Wylie's Mom
06-22-2010, 12:19 AM
It's Monday evening and I believe Wylie just had a panic attack. First, background info...I usually give Wylie a low fat piggy ear on Sundays and it takes about 5 minutes for one to disappear into his gullet. Yesterday afternoon, I gave him a very large cow ear instead. He worked on the ear non-stop for at least an hour and it was just over half gone. I thought he really needed some water and pee break so I took the remaining ear away without any resistance. About an hour later, I gave the remaining ear back to him - he took it, but then put it on the floor and left it. I picked the ear up and set it on the kitchen counter and Wylie didn't seem to care.
The next evening (today), he tapped at his Buster cube, asking/demanding that I put some kibble in it. I was busy doing dishes and laundry so I decided to give him the ear back to keep him occupied for a longer period of time. I just cleaned the house and his beddings yesterday, so I laid out a towel to make a place for him to eat the ear on. I put the ear on the towel and I went back into the kitchen, back to the dishes. A few seconds later I hear loud whimpering/whiney noises...it sounds like Wylie is crying. I go back to living room to see what's wrong. I see him standing there, cow-ear-in-mouth, with a worried/panic-like expression on his face. He then starts to pace around the room, like he's looking for something - goes on the daybed, looks around, to the hallway, looks around, back to the living room, looks around - all the while in a panic frenzy, whimpering, with the ear in his mouth. I don't know what's wrong, I've never seen this behavior. He goes to his bed with the bolster and starts to dig...I wonder if he's trying to dig a hole to put the ear in...he gets frustrated after a few seconds, goes back on the daybed, looks around, gets off the daybed, jumps onto the couch, drops the ear somewhere between the pillow, back cushion, seat cushion and blanket and starts digging again. I think - yes, he wants to hide it and YUCK! cow ear with dog saliva touching all those things. I quickly snatched the the ear, grabbed the towel off the floor, loosely folded the ear in the towel, set it on the floor and stepped away! The whining panic stopped and Wylie went to the towel, stiffed it, pawed at it a little and he then seemed to be satisfied.
As if the last two minutes of mania never happened, he went back to the Buster cube and tapped on it, demanding kibble. I'm guessing he did not want to eat the ear at that time, but did not want to lose it again, and panicked because he couldn't find a place to hide it from the she-devil that took it away from him before!
About an hour or so after the episode, he uncovered the ear from "the hiding place" and finished it off.;)
The next evening (today), he tapped at his Buster cube, asking/demanding that I put some kibble in it. I was busy doing dishes and laundry so I decided to give him the ear back to keep him occupied for a longer period of time. I just cleaned the house and his beddings yesterday, so I laid out a towel to make a place for him to eat the ear on. I put the ear on the towel and I went back into the kitchen, back to the dishes. A few seconds later I hear loud whimpering/whiney noises...it sounds like Wylie is crying. I go back to living room to see what's wrong. I see him standing there, cow-ear-in-mouth, with a worried/panic-like expression on his face. He then starts to pace around the room, like he's looking for something - goes on the daybed, looks around, to the hallway, looks around, back to the living room, looks around - all the while in a panic frenzy, whimpering, with the ear in his mouth. I don't know what's wrong, I've never seen this behavior. He goes to his bed with the bolster and starts to dig...I wonder if he's trying to dig a hole to put the ear in...he gets frustrated after a few seconds, goes back on the daybed, looks around, gets off the daybed, jumps onto the couch, drops the ear somewhere between the pillow, back cushion, seat cushion and blanket and starts digging again. I think - yes, he wants to hide it and YUCK! cow ear with dog saliva touching all those things. I quickly snatched the the ear, grabbed the towel off the floor, loosely folded the ear in the towel, set it on the floor and stepped away! The whining panic stopped and Wylie went to the towel, stiffed it, pawed at it a little and he then seemed to be satisfied.
As if the last two minutes of mania never happened, he went back to the Buster cube and tapped on it, demanding kibble. I'm guessing he did not want to eat the ear at that time, but did not want to lose it again, and panicked because he couldn't find a place to hide it from the she-devil that took it away from him before!
About an hour or so after the episode, he uncovered the ear from "the hiding place" and finished it off.;)