and 3) When I have been sitting doing a quiet activity for a prolonged period of time.
He seems to enjoy his walks, to a certain extent. He starts out well, trotting merrily away from the house. But it doesn't matter how long or short the walk, as soon as we turn around to come back, I practically have to drag him. Now, this could be because his leg pains him...although you would think a shorter walk would mean less pain, but even if we only go down to the corner, he straggles several steps behind me on the way home. The moment we walk through the door and I take off his leash, he's whining again.
If I get down on the floor to pet him or Furminate him, he stops whining. In addition, if I am watching tv on the couch, grading papers at the table, or using the computer at the desk, he'll settle down next to me fairly peacefully. But the second I get up, he's on the alert and whining again. It doesn't matter what I get up to do...make myself dinner, vacuum the floor, go the bathroom, unpack a box...he's watching/following me and whining.
The more active I am, the more stressed he seems to be. Last night my parents were over. My dad was doing some handyman jobs for me and my mom was helping me put together a bed I just bought. All of us were paying attention to him as we worked. He had been walked. He had been fed. Nothing particularly loud or scary was happening. But he wouldn't settle down. He paced around the house until I got irritated enough to make him lie on his bed. Then he laid there and panted as though he'd been on a run. The next time I went over to visit with him, I realized he'd been drooling in a big puddle on the floor.
There are some toys he simply won't play with anymore. He won't play soccer with his ball and he won't chew anything that isn't a bully stick. At the old house I would sit on the floor and pet him while he chewed his Nylabone or antler, but he won't do it anymore, even if I'm down there with him, holding the chew.
I can give him pain meds for his leg and his behavior doesn't change. He's eating, drinking, and eliminating normally. He's getting the same amount (if not slightly more) exercise than he was at my parents'. When I am home, I make very sure to pay extra attention to him.
The whining, the drooling, the shadowing, and the heavy breathing all seem like an anxiety thing to me. Does that sound right? If it is anxiety, shouldn't it be getting BETTER, not WORSE, after three weeks?
If I had no other options, I would work him through it...stick it out until he was okay. But he's an older dog and has never been very adaptable. Back at my parents' house I moved his bed once because it's location was becoming inconvenient. For a couple weeks he would lay on the bare floor in the old location of his bed, rather than on the bed in its new location! I don't want to torture him with this move and this new house just because I want him to live with me. He could easily go back to his old house and live with my parents. Would this be better?
ACK!
Very happy it worked out. If you don't mind me asking, which flowers did you use? Did you mix them yourself, or buy something pre-made? I am looking into them for Marge, but not sure where to start.
