Prozac

Been absent! A lot has been going on...........In Sept we moved from Sacramento to Daly City (San Francisco). Then in December due to a bizarre and totally unexpected turn of events, we moved back home to Seattle. For the last 6 wks we have been living at my parents' house while trying to find our own place. Finally, after looking at dozens of really bad houses, we found "THE ONE" and just finished moving in this weekend! It was a VERY busy & stressful 6 wks. (And frankly, the 3 mos before we moved was even more stressful......)

A whole lot has been going on that I dont need to go into, but, and nothing really new here, Alki has been struggling for the last 2 yrs, and all the changes that have been going on in the last 4-5 mos have been tough for her. She got to a really good point before we moved to SF, and then again in SF after a rough adjustment she really started to thrive again as well, but then our move back to Seattle was REALLY stressful (long story short we had car troubles and ended up stranded in OR for 3 days) and by the time we got here her brain was totally fried. So, after a year of deliberation and prep, consulting with trainer friends experienced with this sort of thing, etc, I have started Alki on Prozac.

I am really optimistic about this. I think we are at the perfect place to do this now--I have tried other things and been able to measure the success rate, and feel like I have a really good grasp on exactly what is going on with her finally, she is the exact type of dog for this drug, and I have heard a lot of good things from trainer friends familiar with the drug (and who use/d it on their own dogs), so Im really excited about it. We still need to continue with our behavior modification routine obviously, but hopefully with the help of the drug her bounce back time will greatly reduce, and her frequency/intensity of reactions will also greatly reduce, thus making our training more successful and faster. My eventual goal is to be able to intro her to other dogs again, or at the very least be able to walk her in close proximity to other dogs, hopefully within 6 mos to a year. I cannot walk her at all at this point, because even if she hears a dog bark in a house or a tag jingle she loses it and suddenly the entire world becomes scary and we have to get back home a.s.a.p. If we actually see a dog its 10 times worse.

So, her first dose was 5 days ago. I want to log her behavior daily to help me see if/how much it is helping, and/or if she is having any side effects/reactions. It takes 6-8 wks minimum to tell if it is working. And may take a few months for me to really see a difference. She is also being started at the low end of dosing, so it could potentially be doubled if necessary (though I have a feeling it wont be necessary).

02.03-05.11: Notes written on other computer; need to add here later.

02.06.11: MISSED DOSE; good day for Alki. first full day in our new house. she got to hang out all day with us (and Tony when I took the boys to the dog park). had a scary moment when smoke detectors went off briefly; Tony reports that her tail was tucked and she went to him, definitely bothered to some degree. In the past she has reacted similarly to smoke alarms so no big surprise there. Never too over-the-top scared though.

New house is much quieter, and have yet to hear any barking dogs (though Im pretty sure I saw a dog next door before we moved in... Other next door house is vacant, and there are just trees behind). So far the dogs have not been reactive at all, though I am prepared this time for any reactive moments! Our Daly City house was a very tough adjustment for Alki & Brock (the alert barkers & dog-reactive dogs; Royal could care less lol) with many close neighbors, lots of dogs walking past the house daily, and 2 yappy outdoor dogs next door. But after about a month things settled down and they desensitized to the sounds. Though we always had to keep the blinds closed, or otherwise block the dogs' view because there was constant visual stimuli that triggered both Brock & Alki. It was a good lesson for me though and I figured out a lot of little tricks. lol

I hope to start up this blog with photos again as well soon! Last year I did the "52 Weeks" project for all 3 dogs, so plan to post each dogs' year in photos soon. This year I am doing a "12 months" project for each dog, as the weekly project has been a challenge for me. (Last year I did a weekly photo for all 3 dogs; the year before I only did 1 dog and it was still a struggle!) I will likely post my monthly shots as I take them. :)

If anyone is reading this still, I hope all is well with you & your furry families, that your holidays were enjoyable, and that the new year is treating you well!

And cause it would be wrong otherwise, some photos from the last 6 wks:

it snowed a whopping 4 inches (a lot for us) and then FROZE for a week straight! VERY unusual! it was awful! but the dogs sure had fun in it! we have not seen a flake of snow since, and thats fine with me--the midwest can keep it!! brrrrr

fun at the dog park:

Royal & his new buddy Amber (friend's dog):

Alki's favorite toy (actually, Royal's favorite too!) the "chase n tug":


photos at the new house to come soon :)