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Abby's Story

2K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Scout's Mama 
#1 ·
Abby is my first Rescue GSD and my intention for this thread is to share, and get input concerning the challenges and accomplishments Abby & myself encounter together.

This is what I know to be true about Abby since I brought her home on 1/24/14:

Abby is a 2 to 4 year old female GSD. She has been re-homed at least 3 to 5 times from what I know.

Abby was returned to the shelter from her last owner because of her whining and howling. She was staked outside 24/7 so she could be a guard dog. The temps outside were 5 above to -15 below & I'm shocked she manage to survive through those conditions.

The vet confirmed she has had a litter of puppies. And Abby is now spayed but it appears it her stitches were poorly done as my vet put it nicely.

Abby has about 10 bb's in here and the vet thinks she was shot with bird shot from a shotgun at one time. The bb's can be found from the front of her chest, belly, and rear. Feel's like NO# 8 or 10 bird-shot from what I can gather.

Abby has some skin issues and I forget what term the vet used but some of the pimples can be squeezed and white ooze comes out of them. Abby also seems to constantly scratch and chew several locations on herself through out the day. Abby has no flea's or parasites which was confirmed by the Vet.

Abby has an extreme case of separation anxiety. She follows me every where in the house. She panic's when I get ready to leave and whines/ howls in her crate from the time I leave until I get home from work. I've set-up skype so I can monitor her when I'm away from home.

I'm not much into medicating people or dogs but in Abby's case my Vet suggested fluoxetine, and I started her on this yesterday 1/29/2014

Abby is otherwise very healthy and very loving. She is a bit wild but has quickly learned/ relearned how to sit and lay down. Abby shows no signs of aggression towards people at this point.

Right now my goals are to get her comfortable with her crate, simple obedience training, overcoming her separation anxiety, to learn I wont abandon her like so many others have, and to just have a good time playing with toys.. Abby didn't seem to know what playing was when I first got her.

I will post more when I have time, but I just wanted to start this thread while I had some time available to me. There are so many wonderful things about Abby that I will list soon, but I wanted to get the critical observations and facts out before I forget anything.

I Love you Abby & I won't give up on You
 
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#3 ·
A few things I've done thus far to try and help with some of Abby's issues in this short time.

She was on a low grade Purina dry food from the shelter. I first started her on ProPlan Select natural Lamb & rice, but after doing a bit more research I switched her over to Wellness Core Ocean Formula.

I started spraying her coat down with an anti-itch skin care product to help relieve the itching, but she is a bit scared of me spraying her down and not sure how well this spray is going to work.

I've purchased a new large crate for her and even though I believe in crate training and have always done this with my other Shepherds, I might find myself leaving her on a level of the house that is safe from dangers un-crated.. to be determined.

Due to the itching and constant rolling in the snow,, Abby hasn't found much relief from her itching. I'm not sure if this is due to stress, or allergies or a combination of both.

Abby is now up to date on all her shots and her blood work came back normal with no elevated levels. I'm debating getting the bird shot removed from her but the vet said this shouldn't cause an issue right now and we could remove the bb's if she has a future surgery.

I did put Abby on 75 mg of Benadryl (diphenhydramine), but this hasn't really helped her itching much. Since I've started the fluoxetine last evening I will discontinue my use of Benadryl with Abby at this time.
 
#5 ·
If you have a friend with a dog, try Abby to see if they will make friends. Then both of you leave them together to see if Abby acts out her SA.(you don't have to leave---just leave them in the house together{while you two are out of sight} and listen for any reaction). SA often disappears when there are other pack members that stay with the one having the SA. It might turn out to be a good idea to have another one that stays with Abby.

What does the vet say about the rash/itching? It could be that an antibiotic course would take care of the problem.
 
#6 ·
Abby is a bit dog aggressive so I don't trust her for any length of time with another dog unattended. I did try to leave her with another dog for just a few minutes but she howled and cried until I came back in the house. My father was at the house and when I went outside to do some work, Abby cried until I came back in.

The Vet didn't think the skin condition was a major concern the other night when we visited, but I may call her back and let her know that Abby continues to itch. I had put a flea collar on her thinking her itching was caused by fleas and the Vet said I should take it off her as it may be causing some of the skin irritations. Also the Vet said I could use benadryl to help with the itching which I did do for 2 days but with starting her on the fluoxetine, I thought it best to take her off the benadryl.
 
#8 ·
Day 2 fluoxetine update

Yesterday Abby was crated up for 8 hours while I was at work. I monitored her over skype and she howled/ cried for almost the entire time. She also defecated/ urinated in the crate. I followed the BOND training outline and when I returned home I didn't give her attention until she settled down, which took about 5 minutes. We played outside for a few hours on and off and had a great evening. Abby seemed a bit more sleepy then normal but this could be because of the 8 hour howling session.


Day 3 fluoxetine update

Again I'm monitoring from work via skype but today I did not crate Abby up. I made the house safe of any dangers this is what I found. Abby howled for about 2 hours after I departed then she settled down quite a bit. She would have calm periods of about 30 minutes, then she would start to howl again for about 15 minutes.

Its hard to describe Abby's howl.. I've heard nothing like it before from my past dogs. It starts out like a scratchy howl, then gets very hoarse and progresses into some type of high pitch whale like squeal. She really give it her all and put her whole body into making this sound. She has never made this sound when I've been around, so I think she saves this call when she is going through her worst Separation Anxiety. Abby will occasionally let out a bark but no very often.

I'm not seeing much pacing while she is alone, but I do see her walking about the house looking for me while she is making her call out. I thought she would have went up to my bedroom on the upper level but she continues to stay on the main level of the house and walks back and fourth between the garage door where I depart every morning and the kitchen.. She seems to think the treat cupboard may open by itself if she stares at it hard enough.

I will be home with her over the next few days because of the weekend, and I will continue with the BOND training and also crate her up a few times while I'm still in the house.

I know this is only day 3 on the fluoxetine, but I sure hope to see some results sooner rather then later with Abby's Separation Anxiety. I really don't think any amount of obedience training or "Wearing her out" could tackle this issue alone. It is very sad to see her go through this pain.
 
#9 ·
It's only been a week; Abby will need time to adjust. When I brought home my rescue, Ralphie, last year it took him a couple of weeks to get used to his new house, his new family, his new routine, everything. He also had separation anxiety and he was medicated for it. We stuck to the desensitization training that was included with the medication as closely as possibly. After he was used to what times we were home or gone and how often he was let out and left alone, he was fine, but even with that it took several months for him to show his true personality (heck, he wouldn't even play inside the house for MONTHS)! So, be patient and stay consistent with the BOND training and I'm sure it will all work out. :)
 
#11 ·
This makes me laugh, not because it doesn't work, but because when I tried it Ralphie knocked the radio off the table and chewed it up on Day 3 lol. :D
 
#13 ·
I think I left it on Smooth Jazz, so maybe he's not a jazz fan! Hehehe!
 
#15 ·
Be patient with the flouxetine (hard I know). It can take 2 wks to a month sometimes to see the full effect it will have. With Woolf I could see a small change quickly - mainly appetite and a more relaxed sleep - then about 3 weeks into it I could see where his brain slowed down and he started thinking. Woolf is not on it for SA.

Also remember, Abby has been with you only a few days, it normally takes a dog sometimes a few weeks to settle in and show their personality. I haven't read any previous posts about Abby, but just in case, do a search on here for '2 week shut down'. Many have had good luck with it, and with the background Abby has, it may help her. Check it out and see what you think.
 
#16 ·
I haven't tried the t.v. as of yet, and believe it or not my last boy use to love watching the t.v. He loved old Westerns and animal planet. I kid you not..have a few videos of him watching it, it was intense. Not sure if I want another t.v. junkie, almost lost a 60" lcd with the last one.

My posts are more of a log for me to understand Abby and be able to read back and see her progress. I don't expect her to be any where near adjusted in such a short time, but after raising GSD's and Rotties for 18 years I know normal and abnormal behavior. Abby's is such a sweet dog, and with every dog comes new learning experiences.

Abby had her best day today..making small gains and I'm so proud of her. I have to keep reminding myself that I may need as much if not more training then Abby. And Twyla I will read the "2 week shut down" thank you for any and all suggestions.
 
#18 ·
Day 6 fluoxetine update:

Abby & I made some progress this weekend. I started her on coconut oil this weekend: topical & oral. Her itching is getting a bit better and hope this coconut oil continues to give her relief.

Abby does not like spray bottles. I tried to spray her down again for the 3rd day with this anti itch spray and she hates the sound of the spray bottle..so I'm done with trying to spray her down with anything.

We spent a few hours each day doing some very basic commands & just general playing around (Nothing serious): sit, here, platz.. she was able to focus pretty good. She loves diving for the ball in the 3' snow drifts and just amazed how she seems to find the ball each time..she is so eager to try and please me..great drive in this little girl.

My father watched her on Saturday evening for about 5 hours when I went to an auction. She whined on and off for a few hours, but she settled down and was pretty good for the most part.

Abby on Sunday & Monday morning ate her food by herself. In the past if I left the kitchen she ran to follow me. Now, the last 3 feedings she ate her food until it was gone and then searched me out...making progress here!

Monday morning I noticed her whine for about 45 minutes ( monitoring her on skype) and as of right now she has been quiet for 2 hours.. again, Progress!

Abby & I have been working on playing tug together. It takes a bit of goofing around with her to get her to want to play, but she is making an effort with tug. She got a bit excited and decided my hands were better bite toys then the tug toy so I did have to let her know we play with the toy and my hands were off limits for chomping..lol

A quick Pic of Abby from this weekend..

 
#19 ·
Day 10 fluoxetine update:

Abby is making some positive progress with her SA. When I leave the house in the morning she only howls, barks, whines for about 15 minutes & then gives up. She grabs her favorite leather recliner and takes a nap for a few hours. She will occasionally bark or howl but this only last for 3 to 5 minutes and this happens about 2 to 3 times during the 9 hours I'm gone. This is a huge improvement for Abby!

I've switched Abby to the Trader Joes coconut oil 2 times daily and this seems to be helping with her itching/ scratching.

It is hard to get Abby out to exercise with the temps sitting below 0 for the last week, but we spend time outside for short periods and this seems to work well for us.

I've introduced some tug playing and she is still a bit shy about this game, but she loves to fetch.

Abby has also allowed me to leave the room without feeling the need to follow my every move. I think the fluoxetine is helping but she is on a low dose right now and I think our training has become just as important as the medication. Next week I'm suppose to bump up her dose, but I'm not sure if I like this idea. I think the small dose she is on right now is doing what the medication should be doing without adverse side effect. And I'm worried a higher dose might bring on issues with depression, tiredness, etc..

Excellent job Abby! You have come so far in such a short time!
 
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