Behaviour Bites
with Dr Ash Hargreaves BSc DVM MANZCVS (Veterinary Behaviour)
Meet Raffy! He is a gorgeous and charismatic, 10 month old Spoodle.
Unfortunately he was diagnosed with Separation Anxiety 2 months ago when he first came for a behaviour consult. Last week we had a revisit and I am very impressed with his progress so far. This is what his Mum has so beautifully written and allowed me to share.
“I decided to seek help with my puppy Raffy while working from home as I noticed that he was becoming more anxious, he always wanted to be as close to me as possible, meaning that I spent a lot of time working from home with him on my lap. On days that I was going into work he was very anxious with me leaving and would try and leave with me before crying at the door. While I was away he wasn’t eating and when I did arrive home he would be very hyperactive. I knew that anxiety was pretty common for his breed (spoodle) and because he was still young I thought early intervention was our best option.
After consultation with Dr Ash we discussed some behavioural modifications and medication to help with Raffy’s anxiety. I now spread out my morning routine so he doesn’t get worked up and anticipate my leaving, we are using interactive food toys to keep him entertained while I’m away and get him excited about his food. He takes anti anxiety medication when I am at work as well as a daily tablet.
Raffy is now a much calmer happy puppy! He is much more relaxed when I leave for work (often not even getting up from his bed!), he is eating his food and while he’s still excited to see me when I get home he calms down quickly.
I’ve also noticed a difference when I leave for short periods of time when he is not medicated. We’ve still got a while to go but I’ve been very impressed with how quickly Ash’s interventions have worked for Raffy and I feel less anxious knowing he is happy at home alone.
Raffy enjoys playing fetch down at the Hopkins river, chewing sticks and shoelaces when he can get them, “helping” deweed the garden and playing with his doggy friends at doggy day care!”
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Behaviour Bites
with Dr Ash Hargreaves
Hi my name is Ash and I am a vet practicing in Warrnambool in the western district of Victoria.
I am passionate about animal behaviour and the mental health of our pets.
After graduating as a vet in 2015 I completed further studies in veterinary behaviour and now provide behaviour consultations along with general practice.
You can follow me on Instagram and Fur Life Vet on Facebook via the links below and stay tuned to the website for some super articles on pet behaviour.
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