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September 6, 2007

I’m trying not to worry too much, but as Lilly heads into her second full week on medication, I may be seeing some unexpected shifts in her behavior. It’s just now hitting me — what if solving Lilly’s anxiety in public, in agility, means giving up some of what I love about her at home?

Since Saturday, Lilly hasn’t wanted to play much at all. She acts like she wants to, but when we get outside, she gives up and shows little interest in the ball. She’s lagging a bit on our walks. And, she’s been beyond SLOW in her jumps and weaves.

There is a chance this is a result of a bruised toe nail. While trimming her nails yesterday, I noticed that one of them looks bloody and discolored inside. (Some of her toe nails are black, but some are white and a bit see-through.)

If not, then maybe I was naive to think that the meds would isolate and solve ONLY the behaviors that I hope to change. I’ll be bummed if the meds also take away what makes Lilly … Lilly.

P.S. Sorry for the late posting today. I’m juggling a few monster deadlines, and I’m just now getting to the blog.

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  1. Thanks for your input, Claire. I disagree with your premise on several counts, but I respect that your experience is different than mine.

  2. Dogs are not humans. Dogs are going to be dogs, you can’t drug them up to make them all better. Thats putting humaness on to dogs. It doesn’t work that way. I work at a local shelter where we specialize in dominent dog breeds. I own a red nose pit bull. There are many ways I have found to chill her personality. I don’t know if you know anything about pit bulls but they are tough to handle. Dogs don’t respond to drugs, they respond to their masters.

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