Another Crazy Puppy Update
The not so good: Doodle MPB broke a nail. It’s bad so far as puppy nail breaks go. Bad enough that today Doodle MPB has to be sedated to fix it. Doodle MPB is probably going to end up with an infection, so she is preemptively going to start antibiotics.
The good (kind-of): Our vet finally saw the real Doodle MPB this morning, not just a cute and adorable doodle. She saw the dog that is neurotic, climbing all over us, jumping everywhere, yelping/barking, refusing to listen and just not stopping for anything or anyone. We have talked about the possibility of giving Doodle MPB anti-anxiety drugs in the past, but our vet always thought it was just normal puppy. Today was different. I explained that we wont give up on her, but we really are frustrated with her and sad that at 7 months old we still cannot have her in the same room with us because she will not just chill out calmly. Honestly, she’s nothing like what we expected when we got a new puppy, she just isn’t a normal puppy – she’s a whole new level of crazy. Needless to say, after this morning, our vet said she needs something to help her cope with all her nervous energy. She’s come up with a plan to use ‘natural’ relaxing stuff for a month, and check back. So as of today, when she wakes up for her minor nail surgery, she will be wearing an Adaptil collar and be given Thera-Bites twice a day. Our vet hopes this isn’t long term, but it could be. And we are both hoping she doesn’t need to be put on a clinical medication like Prozac, but of course, we could end up there too.
So I realize the fact that we are going to start medicating our 7 month old puppy may not be viewed by everyone as a “good” thing. But honestly, we are at the point of needing to try something. And just having an action plan actually makes me happy. Who knows, maybe we will eventually end up with the family friendly puppy I’ve been dreaming of for months.
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I am so glad your vet is on bored now. It took us until our dog, at almost 12, chewed a hole through our wall before our vet finally was like, ‘hm that’s not normal….’
Good luck with the medications! It was a life changer for our dog and us.
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What type of medication did your dog go on?? And I’m so glad to hear that it worked for you guys, it gives me hope!!
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Scott eventually went on Prozac. We used every natural calming option on the market, and it helped for a long time, but as she got older and her anxiety worsened, it became clear she needed more. Within a day her pacing and destruction stopped. It was seriously miraculous.
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Scout, that is.
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It sounds like prozac is our next option. So I’m just hoping the natural stuff does the trick. But I’m not opposed to prozac if it’ll help her.
So glad it’s worked so well for Scout!!
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Thanks, me too! The natural stuff made a big difference for a long time. It just got way worse as she’s aged. She actually has a mad on her adrenal that may be related. I’m crossing fingers that the natural stuff works wonders!
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I had a cat on Prozac and he really needed it. He was super neurotic and anxious. It really helped him.
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Thanks for sharing! I really appreciate hearing how much it has helped helped other dogs and cats!
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Yappy is on Prozac for anxiety. I also supplement and he gets about a 2 mile walk every morning. He’s still miserable when we leave the house, but he’s not breaking his nails anymore. Hoping the best for you and Doodle.
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No judgement here, you are doing your best to cohabitate with doodle MPB. Good for you for advocating and getting her the help she needs. XO
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As I’ve mentioned before, our dog has crazy bad separation anxiety and is destroying everything he can get ahold of. It’s not normal puppy chewing, it’s out of hand. He’s 9 months and still having panics. I’m so interested to see how this works for Doodle! I would be willing to try absolutely anything at this point.
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What are the Thera-bites? We started using the adaptil collar for our dog about 2-3 weeks ago and was curious about the bites?
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What do you think about the adaptil collar so far??? Thera-bites have a few of relaxing/calming natural things in them which are supposed to “help maintain a normal, balanced emotional and mental state in dogs” according to the container. Here you have to get them from a vet. Basically we give her one in the morning and one at night and they are like treats so we don’t have to fight to get pills in her.
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Hmm I’ll have to look into it. Uh, so far I haven’t noticed much of a difference with the collar.. some of the reviews said they had to wait a full month before they started noticing results; so I’m hoping for the best. Let me know how the collar and those treats work out- I may have to look into that for our day..
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My daughter had a very neurotic dog, with a lot of separation anxiety and all of the bad behaviors you describe! They adopted this dog from a shelter and he was about 3 years old when they got him… not realizing the behavioral issues until they brought him home. After a couple of years they ended up getting a younger dog, hoping that the second dog could be more of a family pet. Ironically the first dogs behavioral issues seemed to almost disappear when the brought home the second dog, and now both dogs are very nice and calm family pets! Not that getting a second dog is a good option for most people, and who would want to if they already have one with behavioral issues!…. I just found it very interesting that he seemed to just need something he could focus his attention on all day, in order to calm down!
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No judgment here either. My vet actually recommended Prozac for my cat because he was grooming his stomach bald. We also had to give him an antibiotic after that visit for tooth problems, and it was an absolutely horrible experience giving him a pill twice a day. I just couldn’t do another pill and have that battle every day, scaring and hurting our super sweet kitty in the name of fixing mild anxiety. Dogs are so much easier to sneak pills into than cats at least.
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Have you considered a raw diet for her? Just like our diets can impact our emotional state, it can for them too.
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Poor little Doodle. I’m glad your vet got to see her behaviours for real so you could develop an action plan. Such a shame it’s been such a struggle.
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I am not a dog person at all and I’m amazed how much effort you put into that dog! I would never be able to do that. (Which is why I would NEVER get a pet. I have no interest in caring for them).
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