Just a little update...

Archie has been on Clomicalm for almost a week. We've not seen any effects yet but vet agreed it was best to use the drug as we had tried all natural remedies already without much improvement.

i hope the clomicalm works i had 2 courses back to back with my eldest dog who has firework fear, my second dog had seperation anxiety and i saw an improvement in a couple of days,he was only about 6 months though.give it some time and i hope things are a bit better soon

Hope you don't mind me butting in but I don't think you will find its the bitch that has upset your dog, I think you will find there is a sound or noise that is coming from outside somewhere that he is picking up on.
Do you have some sort of digging or building work or factory or farm machinery near you that could be emitting a sound occasionally that has stressed him out. Not sure if it is a high pitched sound or something audible to human.
As he is worried anyway this sound is making him much more anxious than normal.

Bev

Hi Ooee was was Archie like while you were away? I doubt the problem would still be connected the bitch who stayed, not after this length of time.

I would watch Archie closely, don't let him see you are anxious or paying attention to him, see when the behaviour occurs...keep a note of it and look for a pattern. Does it happen at the same time? What is happening then?

Hi Mini,

we got back last night and no problems here so far.

However for the last 3/4 nights we were away, he did something really strange:

he would go to sleep happily when we did, but wake up in the middle on the night, panting/ exhaling through nose sharply and sometimes whining... usually he would wake up around 12/1am and this would continue until about 3 or 4 in the morning, even if he was taken on toilet trips outside 2 or 3 times.

If I let him out of our room he would go stand by the front door of the cottage like he wanted to go out, but if I took him out he would just stand around

This behaviour started on Thursday/Friday night I think, which was 2/3 days after we started him on the clomicalm, so I'm a bit worried it might be related to the medicine the thing is it doesn't say on the leaflet anything about side effects like that.

Any ideas what it might be?

Hi Ooee very odd, certainly doesn't sound like separation anxiety.. I hoped your going away might break the cycle. Is Archie peeing and pooing ok? What does the vet say?

I can't speak for the medication, never used it but I wouldn't think that it would affect only night time behaviour, look for side effects/contraindications on the net.

I would have thought with all the walking on holiday Archie would sleep well..could the fox in your garden have anything to do with the problem at home? Has he got into the habit of this behaviour because the fox comes in your garden at a certain time?

i don't know if this will help
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:V...k&ct=clnk&cd=1
as mini says it would be unusual for the side effects to only occur at night.if you are worried i should call the vet and speak to him or a nurse and just get some advice

Hi Mini

it says nothing about those type of symptoms either on the medicine info leaflet or on the net. I'm just waiting for the vet to ring me and see what he says.

I don't think the fox has anything to do with it here as both dogs would be at it, and also they behave very differently from what Archie is doing... they don't pant and whine at the front door looking stressed out... they bark their heads off at the back door and look very angry at the intrusion!

thanks for the link griff... nothing about panting at night though

Mini forgot to say Archie is peeing/pooing fine, and eating VERY well too (all that walking has opened his appetite

Hi ooee, the clomicalm takes up to three weeks to get into the dogs system in cases of SA. You may begin to notice changes sooner than this however as he's only been on it a week just be patient!

Re: the strange behaviour at night could it just have been the fact you were in strange surroundings and this disoriantated him somewhat when he woke?