Sudden anxiety?

[PrincessConsuelaBannanaHammock]

We have a 4 year old jrt.
She has always been very happy/loving towards both me and my DP (probably more so dp but she still has been very good with me) and has never had any anxiety issues before. All of a sudden if Dp leaves a room she is pining and crying, and sometimes even howling. She has started scratching the sofa and the carpets which she hasn't done since she was a puppy. Also she won't come near me, like if I walk in to a room she walks out of it

We have a 4 month old dd but she has always been very good with the baby, tries to sniff her/lick her, tries to give the baby her toys, she's never shown any jealousy or anything towards the baby. I do understand it may be related to the baby but thought any issues would have started before now.

Nothing has changed since the baby came in the sense that she still can go wherever she wants downstairs in the house, she sleeps on the sofa, still gets the same amount of walks with DP.

She also doesn't seem to be in pain.

Sorry for the long post but can anyone suggest anything that may help? I'm at my wits end and hate seeing her unhappy.

Nobody?

JRTs... we have two and I love them but bloody hell, the bitch (who is the most JRT of the two) is hard work. We've had a collie before and the JRT is pretty close in terms of a neurotic tendency that often emerges as bad behaviour but is almost almost either a reaction to anxiety or over excitement. The flip side of her is that she might be the most loving and gentle dog I have ever known.

It's hard to know what's happening with yours but some things I could suggest (based on our experience with ours).

• the person who walks and feeds her gets her undivided adoration. This has changed over the last year depending on who is available and her allegiance always switches as the tasks do. If your DP is now doing most the walking because you are busy with the baby, this could be a contributory factor.

• when someone smells different she blanks them. Her primary carer had an op last year which meant he returned home smelling different. Despite being totally bonded to him before he left, she wouldn't go near him voluntarily for weeks afterwards. Maybe you smell different to her, of different hormones ad baby, maybe?

• she is more prone to anxiety behaviours in the winter than the summer. It's got a lot to do with her access to the outside. In the summer we are all out a lot more, often pottering in the garden which she joins in with. In the winter this doesn't happen and her behaviour deteriorates somewhat. Maybe this is also true of yours?

• once she develops a habit it takes a total change of circumstances to break it. As an example, ours got into her head that the new puppy coming back in from a walk was a bad thing IF she was in the lounge. We would walk through the door and she would go ballistic barking. No amount of treats, calming behaviour, stroking etc would prevent it. We tried having her in the kitchen when we walk through the back door (i.e. in the same room we walked into). She never uttered a peep. Habit broken.

• The silver lining of her habit forming is that it is easy to create new habits. A treat when the doorbell rings only took a few tries for her to hear the bell and assume she was going to get a treat. If yours is the same could you try something similar when your DP leaves the room?

I have no evidence for this but I am started to be suspicious that a dog offering toys to a baby or other dog is not always a good sign. I have seen our JRT dog do this to the new puppy and he definitely DID NOT like him at first. This has made me wonder if there is not some sort of appeasement going on instead of relationship bonding - at least some times. I am not saying it is what is happening with yours but I could imagine something like the following:

• a downturn in outdoor activity and fun times which would normally be seasonal has corresponded with the new baby and in her mind, the smell of the baby forms part of that. Or maybe you have been upset since the baby was born (like, just normal old hormonal post-birth stuff) and she has seen that, found it worrying and linked it to the baby. You smell of the baby so she is nervous around you and attaching more strongly to your DP because of it. She is anxious of the baby so trying to appease it by offering toys. I am NOT saying I think this is what's happening. Just trying to show how dogs can piece together different experiences in odd ways....

Not sure what, if anything of that might ring true to you...

Thanks missbattenburg
A lot of it does sound true, I just thought if it was anxiety over the baby it would have started before now, but then maybe it has been building up over time...

We have been trying to all go walks together with the dog & the pram to try to have her associate the baby with good things too, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference.

She doesn't seem interested in me in the slightest, the baby is sleeping in her pram at the moment and the dog won't come anywhere near me.

We've tried checking her over to see if she's in pain too but there doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with her, might get the vet to give her a look over too just for some peace of mind.

It is always worth a vet check, just to be sure its not medical.

Otherwise, all I can suggest is trying hard to up her good times (walks, play time, cuddles - whatever she enjoys). When we're otherwise busy, ours love a good game of 'hunt the treats' round the house. A couple of rounds of that lasts about 20 mins and normally has them mentally tired out and ready to sleep. That might be something you could do with her as it doesn't take any time away from the baby - just a few mins to set it up and then you can let them go find. If she enjoys it and you are the only one to set the game up, that could help her feel bonded with you again?

Sounds like a great idea, I'll give it a try. Thank you

good luck!