I Feel Like Either We Drug Him Or This Dog Goes

[Anonymous]

One of our dogs is a rescue. We got him when he was 10 months old. He is now 2. He had many issues when he came home with us and in general tends to be wound much too tightly. He gets revved up very easily. Not the best trait in a 100 lb dog. He gets along well with our other large (but not as large) dog, who is as calm as the day is long. The larger dog, whom I'll call the hyper one for ease, is also very curious. He is also very strong, so he could easily hurt someone, but he never has intentionally. Sometimes he gets too wound up and inadvertently knocks into people, but that is it.

Right now we are getting ready to move. Over the last couple of months, we've been packing boxes and had people over to the house about repairs and that sort of thing. There is a fair amount of hubbub. The dog is getting worse and worse about getting into things and the daring with which he does so.

Today he ripped open three Amazon boxes and chewed the contents and got up on a chest that is about 4 feet off the ground, got down DH's winter hat and ripped it to shreds. This is all after busting out of his kennel. If we try to crate him to keep him out of trouble while we are gone, he just bashes his head into the door until either the metal bends enough to let him out or the back wall collapses and he gets out that way. What he does after he gets out keeps escalating. Sometimes he does stuff while we are home but not letting him into the room where we are working (because he gets into everything). We try not to crate him when we are home since we think that would make him even worse (see above about busting out).

What he is doing keeps escalating. Ripping open closed boxes was a new one. Jumping up to get things and eating shoes and so forth started last week.

I feel like we need to give him some kind of anti-anxiety drug or something, but I think it would take a lot to knock him down to a less frenzied state. It isn't all of the time every second, but if there is a strange noise or someone comes to the door or he sees an opportunity to get into something (even if he has never done that before), he is getting more and more crazy. I'm also worried that the drugs may not work. Part of me feels like I should call the rescue, but if the next people do anything out of the routine, he'll get just as crazy, too.

He has plenty of toys, and nothing has changed but the general level of hubbub and change in the house. He has a dog walker, too. Even taking him out for extreme amounts of exercise (miles of running or a couple hours of intense playing) doesn't help (except for maybe an hour).

I hope somebody has a magic solution.

[Anonymous]

Talk to your vet. You can try anxiety meds, or a diet lower in protein. How about a Thundershirt--not sure they come in that size, though.

[Anonymous]

Does he get a lot of exercise? Have you consulted a trainer?

[Anonymous]

OP here. He hates the thundershirt. We tried that over a year ago.

We worked extensively with a trainer privately when we first got him. I am reluctant to call that trainer back for this, though, because she was a little TOO dog centric. Her solution to the dog's not getting that my 6 year old was not a puppy he could nip and chase was to have the child lock himself into the bathroom to keep himself safe while the dog had free run of the house. Stop packing and repairing the house is not going to work here.

He gets walked for 45 minutes every day and he also plays extensively in the back yard (fenced) with our other dog and the kids. We've tried taking him away for the weekend and exhausting him but it didn't really work.

I'll ask the vet about the low protein diet and the meds.

[Anonymous]

Anxiety meds. They work. Just go ahead and get them.

[Anonymous]

+1 for meds

[Anonymous]

Call the rescue and ask them to rehome him

A good rescue will handle this for you.

[Anonymous]

If you are getting ready to move, I don't think this time is a fair test of a pet's behavior. Tearing up a home is a horribly stressful time for a pet. Any pet. Most animals will have a negative reaction, including soiling and the behaviors you describe -- tearing boxes, disruptive behavior. This is a reaction to you destroying his home.

How soon do you move? When can you settle him into the new home? Can you board him until then?

[Anonymous]

OP here. We would have to board him for three months. Given he's already been abandoned at a shelter once, I didn't want to leave him longer than the few days around the actual move.

[Anonymous]

Try melatonin! Mine gets a thunder shirt and melatonin on rainy days.

With the stress of moving this is probably expected. I would think living in a new place will be stressful too. Talk to vet because you are going to need something for the next few months.

[Anonymous]

I don't see why you don't/haven't asked your vet about anti-anxiety drugs before it got this bad. Clearly the dog is not happy but cannot do anything about it so you must be his voice and advocate for him. Ask your vet about anti-anxiety meds. Do you have a philosophical problem about giving anti-anxiety meds to pets? I can tell you we have a cat on prozac and it has made all the difference in the world. She is a much happier, calmer cat and we are all happier too. Especially when you are getting to the point of "either we drug him or he goes"? My goodness, get thee to a vet and get this dog on some medication! Post haste!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We would have to board him for three months.

Given he's already been abandoned at a shelter once, I didn't want to leave him longer than the few days around the actual move

.

Good. That's good. But get him some anti-anxiety medication so he can weather all these changes with going crazy -- and driving the rest of you crazy in the process!

[Anonymous]

Our rescue dog is on prozac. Helps a ton.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am sorry this is happening. You might think about a rehome. But your more pressing problem is that some dogs do not adjust well to moving, and the problems may very well escalate. Our best and most obedient dog freaked out when we moved and kept escaping and running home to our old house, 8 miles away and across many busy streets. We kept getting calls: "your dog is injured on our front lawn, come get her" We would get there and she would be gone--just resting at the time. We had two toddlers and a "new" house that needed many renovations.

Then she escaped again and the people who caught her wanted to adopt her. They took her to a vet, who said to them, see this tattoo, she is a registered dog and the owner is probably looking for her. Called me. returned the dog. Well, I really loved her, but the best result at that point would have been to give her to them. I kept her, but she really never did adjust to the new home (hindsight). It was a very different lifestyle for her, with the kids, the house, less time and so on. Hopefully your dog will adjust better, but some dogs HATE moving--everything about it-- packing the owners stress, different place--everything. Best of luck.
PS Don't feel guilty, rehoming a young dog is always better than waiting until they are old.

[Anonymous]

What breed is this?