I am definitely seeing some regression as the drug level lowers. She is much more anxious when she is outside these days. Doesn't help that the Santa Anas are blowing, and that the world is actually a bit spooky around here when that happens. Gusts up to 50 mph make my huge oak tree sway!
Since this might be read by people other than me, perhaps some background is in order. Katie is a noise-phobic ex-racing greyhound. A very pretty little girl, who started off very shy, does not like new situations, and really doesn't like the sound of kids playing. I am working on rehabbing her, so that her quality of life is better, and hopefully she will be better able to handle being out in the world. I'd had her on amitriptilyne (generic Elavil) with Xanax for known stressful situations. I am now in the process of switching her to fluoxinene (not quite sure of the spelling... generic Prozac), which is a specific seritonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which basically keeps the happy chemicals in the brain around longer. That is used as a tool, while I perform behavioral modification. Desensitization (DS) is exposing the dog to the fear trigger at a level where the dog notices but does not react to the trigger, known as being "under threshold". Counter-conditioning is associating the trigger with something good (in Katie's case, canned cheese stuff), so that you change the emotions associated with the trigger. So, in practice, with kids, I start with just the sounds of the kids, at a level that Katie can tolerate without showing signs of stress, and give her something super good (kongs with frozen cheez whiz) so that the sound of kids stops being a predictor of scary things, and becomes a predictor of good things. Since you can only feel one thing at a time, the idea is that the brain eventually automatically starts feeling good when Katie hears kids. Now, this is not fast, because you have to start off at a very low level, and then slowly increase the strength of the trigger, while still staying under threshold. So with the kids, I will slowly increase the noise level. For being outside, it's starting inside the front door (stress levels were too high outside), then outside the front door, then a few feet away, until I get out of the yard. Then start over at the front door for longer periods of time. Today, I wouldn't even think of trying this outside, because the winds were strong enough to keep Katie on edge, especially with the lower drug level in her system. But that's what DS/CC is, when I mention it in the blog.
The other thing is to teach Katie skills that she can do, since a dog that feels in control in a situation tends to be a calmer and more confident dog. Yes, the scary thing may be over there, but my owner has things in control and wants me to do X, so I will do that and not think so much about the scary thing. To that end, I am working on teaching Katie "watch me", and she already knows Touch, so I am working on Target (a variation of touch where the goal is to touch a specific item, not my hand) for agility class. She's picked that one up super fast! Watch me seems to be going well... it's a bit hard for me to see what exactly Katie is looking at, but I think we have the general idea down. I need to start working on duration and fading the lure with that one.
Today's report: It's been pretty calm. Did some DS/CC by the front door. Took Katie to the vet for a bordatella update and to pick up more heart worm meds. Did a lot of CC there. She was actually being pretty comfortable in the waiting room... wandered around a bit, sniffed some stuff while she was there. The CC does seem to have made a difference in her opinion of vets. She was skittish going to the car, and from the car to the vet, so I left her in the car when I stopped to pick up some more dog food. Only gave her one Xanax this evening, and she hasn't shown the hyper behavior. Happy to be with and rest quietly, and quite willing to work for her dinner, but not the extreme playfulness. I am going to continue with testing what dose is appropriate.
Tomorrow is the meet and greet, and I am debating about whether I will take Katie. She needs her nails trimmed, but she also has class that evening. On the other hand, there will be greyhounds there, and Katie does love her peeps, as evidenced by coming out of her shell with the whippet last night. It's something I will probably decide tomorrow right before the meet.
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