Hiring contractors can be a bit tricky in our household. After screening several landscapers we chose the one Wilson and I both agreed on. When it came time to get the giant project done it was much more complex than other households. The landscapers were used to having open access, not checking in and working a bit here and there, depending on which phase the project is in. I am certain there would be extensive damage to my house, dogs or contractors if they just came and went while my dogs were alone in the house. Wilson clearly believes in stranger danger. He isn’t even a fan of allowing people he knows into the backyard, unless he can follow them around and closely monitor the activity.
We moved Wilson’s giant crate into the family room and set up what I believed would be a dog corral with no exterior visibility. I considered medicating both dogs, but after a great deal of research about using acepromazine (ace) on anxiety dogs I decided I wanted to avoid using ace on Pooh if possible. (It doesn’t seem to relax dogs, just keeps them from running around or hurting themselves…not a concern with Pooh anyway if I’m around.) I was all set to be home and we were well supplied with calming collars, thunder shirts, medication and lots of dog treats.
It began something like this:
Day 1: Wilson gets 1 pill of ace, jumps over the couch and runs around the house barking like crazy when he hears sounds in the backyard all day. The tv is blaring and all the windows are covered, but he is not fooled. It is a LONG day for me.
Day 2: Wilson gets 1.5 pills of ace and I give up on trying to corral him and realize I need a much better strategy. I take the dogs for multiple walks, but the weather isn’t great and Wilson won’t get in the truck out front (because he’s too busy watching the neighbors?). He finally lies down in the driveway, making it clear that the truck isn’t an option.
Day 3: After days of blaring tv and being trapped, I call the vet asking how high we can go with Wilson’s dosage because 1.5 pills is the max on the bottle and he’s still barking and running around.
Day …I lost track: Wilson gets 2 pills because it is cement day and it’s going to be a long, noisy one. We find that 2 pills makes the day much calmer, the dogs may be getting fat from having stuffed Kongs every day and the project is stop/start due to weather so it’s a bit complex
In the end, I was VERY grateful that we had crate trained Wilson. It allowed me to go to work and leave him crated partial days if we were expecting someone to stop by to do some work. It also allowed me to crate him when there were short spurts of work that didn’t warrant medication. I even put BOTH dogs in Wilson’s crate at one point because I couldn’t get them calmed down. Interestingly, Pooh doesn’t have any confinement panic if she’s locked up with Wilson. Our hardwood floors will probably never be the same because of the laps Wilson ran through the house, but our backyard is an amazing retreat!
Update on Wilson’s goals (been with us over a year):
Minimize/understand reactivity with strangers (neighbors and reflections in windows too)- he does pretty well at the front window, but hats are an issue for him so cold weather requires a bit of intervention from us, overall he does fine
Interactions with Pooh positive- he is still very energetic, but I’m not concerned for her safety and I she seems to end the games when she is tired
Able to get in the pickup or car…get to vet- this one is still tricky, he’s had the one vet appointment and been to the McD drive through several times for a variety of treats and he will eat when the truck is moving. However, he still has serious concerns about being closed in or travelling in the truck so after a trip to McD there’s a bit of a setback. Perhaps if there was a drive through that served piles of fresh, natural meat (he’s a big fan of chicken and turkey)?
Stop eating the beds- MIRACLES DO HAPPEN! Wilson has had a blanket for at least a month and we have had both of the dog crate pads for months now, even leaving crates wide open. When I present him with a pillow or blanket he gets very excited and settles right down to claim his new item (laundry day is big around here).
Now we’re moving on to cat interactions…we’re testing free reign at this point and it’s getting a little chaotic (again, the poor floors), but it seems like Wilson is trying to convince the cats to play with him. He bows down and growls as if trying to engage in dog play. The cats are unimpressed and Wilson will likely get another bloody nose from the tiny cat in the future. The big cat no longer runs from him and seems curious.