[Purple-Hops]

Again, here is Coco's anxiety. I had him to the vet a couple weeks ago and he got Metacam. That's gone now. I cannot afford it from the vet am looking into getting a prescription now for online. This does not help the anxiety. When I was at the vet she told me before we get into medication to try training. She told me bc he is so attached to me we have to work on that and when we come home after school to walk him to releive his energy pent up. She told me in the meantime to get Rescue Remedy available at my workplace (Dominion, Loblaw chain). I went there and the only holistic anxiety remedy there is from Holistic Blend called herbal calmer. http://www.holisticblend.com/en/health-products/alternative-aids/herbal-calmer/ The recommended dose for his weight was 1/4 dropper.. . This did not phase him. I upped the dose and it still only calms him down long enough until he sees me get my coat.
This last week while left alone, Coco has managed to tear our room every day. He drags his bed apart, clothes all over the floor and into the hall, he has roasted through the bunny gate- got into the closet and tore up Acacia's little house. She's calm by the time I get home, safe on the high levels but he must be scaring her. Yesterday Matt came home before me and Coco, in the 1 hour we were gone, managed to get into the closet, tear out all her blankets off the levels and tip over her water, got the litter box out and int the room. Hay and poop and wasted newspapers everywhere. Today the recyclables bags in the coat closet downstairs were scattered all over the hall up to the front door. He had also pushed open my roommates/landlord's bedroom door and I don't know if that room was messy before but it is now. I have to see when he gets home. Last night we got the baby gate from the basement and barricaded the closet off, so that was not a problem today.
Anyway, sorry for the paragraphing!!
I just called the vet. She won't be in until tomorrow morning and I left an urgent message that she call me. What do you guys think about prozac and selegiline? Are they affordable, even in generic? I need Coco to be calm while we are gone. I do not want my landlord to change his mind now. Coc's is 13 and I know there must be a form of dementia going on, he must trance in fear. What are symptoms of panic attacks? He has been going downhill just the last 2 or 3 weeks.
On a different note his 2 back legs, and moreso the right one, are causing him to collapse. While walking he still has the pride to lift his leg to pee and while doing so he wobbles like an infant. The only thing I can do for him until I get the prescription for pain meds is to stretch out his legs and massage the joints. He seems to not mind, it does not seem to hurt him. They shake when he sleeps. I cannot afford another vet check up atm, until I get my tax refund. And the vet who is calling me tomorrow I WILL NOT take him to again. She seems to think its a psychological thing but I think I can milk a prescription out of her tomorrow which wil be faster relief than my tax refund.


Here is where me and Matt disagree. He knows since metacam alone will be a couple hundred $ a year that we should let him live out without it. I am adamantly FOR a solution. I want Coco to be comfortable even it means he passed away in a week. We cannot understand what state of mind he is in while we are away and how upsetting it must be given his habits and fear of simple sounds. I want to keep searching for a cheap anti-anxiety med while also relieving his pain. . . Any thoughts or suggestions??

 

[Nibbler]

would maybe crate training him work ? with a nice soft pillow a few of his favorite toys, and some music or tv on? just a thought or you could make a recording of your voice? and make it play throughout the day it might help him calm down a little

 

[Purple-Hops]

Thanks Nibbler We have never tried crate training. I don't think its viable at this point. He cannot remain isolated even when we're here. When we're gone it would be multiplied insanity if he can't move around. Also, if I'm not mistaken, crate training would require many hours of training where I am here and then leaving him and such? If I'm here I'm bogged with school work, I wouldn't be able to listen to him whine and freak and pant while trying to study. Ear plugs hurt my ears After 13 years of free roam I don't think I would be able to train him. He also goes into a trance when he is alone, he does not respond to anything- postive or negative.
I just went for a walk alone and diapered him up for 20 minutes. When I came back he was up in the room barking. I whistled for him to come down, I called his name. . He kept barking until I came up. He was sitting in Matt's laundry basket in his diaper. He had peed in this time frame. Yet, he was only out a couple hours ago. I left the computer on with the Wallflowers in the stereo (my WindowsMedia player is screwed up and that's basically all that works) and he dragged his pillows out. He has pillows under my desk and a fuzzy mat. But he drags them out. I don't know if he realizes he's doing it, I think he loses himself.

This is why I wonder what makes a panic attack? He seemed to handle us leaving just fine up until this week.

 

[Nibbler]

that does sound like a tricky one, could something have startled the poor pup ? i found this website not sure it would help but here if u wanna check it out http://www.ehow.com/how_4479643_treat-canine-panic-attacks.html

 

[Purple-Hops]

That site helped thanks
1. I saw the vet. I think she useless and milked my wallet while providing little help. His blood work came back normal so we ruled that anything internal could be the cause.
2. quality time with my dog = a lot! I wake up special early to walk him before school and work. I come home and either play with him in the backyard or walk him, either way he gets 2+ walks a day. He gets to cuddle on the bed with us and he sleeps on my side so I'm sandwiched in between him and Matt And I play with him daily. I play chase if he's up for it but usually I fill his Kong and put his brain to work.
3. Rewarding him is easy, punishing is becoming an easy task. It's simple enough to say "NO" when he starts for the bunny cage. But lately he is ignoring/not hearing so I have to phsyically drag him out. Sometimes if this reoccurs I clap my hands which sends him into a terror. I wait for a sec then I reward him if he stays in his bed. When he hears a sharp noise he suddenly forgets things he knows. The vet suggested positive reinforcement when he gets like this bc there are tricks which he is confident in (sit, lie down, dance, up, roll over) so this distracts him from his anxiety. . . This has been working to some extent.
4. treating separation anxiety is hard when your a full time student working part time jobs. There is no stability (except for morning wallks and what time of day we come home) this instills anxiety into him. I recognize this but there is nothing we can do about it. Unfortunately, I know my lifestyle is not equipped for a terrier or a senior dog but we're doing our best.. No one else in my family can take Coco.
5. Loss of another pet? This could have sparked the initial attacks. When I moved in August we left Illusion and Mama (Loosh is my sister's cat and she took him and mom took Mama). All 3 of them were eventually separated. I did not think mourning Illusion would last this long. Poor Coco He was very close to all his cat friends in his lifetime, all of them suddenly taken from him. I never thought that this could be a last straw for him.
6. Ain't no time nor money for another dog. So this is not applicable.

 

[Purple-Hops]

Okay, just got off the phone with the vet. Useless woman. Just a note, when I initially called the vet to make the appointment last month I was aware of 2 vets at the practice who I trusted with my dog so I didn't bother to ask who would see Coco. The vet (was) a small 2 vet run sister clinic off a larger clinic in the next city. Anyway, so the vet that seen Coco was some Latin woman who acts like Cesar Milan is her god. She seems prudish and although I walked out of the vet with a 300$ dent and a 10 ml bottle of Metacam I will NEVER see her again with my animals. I was not aware they even hird another vet!

So I got off the phone just then. I told her straight up, no bs, that I wanted prozac and a generic form of Meloxicam. I told her I was researching it and that I feel Coco needs some medication to help him. She bluntly suggested a behaviorist again but I told her I had been talking to a couple (I have been over the past few months) and I feel like it's time to put him on meds. SO she agreed with that. Fine. Then I mentioned the Metacam. She asked if it worked and I said it made him a totally new dog and I could walk him for 40 mins as opposed to a 15 min without Metacam .. . Here's what she said, "it worked? wow. I guess he is in pain"...... When she examined him she told me the shaking and weakness was psychological caused by an anxious frame of mind or something. . . She's totally useless. I cannot believe I walked out the office without questioning the charges on my invoice. OMG so frustrated. Today I told her I was a student and I cannot afford too drastic costs o him. I told her what I wanted and she reluctantly agreed to write some prescriptions for me for pick up. Jeez.

 

[Nibbler]

aww , that sounds so horrible, are they going to give u the meds ? also are they going to charge you for them. that is awful of them argh. totally not your falut thou as a vet they should of explained to you what all the charges where for.

 

[Purple-Hops]

Right? Ugh. Well when we were out there we waited like a half hour to be seen (nothing unusual) then she seen us for 20-25 minutes then an HOUR to get the heck outta there!! she wrtoe the prescription and 'forgot' to put down doses for Coco's weight and went right in to see another patient. So the receptionist could not release the meds to me. I was soo soo soo Mad. By that time I just wanted to go home, Coco was stressed we were too.
And yes, getting the meds for him this week sometime.

 

[Purple-Hops]

Called the vet Saturday, told her what I wanted. Fine. She said she would write it up for me. Called today around 12. No prescription. okay. I call again, talk to a receptionist and tell her I NEED some meds for poor Coco. She informs me the vet is out on vacation until next Wednesday. !!!!:gaah: So I ask her what I can do, stupid woman told me she would have it written up. How incompetant. She tells me since Metacam is on Coco's file that another vet can write me a prescription. Cool, Okay I'll come up today and pick it up. When the useless doctor comes back I will get the prozac. No problem. She told me to call her back to make sure its ready before coming up. So I called at 130 pm after eating and they put me on hold. Called again 140 and they put me on hold. Annoyed, me and Matt went to get our bikes and I called again about 150 so we did not waste a 40 minutes bike ride out there. I got her on the phone and she said the doctors just came back from lunch and she will see if they'll write it up. Because when I called at 12 they must have 'been busy'. I dont know if it even takes 5 minutes to write a prescription.

. So I said fine, I'm coming up I'll be there in 40-45 minutes. She said it will be ready.

THIS IS WHAT I SAID SO MANY TIMES: I want Meloxicam. I want the generic Metacam. Meloxicam. Meloxicam. Meloxicam. . . PLZ I cannot afford the metacam so give me a written prescription for generic drugs which I can pick up at a regular pharmacy. I will come get that pay the 10$ for the written script (because that's a whole 3 minutes of another vets time which deserves another wallet suck) and go to another pharmacy.


So if I'm not speaking english, can someone please inform me? We biked up there. Dirty as heck from road mud, splashed by cars, uphill battles.. etc . . The recep looks through the drawer for pickup and I tell her its a piece of paper I'm there for. She goes out back, this is what she comes out with : A ripped out of a notebook piece of paper with a message for Metacam from their pharmacy. Um? Am I incoherent? I made it clear what I wanted and she came out with this bs piece of paper. I looked at it and I looked at her. I again said I cannot afford Metacam and want a generic regular pharmacy on a written script. She went out back. . . So here me and Matt are waiting. Meanwhile, another satisfied customer has been standing at the counter waiting to be served and all the receptionists are passing him over and totally ignoring him. Not even telling him that they will be right with him. Terrible awful customer service. How do these people get work??!?

Recep comes out. And informs me that the meloxicam will have to be written in an oral suspension formula. Okay, Coco's not picky. He's taking the medicine if it goes up his butt! She leaves again. Another 10 mins. Alright. So getting more mad. NOt a big deal. They finally come out with a 4 month prescription for human grade meloxicam. Deadly! Finally! Jeez! You guys can actually do- oh nevermind. The girl cannot ring it in. Awesome. she gets a manager or someone and they figure out together holding hands how to do it. I pay the 10$ for the flipping piece of paper and we leave.

you would think the day of awesome should be over now? On the way home my front tire blows. Good thing most of the way back to Dominion (where I work and has a rx) is downhill. We ditched the bike by a river. My macho boyfriend picked it up over his head and threw it into the water. :sumo:. grrr.

Gets into Dominion and goes to the rx. It is not covered by my student insurance and she could not get me an approximate amount nor could she make it for me while I was there. She never seen such a prescription (then again, she was only like 27 ) and would have to look up how to make the compound like she would for kids meds. Don't care. I'm working tomorrow I will pick it up then. Jeesh.

So here you go. Tell me that b-witch deserves another 300$ out of me!! She's unreliable, disrespectful, ignorant.. The list goes on. Who should I tell about the terrible service?

 

[VanillaRat]

Oh wow...poor Coco and poor Amanda.

Sounds like you have been having it rough lately...what vet is this again? I keep thinking St.Johns? I never had THAT many problems with St.Johns Vet,but I do know their front desk service is not that great.

Anyways I am shocked that she would charge you for meds and then not write the prescription and go on vacation! I would make a complaint to the manager or one of the higher up vet people.As I told you before,I don't trust just any vet and this person sounds like she needs MORE schooling or something.

Anyways I have no real advice...sorry to hear you had a horrible day though.

 

[Purple-Hops]

thanks.

Just called Dominion. They might not be able to make up the meloxicam in the dose/liquid form that I need. Tomorrow morning they're calling a special compound pharmacy in Mount Pearl (which is neighboring city) to see if they can get it done up. If not, then its back to the vet and I'm screwed. I cannot afford 40$ for metacam which lasts 10 days. I'm so frustrated right now.

 

[DOGtor X]

Hi Purple-Hops

i am sorry to hear about Coco's anxiety. it can be so frustrating.

we are rather new to this site and i dont want to come across as being here to spam but we are looking into being an advertiser on this site once we get our website finalized. we carry an all natural product called DOGtor X and we should be up and running by the end of the month. one of the things this product does is help alleviate pet anxiety.

please let me know if you have any questions or if i can help in any way.

i apologize if i am breaking any rules.

 

[jeff jey]

$40 for 10 days worth! Good luck!

 

[Purple-Hops]

I got it from a Compounding pharmacy. It cost me 20$ for a 2 week supply. That's half the price of the vets offer. I'm glad I waited. Coco's on day 3 of it and already am seeing an improvement. Now that that's figured out, I have to haggle my stupid vet for the prozac -_-

 

[Purple-Hops]

apologizing in advance for the length!

Thought I would update this thread rather than starting a new one.

Anyways. So I re-read this thread.. The Meloxicam is working on him. The only trouble has been getting out to the next city over to pick it up. They have never compounded meloxicam into such a dose before so I had to go out every 2 weeks. Last week when I got my last suspension I asked them about getting a longer supply bc now that I'm back in school getting out to pick it up is quite a journey on buses etc. She said after calling the manufacturer and creators of meloxicam they finally figured out a compound that I can pick up and keep frozen which lasts longer than 2 weeks. She said the whole "3 month supply" will be ready and so I expect and hope that she is giving me 3 months for my inconvenience. (my original pres only said 3 months and I've been using it for at least one or 2 now).
He has been doing great on the chicken flav meloxicam and even eats his breakfast and takes it as a treat!!! (bc he needs to take it with food)

My live in roommate/ houseowner is doing renovations now and his dad is here from Ottawa.. Since Tuesday May 10 they have been tearing down walls and stripping the ceiling and doing an all out reno (the house was built around 1892-94). So, if anyone has been following Coco's problems (which are numerous) then you know this sort of thing has been just driving him nuts. We had just started the new semester on that Monday (9th) so missing class is not viable. We knew it would be bad for Coco but figured nothing of it, diapered him up and left like normal. I gets a call on Tuesday afternoon around 130 from some lady who found Coco down the road (diapered and all ) she was worried about him and asked if he was suppposed to be out on his own ^^ Thank goodness for that bc otherwise he probably would be dead now. I lives on Signal Hill which on nice days hosts thousands of locals and tourists, too busy for Coco. Anyway, she returned Coco for me (god bless her) and we figured out a way to keep Coco in the house at least.
Before we leave for school I diaper him up and put the baby gate in the doorway. He cannot be barred in for similar reasons which I will get to. Wednesday we came home to find the room trashed like always, no big deal. He dragged out the NIC going around the bed and had been under the bed. Fine. There ws vomit on the floor too, he's gotten too overwhelmed before and threw up. Fine. Thursday we come home to the carpet dragged up off the floor and in some parts shredded, the NIC moved out again and when he got out he had somehow skinned his nose (I guess this is when it happened but he did skin his nose, it's nearly better now though). He peed on his pillow and that was the extent. Barring him in the bedroom is turning to be making him worse, There is no time for training him to be behind the gate. He has never been restricted in all his years. So, containing him just is not working.

My roommate's dad will be leaving Thursday May 19 so until then I have nothing to do for Coco. My student loan has not come through and I cannot afford the vet (I would be going to another vet) -_- and so far he has been taking his homeopathic remedy but I don't give that to him before we leave bc I don't want it to counteract his meloxicam. . I guess I should call a vet tomorrow morning regarding this. Anyway, tonight I'm going to pick up Benadryl. I'm going to give him a small dose and see how he takes it. I would rather him be sedated than panicking. My worst fear is having him suffer a heart attack while I'm not around. If he dies I want to be with him.

What were your reactions to benadryl?? (I mean, if you used it for dogs?) I'm picking up tabs and will chop them up, small 10 mg pills. So he won't be getting all that much. I just need him to be calm. No one in my family can take him and given his anxiety he cannot go to a kennel with strangers and cages. This is only until Thursday.

 

[DOGtor X]

our product is a natural supplement that can alleviate anxiety and is much better alternative for your dog than drugs or medication and would be much more beneficial over the long term.

 

[Purple-Hops]

Yes, as I've read before. I cannot buy online and besides I need it immediately. I need it tonight until Thursday only really. After that I can get him to a vet and have him put on something for a more long term use.. Thanks though.

 

[My3Dogs]

Wow, poor pup and poor pup's mom! I know that you've never put Coco in a crate but honestly I think you should try. Our Shiloh is a rescue and she had (and still has some) serious nerves and anxiety and her crate is her "safe haven". And from the sounds of things, Coco would be safer in a secure environment where he couldn't tear things up or get out again. I do hope you find something that works, it's got to be so hard on him and on you!!!

 

[Purple-Hops]

I can see Coco overturning a crate by freaking out in it. I did some research and tonight went and bought him some valerian root and a small child t-shirt (makeshift thunder shirt).. Also, I don't know where I can find the time to crate train him! Aside from full time school, part time work and studying at home I don't know if that would really work. I don't think I have the patience or resources to even bother TBH at this point. Thanks though, I know some people got it in them to crate train and some got the patience of a gator (analogy much?).. I would just as soon rather let him lie under my desk where he likes it. That's his go to place as it is, it's just not lockable.

 

[Kendalle]

maybe he would like it if you got a nice size pet taxi (more closed in) take off the door and put in a nice bed and put a cover over it so he has a hide out. I assume thats why he hides under the bed...