*
*
Yes, we’ve had another of “those” times. Toby was in pain without me realizing it, and the slightest brush against his fur turned him into Mr. Hyde.
Toby’s anger is explosive in these instances. He bites and thrashes and growls ferociously. In this state, he doesn’t recognize me. He doesn’t recognize his name. He doesn’t respond to commands. Normal Toby is adept at disentangling his paw from his leash, but Hyde Toby can’t reason that out. He just gets angrier and angrier until he lashes out and attacks the leash. As quickly as I could, I put Toby in his kennel and kept him there until I could take him to the vet in the morning.
It appears that what set Toby off was the cyst on his back. Of the two he started with, one healed nicely while the other lingered. The doctor drained and flushed the cyst again and sent us home with antibiotics, pain medication and Trazodone. I gave Toby the Trazodone for a few days but worried about him taking it for a prolonged period. He is very unsteady on his feet, and I swear I can hear him mumble “The colors…. the colors…” as he waves his paw in front of his nose.
I gave Toby sleepy pills for several days. When I finally stopped, it was as if he were a puppy again. He bounced around and played with toys. He asked to go outside, and when I took him he ran around with the zoomies for half an hour. When we came in, I could tell he still had energy to burn, so we went back out in the dark and played with tennis balls until he was so tired that I worried that he might hurt himself.
Thankfully my normal Toby seems to be back to inhabiting this terrier body. I don’t know who the monster was that had control for those four days, but I wish he would never come back. I’ve seen his face before. He is the one who controls the sleepwalking.
I talked to the vet about trying anti-anxiety medication on Toby. She said that Trazodone is for anxiety, but I didn’t like the way it affected him. She then suggested Gabapentin since it helps with both anxiety and pain. What Toby really needs, though, is an animal behaviorist to observe him and treat with both training and possibly medication.
Selfishly I wish that someone would watch my Toby and tell me, “Oh yes, he is a broken puppy. It’s not your fault he behaves this way”, but I doubt that will happen. Somehow, without meaning to, I have screwed up this little dog and made a dangerous mess of him.
I hope my little boy can survive my stupidity.
*
I may survive you, but will you survive me?
The Adventures of Bitey Dog 
Animals in pain revert to self defense. I think you are doing fine and didn’t mess him up. You can’t help that he had a cyst. Be kind to yourself! Glad he feels better!
I really hope I’m not responsible for making him crazy!
Poor little chap…..pain takes over, that’s all. You did not mess him up.
I hope you’re right!
Cricket was very reactive to pain too; she was born that way. Give yours high paws for managing a neurodivergent dog and helping him live such a good life.
Neurodivergent…. sounds so much better than “bat poop crazy”! 😆
It does. Cricket only liked name calling when she was the one doing it.
😆
Pippin barks: You love Toby and always have his best interest in mind. He is a highly-sensitive doggie – has a very sensitive nervous system. Or, as someone once told mom about herself – an irritable nervous system. Or, as it’s called now, neurodivergence. The key here is to not blame yourself for the way your pup manifests in the world. He was born the way he is. You love him. And that’s the truth.
Edith Ann! 😆 (From Laugh In). Irritable nervous system….that sounds ruff. I hope I am able to keep Toby healthy and happy while keeping everyone else safe. Thanks for visiting us, Pip!
Even tho’ we mamas always feel the way you are feeling…when our kids are struggling we think we shoulda’ coulda’ done something, or done something differently, etc. But, we shouldn’t do that to ourselves.
You are NOT to blame! All babies come with their own unique personalities, temperaments, differing thresholds of pain, born-with illnesses/struggles, etc. We love them and do the best we can to help them. You are a great Mom! Keep loving Toby and helping him. 🙂
Poor Toby! It makes me sad when our furry-babies are in pain or struggling with health issues. 😦
I hope the vet or someone can find something that will help Toby. Keep us posted on how he is doing.
Coop and I care about both of you and want you healthy and happy! ❤️❤️
(((HUGS))) ❤️❤️
I keep thinking about Caesar Milan’s show. No matter how crazy the pet’s behavior, it was always due to something the human was doing wrong.
I hope I can understand my boy better and give him the best life possible. Thank you for caring!! ❤️💕💕
You will! One day at a time! ❤️
Oh, it was the pain making him crazy! That will be an arrow in your quiver in the future. Hopefully there is a low-dose med of some kind that can keep him on a more even keel going forward. Now repeat ten times: I am a good mommy. I am a GOOD mommy. I am a Good mommy…
I don’t feel like a good mommy! 😂
You are a terrific mom and have lots of pateince when he becomes Mr Hyde and not his usual self, a little less intense Mr. Hyde
I wish I’d never have to see Mr. Hyde again, but he is likely to move in during Toby’s recovery.
STOP STOP STOPPPP BEATING YOURSELF UP !!!!!!!!!!!
YOU HAVENT FAILED TOBY ISNT A BROKEN PUPPY !!!
HE WAS IN PAIN THEY ARE BRILLIANT AT HIDING THAT IT IS AN INGRAINED SURVIVAL RESPONSE…. NOT REPEAT NOT YOU FAILING, HE ALSO IMPLY REACTS O SOME DRUGS JUST AS MANY FLK DO !!! DONT LOOK FOR A MORE COMPLICATED REASON
MISS L STOP THE BEATING YOURSELF UP RIGHT NOW.. THAT JUST TRANSMITS MORE HASSLE TO YOU BOTH
OK.. LECTURE OVER… ALL WILL BE WELL !!!!!!!!!!!!!
HUGSSS
Toby is especially good at hiding pain…until he isn’t. Unfortunately everyone you talk to you insists that behavior is linked to training issues which would mean I somehow screwed up. ☹️
15 ATTEMPTS AND BLOODY WORDPRESS WONT LET ME REPLY CANT EVEN LOG IN OR OUT SO GOING TO PUT MY COMMENT HERE LOVE AND HUGSS
STOP STOP STOPPPP BEATING YOURSELF UP !!!!!!!!!!! YOU HAVENT FAILED TOBY ISNT A BROKEN PUPPY !!! HE WAS IN PAIN THEY ARE BRILLIANT AT HIDING THAT IT IS AN INGRAINED SURVIVAL RESPONSE…. NOT REPEAT NOT YOU FAILING, HE ALSO IMPLY REACTS O SOME DRUGS JUST AS MANY FLK DO !!! DONT LOOK FOR A MORE COMPLICATED REASON
MISS L STOP THE BEATING YOURSELF UP RIGHT NOW.. THAT JUST TRANSMITS MORE HASSLE TO YOU BOTH
OK.. LECTURE OVER… ALL WILL BE WELL !!!!!!!!!!!!!
HUGSSS
The Wicked Witch Of The East
Don’t worry, you got through!
STOP STOP STOPPPP BEATING YOURSELF UP !!!!!!!!!!!
YOU HAVENT FAILED TOBY ISNT A BROKEN PUPPY !!!
HE WAS IN PAIN THEY ARE BRILLIANT AT HIDING THAT IT IS AN INGRAINED SURVIVAL RESPONSE…. NOT REPEAT NOT YOU FAILING, HE ALSO IMPLY REACTS O SOME DRUGS JUST AS MANY FLK DO !!! DONT LOOK FOR A MORE COMPLICATED REASON
MISS L STOP THE BEATING YOURSELF UP RIGHT NOW.. THAT JUST TRANSMITS MORE HASSLE TO YOU BOTH
OK.. LECTURE OVER… ALL WILL BE WELL !!!!!!!!!!!!!
HUGGSSSS
Toby’s got some really great survival instincts, doesn’t he? A little too good! 😆
I’ll make this brief, since it seems like when I type out a message and look at if after it has posted that it’s the longest message on list of replies!
What are/were Toby’s parents and grandparents like?
Is Toby actually related to Geordie?
Anony-mouse and The Terrier
No, the boys are not really related. I don’t know much about Toby’s biological family. They had appropriate show dog credentials.
I tell myself daily that I’ve failed Maverick. Somehow they survive us. Toby isn’t broken. He might be a little bent, but aren’t we all? Sending you hugs
I like that song!
“I may not be broke
But, brother, I’m badly bent.”
Sending hugs and patience your way for pup who is equally challenging and an even bigger boy than mine. ❤️💕
so far Maverick has not turned into Mr. Hyde, he’s snarked at me a couple of times but I think he knows that shit will get him nowhere with me. Of course, he’s never been in pain either. He’s spending today standing on every nerve I have and spinning – I just told him I was taking him to the SPCA and he’s finally napping. If it wasn’t for daycare, I would be unable to handle him at all. I feel your pain – and I don’t think most people understand what we endure every day. It’s the constant questioning – “what am I doing wrong? Why won’t he settle? Why does he do this or that? How can I help him? Why did something work yesterday and today totally backfire?” I’ve never read so many dog training books, or talked to experts or searched online for help as I have in the last 5 years. And I don’t think this will end until the day he crosses the Bridge. I love him, beyond all reason, and I won’t give up – any more than you will with Toby. But we get tired. And I hope you know you don’t have to feel guilty about that.
I am weeping tears of gratitude for you sharing your story. I hope that we both can find ways to give our boys happy lives without losing what sanity we have in the process.
(Maybe some turkey-tryptophan can help Maverick sleep this weekend? 🦃 I made chicken, so we’ll never know if it works with Toby.)
we have to stick together! I gave him a bit of turkey, he’ll go to daycare tomorrow so it’s just the weekend I need to plan for. Of course, he laughs at my plans. But we get up tomorrow and start over. Every single day. Right? Right!
What a theme for sticking together. Being part of a millionaire’s club might be more fun. Or perhaps living in the White House. Then we would have plenty of Secret Service members for our dogs to chew on. 😆
Maverick would be more likely to chew on the Resident than the Secret Service guys. He doesn’t like to be sniffed 😂
😂😆😂