Helping an older dog cope with a new puppy

[OnAMission]

Buma loves the puppy IME. If she felt manageable before the dreaded squeakers I would pull those and let the dust settle a bit again. Two weeks isn’t a long time with squeakers on board.

We give our dogs antlers but only fresh “caught” ones; they are softer than store bought. Ones that are a little older, last season, we soak in water. We’re lucky to have a somewhat ready supply. We had an elk shed that served as a chew toy for years and years but it wintered out in the snow so never got splinter hard.

[MunchingonHay]

@OnAMission I am going to try soaking the antlers, thats a great tip!! And how lucky are you to have a ready supply. My wallet is envious.

Everyone gave really great advice and I am thankful for your insight.

Vet has been called about putting Buma on something a bit stronger and having removed all offending stuffys, she has relaxed a bit more. Time is the biggest factor and we are still in early days of puppyhood with Lilly.

She is so good with Lilly and I want her to be relaxed and comfortable in “her home”.

[stargzng386]

My older extremely sensitive to sound and a tad bit of general anxiety dog does fantastic on a low dose of trazodone. We were actually using it temporarily for something else but the change in her behavior was insane. She went from withdrawn and worried all the time to being a playful puppy waking up like the sun is bright it’s a wonderful day my vet and I actually tried a Prozac like more long term med but it didn’t have the same effect. This dog went through major jackpot training for noise and honestly it made her worse. Metal clanging noises are awful. Some just have this kind of personality. I’d def look for another vet who can work with you better and not judge.

[MunchingonHay]

I love hearing this! Buma is a bit of a worrier. I think she too would do wonders with something just to take the edge off a bit. Its like she lacks confidence and needs constent reassurance that she is doing the right things.

I have yet to hear back from my vet. I called them first thing this morning. They have a few Drs. there so I hope to just get moved to a new doc.

[Cammie]

@stargzng386

my vet and I actually tried a Prozac like more long term med but it didn’t have the same effect. This dog went through major jackpot training for noise and honestly it made her worse.

I tried Prozac at the vets recommendation prior to everything else Mika is on now and boy that did not go well. She would not take the pill no matter what I tried, and got more and more anxious and upset over it. She stopped eating entirely, and wouldn’t come near me or take any treats from me in case I was going to try and stuff a pill down her throat. She lasted 6 days on Prozac before I gave up.

Jackpots definitely don’t work with her either. She’s instantly wary and extremely nervous that it’s some sort of a trap and it makes her shut down if you push her to confront something she’s very scared of.

[MunchingonHay]

What is Jackpot training?

Both @Cammie and @stargzng386 mentioned it.

I heard from the vet. We are going to start Buma on a low dose of trazodone.

The vet’s first recommendation after taking away the stuffys was to seperate Buma from the puppy, which would in turn seperate Buma from her family. Nope not going to do that. Then feed Buma treats while pup is playing. She’s 20lbs over weight and I got the waggle finger from the vet just last week about her weight. Then she suggested I make more noise!

DUDE she is 7. Please just give me the drugs.!!! She said the script will be ready for pick up on Saturday.

[ratherberiding1999]

Could you try playing music quietly at home, just to give a bit of background noise so the toy/puppy noises aren’t so sudden or startling? Or try quieter toys, things like fabric snuffle mats, food puzzles, etc so puppy is still getting enrichment.

Or, as others have said, talk to your vet about anxiety medications. There are some that we recommend for “occasional” use, for things like fireworks or vet visits, and some that are more for long term everyday use. Trazodone is usually occasional but sometimes used every day, it’s more of a sedative than an anxiety med. Some vets also use acepromazine in a similar manner. Common options for long-term medications include fluoxetine (this is generic prozac, it’s super cheap, usually capsules, or they also have a more expensive flavored veterinary-exclusive chewable version called Reconcile), paroxetine, sertraline, clomipramine, clonidine, and many more. Some vets also use nutraceuticals like L theanine, L tryptophan, and alpha casozepine (there’s a veterinary specific casozepine supplement called Zylkene). Some vets also try melatonin, some think it doesn’t help.

[Cammie]

Jackpot is when you give a large amount of high-value treats at once to reward your dog for doing something really well or for persevering thru something challenging. They get a big prize- the jackpot. It shouldn’t be used too often, so the dog doesn’t get used to it or expect it for ordinary things.

[stargzng386]

Yup this was introduced to me at agility class my dog really didn’t like that the teeter moved and made a banging noise. To start I had to get her just in the vicinity of the teeter while another dog made it bang without panicking so if she focused on me and stayed still I’d throw a “party” loud happy praise a handful of steak chunks and pets/playtime. You don’t do it often but when you need to get them over the hump of not understanding something. We never accomplished the full teeter and had to stop due to IVDD but she would do the baby teeter which was a huge accomplishment.

[MunchingonHay]

Thank you guys! I just called it a Puppy Party! Duh, jackpot. I should have figured that out on my own.

@ratherberiding1999, thank you so much for your insight. I do have a script for low dose Trazodone, and will bring up your other suggestions.

She is taking 2 tablets of Composure Pro 3x a day. Its just so short lived. It only lasts 4 hours. Do you have a suggestion for something that lasts a bit longer that 4 hours?

Hopefully, this will be for a short term thing. My previous dog Riley love squeaky toys, but the biggest difference between him and Lilly playing is that Riley would play by himself and Lilly wants to engage Buma and I with them and Buma is my shadow so where I am, she goes and you guys get the drift… it becomes a huge puddle of puppy, freaked out dog and me in the middle .

[ratherberiding1999]

I believe the zylkene lasts longer, 12ish hours depending on the pet, but I’m not sure about other nutraceuticals/supplements.

Med-wise, trazodone usually lasts about 12 hours as they gradually return to normal. Trazodone also has a very wide dosing range so if the low dose doesn’t work, your vet may approve upping that a little bit. Or if it sedated her too much, you can give less.

Most of the long term medications I mentioned like fluoxetine are steady state drugs, so to get full effects they have to build up to a stable dose in the body. That means they do take a while to see the full effects, like 2-6 weeks of regular administration, but once they get to that steady state, continuing to give it will keep that steady state so they will basically always be in effect. So rather than only lasting a few hours then returning to normal, the effects will be continual. Some vets will also use the trazodone to help right away while they start a longer term med, then once they’ve been on both for a few weeks, stop the trazodone and see the effects of the longer term med.

[Ericthegreat]

Velveeta cheese normally works in this kind of circumstance. Start giving her a little bit now and then and once in a while mold it around the pill. Cream cheese works too but it’s messier.

[Cammie]

Not with this dog. Tried several cheeses, hot dog, pill pocket, steak, peanut butter…. Only ended up with a dog hiding from me who refused to eat anything at all, no matter how clearly obvious a pill was not in the food.

[MunchingonHay]

UPDATE:

Silly Lilly turns 5 months at the end of the month and after 2 months of tolerating Lilly, Buma has accepted her and seems to understand that her ‘real parents’ are not coming to pick her up.

The squeaky toys are still an issue and anytime Lilly grabs a stuffed toy, Buma hides behind me, BUT I got some squeakless toys, de-squeaked some toys and Buma’s PTSD is not doing to bad. Buma is associating stuffy with squeak and we are slowing over coming it.

I have been using (alternating between) Composure Pro and the CBDs that FloppyAmmy gifted us.

[2tempe]

Re the Thundershirt: I use one on my dachsie mix who gets bothered by strong rain storms. It gives him some comfort. That said, it seems your dog would have to wear it a lot, and not sure it would work so well with sudden indoor noises.
They look so sweet together!!! Hopefully you can get this organized.