Spooked Puppy

[laineyj]

Hi There,

Am just looking for a bit of advice.
We adopted our second DID puppy (Mitzie) who we re-named Elsa in April of this year. She is an absolute cuddly little dote & We love her to bits, but over the last couple of months every now & then she takes to hiding under the tree in the back garden & won’t come back into the house. She will come with us for her walks & comes back in for her dinner…..she loves her food!! but as soon as she gets back into the house she wants to go back into the garden.When we adopted her We knew Elsa was an independent little soul & likes her own space, but I cant figure out what might be causing her to act this way.

She gets on great with our other DID dog (Callum) who We re-named Ollie, they are the best of friends so I don’t think he is doing anything to upset her.

We spoke to our vet & he was not really able to shed any light on what might be wrong.
I’m wondering would anybody out there be able to help & give us an idea what the problem might be.

Thanks a million,

Elaine

[dogsrule]

Hi Elaine,
The dog we fostered and later adopted would be fond of going off down the garden and pottering around. Our other dog would often go off on his own for a snooze. He alwas has done, even as the solo dog in the house. I don’t think that is all that unusual. They like time apart and from each other. Would your Elsa have a quiet, safe cozy spot to go and have a bit of "me time"?

If Elsa is appearing fearful recently for no particular reason it could be that she is hearing something that you can’t such as bangers. Some people find DAP collars useful for anxious dogs. Our adopted dog, Brandon, favours a DAP collar because he is anxious of strange dogs and being on long journeys in the car.

It’s the same old story, an animal has no value in Ireland, unless you can sit on it, eat it, sell it, or bet on it.
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[skymoon]

Hi Elaine

It is hard to say what has spooked your little puppy, but getting help sooner rather than later would be good so that the problem wont escalate. If it is loud noises, fireworks, thunderstorms etc, Ttouch has been found to be quite helpful. Ttouch is a system of gentle bodywork and movement exercises which positively influence behaviour and wellbeing in animals.

If you are interested in Ttouch you can pm me. There is also a Ttouch workshop in Dublin in November if you want to know more.

All the best to you and yours!

[sandracul]

Hi elaine , i was mitzies foster and you are right she was very independent when she was here and would go off on her own , there was one chair that she always sat on and she loved it ( childs deck chair ) maybe she is one off thoes dogs who have a habit of sitting in a certin place or chair Let me know how you get on . Sandra.

[laineyj]

Hi Everybody,

Thanks so much for the feedback on Elsa it was really appreciated.
Since I was on last I have taken her to our local vet & we had her back on Wednesday for a full check up.
She got on great & is a happy, healthy little girlie thank god.
The vet was brilliant & was able to shed some light on what may have happened to her. When she was spayed she was probably just about to go into heat & what she is experiencing is a phantom pregnancy so she was nesting under the tree in the back garden.

Elsa has had no problems since & is looking forward to halloween….fairy costume at the ready lol!!

There have been fireworks going off here in Blanchardstown since Sunday & not a bother are they having on her or Ollie so happy days.

Thanks again for the help & will post some new photos of the dynamic duo soon.

Elaine

[DogsBestFriend]

Hi Elaine, when we adopted Roxy from Ashton, she had just come into heat. We left it a good while afterwards before we had her spayed as premature spaying (too soon after the bitch is in heat) can lead to confused hormones and ultimately phantom pregnancy. Despite waiting a protracted period to have Roxy spayed (which we didnt mind at all really as she was quite thin and so so timid when we got her so we wanted to give her lots of tlc first before putting her through the op), Roxy had a phantom pregnancy as well. She behaved much in the same way as you describe with Elsa but she dug her own den in the back garden and would try and squish herself up so that she could get into the hole. She also formed attractions with certain inanimate objects (one slipper, the top from a watering can, her blanket etc etc) and would mind and guard each one fervently as though it were her puppy. We gave her an old teddie bear which she really liked and seemed to give her great comfort. We have another two rescue dogs as well, and like that, she would crave time out from the rest of the little pack, as well as ourselves. The situation did resolve itself over time though, but the physical symptoms were a concern for us (she had a big round belly on her and we were convinced that the vet had missed something and we were going to have the equivalent of 101 dalmatians in her basket one morning when we got up!!!! ) but thankfully it was indeed just a phantom! Hopefully Elsa will settle down in time but if she continues to be nervous, perhaps the introduction of a nice cosy crate (with proper desensitisation) or a makeshift den, her own place where she can go to have alone time would help her. Dunno what the dynamics of your square footage at home is, but size dependent, we have found an old child’s small tent / wendy house does the trick for us. With three dogs in the house and various mishaps / ops / stitches over the years, its always nice for the one who is feeling vulnerable to have their own space from the little pack, including us, without feeling isolated from the family. You could even put some blankets up around you know the old traditional large fireguards, just to make a little den for her if you wanted either, or another option would be under say a table that wouldnt be used every day really, just somewhere for her her to call her own. Well done in taking a DID doggie – you will never look back! Good luck with Elsa!

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