Reactive, anxious 6 month old Border Collie x 1/4 Cattle Dog starting Fluoxetine. How long does it take for it to work?

[theway2631]

I just realised that this is quite long and I hope it makes sense.

Sirius is my 6 month old Border Collie x 1/4 Cattle Dog. Named after Sirius Black from Harry Potter and also the constellation.

We lost our 12 year old Cattle Dog X Luna in May.
Luna was abandoned underneath my SIL car in 2011 after someone did a puppy drop in the neighbourhood. I claimed her and she was extremely anxious, reactive and scared of unknown males, especially those wearing hats.
I trained Luna with every single thing she knew. Spent hours underneath my bed with her because she was scared to come out from underneath there. With a tonne of love, time, dedication and more, Luna became a one of a kind dog.

So, when I chose Sirius, I had a really decent understanding about his breed and I've wanted a Border Collie since I was little. Endless research as well. I had a training plan. Carefully selected toys to encourage his scenes and abilities.

The day we got Sirius, he was petrified of everything. Cars especially. He would change his mind on a dime. Going from loving and caring to biting, attacking, losing his mind. Mouthing and chewing everything. From my bed to chairs to ceramic pots, fibro walls and even the metal table at the vets.
He'd love the water but then would start biting suddenly.

We did a behavioural plan with a behavioural specialist and she was shocked that he wasn't able to settle down the entire time we were in the room. Then started chewing on the metal table. Things that she'd never seen.

Behavioral plan was going ok. Then it wasn't.
He became obsessed with fetch. I'm talking about him not wanting to stop despite being exhausted and vomiting water he'd drunk. Even after hours of playing games, training and going for a walk and socialising with other dogs, it's still not enough for him.
Barking at everything. Even people who are close to me and my family.

Myself or my mum can't go anywhere without him losing his mind. Even if we're in our bedrooms or if I've gone into an appointment and Mum takes him for a walk. He'll lose his mind.

He loves my mum. He prefers to play fetch with her as well. But.
He's started to get in between myself and my mum and goes at her. Or he pulls and bites my hands to get me away from her. Loses his mind once we go out the gate for our walk twisting and jumping and barking.

He was desexed a fortnight ago and our vets were very shocked when he woke up from the anaesthesia, and instead of being droopy, he was barking straight away.

Post desexing there's been a bit of change. But not much. My hands are very, very sore. My favourite dress has been ripped.

Yesterday, he got his stitches out, and I brought up the need for medication. Thankfully, our vet agreed that he needs it.

Fluoxetine 30mg. Once a day.

How long does it typically take for it to start working or to start to see a difference? What signs should we look for? Should we change routines while he's adjusting to it?
We have a professional trainer booked for the end of the week, should we keep this appointment? Or would it be too much while he adjusts to the medication?

I know how long it takes to work on humans but not dogs.

Also, to anyone who is thinking of getting a Border Collie, Cattle Dog, or any working dog,

Not all working dogs or breeds have the same temperament or behaviours. Even if you've had the same breed before.

Sirius is the perfect example. I absolutely love him and he can be the sweetest, kindest, loving, affectionate dog. He's automatically altered to when I've been ill and faint or when I've been crying.

You can also come across working dogs who are very casual and relaxed and don't like working. My brothers pure bred German Shepherd is like that. She only wants cuddles, pats and food. She hides from Sirius during play dates and goes to have a sleep when she's had enough.

 

[greatisyourmercy24]

@theway2631

Even after hours of playing games, training and going for a walk and socialising with other dogs, it's still not enough for him.

I know this sounds counter-productive but I would try to scale down the amount of excitement he gets for two weeks or so and see if that helps him to relax eventually.

As crazy as border collies can be they also often have a great off switch. I know a lot of bc's and they all are very relaxed when they're at home. That's of course different for a 6 month old puppy.

I'd try to switch to slower games. Instead of throwing stuff you could hide them and let him search for his favorite toy. That's quite often just as rewarding.

 

[theway2631]

@greatisyourmercy24 We've tried scaling his activity back and still try to do it, but he gets very pent up - barking, trying to drag you outside, biting if you don't do it.

For example, at 3am I went to the toilet, he woke up, wanted to go to the toilet, I took him outside and he did his business. When I gave the command for inside and bed, he wasn't having a bar of it and wanted to play fetch. Started biting my hands.

When we've tried to not do the games or walks, it's similar behaviour.

I do a lot of snuffling and sniffing work with him. We work in a lot of searching for toys into the games we play. He loves finding his toys and bringing them back.

As for him being relaxed, he's started to since his desexing. Before that, he'd only relax after getting all heightened, exhausted etc.

Our vets were shocked at how much he doesn't relax.

 

[2304ld]

@theway2631 I have a reactive 10 month old border collie mix. 2 things:

1) if you aren't already crate training your dog, do it. Giving the pup a safe space and a place for you to enforce relaxation is huge. Agree with another commenter that you should dial back the activity and let your pup chill a bit more.

2) I am on week 4 of my pup starting fluoxetine. It's been better and worse. She is much chiller at home, but as we are still in the medication's loading period, her anxiety has been way higher. We went to my grandma's backyard (that she's been to a million times before). She was out there for maybe 10 min and when I came out to check on her she was shaking like a leaf. We've dialed back her activity so she isn't encountering more scary situations in this sensitive time.

Good luck!

 

[totallylovedbygod]

@theway2631 Our vet told us 4-6 weeks. It was so gradual that I didn’t really notice how much better my pup’s behavior was until the supplier was delayed and she had to go like 3 days without. Boy was she different! I might wait on the trainer until the dog is adjusted to the meds. I didn’t experience any weird side effects but I’ve heard behavior can get a little weird before it settles out, so I don’t know if starting a lot of training would be super helpful yet? Also just keep an open mind that it might take a few tries to get the right dosage and combo! I lucked out with my dog that what we tried first worked well, but I know for humans too they often try a few meds before finding what works best. Good luck!

 

[theway2631]

@totallylovedbygod Thank you so much. I'm really happy that you lucked out with your dog and the meds. I might call my vet tomorrow and ask about having the trainer. The guy is very good and gets booked out a lot so I don't want to cancel haha.

 

[typological1]

@theway2631 Our vet told us it can take up to 8 weeks to load, and it pretty much took that whole time to get to a really good place.

We noticed improvements maybe a month in, and then more gradual improvements each week. Just know that they can actually become more anxious during the loading process before it finally settles.

Also, they tend to start at the lowest dose for weight and raise if needed. It has made such a difference for my dog. Good luck!

 

[johnhus1966]

@theway2631 Noticed an effect before 4 weeks with my reactive adolescent poodle. She’s been on it 6-7 weeks now and it’s helpful so far. There were strange side effects at the beginning like her being weird when I came back from work or errands (she would go to my partner like she wanted protection, but I’m her favorite human). She pulls less on walks and is able to see more people/dogs before being overwhelmed. She alert barks less for random sounds. She looks at me more and seems to trust that I’m going to guide her if it makes sense. She seems more confident. She relaxes more at home, sleeps in more. She’s way more cuddly. I’m reintroducing walks a little bit at a time and really talking to her and telling her that’s she’s brave and she’s a good girl.

 

[joshuawithmartin]

@theway2631 I believe 4-8 weeks is the typical given range for fluoxetine but this is definitely the sort of thing to ask your vet about. If they are unfamiliar themselves they can consult or refer you to a VB or behavior vet

 

[bml]

@theway2631 I have a border collie mix on Reconcile (dog version of Fluoxetine) and it took 10 weeks for us to see a difference. It has really worked wonders for her. She did have some weird side effects and my vet added Purina’s Calming Probiotics on top of it. The probiotics completely made her side effects go away (was scared of doorways and walking on hardwood floors randomly) and she has been doing great since