Tuckers anxiety

Hi there! My name is Johnnielynn.  I am a lifestyle blogger who writes about mental health as well as other things.  Typically I talk about my own but today were going to be discussing my dog.  I got my dog in August 2020 yes he is a "covid puppy".  I adopted a dog mostly on impulse.  Now before you judge  I work from home, I have before covid and still do now that the world has gone back to normal. I have plenty of time with him and he is loved very much. Most people will hear that he was a covid puppy and he has anxiety and will tell me that's why.  They assume separation anxiety, Tucker doesn't have separation anxiety.  He has general and a bit of social anxiety.

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It started as a puppy

So I got him when he was three months old.  He was at an in home daycare, I don't know if the kids were rough with him or just too rowdy but when I got him kids scared him.  My nieces and nephews he was happy with, but other kids would scare him and he'd start panic barking.  I'd never let kids pet him cause he was still in the puppy biting phase. I'd redirect his bite to sticks.  One night at 7 months old he started pacing, and crying, and barking a lot. After a week he'd gotten so bad I had me and him soaking in a lavender/chamomile/melatonin bath to help him settle. It was a rough night.

I tried Everything

To help.  I called the vet the next day and the first thing we tried was adaptil.  Adaptil uses pheromones that mimic ones a nursing dog releasees to promote calming. you can get collars, a plug in, or a spray. I first got the collar.  Tucker was meant to have a small but they only had large.  The vet said it was safe to use on him still. It worked great. They only last a month but the next month it only lasted a week or two.  I tried CBD oil that was recommended by the dog trainer at petsmart.  like the adaptil it worked for a little while but then it didn't.  I tried calming treats and again they helped for a mellow him out but only for a week or so.  I use busy toys, he has lick mats, a puzzle ball for eating/enrichment. nothing has been able to settle my overly anxious puppy.  I am out of ideas so I would watch for triggers and avoid them. I pick him up and carry him but that way I know that everyone is safe. and no one has to listen to the panic barking.

My first vet appointment.

Hes a covid puppy. When I got him we weren't allowed in the office.  I would take him to the vet, call from my car and they'd take him in and the vet would call and fill me in.  Physically he was in great shape.  I was finally able to. go in with him this year. And ill be honest, his fear and anxiety broke my heart.  He couldn't stand being put down I had to hold him and when she tried to listen to his heart it was racing, he was that scared. She got the first injection done but the second one went into his nose and he wasn't having it.  She had to take him away to put a proper muzzle on him mine was just from amazon, but he was able to get out of it, and get someone else to hold him.  I only cried a little bit.

I'd never really felt like I'd let him down before that. I must have missed some important training. Ya know, he doesn't need to jump through a hoop but he does need to have vet visits. The vet gave me two prescriptions, one for daily use the generic for prozac, and another anxiety medication for vet appointments .

How it's going.

I am very grateful for the prozac.  My gremlin is doing better, we're about a month in and he spends less time pacing and barking, when I answer the door he'll stop barking after the initial excitement of the  knocking, and all dogs bark at the door.  The biggest thing I've noticed is he likes to cuddle.  Once his anxiety set off at 7 months he stopped cuddling.  Like I still held him a lot but he never settled in on me.  He tends to lay just close enough that I am not touching him and if I pet him he'd get up and leave.  

Over all, he's doing so much better! Yes he still has some bad days. Days where he just sits and cries, or panic barking, pacing, moments where he just can't settle. But, more then that we are calm, I can see that he is settled. Few things make me happier then seeing the stress and tension release from the animal who's initial job was to ease my anxieties.

@xo.johnnielynn We’ve been on Prozac for 2 weeks and have been so much more a normal dog. Like he hasn’t played with other dogs in over a year. #tuckeradventures #dog #rescuepet #gremlin #pupdate #anxiety #prozac ♬ Snow Day - Thanks for the Frisbee

Do you have a dog with anxiety? What do you do to help them? Tell me in the comments