u/CozyCowCottage

I'll be taking my 2.5 year old reactive, anxious pup to a veterinary behaviorist in the coming weeks. It's been a long road of training (positive, balanced, board-and-train) and I'm reaching the end of my rope. My girl has fantastic obedience but continues to struggle with anxiety which appears to directly influence her reactivity. I suspect a lot of it has to do with her chemical makeup especially considering these issues have been present since she was a puppy. Hence why I'm seeking out a behaviorist.

While we are going, my concern with a behaviorist is it seems they all preach fear free. Which means no aversive methods at all. In regards to her fear and increasing confidence, I take no issue with positive reinforcement. But when it comes to obedience and following through on commands, I have found fear free to fail every time.

Has anyone in this sub who uses balanced methods consulted with a veterinary behaviorist? If so, did you receive flack for balanced methods?

What was your overall experience with the behaviorists methods? Did you find them to be successful?

I’ve been struggling with my anxious, reactive dog for two years. I adopted her from a local shelter when she was about three months old. From the very beginning she was a handful.

Age: 2.5
Breed: Unknown, 64 lbs, black lab/shepherd/greyhound perhaps
Gender: Female

Crate training was difficult for a long time. She’d scream and panic for long stretches of time. I worked hard at desensitizing her and it did get better but it took MONTHS. Now it does appear she has a positive association with her crate and she often goes in on her own.

For at least the first year, anytime I’d leave her, she’d freak out. Panting, pacing, lip licking, you name it. I did work on some desensitization and it helped a little bit but it’s definitely not solved. There are still situations where this happens and it’s incredibly inconsistent. I crate her when she’s home alone because if I don’t she goes after the blinds due to watching for action outside. Is a dog walks by she’ll bark and jump at the window. Hence many broken blinds.

Her reactivity became the worst issue right out of the gate. As a small puppy, I’d take her out for potty training and she was overwhelmed by everything. For the longest time she wouldn’t even do her business because of it. Within days of having her, her reactivity began. Barking and lunging at dogs primarily. I really tried to slowly expose her to things but it became very clear she was uncomfortable.

For training and management we did:

Puppy training at PetSmart. She was a terror the entire time. Each week I worked diligently at the coursework. While her obedience improved slightly, her reactivity and vocalization got worse.

Around nine months old, I started working with a balanced trainer. She helped with my pup’s obedience tremendously but her reactivity raged on. Again I worked diligently on the assignments. We ran obedience drills inside and outside. I took her to local parks to work on obedience drills with distractions. I took her to parks and around my apartment complex to work on watching and not reacting, working on her threshold. We hit a block again.

Around a year and a half old, I contacted a balanced board and train. The trainer was specialized in dealing with reactive dogs. She was helpful and even kept my pup longer because she felt she needed more work. When my pup came back she was a bit calmer. A little more manageable. The trainer did say though that she is incredibly anxious and found her behavior a bit strange.

We maintained the progress from everything we’ve done so far but it doesn’t ever seem like it’s enough. At about two years old, I worked with our vet to get her on Prozac. It took the edge off and allowed her world to open up a bit but it was not a longer term solution. Especially due to the side effects of decreased appetite and weight loss.

She’s now almost three and her separation anxiety is getting worse again. I recently boarded her at a local boarding facility (which she’s been fine at before) and she had such bad anxiety that she had gastrointestinal bleeding and had to be hospitalized. The facility was fantastic and made good calls for her health. The vet said this is common and she sees this a lot in anxious dogs. My pup is on the mend now and doing well but I’m so scared anything outside of her routine could spark this issue again.

Where I’m at now
I’m stressed all the time because if I miss one walk with her, it upsets her entire routine. I take her on two to three walks a day. Some days we go to the dog pen to run around. Some weekends we go to the woods where she can be off leash. It just seems like she requires SO MUCH MORE WORK THAN A TYPICAL DOG.

I’m at a crossroads. I’m struggling with determining how much energy I have left in me to continue training and desensitizing her. I love her so much. She’s a precious girl. Even if I did continue to work with her, I don’t know that I’m equipped to do it to the intensity she may need. I also don’t know that my environment is one she’s going to thrive in. I want what’s best for her wellbeing.

My questions
I’ve read some posts on her with owners who have similar issues. Some made progress with training, some ultimately decided to rehome.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Does anyone have good questions to consider when coming to terms with if rehoming is right or not?