New dog, q about fluoxetine

[cwb01]

Hi everyone! This sub has been so helpful and validating to me and I appreciate everyone sharing such valuable information.
I adopted a large 3 yr old pittie mix in mid December. Great in every imaginable way, still has young dog energy but is very receptive and smart. Great with other dogs and people. Majorly reactive to the city (I'm in NYC)--moving cars, honking, construction, screaming kids, etc. He's been in foster here since about a year and the fosters put a ton of work into him. I knew what I was signing up for when I got him. We've been working on bond and trust building, me learning his thresholds, basic training and reinforcement...
This past week he has been extremely escalated before going outside (either out front to the street or in the backyard, where he previously had no issues), trembling and pulling back to the house immediately after doing his business.
My partners senior dog died a couple weeks ago and while they didn't have a long time to bond, they cohabitated for several weeks. Other than that there hasn't been any changes in our household. I know this might just be a part of the adjustment period but it feels like such a detour. We were making progress getting comfortable on our street and backyard was even exciting to him sometimes. He did have an increase (64 mg) in fluoxetine at the beginning of December, so it's been about two months. Is it possible this has something to do with it? I am open to all suggestions and thoughts! I have been learning a lot in this process and I know we still have such a long way to go. I'm more than happy to be patient with him, I just don't want to be doing the wrong thing.
Thank you so much for your thoughts!

 

[2304ld]

@cwb01 You are still within the 3-3-3 window so this behavior seems normal. It could also be that he's getting more comfortable with you and that means showing more of his real feelings about going outside. My dog is on fluoxetine and I don't think the increase y'all did would necessarily be part of what you are seeing now. My dog definitely has exhibited the behaviors you are seeing and she's in a really good place. Sometimes they just have a bad week and you see regression. Can you do more treats or play outside instead of just bathroom time? Good luck!

 

[nyokabi]

@cwb01 Who prescribed the Fluoxetine? Have you reported these changes in behaviour to them? I'd start there to be honest. Do you keep a diary of behaviours? If you do this sometimes you can see something that you thought wasn't related or interconnected but might be. This was the first thing our vet behaviourist had us do - daily diary.

It is still early days with an adopted dog and dogs start to come out of their shell a bit more when they are more comfortable in their surroundings. There are some emotions behind the behaviour, and you would need to try to pinpoint what they are and for that you might need to review every day and try to see a pattern. If the other dog left and never came back, perhaps that is causing some anxiety about leaving the house?