With the new meds, I've been carefully watching for side-effects over the past week.
I've started taking more detailed notes, as well as the normal logging of reactions and sleep. I can barely remember the days before I spent so much time logging behaviour! Hopefully I won't have to do this forever. I won't know what to do with my free time :)
In the new diary I'm logging the following:
- Date
- Day type (Weekend/work from home day/daycare)
- Morning meds
- Time meds taken
- What he took them with (chicken/wet dog food/cheese/etc - currently a struggle!)
- Time he got sleepy
- Time he ate breakfast
- Same for evening meds (time, what with, time ate dinner)
- Factors (e.g. ran into neighbours, new Sniffspot)
- Training (e.g. separation anxiety/patterns/cues, and how he did)
- Observations (e.g. on very high alert outside door)
- Overall assessment of day (green/yellow/red)
I'm hoping this helps us tweak the medications to get the best possible support for George.
We went a whole day without any barking this week. It was a work from home day and a rest day but it is still unusual for him not to bark at the neighbours coming and going at all.
Great I thought - the new meds are working!
Unfortunately in the middle of the night over the next few nights, he vomited. So maybe he just didn't feel very well on that day.
On the advice of the VB, I stopped the Loxicom (the anti-inflammatory) until his stomach settled. He was a bit more cuddly and sleepy than normal. It's rough seeing them under the weather due to meds you have given them.
Later in the week, daycare asked me if I had changed his meds. My heart sank a little, I thought they were going to say he had been sick or had been very sleepy.
They actually said he has been more sprightly! That was not what I was expecting them to say :)
It makes me think the pain meds may be helping which is great.
After his stomach settled, he had another really good day. We went to a new Sniffspot and avoided triggers coming and going from the house. He was curious at the Sniffspot and we used the full hour again.
At one point there was a man in the far distance. He did fixate initially but didn't otherwise react and was able to eat treats. I took the opportunity to do some open bar/closed bar training.
We've also done some really good training sessions in the garden with distractions (kids screaming, lawnmowers, neighbours coming and going) and he was really focused.
He's still really struggling outside the front of the house and in the car park. But overall, some good wins this week despite some challenges with side effects.