Post by rexiboy on Jun 25, 2013 20:56:23 GMT -5
I am new to the forum today and wanted to seek out advice to help my dog with anxiety issues. In April 2012 our family adopted a lab/hound/pit mix from our local animal shelter. He was said to be 4 months old at the time and we knew on the ride home that he was very nervous. I have gone with him to obedience training and he does very well, walks well on a leash and is very in tune to his surrounding. He is not aggressive but I have seen him be unsure in certain situations, which is normal. This past weekend we brought him to stay at our old trainers new kennel which we are very comfortable with. It is 45 minutes from home but she is the only one we trust with any dog we ever have had. The owner/trainer lives on site and has been very good with Rex and always open to offering help. Rex was very distressed while at his last stay. His first evening he absolutely could not stay in his indoor outdoor kennel. He was pacing, drooling and crying for 1 or 2 as she checked on him. She tried a citronella collar to try to get him to stop crying/barking with no help. After a few hours she removed him and brought him into a an air conditioned room and let him sleep outside the kennel enclosure. She noticed he stopped drooling, crying etc. as soon as he was removed from confinement but was still shaking. She gave him a few drops of an holistic remedy and he was calm enough after a time to fall asleep. He played well with other dogs the following day and was submissive. Second evening she waited to avoid stressing him & she had given him 2 drops before sleep and she let him sleep in an air conditioned room on his dog bed and he was OK. Upon picking him up she asked several questions such as how he greeted people coming to the home, was he fearful of thunderstorms, did he show aggression and was he destructive. I told her that he was very loving and always greeted everyone by giving them his bottom to pet, he wasn't fearful of thunderstorms but he did not like the landscaper, he did not show aggression but at times was unsure of a few folks and he was destructive at times. After chatting a bit she said she would work with him at her facility if we liked but she thought a holistic anti anxiety medicine would help. She told me that if it were her dog she would not put him on "puppy Prozac". He just needs the edge taken off during stressful times in order to make him more comfortable. We did adopt him locally but he was transported from a kill shelter in the SC. He is a very sweet boy and has come a long way since we adopted him. Patients, training (for us) and lots of love. I just need advice of people who know and have faced these issues please.