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	Jack Russell with Panic Attacks Q: Dear Sir/Madam I am writing with an enquiry to stress and panic attacks in dogs. I have an 8 year old Jack Russell Terrier who is generally your average happy dog. Certain things upset her occasionally such as the washing machine, cutlery and crockery noises and worst of all, if she is in the house alone when it rains heavy she rips up the carpets and woe betide us if it thunders!!! Unfortunately with the English weather one can never predict what will happen and on numerous occasions I have been caught out, raced home on hearing a clap of thunder, to find the house "trashed" and my poor little Willow so pleased to see me yet so full of remorse for the damage she has caused. Our most recent problem occurred last Friday when we visited Crufts for the day. Willow was left at home with our labrador and 2 cats and unfortunately we were stuck in traffic on the way home so were longer than expected, although a friend popped in at lunch time to check everything was OK. It was, but when we arrived home a few hours later Willow had been sick in every room of the house and also been to the toilet in the house. She didn't appear to be ill and was eager to check out what we'd brought back for her, sniffing every carrier bag in search of a new toy!! Once the excitement had died down she became very quiet, refused her dinner and then proceeded to vomit. The sick she produced was like a thick mucus with tiny drops of blood in it. This mucus also started coming out of her bottom and at times involuntarily. It was far too late to call the vet, so most of the night and early hours of the morning was spent nursing Willow as she moaned and groaned and eventually fell asleep around 3 am. She was very uncomfortable. We took her to see the vet first thing in the morning, explained all the above, and he said that she had probably stressed herself out, gave her a couple of injections, advised on what to feed her for the following few days and gave us 3 Emequell Tablets. Please can you explain exactly what Willow's condition was and are there any measures I can take to prevent this from happening again. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards Caroline Newsome

A: It is quite common for dogs to suffer from stress and anxiety and to have phobias about loud noises etc. It does sound as if Willow can have quite severe problems. There is possibly a degree of separation anxiety here, as the worst episodes appear to occur when you are not at home with her. These
types of problems are not solved easily, but with perseverance and patience they can be helped. The best approach is probably a combination of behavioural therapy along with medication - there is quite a new drug available which can help to control problems of this kind. I would advise that initially you go to your vet to discuss the problem, and he/she could then refer you to a
behaviour specialist if necessary.
Jen Campbell BVMS MRCVS (Vet for PetPlanet)

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