We have had our rescue dog for 10 months.
Tbh, it has been far from an easy ride and has been very much up and down.
In many ways he has made great progress but there is still such a long way to go and we have had many one step forward and two steps back scenarios.
I will be honest, it’s a hard going slog and I have not found taking on a rescue the enjoyable and rewarding experience I thought it would be and I am a life long dog owner, a huge dog lover and have also previously been a dog walker, so have been around dogs all my life.
He is almost 3 and was a lockdown dog. He was purchased as a 7 week old puppy then locked in a crate for at least 12 hours per day (probably a lot longer), in a flat with no garden and was never taken out of that flat, this was for the first 18 months of his life.
Although the rescue centre explained all of this to us, we now believe he was also probably abused in some way simply by some of his behaviours. I am not sure if the rescue were aware or not but if they knew they didn’t pass on this information. We were told he is a very lively, very anxious dog with this background of being locked up but we’re assured he would be fine with a family. They assured us that he had no bite history or aggression (he has shown some aggression at times since being with us). Whilst at the rescue he had been rehomed to a couple but they returned him 3 months later stating he was too high energy for them.
He has so many anxieties. He is very, very vocal when he is stressed and will scream like a banshee. This occurs when leaving the house for walks (tried all kinds of different ways to leave the house but he still screams 10 months on), when getting in and out of the car, when any one of us takes something from the back to front of house (ie taking a bucket of water to wash the car at the front), hoovering, using noisy equipment in the kitchen etc (we obviously try to limited these active but it’s hard as some are every day essential tasks). When this happens, he will literally sound like he is screaming, he will sink his teeth into anything nearby (seemingly to alleviate his anxiety) this is usually internal and external doors and door frames, the outside gate, the car etc. He will rip/tear up throws, cushions, soft furnishings. He has ruined parts of our home.
We worked with a local behaviourist at the beginning of the year and although we have put in place all of her strategies, we really are struggling with many aspects of his behaviour still. We can no longer afford to seek the advice of a behavioural expert as I have recently lost my job and with the cost of living so high sadly the money just isn’t there for this sort of expense.
The behaviourist was against medication and said they make dogs aggressive?
I obviously want to make this better for him and for him to know he is in a safe place with no threats but it’s like a ptsd kind of thing for him, it seems so unfair to keep him at a level of such high anxiety for so much of the day even though (at the advice of the behaviourist), we have kept his world so small and quiet (he does settle down in the evenings and will snooze in the lounge with us and luckily sleep through the night). He doesn’t mind being on his own and has no issues with separation anxiety. We let him have time out whenever he needs it, there are plenty of rooms for him to go in, a large garden and his crate. We never overwhelm him.
I am wondering if he could benefit from proper anti anxiety medication from the vet. I have tried all the plug ins, the collar, zylkene, homeopathic crap, hemp oil, Anxitane, skullcap and valerian. None have helped in fact most gave him an upset tummy.
I feel our only hope is anti anxiety meds. Without this I don’t know what else to do as it seems that so many things set off his anxiety. We can’t take him to anyone else home like we have previous dogs, go out anywhere other than his walks, we can’t have people round as this causes him huge anxiety, can’t take him on holiday but can’t have holidays without him either because who would have him?
DH and I do very much love him and he is particularly fond of dh but our 15 and 18 year old are not so keen and because he is so flighty and wary he’s never really bonded with them and they with him and I feel he sees them as people to fear (I wonder if his previous owners were young?). This has left us very much not knowing what the hell to do and for me, as a mother and trying to be a responsible dog owner, torn.
I feel that putting all the behaviour strategies in place seems fruitless when he is in a state of high anxiety, surely, they would work more effectively if he was in a calmer state with meds, even if only on them temporarily?
Any advice on anti anxiety meds for dogs? Has your dog been on meds like this, did they help?