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IS MY DOG GONNA BE OKAY?!?! :(
I recently lost my dog of 12 years Izzi... And we had bought a puppy to keep my 7 year old Chihuahua from falling into a depression stage.
The thing is, whenever we're about to leave, he is under our feet, and following us everywhere.
Separation anxiety.
The other thing is out of nowhere, he gets tense. I mean really tense. His muscles tighten and he looks like a bridge with legs. I'm serious.. Like how cats pose when they're defending themselves.
When he does this, he screams in pain. He doesn't yelp, he SCREAMS. These episodes last about 10 seconds each. He doesn't stop until the dog aspirin that we bought at petco kicks in.. We took him to the humane society because that's the only vet we can afford and the vet said keep giving him aspirin and make sure he stays calm for 2 weeks. They took an x-ray and said it was nothing with the bones or joints.. Just sore tissue.
It's been 3 days. My mom and I hold him gently and pet him until he's calm, but the poor thing is screaming like we've beat him!!
Please help.. I'm only 15 and I don't want to lose another friend.
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He'll probably adapt.
Grief is tough for dogs, and Chihuahua's are particularly prone to anxiety. The best thing you can do is stay calm, never punish him, but also don't fuss too much. If touch or holding him helps him calm down then you can do that, but be careful only to give him what he needs - you don't want him to experience your petting as a reward or encouragement, or he might choose to keep on doing this to get your attention.
It's tough to judge, but just be aware you don't want to reinforce his problematic behaviour. Treat his attacks as tho they are no big deal, give him whatever comfort he needs during them, and then put him down and don't make too big a deal about it.
Other then that, just him calm, and maybe increase his exercise. Keeping him tired out might help him get some peace. A tired dog is almost always a calmer dog.
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