More on Meadow

First, I wanted to thank everyone for the outpouring of support we have received over our decision to try and use medication to help Meadow – I never imagined that one dog could touch so many lives. We have been flooded with emails and phone calls wishing us luck, offering advice, and asking questions – and it is the asking questions part that I’d like to address in this post.

Yesterday, while returning calls and answering emails, I realized that my blogs about Meadow only represent snippets of time, and do not give the full picture of what we have already tried, and what we plan to try in the future, to help her behaviorally. Additionally, I recognized that Nick’s videos only show Meadow’s good days, as we are not in the habit of following her around with a camera when she is terrified. At these realizations, I thought it might be beneficial to give a more detailed account of Meadow’s rehabilitation.

Before I begin, I wanted to add that I welcome emails, phone calls, and advice – so please keep them coming. I am merely posting this for those who are curious, but might not know us well enough to feel comfortable asking.

First, several people have suggested trying natural products before attempting more drastic measures, and I wanted to explain that Nick and I did try this last season. We gave Meadow daily doses of Melatonin, in conjunction with Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) sprayed onto a Bandana that Meadow wore around her neck, as well as sprayed in her crate. We also tried Richard’s Organics “Pet Calm,” which has worked well for Leah, but unfortunately did not agree with Meadow’s gut. Next we tried Azmira “Fear Remedy,” administering it to her on an as needed basis.

Although we took these measures throughout the entire firework/thunderstorm season, none of these products appeared to even scratch the surface of her profound noise phobia.

Thinking back, we had our ups and downs with Meadow all throughout firework and storm season – but from about the end of November through the end of March – she only climbed uphill. Loud, gunshot type noises truly are her worst nemeses. I have actually drawn a hypothesis that possibly, when she was a first purchased as a pup, a hunter tried taking her out too soon, shooting a gun too close, and terrifying her so much that she fled into the woods – from then on avoiding people at all costs.

Of course, we will never know if this is true, but it is a good reminder to be careful when introducing new experiences to pups.

But back to Meadow...We considered purchasing one of the new thunder-shirts for this season. However, when Meadow was shivering over this past winter, I made two separate attempts at putting a coat on her to warm her up. Both times, she stood like a statue, refusing to move or look at me – until I removed the horrid thing, nearly fifteen minutes later. So – my guess is that the thunder-shirt would not be welcomed. Additionally, since I can’t predict when noise will happen, she’d have to wear it every day from now through November for it to be of any help – which is not how the product is meant to be used.

As far as a behavioral treatment plan, we spent the past few months using a sound desensitization CD to accustom Meadow to the sounds of fireworks. We did so correctly, slowly building to a high enough volume level that our neighbors most likely suspected we were shooting off fireworks inside our house. We serenaded her in such a way with all of her meals, twice a day, every day – with no reaction at all.

After the night of the firework that set Meadow back, I lowered the volume substantially, yet she still reacted to the sound. Since we haven’t heard any more fireworks, we are continuing with the desensitization CD – but at a much lower volume. I’m aware that as soon as the fireworks start up again, we will need to stop the process until next winter – or risk setting Meadow back even further.

I believe this has already been mentioned in past posts, but I wanted to add that Nick has been taking Meadow to Rally class for socialization. There, she has her good days, and her bad. Now that the weather has warmed, we plan to take her to more and more new places where we can sit in the car with her, take her for short walks, and gradually get her accustomed to novel environments.  Since Meadow is most comfortable in places where there are other dogs around, we will target small matches, dog parks, and the like, so she will feel more secure.

And finally, to try to build her confidence, Nick is going to start teaching Meadow the beginnings of the skills that I have learned with Leah in Nose Work. Until Meadow is comfortable with the game, Nick will work with her at home, rather than taking her to class. It may be a while before he adds boxes to the mix, as we think they might frighten Meadow. Instead, he plans to start with small hides around the kitchen. Since Leah started Nose Work in August, I have seen an incredible increase in her confidence level in new situations, and we are hoping a similar confidence boost might also help to allay some of Meadow’s insecurities.

In closing, neither of us feels that the Prozac will be a quick fix. In fact, we can say with certainty that Meadow will always be noise phobic, judging by the severity of her reaction last week. We have two hopes for the medication. First, that it will take the edge off enough that she will come to Nick and I for assurance, rather than bolting. We also hope it will help her to recover faster from future scary events. She can be afraid, but she shouldn't be afraid for days afterward.

Oh, and as far as that long line –– unless Nick and I can obtain a fenced property out in the middle of nowhere, where they don’t have thunderstorms and fireworks - Meadow will be wearing it for a very, very, very long time…