Prozac

[Darien]

Sadly I have had to put my new cocker spaniel Misty on Prozac We have slowly conquered the house soiling problems, thanks to dogmad, to only the occassional accident and I have figured out why that is...a scare, change etc. I am in the progress of working with animal bahaviourist Robert Stabler. Her separation anxiety is now affecting her health, she has lost 3 kilos and in a small dog that is alot, with her constant pacing and stressing out. I never thought I would think poorly of registered breeders, being an ex one myself, but truly, some of them have a lot to be answerable to. I thought I was buying an ex showdog from a well known breeder and it never entered my head that there would be a problem, I had less problems with my two rescue Border Collies!!! I now consider Misty to be a rescue Cocker Spaniel in need of my help and love.

I can only hope we will be able to make her less stressful and a completely happy little girl, even though there is a chance she may never really settle, I am being positive :) I just wanted to update everyone who offered such great advise, Thank you all

Sorry I still can't work out how to post a picture up of her, photbucket has changed and I can't fugure it out

[Leah82]

Glad things are starting to look up :) 3 kgs for a female cocker is definitely a lot.

would love to see a photo of Misty, if you use photobucket copy the direct link from there and paste it into the Insert Image URL here.

[hankdog]

There's quite a few Prozac puppies on here, it's not the worst thing and is a kindness if it relieves some stress. I played around with dosage a bit in the first few months to get a balance between being too stoned and too stressed.

If you haven't already found it the Great Dane rescue website has some very helpful tips on seperation anxiety. Good on you for helping your dog.

Edited August 6, 2013 by hankdog

[Jed]

Hi darien, did you buy the cocker direct from the breeder? Is her temperament ok, and is it just separation anxiety, or is her temp suss too?

Am wondering if her problems are due to the new home, and lack of socialisation previously?

[fbaudry]

I commend you for trying to do the right thing by your little dog and getting professional help.

Hopefully she'll make great progress and you'll get to a point where things are manageable.

I completely understand where you're coming from regarding breeders...

6 years ago I got a cocker pup from a registered breeder, apparently highly regarded in the show world, a judge etc...

This poor dog showed signs of not being normal from day one. We worked with a veterinary Behaviourist, tried various medications, did a brain MRI and ended up giving him his wings aged 2 and a half.

I'm sure your little girl will come around but I sympathize with your disappointment.

I'm happy for you to PM me if you'd like...

[Darien]

Hi darien, did you buy the cocker direct from the breeder? Is her temperament ok, and is it just separation anxiety, or is her temp suss too?

Am wondering if her problems are due to the new home, and lack of socialisation previously?

Yes Jed, I bought her direct from the breeder, they decided she was better fitted to a home environment as she loves people. Her temperament is excellent, she is a friendly lovely little girl. It is obvious that she has had little to no socialisation and it's heart breaking to see her pacing and stressed out all the time

[Darien]

Glad things are starting to look up :) 3 kgs for a female cocker is definitely a lot.

would love to see a photo of Misty, if you use photobucket copy the direct link from there and paste it into the Insert Image URL here.

I do use photobucket, it's what I have always used to post photos on here, but it's changed and I can't find the direct link anymore.

[Darien]

I finally got it :) Here is my Misty :)

[dee lee]

Oh she is gorgeous!! I love her colouring!

My friend's well bred cocker is a neurotic mess with extreme separation anxiety. It's sad to hear more stories like that.

Have you noticed the Prozac makes a difference?

[Tara and Sam]

awww she is gorgeous

and her colouring is lovely

I was advised by the vet to give Prozac for when my Tara was having her anxiety issues from her Dementia , but he also advised she may have tummy problems

Hope you get some results for Misty

PS need a baby sitter for her look my way :)

[bianca.a]

She is lovely :)

I had one of my dogs on it for a while and it certainly helped her. Thankfully I have been able to wean her off and she has remained stable. Wishing you both all the best.

[sandgrubber]

I'll probably get roasted for this, but my impression is that the cocker spaniel is one of those breeds where temperament has suffered mightily as the breed went from working to show as a dominant mode of selection. My mum, born in 1923, was brought up with clockers who were used as hunting dogs and pets in Minnesota. She much lamented changes in the breed brought about by showing. I seem to remember reading a few studies out of the University of Cordoba showing some really ugly temperament faults in the breed.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/05/25/2579884.htm

So...it may not be the breeder in particular but a general slackness with regard to breeding for temperament within the breed.

Edited August 7, 2013 by sandgrubber

[Jed]

Hi darien, did you buy the cocker direct from the breeder? Is her temperament ok, and is it just separation anxiety, or is her temp suss too?

Am wondering if her problems are due to the new home, and lack of socialisation previously?

Yes Jed, I bought her direct from the breeder, they decided she was better fitted to a home environment as she loves people. Her temperament is excellent, she is a friendly lovely little girl. It is obvious that she has had little to no socialisation and it's heart breaking to see her pacing and stressed out all the time

Cockers are very devoted. Give her time and attention, and hope what the behaviourist suggests will help the sep. anxiety. Some of them do suffer from this. But she is in a new environment. IMHO most cockers have good stable temperaments .MOST. As she feels she has been abandoned, she is now frightened you will abandon her too. I remember Cordelia had an older cocker. She would not go anywhere without her lead, which came with her. It was agreed that I could provide her with the right home .... but alas, she was just too upset and dejected to be rehomed, so give the girl a little time. Many of them have "soft" temperaments, and take things to heart.

My girl went totally loopy after the fire ... from being a lovely girl with a great temp. She would not allow strangers near her, particularly men and would bark threateningly at them. She also ran and hid if people came. She is almost back to normal now, so don't despair.

Hope you have success

[Darien]

Oh she is gorgeous!! I love her colouring!

My friend's well bred cocker is a neurotic mess with extreme separation anxiety. It's sad to hear more stories like that.

Have you noticed the Prozac makes a difference?

I have only just started it, today will be her third day, so it's a bit eraly as yet.

[Darien]

awww she is gorgeous

and her colouring is lovely

I was advised by the vet to give Prozac for when my Tara was having her anxiety issues from her Dementia , but he also advised she may have tummy problems

Hope you get some results for Misty

PS need a baby sitter for her look my way :)

LOLOL...I'll keep you in mind

[Darien]

I'll probably get roasted for this, but my impression is that the cocker spaniel is one of those breeds where temperament has suffered mightily as the breed went from working to show as a dominant mode of selection. My mum, born in 1923, was brought up with clockers who were used as hunting dogs and pets in Minnesota. She much lamented changes in the breed brought about by showing. I seem to remember reading a few studies out of the University of Cordoba showing some really ugly temperament faults in the breed.

http://www.abc.net.a.../25/2579884.htm

So...it may not be the breeder in particular but a general slackness with regard to breeding for temperament within the breed.

Misty's temperament is fine in this case and I do know there was a bad time when breeding the goldens, that the cockers temperament was put under strain. Misty's breeder is paticularily proud of her cockers teprament.

[Darien]

Hi darien, did you buy the cocker direct from the breeder? Is her temperament ok, and is it just separation anxiety, or is her temp suss too?

Am wondering if her problems are due to the new home, and lack of socialisation previously?

Yes Jed, I bought her direct from the breeder, they decided she was better fitted to a home environment as she loves people. Her temperament is excellent, she is a friendly lovely little girl. It is obvious that she has had little to no socialisation and it's heart breaking to see her pacing and stressed out all the time

Cockers are very devoted. Give her time and attention, and hope what the behaviourist suggests will help the sep. anxiety. Some of them do suffer from this. But she is in a new environment. IMHO most cockers have good stable temperaments .MOST. As she feels she has been abandoned, she is now frightened you will abandon her too. I remember Cordelia had an older cocker. She would not go anywhere without her lead, which came with her. It was agreed that I could provide her with the right home .... but alas, she was just too upset and dejected to be rehomed, so give the girl a little time. Many of them have "soft" temperaments, and take things to heart.

My girl went totally loopy after the fire ... from being a lovely girl with a great temp. She would not allow strangers near her, particularly men and would bark threateningly at them. She also ran and hid if people came. She is almost back to normal now, so don't despair.

Hope you have success

I watched you on RSPCA Rescue and thought how far you had come and my heart broke for you all over again (((((Jed))))).

I will give Misty all the time in the world and I know she will be eventually fine, it's just hard watching her at the moment. I do wished she would interact with my Kiska, but she won't. Ah well, slow and steady wins the race :)

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Keep going Darien, I'm sure you will be successful eventually, she's lucky to have come to you! It's a massive change to go from being a breeder's dog sometimes, to a home environment unless the breeder has exactly the same set up as the home.

I just rescued a little dog from the pound, thought he looked very cute and he'd be a quick rehomer but he will need months of rehab as he is most likely from a puppy farm or similar environment. Came with years of untreated ear infections, yeast infections and had an absolute terror of the outside world, as if he'd never seen a car, stroller, pushbike and so on. He gets hysterical but slowly we are making headway ... I estimate 6 months, based on previous experiences.

I'm sure things will improve along the way, there'll be little changes that will all add up to just what you want in the end.

[Jed]

Thanks Darien, that footage was taken about 2 weeks after I got out of hospital - I am still improving!!

So, Marjorie is 3 years from the fire,but still a bit strange, and if I had not owned her pre fire, I would not have believed how she was.....and how much she changed, and she was the only one with obvious problems.

I once had two puppy farm keeshonds to rehome. Took me 12 months to have them even recognize their names, so don't despair.

[toofarnorth]

Misty looks beautiful! My Billy is the first cocker spaniel that I have had....got to say I he can also be hard work at times, but so worth it. What a pity that the breeder wasn't straight up with you, it could of so easily ended in heartache if you weren't so dedicated.