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Early separation of Puppy from Mother
Hi there!
I am interested in hearing stories from those who live with or have worked with dogs who were separated too early from mom and littermates. I have two such dogs myself. One was literally dropped at a shelter at a day old and bottle fed. The other was purchased on Craigslist at 4 weeks old and brought to the animal hospital where I worked at the time. Shortly thereafter at 8 weeks of age, she was paralyzed (temporarily) from an accident in her previous home and signed over to the hospital and I adopted her. Both dogs are incredibly well adjusted considering their pasts, but have the telltale issues with over-excitement and focus. We have a happy life with them, as we work with them continually, and understand their limits. Plus we have Starla, the DOG’s DOG, and she helps them 🙂
I have a client who has a beautiful little pibble who she bought off Craigslist when the pup was only 3 weeks old. Now 3 years old, she is the most anxious dog I’ve ever met. She is on medication, we’ve worked on calming exercises, safe spaces to go to (she’s afraid of any sound that is not a norm in her home), added in Adaptil diffusers, white noise machines…you name it. This dog cannot go to the vet’s office anymore. She receives care from a wonderful house call vet who prescribes appropriate medication prior to visits and the dog still has a very difficult time. Full disclosure, this client is a wonderful person with too much on her plate and too many dogs LOL. So not all the coaching always sinks in. I do see some improvement, but I wonder if anyone has advice for ways to help owners manage these dogs in the long-term for happy and healthy emotional lives.
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12 Replies
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My heart goes out to that dog, with all her fears and anxiety. The only thing I want to ask is whether a specialist in behavior meds has been consulted. Sometimes a cocktail of meds is needed for more extreme cases, with careful tweaking of the meds themselves, dosage, etc.
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Perhaps, too, it would be worthwhile to explore Ttouch and body wraps…?
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Ah, T-touch is such a great suggestion! Do you have any websites or resources for wrapping techniques you can share?
The pup is on basic meds (daily fluoxetine, prn alprazolam), but the owner has limited resources and can’t use one of our local behaviorists at the moment. This dog is one of the cutest little babies I’ve ever seen. I met her when she was 6 weeks old when I worked at the animal hospital. The owners had taken off her leash and she kept seeking me out in the treatment room. I fell in love. Thankfully the owner sought me out when I left to open my business, so I can still be in her life and help where I can. I adore her.
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I’m sure there are DVDs and books on Ttouch, @LisaOMy . You can also find some instructional videos on Youtube.
It’s so good you’re in this dog’s life.-
Hello! I wanted to let you know that I purchased a book about T-touch. I have been practicing some of the massages on my own dogs to gain some familiarity – very interesting! Thanks again for the suggestion!
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I’m not a vet and am totally not trying to give vet advice. I just want to mention, @LisaOMy , that the ASPCA’s behavior rehab facility has found the combo of fluoxetine and gabapentin to be the most helpful with severe fear cases. (They did a lot of trials and data gathering over years of rehabbing very behaviorally compromised dogs before arriving at this combo.)
If your client wants to discuss this with her vet and if the vet is not familiar with dosing (or any other questions they may have), I believe vets have access to forums where they can post and get advice on things from other vets.-
Yes, you’re right! I forgot to mention that her house call vet also prescribes gabapentin. But maybe not for daily use…I’ll ask her. Thanks for the suggestion!
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I am sorry to hear about this pup’s struggles.
My sister has a dog who struggles with chronic and (likely) biological fear, stress and anxiety.
I always consider the dog’s early life and, that is something we had no control over and likely can not change. I agree with Virgina Dare, this dog should probably see a veterinary behaviorist to make sure the right meds are being prescribed vs the “go to” ones. (there are about 50 behavior meds). It took 4 tries with my sister’s dog to find a combination that has helped without side effects. There are vet behaviorists who will do a vet to vet consult.
As you know, if the dog’s mental state is too anxious, it will never be any condition to learn. If you are using DS/CC it may have little to no effect due to the state of distress. In my opinion, the way for any dog in constant distress to have a ” long-term happy and healthy emotional lives” is to start with a vet behaviorist consult. Is there any way you can convince the owner that the dog needs intervention more than what is happening?
I wish the best for all of you. Please keep us posted.
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I agree with you. My hope is that the owner will some day have the resources to see the right specialist in the future. It can make us feel helpless when we know some things are outside of our abilities. ❤️
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Have you seen Dr. Kathy Murphys info on building resiliency?
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No, I haven’t!
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You may want to look into some of her info.
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