Zing, the dog who smiles

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Today was for Zing. We spent the afternoon in Davis -- with Dr. Karen at UC Veterinary School. This is the third or fourth time I’ve driven there (down there? up there? still not sure!) Oh, down — 20 minutes southwest of Sacramento. I was going to say I feel like I know Davis now, but obviously I’m still learning. I’m glad my friend Susan the terrier-lover suggested (gently) that I see UC vets before putting a citronella collar on Zing.

They (Dr. Karen and two student-observers, who were madly taking notes) asked me what I hoped to get out of the visit. 

“Put a spell on Zing,” I begged. “And maybe on me too.” 

I just want this anxiety barking thing to stop. I want to be free and easy again. I even said that I come first: I want to be able to leave the house without Zing barking anxiously. I’m not so sure what they thought of that. After all, their priority is Zing. But Zing understands. 

Here’s what Dr. Karen said — and I double-checked it with her before we left:

“Separation anxiety is a dog welfare issue,” she said. “I have two concerns here. First, I want Zing to not have the anxiety at all. Second, I want him to be less anxious along the way to getting well.” 

I told her I hate Clonidine, because I think such drugs can be bad for people and therefore also for dogs, and because it makes Zing a less energetic person — I mean dog — it dulls his personality. I said a citronella collar sounds less nasty than drugs.  Dr. Karen told me Clonidine doesn’t hurt in the doses she’s prescribing — not even if we use it every day, which she kind of recommended. She said I should use it more so Zing will get used to being home alone. The idea is that after a while he is weaned off the drug. 

She also said research shows that while citronella probably will stop the barking, through discomfort and fear, it will most likely increase Zing’s anxiety when I leave. 

There’s more, but this is enough for one day! 

Of course, while we were there Zing charmed everyone. Dr. Karen even video-ed him because she said she’d never seen a dog smile before. So he smiled at her, and she said “Perfect!” 

Love,
k

Zing on the day Clark and I took him home