My sheltie is starting Fluoxetine and on trazadone, anyone can share their experiences with these?

[ClaraC]

I agree with Cara. To me that sounds so much like my Tully, who is very much a Sheepdog. The movement of cars was particularly stimulating, as were bunnies and kangaroos. She was also stimulated by walkers and riders, but grew out of that as she got older. Never really grew out of other things (heck driving with her in the back is a nightmare as she barks at all the cars). Dogs with drive are stimulated by movement, so if that is the cause an anxiety medication will not remove what is essentially instinct, you are basically just sedating her.

As for getting worse as Evee's gotten older, that's no surprise, Herding instinct increases with age, and also she's an adolescent. Have a look at the age of the majority of dogs that end up in rescue - they are adolescents. Even desexed dogs go through adolescence as their brain physically changes, their inability to focus, their apparent lapses in behaviour are not willfullness but biology. They do get their brains back, and thankfully a lot quicker than human adolescents (months instead of years).

Does your behaviourist have experience with herding breeds? Too many people forget Shelties are a farm dog, a sheepdog. So while some Shelties can be laid back, others have the drive of a Border Collie. I remember SheepofBlue used to call his Sca a Border Sheltie and I think that's a great name for some.

Few things that helped me with Tully (because I also struggled with her drive when she was young) that may help you.

Firstly, I taught her fetch. She especially loved the Kong Airdog donut because it rolled along the ground so was more like the 'prey' that excited her. It also had a squeaker so got her attention. Once she was addicted all I had to do was get her to focus on the ball or her donut instead of the cars or joggers. Although I will say that she was a lot older before she traded ball chasing for the kangaroos.

Having a toy on walks. One that squeaks. Giving in to their instinctive drive is fun, often more fun than the person who's walking them. So you need to be fun too and the best way to get a dog's attention is to have a squeaky toy. Learn when your dog is going to react (that should probably point 1 in important things to do) and before she reacts start playing with her, squeak the toy for attention. Frankly, with high drive dogs a squeaky toy is much more effective than treats. And just play and talk to her as you walk, so you're more interesting than the movement around her.

For more immediate control, try a head collar like a Halti.

If the behaviour is bad turn around and walk away. The walk away is one of the most effective tools for managing behaviour. Don't say anything, just remove the dog from the situation that's causing the intense reaction. It works both for anxious dogs and intense dogs and I use this a lot in my classes for managing reactive dogs.

Finally, here's some links to previous similar threads that may also hel
https://sheltieforums.com/threads/barking-lunging.25971/page-2#post-364473
https://sheltieforums.com/threads/fence-herding-potty-problems.24542/#post-349216
https://sheltieforums.com/threads/sheltie-walking-concerns-please-help.24585/#post-349558

Btw - what's your concern about going overseas with her like this?

Hi Caro,
Thank you so much for your reply and all the tips! Its so helpful and makes me feel better we are not the only one. We move end of this month from Michigan US to Japan. I am nervous because Japan has many cars / people and it will be hard to find somewhere quiet for her to walk. Also i don't think they have many good size dog park that is away from the road. How did you manage to walk/exercise Tully? Do you walk around the neighborhood? I see you are from Australia My husband is Australian and I was also living in Australia before we move to the US in 2016 We miss Australia and can't wait to move back!

 

[Caro]

My biggest problem was the kangaroos (there's more roos than cars in Canberra), Tully goes psycho for them. Walk to the bushland/park past all the cars, then get to the bushland and it was full of roos. It was so exhausting.

During the worst period a head collar was essential (esp as she bit me once from her redirected silliness) and once she knew fetch I always had her Airdog Donut with me and just squeaked it to get her focus. The head collars can take a while to get used to, the dogs will 'nose ski' at first. The head collars (I like Halti the best) are essentially the same as a halter on a horse and you can steer the dog's head in the direction you want, so away from looking at the cars, and any pulling causes their head to turn. But you need to introduce it slowly, have them wear it around the house and while eating.

As for the kangaroos - she would only leave them alone if I had a high value alternative, like fetch, and even then it wasn't guaranteed.

Btw - I should mention Tully is 11 years old and she's still barking at cars from the back of the car, she's so high drive she never completely grew out of it. But I can walk her by the side of the road. Atm they are living in a busy part of Melbourne and she doesn't even notice the cars. The vet behaviourist once said when there are a lot of things that stir them up (Tully was also scared of other dogs) there's too much to bark at so they just give up. So at least when you get to Japan, if it's really busy Evee may give up.

 

[Isabella]

You're being so responsible and caring toward Eevee and her needs. Some Shelties are just anxious. Beckon (aka Colonel Underpants) suffers from fear aggression. When a new person came into the house, he barked ferociously and appeared both fearful and threatening. Over the years (he's nine now), he's mellowed. He still barks, but now he warms up to the visitors so quickly that a few times, I thought he'd leave with some of the repairmen!

Time, training and patience may help Eevee, too!

Lucky (Quarry Hill Lochiel) was anxious all her life and had separation anxiety. Late in life our vet began treating her with Prozac (Florexitine). It seemed to help her. We also used Tramadol and gabbapentin because she was in pain from arthritis. I really do think the Prozac helped her though....