Yes, I'm stressed out...

Sadly we are right in the flight path of the Blue Angel jets and they have either practiced or had a show since Thursday. Needless to say the loud noise and shaking of our house is upsetting the both Dandy and Catty.  Both dog show stress in very different ways.  Catty will run around like a crazed rabid dog barking and snapping if you get in her way. Dandy just slinks off, his tongue flicking, trembling and not making eye contact with anything.  Both dogs were dosed with Valium on Thursday and that didn't make a difference.  Friday after TTouch, Dandy went to work with my husband which helped as Catty in her frantic state puts him more on edge than he already is.  I was with Catty on Friday and she was wound up even on a dose of Xanax. 

On Saturday it was fun times with all of us in the bedroom, both dogs on maximum doses of Benadryl (since the other drugs didn't help), door shut - two soothing sound machines on high, counter conditioning with treats as the planes flew by and lots of TTouch to the ears/head.  Catty actually did a lot better with the Sat set up and Dandy was worried with tense muscles and rigid body at the anticipation of the noise.  Luckily they only fly for an hour each day!  Now one might ask why we don't just get away from the noise and the problem is that Catty gets car sick so it's a worse experience for her if we all leave rather than just wait out and try to work with the noise.

What we have come to realize with Dandy (unlike Catty - both are fearful, stressed dogs) that his worry/stress will play out for a good amount of time and can "stack" if you don't intervene.  Since Friday Dandy's anal glands have been in overdrive which is a clear sign of stress for him. He's struggled with sleeping through the night and has been carrying his favorite baby a lot more than usual, seeming to be a bit befuddled.  We've spent a lot of 1:1 time with him hoping to curb his anxiety and get him back on track. He's doing ok and I think he'll be fine, I'm just glad the planes will be gone soon!  While this is a challenge for Dandy and us, it gives us more information about him and how to work with his anxiety and stress.  He can also hopefully realize that he can come back for the abyss if fear/anxiety with some help from the people who care for him.

So today we will do what we did on Saturday and then we will just keep moving forward!

carrying his favorite baby

Dandy's soothing baby