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paintedfire · 03-10-2011, 10:14 AM

Hey everyone,

I've been a lurker for a while, but I've been having an issue with my yorkie and I wanted to get some advice.

I've had Bentley for almost a year now. I purchased him from a breeder when he was 13 weeks, and he'll be a year old next week. He's been an absolutely wonderful dog - I've socialized him well, he gets premium food, he absolutely loves people, is never nippy or snarly, and is just an all around amazing dog. He's got the typical yorkie boldness, and loves to explore and investigate. He also has never been overly yappy or scared of things, and would only bark very rarely.

Over the past few days, I've noticed a change in his behavior that started with a rain shower the other night. The rain was beating down on the skylight in my apartment, and he became very nervous and started barking, running around, and unable to focus or settle. He eventually calmed down and was able to finally go to sleep after an hour or so of pacing and small barks at strange noises.

Fast forward a couple days - I've noticed a huge jump in his general anxiety. He has never been an anxious dog, but lately he's been very nervous and bark-y. He doesn't bark at full volume, but kind of gives a "ruff" sound at any little noise he hears. He trots around my apartment and is unable to settle and stay in one place for more than a few seconds. This came to a climax last night when he literally paced around my bed all night long, "ruffing" at any little noise and was completely unable to sleep for more than a few minutes. Every time he curled up, he immediately got back up and started pacing around again after a few minutes. At 4 in the morning, I finally got up and put him in his crate with a blanket draped overtop, and that seemed to help. He's crate trained, but he sleeps in bed with me normally and we've never had any problem - he curls up and goes right to bed normally.

He gets walked multiple times a day, goes to daycare twice a week, and nothing has changed in his diet or environment. He's generally a very happy go lucky dog, but I can't figure out why he's suddenly become so anxious all of a sudden. I'm going to take him to the vet in a few days if this behavior continues, but does anyone have any advice about what to do? This is not separation anxiety - he is fine at home alone when I'm gone, he just curls up and goes to sleep in his crate. This is a more, generalized anxiety that sprung up over the past few days and has been escalating.

I'm just not sure what to do to help him relax and calm down, so any advice you guys have would be fantastic! Thanks in advance.

03-10-2011, 10:14 AM	#1
paintedfire YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2	Generalized Anxiety in my yorkie? Hey everyone, I've been a lurker for a while, but I've been having an issue with my yorkie and I wanted to get some advice. I've had Bentley for almost a year now. I purchased him from a breeder when he was 13 weeks, and he'll be a year old next week. He's been an absolutely wonderful dog - I've socialized him well, he gets premium food, he absolutely loves people, is never nippy or snarly, and is just an all around amazing dog. He's got the typical yorkie boldness, and loves to explore and investigate. He also has never been overly yappy or scared of things, and would only bark very rarely. Over the past few days, I've noticed a change in his behavior that started with a rain shower the other night. The rain was beating down on the skylight in my apartment, and he became very nervous and started barking, running around, and unable to focus or settle. He eventually calmed down and was able to finally go to sleep after an hour or so of pacing and small barks at strange noises. Fast forward a couple days - I've noticed a huge jump in his general anxiety. He has never been an anxious dog, but lately he's been very nervous and bark-y. He doesn't bark at full volume, but kind of gives a "ruff" sound at any little noise he hears. He trots around my apartment and is unable to settle and stay in one place for more than a few seconds. This came to a climax last night when he literally paced around my bed all night long, "ruffing" at any little noise and was completely unable to sleep for more than a few minutes. Every time he curled up, he immediately got back up and started pacing around again after a few minutes. At 4 in the morning, I finally got up and put him in his crate with a blanket draped overtop, and that seemed to help. He's crate trained, but he sleeps in bed with me normally and we've never had any problem - he curls up and goes right to bed normally. He gets walked multiple times a day, goes to daycare twice a week, and nothing has changed in his diet or environment. He's generally a very happy go lucky dog, but I can't figure out why he's suddenly become so anxious all of a sudden. I'm going to take him to the vet in a few days if this behavior continues, but does anyone have any advice about what to do? This is not separation anxiety - he is fine at home alone when I'm gone, he just curls up and goes to sleep in his crate. This is a more, generalized anxiety that sprung up over the past few days and has been escalating. I'm just not sure what to do to help him relax and calm down, so any advice you guys have would be fantastic! Thanks in advance.