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To David Sherman re Cooper's nightly "anxiety attacks".
You posted last Oct regarding Cooper who was waking his owners in the
middle of night, crying and pawing at them, stayed agitated for 3-4 hours before he calmed down. I and several others offered possible causes, but we were all wrong. I found this today: It's called geratric separation anxiety disorder (the name may soon be re-named Distress Activated Separation Anxiety Syndrome (DASAS) since it can happen to younger dogs as well, although more often with older dogs). I'll post the link below, but here is an excerpt: "In his book, Dr. Dodman characterizes Geriatric Separation Anxiety as a condition in which a dog, usually older, suddenly starts "showing intense anxiety, particularly at night, keeping its owners awake by pacing, panting and pawing at them, constantly demanding attention." He notes that these dogs often act relatively normal during the day, although some become anxious even during daylight, especially when they are separated from their owners. I remember that JoJo's condition progressed to the point where he had to have me not only with him, but looking at him, nearly all the time. While he would once lie quietly on my lap as I worked on the computer, he now stood on the floor in a state of agitation, staring at me and stomping his front feet. He would also make a strange, high pitched, cooing whine that I sometimes referred to as, "hooting". The noise seemed familiar, in a way. After awhile, I recognized it as a sort of adult version of the whining cry a puppy makes when it is separated from its mother. But why was it always so much worse at night? Dr. Dodman believes that "Dogs with Geriatric Separation Anxiety appear to view their owner's sleep as a form of separation, and the consequences are very similar to those observed in other fear-based conditions, such as thunderstorm phobia. " http://www.jojoreader.com/reader/anx2.html |
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