Knock on wood, so far we’ve seen no real side-effects from Lilly’s new medicines (clomipramine & alprazolam). One thing we have noticed, however, is that she’s rather talkative. She’s always been a somewhat noisy girl, but these days, she uses all manner of noises to express herself. Mostly she’s being silly. We call it Yawn Talking. Maybe your dog does it too.
Rather than just yawning (which indeed can be a sign of stress), Lilly and Ginko both do a fair bit of talking while they yawn or just in general. It’s probably because I ask so many Yes-or-No questions, or ones with simple answers. I ask something. They make a noise. I laugh or somehow respond in a reinforcing way. They keep doing it.
Are you a happy girl?
Yes.
Who loves mommy?
Me.
Who’s the silliest girl I know?
I am.
You get the idea. I can make any noise that comes out into the right answer to my question. (Who me … spend too much time w/o human companionship? Nah!)
All that aside, I still have to note that Lilly is much more talkative since she’s been on the medicine. It’s pretty funny, especially in the evening since we have more togetherness than hiding these days.
I asked Jennie (our behaviorist) about it, and she said, “Sometimes with some of
these medications, they can become more ‘friendly,’ and that type of behavior is
an example of that. She may be less
worried and inhibited.“
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