Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 4/4/2011

Question
Hi:

My husband and I recently adopted a lab puppy (10 months old) from our local SPCA.  She has, in her short life, gone through some evidently traumatic situations and was diagnosed recently with ulcerated colitis.  She has finished her prescribed meds so that has been addressed, but I'm looking for ways to help her with the stress and I'm not sure how to pursue.  I have bought her toys, I try to spend a lot of time with her to bond.  At times she will not respond to me at all, lowers herself and paces constantly.  She also yawns a lot when she is extremely stressed.  I did purchase a herbal supplement (Happy Traveler) this weekend and started giving her a couple per day to try and help take the edge off. (Not sure how long I should use this) When we first brought her home, she did very well inside the house,  but now she goes out comes back in and has accidents.  Can you please provide me with any help?
Thanks so much.

Answer
Well this is a very hard case isn't it? I am not a behaviorist Linda so you may want to contact one if she doesn't start to come around soon. I would just keep practicing a calm and quiet atmosphere for her to be in, along with some slow re-conditioning training at the same time. There are many websites about dog training online that you can look at for help with this part. I love Uncle Matty's site, he is amazing with dogs. He likes to speak to them in a high-pitched voice as he says they listen better to those and respond better. I tried it at work and indeed the dogs did pay attention!!

Remember that ulcerative colitis in dogs isn't necessarily from stress like it is in people but can be diet and genetically induced. Diet is the main component in treatment and prevention with this disease.
Pacing is also a sigh of pain, as is panting. So maybe you are reading these as a sign of stress when she was actually in pain.

Some dogs are just born with more high-strung personalities and can be stressors for that reason. Unless the pound has some background on her, it's hard to say whether or not this is from trauma.
Regardless of the cause, you are doing a good job of treating the problem. Long walks on leash will also help her with this, just as it does for people. This will help her with the accidents as well.

I do not know what is in Happy Traveler so I don't know how long you can use it. You can send me the ingredients in a feedback if you want.
If all else fails you can ask your vet about putting her on a doggy anti-depressant for a few months to help her adjust to her new home and way of life. Sometimes we just need a little help. Then with the help of your vet you can slowly wean her off of the medication.

Just an idea.. Ask your vet about these drugs and see what they can provide for you. I hope that this journey of pain is short for her and that she comes around soon.

Please let me know how it goes with her. :-)