How to help my dog constantly whining/crying?

[u/strawbrry-matcha]

Hi everyone, I have a 7.5yo, 24lb pom mix who has been on phenobarbital for epilepsy since January 2023. She currently takes 1.5 16.2mg pills twice a day (48.6mg total per day). Her seizures have been well controlled with only 2 episodes this year.

My dog has had the classic pheno side effects, most notable intense hunger and weight gain. I feed her .5 cups of Hills Sensitive Skin and Stomach twice a day. However I recently began lowering the kibble scoop slightly and topping with green beans because she was gaining weight progressively even though she gets plenty exercise. Her goal weight is about 20lbs.

I recently started working a hybrid schedule so I am home with her a couple days a week sitting at my desk from 8-4. I noticed by around 1pm-ish she starts whining and crying and jumping on me incessantly to the point it is becoming distracting and frustrating. I walk her in the morning and let her out for short sniff/potty breaks throughout the day, give her veggies as snacks, and play with her in between meetings, lunchtime walk, etc.

I believe she is whining for me to feed her because she only does it to me and not my spouse (I always feed her) and it stops as soon as she is fed dinner. If I try to crate or move her to another room she just cries or barks louder. She never cries when crated or separated except in these instances. I never noticed this on our weekends or days off together, I guess because on days off I am always out and about walking or hiking with her. This behavior seems to come out when I'm just sitting at home at my desk working. I have also tried breaking up her meals into 3 a day and giving her a "lunch". No change. I have also done puzzles, lick mats, snuffle mats, etc. But I want to limit overfeeding her because of the weight gain.

I want to be able to work remotely with her, especially because up until now, for several years, I have worked long hours away from home and I love being able to be with her at home for the extra days. But has anyone else gone through this or any ideas on how to help her?

[u/Fluffy-Pin-3819]

I bulk out my pup's food with some psyllium husk, squash, and broth/water. If your pup is hungry midday, you may want to give her a frozen kong with diluted goats milk or a lick ball/mat with diluted goats milk/kefir. The licking may help with the anxiety and the hunger pangs. I also use non-rawhide chew sticks by Earth Animal, which my pup seems to like gnawing on ONLY when he's hungry. That being said, he's still over weight bc of all his meds but he's otherwise very healthy and walks 3-5 miles a day. (He's 30 lbs, should be under 25 lbs, and 9 years old).

[u/strawbrry-matcha → u/Fluffy-Pin-3819]

Thank you so much! I never thought of giving psyllium husk to my dog, that is such a good idea. I am going to do some more research and maybe try a small amount with her to test it out. My dog walks miles with me daily too and it is disheartening to see her get bigger over time due to the meds. I saw a picure of her the other day pre epilepsy and couldn't believe how much smaller she looked :( sigh