Oh what a week it has been. Since Piper came to us nearly one month ago, life has been hard. The girls and I had gotten into a good rhythm with me working from home and the two of them napping most of the day while I worked. But then Piper showed up with her pent up energy and anxiety, and nothing was the same. There was no more calm and quiet days, and outside of the time when I was sleeping, I had no time to relax.
Piper has some pretty serious anxiety. I've honestly never known such an anxious dog. Her days are spent pacing, once she gets moving in the morning, she does not relax. She will pace and pace and all of the anxiety leads her to drink and pee... a lot. While I tried to explain the level of anxiety to the vet's office, it felt like my concerns fell on deaf ears. Making the situation even worse for me is that I was home 24 hours per day, with her constantly.
If you've ever lived with someone, whether human or canine, that has anxiety, you will understand what I mean when I say that it was exhausting, both mentally and physically exhausting. If you've never lived with it, I don't think you can fully appreciate how trying and exhausting it is. And while it was hard for me, my biggest concern was for Piper. Watching her pace in circles around my living room every night was just heartbreaking. Can you imagine how that must feel to not be able to just relax, to let your guard down and just relax?
We spent a lot of our days trying to keep Piper busy, just trying to find ways to reduce some of the energy and anxiety. We took lots of long walks and I stuffed lots of Kongs full of peanut butter, because honestly, the only way to get her to stop moving was to give her a Kong. But that quiet didn't last long.
Over the weeks, things did improve slightly. She would relax for short periods of time in the morning. She especially loved to hang out with me in the office while I worked. But once it hit noon, her anxiety would return and there would be no peace.
In an effort to reduce some of my stress and stay healthy during this time, I've been trying to do some yoga. But even what should have been a relaxing session of yoga was regularly interrupted by Piper and her anxiety.
We continued to work toward our 100 miles of hiking for the month of April and I was happy to get out into the woods and enjoy the Spring flowers. I love the woods in the Spring. The girls really enjoyed it too.
But even a walk with Piper was full of anxiety and far from relaxing. I know I have friends who remember the days of walking with a much younger "crazy" Maddie. Piper is worse. Every car, bird, squirrel, dog, human, moving leaf sends her into a frenzy. But even a calm walk with her is full of pacing.
By the end of each walk, her leash is so tangled with Peaches' that they can't do much more than walk in a straight line.
Thankfully, the rescue took my concerns seriously and we arranged to have Piper meet with my own veterinarian this week. With that appointment on Thursday and having someone actually listen to my concerns and take them seriously, everything has changed. Piper is finally on medication for her anxiety, and in just three days since that happened, life has improved immensely for all of us. I knew that the medication was working when Piper laid down for a mid-afternoon nap, because it is the first time she's done that since coming to my home.
While I'm not sure the medication will help with her craziness while on a walk, at least now she is calmer and better at listening to me and we have a better chance to work on those behaviors.
On Thursday, we were excited to get out for a walk along the Lansing Riverwalk in Old Town. It was a cooler evening and a nice change of pace from our walks around our neighborhood. We took a 3 mile walk that night which allowed me and Peaches to reach 100 miles for the month of April and Maddie to reach 50 miles for the month of April, and when added to the 50 miles we had completed on the NCT in the first three months of the year, we were able to officially finish our Hike 100 Challenge for 2020. While I am still hoping to get our final 50 miles on the trail later this year as well. I was happy that we could take advantage of the ability to hike from home in April so that we could be sure that Maddie would complete the challenge this year. This is the fifth year I've completed the challenge, the fourth year for Maddie, and the third year for Peaches. We were happy to have Vanessa join us for a safe, socially distanced walk too and to be able to get this great picture for us.
Friday morning started with a very relaxed Piper. She has finally discovered what it means to be a GSP and is perfecting one of their favorite sleeping poses.
She was also able to take some time to relax in the son on Friday afternoon. This is a miracle. After weeks of not being able to relax, she is finally able to stop pacing and just settle down and enjoy a peaceful moment.
Now that things are more normal again, we're able to do some fun activities and we're having fun having Piper here with us. Of course this medication hasn't changed everything. She is still provides me with an audience every time that I cook.
We are now able to spend more time with fun activities, training, and evening just sitting outside to enjoy the sunshine on the last few beautiful Spring days.
One of the favorite activities I like to do with the girls is foraging for their dinner. We've spent some time enjoying this activity a few times over the last few days and it's a great way to keep the girls busy while I get other things done.
After a busy day of activities, it's nice to see Piper feeling comfortable enough to climb up on the sofa next to Peaches and relax. This is a change for us as well. Prior to being on her anxiety meds, Piper would have nervously paced back and forth most of the evening, too nervous to climb up on the furniture next to one of the girls.
In addition to some old favorites, we have also tried a couple of new games. Yesterday we had a fun round of bobbing for apples. It went so well that we had to do a second round with celery and frozen blueberries. This will definitely be a fun activity that we will use again
With the help of our fun activities, a daily peanut butter filled Kong, and the medication, we have all been able to relax a bit and enjoy each day a little more
Peaches has especially appreciated the extra time outside over the last few days. She is enjoying our wonderful sunny weather and the warmer temperatures.
Dealing with less anxiety has given us the change to spend more time having fun and it has allowed more of Piper's personality to shine. I have discovered that she loves to give kisses and that she is even sweeter than I though originally. One of many firsts, she actually had a great game of chase with Peaches last night and joined Peaches in playing with the neighbor's dog through the fence. And this morning we had a great round of fetch before everyone decided to take a nap in the sun. I'm so thankful that she is starting to feel more relaxed and I am really enjoying this chance to really get to know her. She's going to make some lucky family very happy.
Piper has some pretty serious anxiety. I've honestly never known such an anxious dog. Her days are spent pacing, once she gets moving in the morning, she does not relax. She will pace and pace and all of the anxiety leads her to drink and pee... a lot. While I tried to explain the level of anxiety to the vet's office, it felt like my concerns fell on deaf ears. Making the situation even worse for me is that I was home 24 hours per day, with her constantly.
If you've ever lived with someone, whether human or canine, that has anxiety, you will understand what I mean when I say that it was exhausting, both mentally and physically exhausting. If you've never lived with it, I don't think you can fully appreciate how trying and exhausting it is. And while it was hard for me, my biggest concern was for Piper. Watching her pace in circles around my living room every night was just heartbreaking. Can you imagine how that must feel to not be able to just relax, to let your guard down and just relax?
We spent a lot of our days trying to keep Piper busy, just trying to find ways to reduce some of the energy and anxiety. We took lots of long walks and I stuffed lots of Kongs full of peanut butter, because honestly, the only way to get her to stop moving was to give her a Kong. But that quiet didn't last long.
Over the weeks, things did improve slightly. She would relax for short periods of time in the morning. She especially loved to hang out with me in the office while I worked. But once it hit noon, her anxiety would return and there would be no peace.
In an effort to reduce some of my stress and stay healthy during this time, I've been trying to do some yoga. But even what should have been a relaxing session of yoga was regularly interrupted by Piper and her anxiety.
We continued to work toward our 100 miles of hiking for the month of April and I was happy to get out into the woods and enjoy the Spring flowers. I love the woods in the Spring. The girls really enjoyed it too.
But even a walk with Piper was full of anxiety and far from relaxing. I know I have friends who remember the days of walking with a much younger "crazy" Maddie. Piper is worse. Every car, bird, squirrel, dog, human, moving leaf sends her into a frenzy. But even a calm walk with her is full of pacing.
By the end of each walk, her leash is so tangled with Peaches' that they can't do much more than walk in a straight line.
Thankfully, the rescue took my concerns seriously and we arranged to have Piper meet with my own veterinarian this week. With that appointment on Thursday and having someone actually listen to my concerns and take them seriously, everything has changed. Piper is finally on medication for her anxiety, and in just three days since that happened, life has improved immensely for all of us. I knew that the medication was working when Piper laid down for a mid-afternoon nap, because it is the first time she's done that since coming to my home.
On Thursday, we were excited to get out for a walk along the Lansing Riverwalk in Old Town. It was a cooler evening and a nice change of pace from our walks around our neighborhood. We took a 3 mile walk that night which allowed me and Peaches to reach 100 miles for the month of April and Maddie to reach 50 miles for the month of April, and when added to the 50 miles we had completed on the NCT in the first three months of the year, we were able to officially finish our Hike 100 Challenge for 2020. While I am still hoping to get our final 50 miles on the trail later this year as well. I was happy that we could take advantage of the ability to hike from home in April so that we could be sure that Maddie would complete the challenge this year. This is the fifth year I've completed the challenge, the fourth year for Maddie, and the third year for Peaches. We were happy to have Vanessa join us for a safe, socially distanced walk too and to be able to get this great picture for us.
Friday morning started with a very relaxed Piper. She has finally discovered what it means to be a GSP and is perfecting one of their favorite sleeping poses.
She was also able to take some time to relax in the son on Friday afternoon. This is a miracle. After weeks of not being able to relax, she is finally able to stop pacing and just settle down and enjoy a peaceful moment.
Now that things are more normal again, we're able to do some fun activities and we're having fun having Piper here with us. Of course this medication hasn't changed everything. She is still provides me with an audience every time that I cook.
We are now able to spend more time with fun activities, training, and evening just sitting outside to enjoy the sunshine on the last few beautiful Spring days.
One of the favorite activities I like to do with the girls is foraging for their dinner. We've spent some time enjoying this activity a few times over the last few days and it's a great way to keep the girls busy while I get other things done.
After a busy day of activities, it's nice to see Piper feeling comfortable enough to climb up on the sofa next to Peaches and relax. This is a change for us as well. Prior to being on her anxiety meds, Piper would have nervously paced back and forth most of the evening, too nervous to climb up on the furniture next to one of the girls.
In addition to some old favorites, we have also tried a couple of new games. Yesterday we had a fun round of bobbing for apples. It went so well that we had to do a second round with celery and frozen blueberries. This will definitely be a fun activity that we will use again
With the help of our fun activities, a daily peanut butter filled Kong, and the medication, we have all been able to relax a bit and enjoy each day a little more
Peaches has especially appreciated the extra time outside over the last few days. She is enjoying our wonderful sunny weather and the warmer temperatures.
Dealing with less anxiety has given us the change to spend more time having fun and it has allowed more of Piper's personality to shine. I have discovered that she loves to give kisses and that she is even sweeter than I though originally. One of many firsts, she actually had a great game of chase with Peaches last night and joined Peaches in playing with the neighbor's dog through the fence. And this morning we had a great round of fetch before everyone decided to take a nap in the sun. I'm so thankful that she is starting to feel more relaxed and I am really enjoying this chance to really get to know her. She's going to make some lucky family very happy.
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