There are actually body wraps for fearful dogs to help calm them, so you did good to wrap Koda up in a blanket. I can't help but think that Koda's responses, even in his sleep, are more on a subconscious level. It's not that he's cognitively thinking that you were at fault or associated with the hitnrun, but it's all embedded on a non-thinking level.
I know that wrapping him will help with the stress levels, so I think you did good with that. Maybe try some melatonin as well? That seems to help Nola when I know she is going to be stressed (visiting nephew, house with large dogs, etc.).
I know it is very frustrating, but Koda will be okay. He will bounce back. You are an incredible owner and Koda does trust you. Otherwise he would stay as far away from you as possible... However, he is drawing comfort from you. Just give him some time. Maybe keep the walks a little shorter at night and closer to home? Not sure if that would help or not. And maybe take him on some walks with Mei Mei, if possible... I know she does great things for his confidence.
Have you considered bringing in a behaviorist? I think it is safe to say that the two of you both went through a very traumatic experience. They might be able to help you come up with a course of action to help heal the fear and build up his confidence.
The scents or pheromone stuff sounds good and wrapping sounds good too I know there's a shirt thing called the thundershirt which helps with thunderstorms or fire works not sure how it works..
Hope things go well maybe some soft music will help?
How about taking him out a random car that looks like the one that hit you and letting him go all over it.
Just kidding, I think it's going to take time. There is a staircase up at our mountain house, as a puppy Kaeda slipped on the first step. To this day she will not go near it.
I have seen really nice results from DAP. Also, you could try a low-dose of xanax for walks. That might help him get over hump and allow him to enjoy the walks again. As the enjoyment builds back to normal you can start to reduce the use of xanax. Since xanax is fast-acting it works well for acute fears like this.
I'm so sorry! It sounded like everything was going well, too, then the damn firecrackers! the suggestions everyone had were what I would suggest too, the DAP,but also the thundershirt....I keep meaning to get one for Bel but havent yet. The behavioralist I see said suggested one for Bel's fears, and I've read a lot of good things about them.
Of course, the other possibility for a short term calming effect that could be then weaned away is valium...I'm imagining you'd prefer not to go with a drug, but if nothing else is calming him, it might help to get him past the worst of it. It didn't work with Bel because she had an odd reaction to it and got hyperactive, but that's not usual of course...
(Ah, I see I was posting as Brad did, who had a similar idea)
I'll third the suggestion of something stronger than DAP. I have a professional collaboration with a veterinary behaviorist who is very interested in treating dogs with PTSD. It sounds like Koda might have some PTSD-like effects from the accident. Treatment for PTSD is all about building positive experiences. It's like socializing a puppy. Baby steps, keeping everything positive in environments you control as much as possible. The use of drugs like xanax or valium will help to reduce the extremety of his visceral responses when you do encounter something that is out of your control. The goal is to keep him below his threshold to where you can accomplish training with him.
I'll also second the thundershirt suggestion. There is clinical research to back up that they work for reducing stress responses in dogs. It's definitely worth the investment for Koda.
I'm really sorry to hear that your journey to recovery isn't as smooth as we alled hoped it would be. You're getting there though. You are starting to get a better picture of what you're dealing with. And with that picture, comes the healing. So keep up the good work. And keep being strong for Koda.
Xanax can create a low grade amnesia effect on your dog depending on the dosage. It also increases your dog's hunger, so Koda would be hungrier than usual if you were to use it along with some classical conditioning. Kohji was prescribed Xanax by Dr. DePorter as part of his treatment plan for thunderstorm phobias. The thundershirt is a great idea as well.
Wow what great advice from everyone. I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to reach out to everyone on here and get so much support. I'm amazed and touched. This time I'm tearing up from happiness.
@JessicaRabbit Koda has to see a behaviorist. He is out of his program for two weeks. In order to go back he will have to be assessed first for anxiety and fear. The behaviorist has met Koda twice before. I did call him this evening to talk about what Koda has been going through. He urged me to be patient, as Chrystal did as well, and not push him. I'm going to do my best to listen to him and Chrystal and not push him because I want him to get over it quickly.
I did tell him about all the advice and he was really impressed by the knowledge base on the forum. Right now, I am going to hold off on prescription drugs because Koda will have to be removed from his program if he's on them. We are going to wait it out. I'm really hoping it will not go that route. I'm looking into Melatonin though if his sleep patterns do not get better within a couple of days. However, he is asleep right next to me now peacefully thank goodness. Last night was rough, and his whining in his sleep and kicking kept me awake.
I'm really intrigued by this Thundershirt, and I really didn't think I'd ever put Koda in man clothes. :-) Oh gosh I just went on the site, and that dog crying in the car woke up Koda. Put that shirt on him!!! I'm getting it. Maybe it will get Koda to relax on long drives.
Keep us posted in general, but also, I'm intrigued by the thundershirt and mean to get one for Bel, so I'd love to hear your experiences!
I don't know about your program, but it seems kind of unfair that Koda would be kicked out for what may be an extreme situation (if he need xanax or valium). I agree that it sounds like PTSD, and it seems to me whatever works should be in arsenal. A lot of us probably want to go with meds as a last result, but if he needs them.....
Still, sounds like you've got other things to try first...
Bel was crazy hungry with valium, btw. Hungry and hyperactive, so it didn't really do much for calming her thunder fears!
Sage has a thundershirt- and it has reduced his car-anxiety,as did crating him in the car. I likeThundershirt better than Anxiety Wrap-it is much easier to put on. thundershirt works best when you anticipate- I have not found it helpful if Beast Boy is already amped over something. But as a pre-car ride, or pre-thunder, pre-washing machine, or just 'you had a weird day,let's all just lay around ...it has been effective for him.
I ordered it last night, so we will see if it works. I'm actually interested in it for the car. Koda doesn't have terrible anxiety in the car, but he looks so darn uncomfortable. He just stands up sometimes with his legs locked. I would love to take him up North to go camping in the Redwood forest, but the 7 hour drive seems unbearable with him so uncomfortable.
I have to admit, the last trip to Tahoe was good with him. He whined once and that was because he had to take a major leak.
It still might be nice to have.
I picked up the DAP last night. Here's trying.....
Have you thought of possibly taking Mei with you on future walks or other potentially stressful events? Since her presence was helpful before, it may be helpful now
Mei lives with my parents. As of right now, Koda and Mei are together twice a week. I take her on weekends to go hiking, but unfortunately picking her up and dropping her off everyday from a different town probably isn't feasible considering the time it would take and also the early sunset. I wish Mei was still with us sometimes......
I second the idea of having Mei chan help Koda. This kind of seems like when I train my dogs to cure gun shyness. Start small and use plenty of treats. Its kind of funny but I went to a class today on prescription drug abuse and I read quite a bit on xanax and the long term side effects of the drugs (for people who abuse them).
Maybe start with a low stress, high praise trip around the house area and then slwoly work out toward the street. In no means I'm a expert but this kind of stuff works for me to cure mild to severe gun shyness in hunting dogs.
I hope things go ok Tara, dont worry about Hana that girl should pull trough.
@shishiinu I will worry about Hana until she is out hunting with you. :-) I worry about all of the furbabies on here when they are not feeling well.
Well good news, no painful events in 48 hours. Koda's been living a pretty boring and protected life for the last couple of days. Yesterday, my neighbor who he live brought over his Malinois. Koda loves Brock his 13 month old, and he also has Ravie who is only 12 weeks old. It was good times for Koda Bear.
He spent today with Mei. Man those two are insane. When I walked into my parent's house, they were both on top of the back of the couch wrestling. I think he had a really good time because we came back and he went straight to sleep. I also took Mei and Koda for a walk together. He did great with her. He's really just into her when they are together.
So all good news so far. I hope it keeps going this well.
Thanks everyone yet again for being there for me when I lost it a bit.
Good job, Tara! that 48 hrs is money in the bank, so to speak. LEt that bucket empty and he'll be much better equipped to handle the little stuff. Drain it way down and he'll have his usual capacity and be back to his normal awesome self and back to work! Good job!
@dlroberts@brada1878 Yes I'm still bruised. It all got pretty ugly turning black with some yellow in it now. I wake up in the morning still feeling tight all over my body. I've been using a yoga ball every morning to try and relieve some of the pain as well as an anti-inflammatory. I will heal, but I think the bruising is going to stay for a couple of weeks.
I dropped Koda off with Mei this morning again. They were kissing for like five minutes and still going when I left. They really love eachother. It's pretty darn adorable.
Comments
I know that wrapping him will help with the stress levels, so I think you did good with that. Maybe try some melatonin as well? That seems to help Nola when I know she is going to be stressed (visiting nephew, house with large dogs, etc.).
I know it is very frustrating, but Koda will be okay. He will bounce back. You are an incredible owner and Koda does trust you. Otherwise he would stay as far away from you as possible... However, he is drawing comfort from you. Just give him some time. Maybe keep the walks a little shorter at night and closer to home? Not sure if that would help or not. And maybe take him on some walks with Mei Mei, if possible... I know she does great things for his confidence.
I am so sorry you guys have been through this.
The scents or pheromone stuff sounds good and wrapping sounds good too I know there's a shirt thing called the thundershirt which helps with thunderstorms or fire works not sure how it works..
Hope things go well maybe some soft music will help?
Just kidding, I think it's going to take time. There is a staircase up at our mountain house, as a puppy Kaeda slipped on the first step. To this day she will not go near it.
Of course, the other possibility for a short term calming effect that could be then weaned away is valium...I'm imagining you'd prefer not to go with a drug, but if nothing else is calming him, it might help to get him past the worst of it. It didn't work with Bel because she had an odd reaction to it and got hyperactive, but that's not usual of course...
(Ah, I see I was posting as Brad did, who had a similar idea)
I'll also second the thundershirt suggestion. There is clinical research to back up that they work for reducing stress responses in dogs. It's definitely worth the investment for Koda.
I'm really sorry to hear that your journey to recovery isn't as smooth as we alled hoped it would be. You're getting there though. You are starting to get a better picture of what you're dealing with. And with that picture, comes the healing. So keep up the good work. And keep being strong for Koda.
@JessicaRabbit Koda has to see a behaviorist. He is out of his program for two weeks. In order to go back he will have to be assessed first for anxiety and fear. The behaviorist has met Koda twice before. I did call him this evening to talk about what Koda has been going through. He urged me to be patient, as Chrystal did as well, and not push him. I'm going to do my best to listen to him and Chrystal and not push him because I want him to get over it quickly.
I did tell him about all the advice and he was really impressed by the knowledge base on the forum. Right now, I am going to hold off on prescription drugs because Koda will have to be removed from his program if he's on them. We are going to wait it out. I'm really hoping it will not go that route. I'm looking into Melatonin though if his sleep patterns do not get better within a couple of days. However, he is asleep right next to me now peacefully thank goodness. Last night was rough, and his whining in his sleep and kicking kept me awake.
I'm really intrigued by this Thundershirt, and I really didn't think I'd ever put Koda in man clothes. :-) Oh gosh I just went on the site, and that dog crying in the car woke up Koda. Put that shirt on him!!! I'm getting it. Maybe it will get Koda to relax on long drives.
I don't know about your program, but it seems kind of unfair that Koda would be kicked out for what may be an extreme situation (if he need xanax or valium). I agree that it sounds like PTSD, and it seems to me whatever works should be in arsenal. A lot of us probably want to go with meds as a last result, but if he needs them.....
Still, sounds like you've got other things to try first...
Bel was crazy hungry with valium, btw. Hungry and hyperactive, so it didn't really do much for calming her thunder fears!
Good to speak with you
How is Mr. Koda doing today? Oh, and how does he do on walks during the daylight hours? I meant to ask that yesterday.
I have to admit, the last trip to Tahoe was good with him. He whined once and that was because he had to take a major leak.
It still might be nice to have.
I picked up the DAP last night. Here's trying.....
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!!!
Maybe start with a low stress, high praise trip around the house area and then slwoly work out toward the street. In no means I'm a expert but this kind of stuff works for me to cure mild to severe gun shyness in hunting dogs.
I hope things go ok Tara, dont worry about Hana that girl should pull trough.
Well good news, no painful events in 48 hours. Koda's been living a pretty boring and protected life for the last couple of days. Yesterday, my neighbor who he live brought over his Malinois. Koda loves Brock his 13 month old, and he also has Ravie who is only 12 weeks old. It was good times for Koda Bear.
He spent today with Mei. Man those two are insane. When I walked into my parent's house, they were both on top of the back of the couch wrestling. I think he had a really good time because we came back and he went straight to sleep. I also took Mei and Koda for a walk together. He did great with her. He's really just into her when they are together.
So all good news so far. I hope it keeps going this well.
Thanks everyone yet again for being there for me when I lost it a bit.
BTW, how are you feeling? Still all bruised up? :-(
I dropped Koda off with Mei this morning again. They were kissing for like five minutes and still going when I left. They really love eachother. It's pretty darn adorable.
@Wryly Brindle Yes 2 days is money in the bank!!!