We are up to 60 mg of Prozac a day. This is the prescribed dose for a dog of TWO's size. For whatever reason, this recent step up to 60 mg did not affect his appetite and he is eating like the little piggy he usually is. I know there are a lot of skeptics out there (myself included in the beginning) and many who feel improvement can be made without drugs. All I can say from my experience is that Prozac has done wonders for this particular dog. He has had none of the negative side effects like agitation, severe problems with appetite, sleep etc. There has been no disinhibition as far as I can tell. Is it a panacea for all his ills? Of course not but it makes a decisive, noticeable difference in his ability to interact with the world. He is much less likely to be completely waylaid by a sudden event, noise or person. He recovers much more quickly when he IS thrown off by something. His natural curiosity and desire to be in the midst of all the activity in the house can emerge without being sabotaged by his usual fear and worry. He is far more receptive to our desensitization work and counter conditioning as he is able to learn much faster and spend less time standing around reassuring himself he is not about to be hurt, taken by surprise or tricked into some hideous torture chamber I have devised for him. I don't doubt that we would have eventually reached this point using other means and methods but the reduction of stress on him (not to mention me!) has been worth it and it has greatly aided our progress. I have no regrets about the Prozac at this point.
As mentioned above, the piggy has learned well from his adoptive brother and has developed a finely honed nose for food. So we have been exploring all of Bellevue and surrounding areas for parks, trails and hikes so I do not end up with a rotund ball of white fur. We have found some great hikes in Kelsey Creek Park which has the added bonus of being an educational mini-farm in the middle of Bellevue, 2 miles from work. This means that after we have hiked the several miles of trails, most of them straight up and straight down, TWO gets to see the sheep, horses, goats and geese that populate the farm. My sheep guarding dog is absolutely horrorified by the sheep. If they move, he barks. If they move quickly, he runs. He ignores the horses, tries to chase the goats and is terrified (as any person in their right mind should be) by those nasty geese. It gives me great pleasure to introduce him to all the animals because it's like taking your kid to the zoo. He is riveted and repulsed at the same time and I spend half the time laughing at him and his reactions.
In addition to Kelsey Creek, we have found miles of other trails to explore after work so he gets in a good walk or hike before we go home to bed. He does much better on hikes when there are fewer people and he does infinitely better in general now, with people, other dogs and unexpected things we encounter. We have also been running before work again in the city but in less crowded areas and he has done great. No freezing or fear. He takes it upon himself to give someone he's uncomfortable with a wide berth and I follow his lead. He wears his Halti for these outings and the muzzle at the off leash dog park.
Due to the snow, rain, hail, mud, sleet and gale force winds of this never-ending winter, I took it upon myself to haul him out on the deck today since it was sunny and 70 and give him a bath. He was EXTREMELY unhappy with me but I could not stand my greyish, stinky white dog anymore. His self-cleaning abilities left him about a month ago. It could have been the avocado dog shampoo that was beneath his dignity or simply the bedraggled, drowned rat look he had at the end but he promptly went downstairs to his bed, where he normally never goes during the day, and pouted for several hours. Needless to say, he recovered in time for dinner.
So all in all, we are doing well. There are still many challenges and frustrations. The sudden affection and ease he has had for Marcia when she drops Hudson off took us both by surprise but he is completely at ease with her, more so even than he is with my parents. That step forward is offset an hour later by his whirling dervish act at the end of his leash at seeing another dog and being in general, such a complete ass that I have to shove him back in the car.
His love of sticking his nose out the car window and going with in the car brings a huge smile to my face. This is offset by the vicious sounding growling he makes while IN the car when we are at a stoplight and the people in the car next door are making cooing sounds and pointing to him, having no idea that from my end he sounds like he wants to rip their eyeballs out of their heads. But we move forward and continue with T Touch, with the backyard obstacle course, with the Control Unleashed, with the raw food diet, the salmon oil, the ds and cc and the training, all in small doses and all below his threshold.
Finally, say a little prayer for Hudson who is reaching his last days. My pound boy is having great difficulty walking and is going downhill fast. He doesn't appear to be in pain but things just don't work as they should anymore. Anyone who has ever loved a dog knows how terrible it is to watch this happen and know the end is coming. Boo has had a great life and we are trying to make the very most of whatever time he has left. I will shed an ocean of tears when he goes.
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