Putting the Pieces Back Together
I would be lying if I didn't tell you it's been a struggle. Problems Hudson never had before he now has. We haven't walked him further than the end of the driveway in months. Slowly we are starting to put our life with him back together. Some days for Hudson are better than others, some days my patience with Hudson is greater than others, but sometimes I start to see that there can be a light at the end of this.
On the way to our new home.
What we have done to help Hudson's life return to "normal": 1. Took him to Penn Vet so we can get him the medication he needs from someone who knows more about animal behavior than our local vet. 2. Hudson went back on Prozac in addition to his Buspirone (which his dose of has tripled since September.) 3. Hired a dog walker - not for walks but for a mid-day 15 minute run around the yard to help him get some built up angst out. 4. Slowly, very very slowly, begun to retrain him to walk on a leash/ function outside. 5. Bought white noise machines. These have been a godsend, they keep him from hearing our loud neighbors, and even though he still barks when they enter and leave the building it's the only time he barks at them. 6. Heavily screened our new roommates to make sure they got along well with Hudson and would aid in giving him a positive environment to thrive in.
At Penn Vet
There have been tiny improvements in how Hudson is, he no longer barks for 45 minutes straight when someone enters and exits the apartment. We sleep full nights every night without him freaking out at every little noise, followed by lengthy time of pacing and whining. He has started to learn how to redirect his excitement to toys again (something he was very good at before his breakdown.) He even let four strangers stand in our kitchen, two of which refused to pet him, and didn't freak out at them or bark. His body language is starting to relax, and my wiggly boy is peaking through.
With one of his new roommates.
We still have many hurdles to overcome. He can't ride in a car anymore without barking at people who walk past. He has yet to even see a someone while walking outside, even if they are far away. He has developed that habit of demand barking for attention when he is uncomfortable and unsure of a situation or what he should be doing. Not to mention, relearning to walk on a leash, dog park visits, and seeing other dogs again. There are hours and months worth re-desensitization ahead of us.
The first step in us retraining him to function in public again is getting him to a place where he isn't prone to getting worked up, we still haven't found the right dosage of his medication to make that happen. So it's been very much a testing and waiting game. We will be raising his dose of Prozac starting tomorrow, and adding either Xanax or Valium for when we know something scary is going to happen ie. car rides, neighbors throwing a party (this happens way too often for him), the upcoming summer holiday's, the super coming over to fix something, etc. Hopefully with the change of dosage and supplemental medications we can allow Hudson to enjoy and experience just being a dog.
Hudson looking out over his new backyard.
We can just keep looking forward to when we can go hiking, on long walks, and to the dog park again. I am confident that these can be possible for us - maybe someday soon.
