So sleepy
Because of her upbringing, ReeRee can go from zero to 1000 on the anxiety scale within seconds. Over reacting is her thing. When she’s stressed she growls, lunges, nibbles and then frantically kisses where she’s nibbled, begging you to forgive her. Being restricted in any way triggers her anxiety and she can lash out, so vet appointments can be stressful for her.
She loves her vet, by the way. She bounds into the office and throws herself on the dog bed, wriggling with excitement. When Dr. Molly arrives, she trots over for her hugs and kisses and dehydrated fish treats. But once her treatments for her knee starts she does her best to control herself but her anxiety gets the best of her and she lashes around, growling and trying to wriggle free.
Last week Dr. Molly decided it was time for ReeRee to get the cloth muzzle that she calls the party hat. But something funny happened when she put it on. Ree Ree totally relaxed. She got acupuncture for her bad knee in a drugged like state. When the vet moved on to the chiropractic ReeRee just stared up at her lovingly. When Dr. Molly took out the nail clippers to trim her nails, ReeRee was so relaxed, she fell asleep! While getting her nails cut!
It turns out that there are a couple of pressure points running along where the snout meets up with the eye sockets that the muzzle was triggering. In some dogs, when pressure is applied there it immediately relaxes them. It reminded me of how a kitten reacts when their mom picks them up by the scruff of their neck.
So I started trying this at home. When she hears a noise and starts frantically barking and growling, I hold the back of her head and rub her snout pressure points a few times and she immediately calms down. Her eyes grow heavy. It slows her panicked brain down enough so that she can see me and respond to my commands instead of just spiraling blindly within an overprotection hurricane.
I’m really pumped about this new discovery, please try it on your dog if they get anxiety and let me know how it worked out.
Also, if you live in the Bay Area and need an amazing holistic vet, contact Coastal Holistic in Pacifica. www.coastalholistic.com
xoxoxo
Mani/pedi
