Buzzing Dog!

[REALOldNick]

I have a dog, Bjay or Beej, that we have had for about a year. We rescued him and we were told 4-6 YO. The Vet suggested going to the top and saying 7YO. (But then the older we consider the dog, the more the Vet can guilt us into "old dog" visits.:))

 

Beautiful guy. Huntaway I think. He is gentle and loving. He is also clever and obedient and picks up on new ideas and commands very easily. A "second try" learner. This includes verbal and gesture suggestions. Huntaways are chosen for this.

 

But he has neurotic issues. He will sit and shiver about the wind in the trees. Thunder is a disaster. His response to some attempts to control him result in non-obedient shivering. He has urinated and defecated rather than obey, but that has seemed to stop. He is getting better at this "civil disobedience". I have had other rescues that had huge behaviour problems and we have sorted it and had wonderful lives together.

 

So, so far the behaviour is not normal but at least I have seen it before.

 

Now to the "buzzing". Dog quivering AFAIK is maybe 4-7/sec. You can see it. You can feel it. I have had all of this from Beej. But this is a deep hum, say 50-100Hz. You can't see it.

 

The only way to hear it is to rest my head on Beej's body and sometimes there it is. It's sort of like the roar of blood in the veins, further  from the heart, through a stethoscope, but constant, not pulsed, and not quite. It is louder in the thorax, but still there in the shoulder and upper foreleg. So it's not a musical tone, but a fuzzy buzz

 

Then it will go.

 

Nerves fire quite slowly, like 7FPS.

 

What is this I am hearing? Anybody else? Sorry for the weird question.

 

Thanks

[Rebanne]

Non obedient shivering? You have to kidding don't you? The dog is terrified and you are saying he is non obedient. For GOD's sake give him a safe place to go to and think about getting him some meds for these times. This is not a behavioural problem. OMG!!

[REALOldNick]

Stop being so vehement and judgmental. I HAVE medicated him and it has made quite a bit of difference....and no I am not forcing him to drink tots of rum OK? ANd OH I do not believe in god, so that's a waste of time.

 

With replies like yours I will ask the bloody VET.

[_PL_]

I was going to say, stress or pain are really the most common things for that deep-down vibration.

Given he's a nervy dog, a course of meds like Trazadone are worth asking your vet about rather than popping him with one pill at the moment of stress (like a thunder storm). Be aware that at first, some prescribed drugs can make your dog seem a bit zoned out which is when people stop before the benefits can be seen. You just have to push through that wonky period.

A safe crate in a quiet spot where his people are visible (leave the door open) with a blanket on top is perfect for decompression space if he gets overwhelmed. Plush bed, favourite toy or blankie and a chewy treat.
You can go so far as picking up some Adaptil spray - online is cheapest - to spritz all over his crate contents. There's no guarantee it works but there's no side effects and safe to add on top of meds, it's just a pheremone. 

IMHO I've never had great success with Lovan (Prozac), it's always seemed a waste of time. Others have had great success, I guess it depends on what's wrong.   

[tdierikx]

10 hours ago, REALOldNick said:

With replies like yours I will ask the bloody VET

 

With all respect mate... the vet should have been your first call for advice on this matter... not an internet forum.

 

@Rebannehas a point though... it seems that your dog has some very serious nervous issues, and may not be responding to your training methods the way you expect due to those issues. Creating a safe spot for him to retreat to when he's not dealing well with stimuli is a great idea really. Maybe a rethink of your training methods may also be in order... tailored specifically to deal with his issues in a manner where he feels less threatened and more inclined to listen to you.

 

T.

[persephone]

On 30/01/2024 at 2:00 AM, REALOldNick said:

He has urinated and defecated rather than obey, but that has seemed to stop. He is getting better at this "civil disobedience".

this is not of his choosing, ergo it is NOT 'disobedience'. It is extreme stress.

[REALOldNick]

I give up. There is so much judgment here,

 

Signing off and not coming back. Sorry to those that actually provided useful advice. You can work out who you are.