[Previously posted on our website - 9/2/09]
This is a strange problem that no one we've spoken to has ever heard of, including our trainers and our vet, so I'm throwing it "to the winds" of cyberspace in case someone somewhere has heard of a case like this.Our white Miniature Schnauzer Ivie, who is 6 years old, has recently developed a sensitivity to higher-pitched sounds that is making it so she will have to stop competing in flyball if we can't find a solution.
It first happened in June at a flyball tournament ... her first race was the fifth race of the day. She was very slow in her first runback warm-up, which was unusual. Then, when it was her turn to run in the race, she wouldn't go. Instead, she looked distressed and like she had to relieve herself. We took her outside, and she had diarrhea (keep in mind that she heard the judge's whistle blowing during the previous four races, although we didn't know at the time that it bothered her. We just naturally thought she was sick, and we didn't even think it could be related to sound. We kept her out of racing for the weekend.
A few weeks later we were at an agility event. Agility competitions are pretty quiet, and she was fine all weekend ... until the awards at the end of the weekend. While we were breaking down our vendor booth at the end of Sunday, the awards were going on, and when our friends were getting awards I was clapping and doing a really loud whistle (the kind where you use your fingers) . . . after awhile, Ivie was scratching at her crate, and shiver-shaking and in total distress. All night long she kept "asking" to go out, so we wound up taking her to the emergency vet, who said although her urine didn't look too bad, maybe she had a slight infection, and put her on antibiotics "just in case".
Over the next few days, different things happened to set Ivie off - a spring on our heat press squeaked, the kitchen faucet squeaked, a tennis shoe squeaked on the tile floor . . . in every case she reacted exactly the same - running around, shiver-shaking, clinging to momma, panting, chest heaving, ringing the doorbell, scratching at the door. At this point, we finally figured out that Ivie's distress seemed to be related to the high-pitched sounds happening around her. So, back to the vet we went to have her ears checked. He did a VERY thorough examination: no wax buildup, no broken ear drum, nothing that he could see. Just in the very small chance it could help, the vet suggested we change her food in case the food she was on was somehow responsible for the new hearing sensitivity (we've only given our dogs premium food, from a raw diet, to cooking them a special "Schnauzer" diet, to finally Orijens, which is a very high protein food). So, finding a different food with very similar ingredients as the Orijens, but with much less protein, we gradually switched her food over the next few weeks.
We decided to "test" and see if she was still having issues, so while watching TV in the living room my wife let out a high-pitched "whoo-hoo", although not very loud (certainly not as loud as a judge's whistle) . . . just to see what would happen. Ivie immediately jumped up, ran around, shivered, and ran to the door to get out. She had just been walked 30 minutes previously, so she should not have needed to relieve herself. We calmed her down and put some soft foam earplugs in her ears to see if they would help. After making sure she was calm and resting, my wife again let out a softer "whoo-hoo". Again, off to the door, and this time she would not be denied. She would have clawed down the door if I did not take her out.
We hate the thought of pulling our most experienced pup from competing in flyball, since she really loves it, so I'm throwing this out there to the collective dog sport world in the hopes we can come up with a solution. Please note that Ivie does NOT react to other types of sounds. She doesn't care about thunder, gunshots on TV, fireworks, vacuum cleaners, or anything else. We've even walked her in the middle of a thunder storm when she insisted, with no bad reaction. Only higher-pitched squeaky sounds and whistles now set her off, and it usually takes her at least a day or two to get over it.
Any ideas would be gratefully considered.
No comments:
Post a Comment