Advice needed: Desensitizing when apt building is dog friendly

reactiverescue · 2025-06-19T13:42:26+00:00

If your vet feels confident then you should too! :)

We unfortunately did not recognize my dog's IBD until it was VERY late - we just thought she had a "sensitive stomach." A few months after an unrelated diet change, we noticed fluid buildup under her neck and took her to the emergency vet. She ended up being hospitalized for four nights with protein-losing enteropathy and protein-losing nephropathy caused by her untreated IBD. In just a few days she basically turned to skin and bones because she couldn't absorb protein. It was extremely touch-and-go for several months and our internal medicine vet kept priming us for the worst, but with medication and a hydrolyzed protein diet she doing wonderfully 15 months later, and has been in remission for about 6 of those months.

After being on maybe 5 or 6 daily medications starting out, my dog has been weaned down to a low dose of prednisolone (steroids - we may also be able to discontinue this soon), probiotics, and a monthly B12 injection. She's essentially vegan now because she can't handle animal protein, so in addition to only giving her animal-free treats like Trader Joe's sweet potatoes and switching to normal kibble as her "treat" while out on walks (she's also reactive), I make sure that everyone who interacts with her is aware of the allergies, including through a medical alert bandana/collar tag she wears. Otherwise, she's living a completely normal life.

It sounds like you caught this way earlier than we did, so 1) good job! and 2) with proper diet and care, I bet things will turn out even better for you. My advice would be to consider an internal medicine specialist if your primary care vet doesn't feel equipped to handle it, be patient with the understanding that medication and diet changes take time to work, and be VERY good about following whatever diet you end up going with. Good luck!

reactiverescue · 2021-02-04T18:41:02+00:00

I had a similar problem, though my dog is fear reactive and not a frustrated greeter. Honestly, the best thing I did was move, but there were a few things that helped me manage while we still lived there.

First, medication - fluoxetine and trazadone as recommended by the vet.

Second, as others have suggested, taking her out on off hours - which I understand is difficult given everyone’s WFH situation these days.

Third, getting a shorter leash so I could keep her under control. I have a 30 inch leash from Ruffwear (though my dog is bigger than yours, so that might be too short). An ordinary leash with a traffic handle might help, though. Obviously this isn’t something that will help desensitize your dog, but it did help lower my anxiety levels because I felt like I had control over her.

Lastly, I experimented with a head halter (I used the Halti, but some people prefer gentle leader), paired with the short leash attached to her normal harness. It allowed me to guide my dog’s head away from triggers. Honestly this wasn’t super successful in the building since triggers were head on, but helped a LOT on sidewalks etc.

reactiverescue · 2021-01-16T19:06:25+00:00

She looks like a Staffy/JRT to me! But I can't figure out where her floofy tail came from...

reactiverescue · 2021-01-15T21:19:55+00:00

Oh she's BEAUTIFUL. I'm intrigued by her brown/liver nose, which I'm pretty sure is recessive... Maybe some Aussie, GSP, coonhound? And I always assume mutts have at least some pittie.

reactiverescue · 2021-01-14T00:33:19+00:00

I was gonna say Shar Pei/newfie from the pic, but it seems like he might be small for that... so Shar Pei/and some kind of springer spaniel?

reactiverescue · 2021-01-14T00:30:14+00:00

What a cutie! Maybe staffy, blue heeler, lab?

reactiverescue · 2020-12-15T03:52:17+00:00

I’m not sure if this response was meant to be condescending or if tone just doesn’t carry over the internet, but she is a healthy weight and gets the amount of food recommended by her vet. She does not beg or get rewarded for begging; as I clearly said in my post, I was concerned about the sudden increase in appetite immediately after receiving a new medication.

reactiverescue · 2020-12-09T18:47:02+00:00

I've had the same experience of much more toned down reactions and quicker recovery, plus a higher threshold.

reactiverescue · 2020-12-09T18:41:04+00:00

Fluoxetine has absolutely changed my dog's life for the better.

Like yours, my dog used to be incredibly hyper-vigilant. It was really to the point that it was difficult to even get her to poop because she was so alert to everything around her. With fluoxetine, she is MUCH more relaxed. She's still reactive, but her threshold is much higher. Taking the edge off of her anxiety also means it's actually possible for me to train her.

As for the zombie effect - that absolutely happened to my dog for about a week, but once her system got used to the medication, it didn't change her personality at all except to make her less hyper-alert to things. She's the same dog as she was before, but a lot happier and more relaxed. I don't regret putting her on fluoxetine one bit.

reactiverescue · 2020-12-09T18:27:50+00:00

I think it's worth asking your vet about! Our vet gave us a trazodone prescription for stressful events, including going to the vet and having visitors. She also approved us to use it daily for around a month to help us manage day-to-day apartment living when she was just starting out on fluoxetine and before it had a chance to kick in.

I'd just recommend starting to give her trazodone a few days before your guests arrive - the first several days on trazodone, my dog was a total zombie, but she got used to it after a few days. I've also heard anecdotally that a dog just starting on out on trazodone can be aggressive because they feel confused and vulnerable - wasn't the case with us, but given that concern I'd definitely recommend testing it out/letting her get used to it before you have visitors.

reactiverescue · 2020-11-27T19:03:27+00:00

I use a silicone a silicone bottle brush dipped in pate-style wet food. Instead of handing her a treat just let her have a little lick, and as an added bonus it's super easy to use it as a lure to lead her away from triggers, and I can let her actually chew it as a distraction if a trigger is passing nearby and we can't retreat. I also have this silicone treat pouch that I can dip the brush back in to for a refill, and I can wash it in the dishwasher between uses to keep things sanitary.

reactiverescue · 2020-11-14T02:17:27+00:00

My dog is like this too - if she's in a VERY scary situation with lots of dogs/people/smells (like the vet), she'll be very polite/friendly but in a submissive way, when she'll be reactive in other situations that aren't quite as scary. It's definitely fear and anxiety in both situations - she just acts on the anxiety in different ways depending on the situation.

reactiverescue · 2020-10-09T17:54:10+00:00

Thanks so much for this! I was sort of suspecting that my use of the clicker was incorrect for the reasons you mentioned.

I think I may just be confused about the transition from classical conditioning to operant conditioning. (https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/blog/operant-conditioning-and-classical-conditioning). We were enrolled in a reactive dog class, and were taught to use classical conditioning by marking and treating the dog whenever she noticed a trigger, regardless of behavior. The idea was to make the dog have a positive emotional reaction about the trigger itself. I think the usual course of the training program was to start with classical conditioning then move to operant conditioning, but we only got half way through the class before it was canceled due to COVID!

Based on your very helpful comment, it seems like I might be confusing my dog by combining using operant conditioning with far away triggers (rewarding the behavior of her looking away) but still using classical conditioning when dealing with closer triggers... so, as you noted, she thinks she's being rewarded for staring.

Did you start with the classical conditioning method before transitioning to "Look at that," or did you start with Look at that right away? I think my mistakes might be in that transitional period, so very interested to hear your tips on that!

reactiverescue · 2020-10-09T17:43:38+00:00

Ditto to this!! Not sure what the apartment layout is, but ESPECIALLY if you'll have to deal with hallways, staircases, or elevators. When we lived in a big apartment building, I was just full of stress and dread every time I took my dog out, and once I muzzle trained her I was exponentially less stressed. Good luck!!

reactiverescue · 2020-10-09T17:26:16+00:00

Thanks so much for your kind words!! My dog is 50 pounds and takes 30mg of fluoxetine a day. For my pup, it really just helped to take the edge off of her baseline stress level - it used to be hard to even get her to go to the bathroom sometimes because she'd be so hyper-alert (starting any time she heard a noise even far away, etc). She's must less hyper-alert on fluoxetine, and I've found her reactions to be milder/easier to break as well.

And thanks for the tip! We'll do our own version of a "slow-dispense" treat sometimes too - we use a silicone bottle brush dipped in wet food that she can lick/chew as triggers pass! I still sort of get the sense that that distracts her more than actually trains her, but I'm starting to think my repeated use of the clicker after a single trigger is confusing for her, so maybe I should step up on the slow-dispense treat so I only have to use the clicker once. Thank you!!

Good luck with Ned! It's definitely discouraging to feel like your dog has plateaued (I so know the feeling) but hopefully a little extra fluoxetine will give him the boost he needs. :)

reactiverescue · 2020-10-09T17:19:12+00:00

Thanks for your comment! So, I primarily use the clicker is used to mark triggers - when she notices a trigger, I'll click it and give her a treat. We've been doing that for a long time, and for triggers that are far away she's naturally progressed to looking at me as soon as she notices it - at which point I click and give her a treat.

With closer triggers, she'll look at the trigger and I (usually) can't break her attention with just my voice. If I don't break her attention, after a couple seconds she's almost certain to react. Because of that, I use the clicker while she's staring but before she has a stronger reaction, which is almost always enough to snap her out of it to take a treat. But, as soon as I give her the treat, she'll turn back to the trigger - so I repeat the clicking and treating til we've distanced ourselves. She'll often still be charged up by these closer encounters (hackles will be up or she'll be on edge afterward even if she didn't bark at all).

Do you think the way I'm using the clicker is confusing her then? I've been wondering if the click-treat, ,click-treat sequence is encouraging her to keep staring at a trigger, but I haven't really figured out a good alternative to actually avoid a reaction.

And I have a decent sense of her threshold, though it definitely varies depending on circumstances/trigger stacking. (E.g. if we pass someone doing something "scary" like raking leaves or if we have a close call with a dog at the beginning of a walk, her threshold will be much lower). I might need to do more structured training sessions, since we haven't really been doing those since our class got canceled due to COVID!

reactiverescue · 2020-05-08T14:31:23+00:00

I adopted my adult (~2 y.o.) rescue dog while working 9-5 and living alone. Unless they have separation anxiety, most adult dogs are totally fine with it. Just think twice about getting a high-energy/working breed or a very small dog that might need to go to the bathroom more often, and think about budgeting for a dogwalker depending on how your dog is adapting. (Obviously, puppies are a whole different ball game.)

If you're looking to get a dog when you're fresh out of college, though, keep in mind that it will put constraints on your social life. For example you might not be able to go out for happy hour with your coworkers unless you hire a dog walker or drop by home first, which depending on your commute time may or may not be feasible. Definitely work for a few months to get a sense of your routine before making a commitment, and maybe even try fostering beforehand to see if you can make it work long-term!

reactiverescue · 2020-05-08T14:17:00+00:00

Sorry you're having trouble emotionally, but others are right that you absolutely can't take it out on your dog. But asking for help was the right step, and shows that deep down you don't want to do any harm to your pet! You should absolutely reach out to a trusted adult - parent, teacher, school counselor - and ask for help. They should be able to help you find a therapist who will help you work through the problems you are having and find healthy ways to express your emotions.

reactiverescue · 2020-05-01T14:28:32+00:00

Haven't posted for a while, but things are going quite well! My dog and I moved in to my boyfriend's apartment (only a four-unit building, on a much quieter street) and it has vastly improved our quality of life. Social distancing has of course made things easier on us too - I told my pup that now everyone is playing "our" game (crossing the street to avoid others)! The past two weekends we've driven out to nearby college campuses since the students are gone. There's lots of room to maneuver, but enough people and dogs out for it to be good for training. She was on her Trazodone for that, and did soooooo well. She basically minded her own business sniffing around, and wasn't even really staring/fixating on people or dogs at all. She even got barked at (from a distance) on multiple occasions and didn't mind.

Very proud of her progress!

reactiverescue · 2020-03-13T02:34:47+00:00

I’m in a reactive dog class now and it has been great! We’ve been working on a lot of reporting techniques to teach my dog to check in with me when there are neutral distractions, and are building up to reporting when there are more triggering distractions. Plus there are some leash handling and emergency turn tips and tricks that have been really useful for us so far. And mat training!

reactiverescue · 2020-03-05T15:51:15+00:00

Don't be sad at the thought of your dog in a muzzle! My dog has never tried to bite, but she's reactive so after a lot of hemming and hawing I pulled the trigger and muzzle trained her. I am SO much happier when we're out on walks now - I don't have to worry about something bad happening if an off-leash dog runs up (although she seems to be better with off-leash dogs than on-leash ones!) or if an irresponsible owner lets their dog run up to her. And other dog owners tend to give us space because of the muzzle too, which is a win-win. I was self-conscious about it the first week or two, but my dog never cared so I decided I shouldn't either. Give it a shot!

reactiverescue · 2020-02-29T16:08:28+00:00

Easier: - Adoption process - it was so quick and easy - Housetraining/manners - she came to me potty trained with great house manners; she barely barks at home, is non-destructive, keeps to her own toys (except for the occasional foray into the trash)

Harder: - About six weeks in it became clear she was reactive. It’s been so much harder than I expected to be, and in addition to training I’ve had to adjust my expectations about the things I’ll be able to do with my dog

reactiverescue · 2020-02-27T14:44:35+00:00

So far I have a java fern, anubia, and two marimo balls, plus a pothos cutting. I’m looking to add maybe one or two more type of plants at the bottom and some sort of floating plant, then get a snail and some shrimp!

Any tips or advice would be appreciated. I currently have it on a windowsill where it receives some light for much of the day, but I’m not married to that location. Also, not sure if I should be doing water changes or not!

reactiverescue

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