Illness-Related Anxiety 1 |
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(Geriatric Separation Anxiety)
What's Covered Part 1 • Discovering Canine Geriatric Separation Anxiety Part 2 • "Be with me, I'm hurting" • Not just for older dogs • Drugs that ease the pain • What else can I do? • Where to find help |
| Please note that the information contained on this page are general recommendations and observations. They may not be suitable or effective for all dogs. Your veterinarian or veterinary neurologist should guide your decision as to what is right for your dog's individual medical status and overall condition. I would like to thank Dr. Nicholas Dodman for his contributions to this page, and for his permission to include his ideas on this website. Before we even suspected JoJo had a brain tumor we noticed a change in his behavior. He began to wake up in the middle of the night, pawing us awake and demanding attention. During these times, he would often cry and pace restlessly. He seemed to be desperately trying to tell us something was wrong. But though we walked him, fed him and even rocked him like a crying infant, he remained inconsolable, seeming only to want us with him for reasons only he could know. Later on, of course, we found out the most likely reason for his behavior was a brain tumor. But that knowledge alone did nothing to change the pacing and whining that continued night after night. We tried explaining this to our vets, but they didn't quite seem to understand the effect this was having on our lives, or even to have any solutions that really helped. A dog who wakes crying in the night may be the kind of thing that seems minor on the surface, but when you multiply one sleepless night by many weeks and months, it can have a devastating effect on health, work and quality of life. Discovering Canine Geriatric Separation Anxiety. At the time of JoJo's passing, we found ourselves not only dealing with grief and a sense of loss, but also with chronic, physical exhaustion. I didn't realize others shared this experience until I read the book, The Dog Who Loved Too Much, by Dr. Nicholas Dodman. I picked the book up several months after JoJo's death. I was trying to find ways of dealing with the separation anxiety experienced by a nearly starved dog we rescued, a Miniature Rat Terrier named Shaun. |
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And, in fact, I did find help for Shaun. But I also found something even more interesting. In the book, I found one chapter devoted to something called Canine Geriatric Separation Anxiety.  back to top | Go to Part 2
Contents | JoJo Research Fund | JoJo Reader © 1999 Barb Emaus |