Calming a dog on heartworm treatment

19 years ago

Pleae help!

Recently my fiance and I adopted a boxer from a boxer rescue who was heartworm positive. She has had her first dose of the three dose treatment and we brought her home on Saturday. Maizie is a 7-month old pup who is a ball of energy. We have been told that she needs to remain calm, no jumping, running, playing, bouncing, etc. We are having the worst time trying to calm her. I am so worried all the time that she is going to get wound up and cause a heart attack. These things have been suggested to us and we have tried all of them:

give her chewies

give her kongs filled with peanut butter

snuggle her

crate her

try Dr. Bach's Rescue Remedy

The problem is that the chews and toys only occupy her for 10 to 30 minutes and then we are literally holding her down. When we try to cuddle her she thinks it's a game and gets hyper and forget about crating her. She yowls and barks and cries and throws herself against the door, which I am sure is raising her heartrate. We've left her to calm herself but she is still going strong after 30 minutes to an hour. The Rescue Remedy has worked for a short period of time, but I hate giving her the stuff for the next six weeks.

Additionally we cannot get her to sleep through the night. She doesn't have to go out, she just wants to play. We have her sleeping on the floor in our room, but one of us inevitably ends up sleeping on the floor too so she falls back asleep.

We love this dog so much and are trying to be good parents. Her health and safety are so important to us. Any advise would be greatly appreciated and we are willing to try anything.

Featured Answer

labmomma

19 years ago

Use the crate, your dog will adjust to being in it. If the dog is potty trained, put a nice blanket and safe toys in the crate for something to do. If need be, put the crate in another room where the dog can be calm if you are finding that the dog is excitable with the crate being in the common area of the house. Dog sees the family and gets all worked up. Your dog needs rest. It sounds like she has the upper hand in this one. You need to change the dynamic.

Unfortunately, things happen and you have to do what you have to do in order for your dog to get well. I once had to crate one of our cats for 6 weeks. It made me ill thinking of keeping him in a crate for that period of time, but the alternative was worse.

Just my $.02. Best of luck to you.

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Comments (7)

zone_8grandma
19 years ago
Have you considered trying an Elizabethan collar? Usually they are used when you need to keep the dog from licking herself, but I discovered that because it limits the dog's peripheral vision, my dog would hardly move when I put it on her.... Might be worth a try.
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annzgw
19 years ago
Was she already crate trained or are you the first to crate her?
I would use the crate if she's used to it but, like you, I'd hate forcing it if she's never been in one. What did the vet say about taking her for walks so that she can expend some of her energy? It wouldn't be a walk where she's running around everywhere, but one where she 'has' to walk beside you.

If the crate continues to be a problem, I'd suggest buying a gate and placing her in a small room where she can still see you and leave her in that same room at night. Right now she's training you to get up during the night..........not a good start! :)

Cuddling and trying to hold down a puppy full of energy just makes the problem worse. I don't know what your interaction is with her, but I'm guessing that you're responding to nearly everything she does. You may need to start ignoring her and if you have to, place her in an area where she can't see your response to her tantrums.
Did the shelter say anything about separation anxiety?

Why do you not want to continue the rescue remedy?
share_oh
19 years ago
Oh you poor thing! Trying to keep a puppy calm is nearly impossible I'm sure. Poor Maizie. :(

Have you talked to your vet to see what he/she suggests? Perhaps there is a mild sedative she could be given that wouldn't interfere with her treatment?

I imagine she's having a hard time sleeping through the night because she still has so much pent up energy from not being able to run and play.

Such a tough situation. Sorry I'm not any help - but my heart goes out to you. Bless you and your fiance for adopting her. I hope the treatment goes well and in the end you have a wonderful addition to your family.

Sher
Meghane
19 years ago
Are they 100% sure that Maizie is heartworm positive? That seems highly unlikely. It takes 6 months after infection for a SNAP test to turn positive, which means she was infected at 4 weeks old! That seems really odd. If she had a filter or microfilaria test, it is most likely that the filaria seen are NOT heartworms (Dirofliria immitis) but a different filaria called Dipetalonema that she got from her mom. It looks similar to Dirofilaria, but is not pathogenic to the dog at all. Dipetalonema won't grow up to be adult heartworms and will in fact just die (the dog is not the natural host). Dipetalonema will not make a SNAP heartworm test positive.

Find out who did the test and what type of test was used. It's certainly possible for a 7 month old puppy to be heartworm positive, but very unlikely. There's no need to put her through treatment if she doesn't have the disease! If it was a filter test, have them do a SNAP antigen test. If it is negative, retest the SNAP in 6 months to be sure. Put her on heartworm prevention now if she isn't already no matter what the test results and even if she is heartworm positive. I hope not. It just seems really odd to me...
nicole_reiners
11 years ago
I have no idea if you still check this thread (as it was 8 years ago) but I find myself in a similar situation with our rescue dog. Could you tell me (if you can remember) what you did to get your pup over the anxiety of being in the crate or alone? How did you keep her calm?
User
10 years ago
Nicole,

I bet a lot more folks will see a new post and offer you some advice.

Best of luck.