Hi all.

My little 10 yr. old Border x Jack Russell terrier, Hooch, has the quaking terrors.

He’s always been reduced to a nervous wreck by fireworks and gunshots. Fireworks you can anticipate, but living rurally gunshots are inevitable and quite random. The first sound of a distant shotgun and he slams on the anchors in preference for a hasty retreat.

So be it.

More recently, we lost his doggy girlfriend, the very beloved Coda, back in October. There was no immediate recognition of her death, aside from an initial slightly weird realignment of the cat / dog hierarchy.

Over the past few weeks, though, he has become a trembling wreck; ears back, constantly at my heel, staring and begging (literally, paws doing the begging thing) at me the entire time, reluctant to leave the house, totally resistant to walks unless our son is there on his scooter, sitting trembling outside our bedroom door overnight . . etc.

Some aspects are slightly comical, but deep down I think he’s really distressed. Or just an ageing terrier. Or found a new needy role amongst the family Pack.

Either way a new puppy is arriving into the household at the weekend. Could be the saviour of him, or could be friction.

Any thoughts? About terrier terrors or transitioning away from a companion dog or towards a new pup buddy?

(‘Not getting the pup’ is not an option, so don’t suggest it)

Much appreciated.

M

I can’t offer specific advice other than layman psychology, as in make sure he’s got a safe space like crate or an enclave of sorts and start from scratch slowly introducing new environments, noises etc.

A new puppy might give him some purpose and motivation if he takes it under his wing.. I would guess that will help rather than hinder.

Have a look at thundershirt’s. Have seen them work really well on anxiety prone dogs.

Have a look at thundershirt’s.

@monde – ah, yes. Thank you for mentioning those. I’ve read a few glowing reports, and as many really critical ones. Be interested in hearing a few experiences from the STW hive-mind on that topic.

Going to bed now, but will check in on this in the a.m.

G’Night, all. Sweet dreams.

My little 10 yr. old Border x Jack Russell terrier, Hooch, has the quaking terrors.

I think he’s really distressed. Or just an ageing terrier.

10 years isn’t old. He’s entering middle age. He’s having a crisis!

A young pup is an excellent idea, always worked for me!

I lost my Jack Russell, Florence, to cancer in the summer and Louis the Fell Terrier was missing her dreadfully but he now has a young Fox Terrier, Basil, to keep in order and he’s loving it! There was a bit of friction to start with but they’ve sorted that out despite the odd grumble.

“a bit of friction to start with but they’ve sorted that out despite the odd grumble”. this

Thundershirt is of benefit to our Springer x Lab who hates thunder, fireworks etc. Seems to take the edge of his nervousness.

Ordered a Thundershirt, as they were going for about £20 on Amazon; worth a punt at that price. I’ll give it a try and report back.

Good luck with the thundershirt, hopefully that will solve it.

However your post is slightly reminiscent of what happened with my old dog, except in her case she was diagnosed with dementia. Basically the vet explained it as (at times) she couldn’t remember where she was, familiar walks now seemed new and scary, she couldn’t remember how long we had been away… or if we generally came back… Once she had the diagnosis, we tried her on some medication, but it didn’t help much and I decided that it was time to say good bye.

I sincerely hope this isn’t the case with your fella, but thought that it was worth mentioning.

All the best.

Stan, our older Bedlington terrier wasn’t quite as old as 10 when Digby, the Bedlington pup turned up. Basically ignored him for about 3 months. And now they’re best buds. The one-dog vs. two-dog dynamic takes some adjusting to from the owner perspective but having them both is ace. Stan is happier now around fireworks etc than he was on his own but the reaction has changed somewhat from scared to protective. He’ll want to get outside to find out what’s going on, rather than just burying himself at someone’s feet. The reassurance is more around telling him that there’s nothing for him to chase off, rather than him being scared (if that makes sense). Digby just follows his lead.

In general, they’re both much more protective of the house and garden together, than Stan ever was when it was just him.

@flowerpower @ woffle

Thank you both.

So sorry to hear your story, flower power, that sounds like an awful process to have to go through. You poor thing. The ‘call it a day’ decision is one of the most heartrending choices. When Coda was obviously at a point that we (and the vet) knew that she was suffering too much we had last night at home whereby we knew that Barry the Vet was coming in the morning to put her to sleep. It allowed us a night of companionship and . . . departure? is that the right word?

When Barry came back the following day, it was a very dignified process. I will never regret the choice to pay the extra £35 or whatever to see her off in her home.

Making the call was hard, but in hindsight it was decent and dignified.

And yes, woffle, I have high hopes for Bramble the Briard bringing a whole new lease of life to Hooch.