Advice on Pets, Life, Love

Dear Dog Lady,

We got Sadie a few months ago. She is a Labrador mix about five-years-old. Her owners wanted to give her away and keep her sister. When she arrived, she was scared. We thought it was just the new surroundings but it got worse.

When we had a guest in the house, she would bark furiously and finally retreat to her crate. During the process she would defecate everywhere. We finally took her to the veterinarian who diagnosed severe anxiety. We got prescriptions for two meds to treat her. We were also referred to training. The trainers said they had not seen quite so intense a case of anxiety and suggested she go to Doggie Day Care and get used to other dogs. We took her there and she learned to get along with the other dogs. However, she still greets our house guests with fangs bared. She seems to be better after taking the medication but I would like her to feel better.

Is there anything else we can do?

Dave

Dear Dave,

Yes, be patient and loving. Even with medication, people don't change overnight, why should dogs? Sadie is working through her issues and this takes time. Sending her to doggy day care was a fabulous idea. Keep her there.

When Dog Lady got her rescue dog, he was a bundle of nerves. He too defecated in the house. Dog Lady thought she'd go crazy with this skittery spooked terrier. Yet, over two years, sweet Dexter has calmed down considerably. He's still occasionally scared of men walking behind him on the street. He stops and waits until they pass. He can get nervous when Dog Lady leaves the room but he's not nearly as terrified as he used to be. He takes no medication except good food, lots of canoodling with his humans and a good doggy day care where he can mix it up with his own kind—so very important for a dog's mental health.

Dear Dog Lady,

I need some advice: My neighbor is fostering a very timid little dog, Vivian. She is very sweet and shy. Marla has had her about 24 hours. And the dog is so frightened she won't poop. She hasn't gone to the bathroom since Marla brought her home, but she has eaten dinner and breakfast. The poor little thing needs to poop. Any advice?

Janet

Dear Janet,

You wrote a follow-up email to "Ask Dog Lady" saying all is well. Vivian did her business and everybody exhaled. The anxious foster dog simply needed a little time and space.

Mr. Dog Lady tells a story about his mother, Mother-In-Law-Dog Lady, who had to care for her daughter's cats when daughter went away to college. Mother-In-Law wanted to feed dry food instead of canned but, at first, the cats refused to eat the dry stuff. Mother-In-Law went to the family veterinarian and asked for help to coax the cats to eat. The wise vet told her not to do a thing because, eventually, the cats would get hungry enough to chow down. And they did.

This is a good lesson for anyone whose dog refuses to follow simple biology. If you wait long enough, everything comes out for the best.

Write askdoglady@gmail.com.