Meds - continue or stop?

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lovemyshelties

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Our little gal Zoey is insecure and suffers from separation anxiety. Out of the six we've owned, she is the only one we've had problems with. Hubby and I have consulted with a certified behaviorist, scheduled one-on-one sessions with a trainer who talked me into putting a shock collar on her (big mistake), tried to build her confidence with NoseWork classes (which helped somewhat), and worked with our vet trying various meds (Clomicalm didn't help much and neither is the Prozac and Buspar).

Over the past 3-4 months Zoey has gotten a lot worse in the morning, barking and whining throughout my morning routine. She hates being crated and the X-pen we bought (at the bahaviorist's advice) didn't solve the issue. We can't leave her out because she's a chewer and we just had out kitchen and family room renovated. Daycare a few times each week helps somewhat; can't afford to take her every work day.

The behaviorist said we should consider giving her up; that she would probably do much better if she was an only dog with someone who was home during the day. I get very sad thinking we'd have to part with her. Any ideas, suggestions?
 
Oh that is harsh. I'm sorry you are going through this with Zoey.

All I can suggest is keep trying different things and don't give up. If you feel in your heart that you can make it right for Zoey you will find a way.

Have you tried having a dog walker come by? Maybe you could get a weekly package deal that is not too expensive...

Best of luck and hopefully you will get helpful suggestions.
 
I am so sorry you are still struggling with poor Zoey, I wish I had some useful advice for you. I send my thoughts and prayers that you will be able to find the answer to Zoey's insecurity so that the family can stay happily together.
 
I am so sorry to hear you are having problems with your sheltie. :(
I also think an every day dog walker could be a good idea. If she gets tired enough she won´t chew so much and it might also release some of her anxiety.
How old is she? Mickey was a huge chewer till 1 year and 3 months old, he destroyed my sofa, chairs, door, wires, even the walls, but after getting older (he is 1yr and 9m old now) he got much better.
 
So sorry you're going through this, I know it must be difficult.

Have you tried buying some of the more complicated dog puzzles? I've seen ones that take up to 30 minutes for the dog to figure out (like Nina Ottosson toys). That might keep her occupied and also tire her out a bit some.

Best wishes!
 
if we are talking about separation anxiety and not just generalized anxiety than it might sound harsh but with separation anxiety it "takes two to tango." Dogs just do not develop separation anxiety all on their own. If that is the case then you either need to work with some serious trainer to look into what part you are contributing to the problem and learn how to correct it or give her up as suggested so she can have different life.
Now if we are talking about poorly bred dog with generalized anxiety, it might be just the case when dog needs to be on meds for the rest of his life. It is concerning thought that you did not see any results from meds your pup is already on.
 
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My Chandler had severe anxiety and if someone told me to put a shock collar on him I would have fired them. I can only imagine it would have only made him more anxious.

I would try the thundershirt as Chris suggested, maybe come pheremone plug ins, they replicate the scent the mother dog puts off. Rescue remedy can also calm some anxiety issues.

As you know Shelties are very sensitive and it sounds like your behaviorist is too harsh and doesn't know the breed. I would look for someone with more experience in the breed also.

You may also want to contact some of the local Sheltie Rescues and ask what they suggest. I would think they deal with many anxious Shelties coming from Mills etc. and would be experienced in this area. Who knows maybe they can suggest a better behavorist.

I wish you the best and pray you don't rehome her.
 
To start with I would not give up on the medications. If she has true anxiety then its going to be very difficult to solve without balancing out her seratonin levels. It may be a matter of trial and error until you find the right dosage. True anxiety does usually come with destructive behaviours when you aren't there so it does sound like more than just seperation uncertainty.

The behaviourist does sound too harsh. When Tully was a pup I had similar issues and got in a behaviourist who used the old dominance type training (definately no shock collar though). The methods actually set her back more and it took even longer for me to build her up. What was needed were methods to build her confidence, punitive techniques undermined her confidence.

Are there any situations where she shows confidence? For Tully this was when she chased a ball, so we did a lot of fetch to boost her seratonin levels. Getting her involved in flyball was a huge confidence booster.

I would also keep her occupied when she is getting worse - keep her mind off things. I give my dogs their kibble in a treat bottle (a disposable water bottle with kibble sized holes cut into it), this gave them some time where they could focus on doing something positive rather than me getting ready. I also hide food around for them to go looking for and I must say they are happy now when I leave because they know they will get something fun to do. If her anxiety levels are very high though she may not be able to focus on food, so that is where the medication helps.

Do you really want to give her up? The bad behaviourist told me to do the same with Tully, I even spoke to the breeder about rehoming her. I am sooo glad I didn't; Tully is a lovely, lovely dog that just needed that bit of extra help.

Also - have you had her thyroid tested? Thyroid problems can also undermine their confidence and they may not show the obvious signs of a low thyroid. This happened to a friend's schnauzer, physically he looked great he just had no confidence, barked at everyone and got stressed, now he is on thyroid meds he is a different dog.
 
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