‘Dipper is once again a happy goofy goober at the dog park’: Owner’s guilt over her rescue dog’s re-emerging fears is transformed into pride and joy as they work together to manage the dog’s anxiety and successfully reclaim the freedom of walks and play

Reactive doggos are a difficult bunch. It is not their fault that they have ended up this way, it is completely their hooman's fault, but as we all know, cleaning up after other people's messes is one of the toughest things we have to do. And for the pawrents who end up adopting a doggo with reactive qualities, their road to recovery is largely uphill and fraught with struggles and strife. But as with the pawrent in this story, the main thing is to never give up on the darling doggo. To make sure that no matter what, they know that they are safe, and will be loved even once they finally calm down from their reactive behavior.

Which is exactly how this woman managed to help her traumatized pupper overcome his painful past and step towards a brighter future full of love, laughs and wholesome memories. This is the story of never giving up on the sweet soul of a pupper.
 

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Author image for Laurent Shinar Laurent Shinar
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    Almost two years ago, my partner and I adopted our amazing boy Dipper from a local foster- only rescue group. Dipper came from a horrible situation: A man in a rural area had been keeping
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  • 02
    him and 6-7 other dogs outdoors in a small chicken wire cage that was filled with trash. We live in the Midwest, so winters must have been harsh. As far as
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    I know, the first time Dipper left his outdoor cage was when he was rescued at 1.5 years old. When we first took him home, Dipper was scared of
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    everything: I'm not sure he'd seen cars before, the wind made him nervous, normal suburban sounds like garage doors made him freeze in fear. He
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  • Well, yeah, when your whole entire world from birth was a cage/garbage area, of course every sight and sound in the world would be terrifying. Goodness, that must have been quite the rehabilitation process to go through. The amount of dedication and persistence that this must have taken to achieve is unreal. 

  • 05
    was afraid of nearly all strangers. Walks were particularly difficult, as the further we got from our house the more terrified he became. Slowly, however, he started to get better.
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    We talked to our vet and got him a prescription for Trazodone. He could do loops of our neighborhood with no hesitation. He also started loving the dog park, which became his favorite weekend activity. He
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    was still wary around some people, but very calm and curious. I was so proud of Dipper because he had come so far. About 3-4 months ago, we started noticing that
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    Dipper's fears during walks were slowly re-surfacing. No problem, we'll shorten our loops and reinforce his training with lots of high value treats.
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    Then one day during our night time walk, the biggest truck I've ever seen started up next to us and revved its engine extremely suddenly. Dipper tried to bolt, the truck turned on its high beams, and blinded him. We
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    rushed him home, but he hasn't been the same since. Although we are lucky to have large fenced yards for him to play in, we can no longer walk off our street. Just in the
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  • Oh, jheez, that is not quite the development that anyone would be hoping for. What a wrench in the works. It’s kind of annoying as well as no one is truly at fault, for who could have imagined that something that big and scary would jump out in the middle of the night. No matter how rehabilitated Dipper was at this point there was nothing that could have prepawed him for this.

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    past two weeks, Dipper has started snapping at almost every dog trying to sniff his butt at the dog park. I think we'll need to halt his trips there as well. I feel horrible, and I feel like I failed my
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    dog. He was so happy, and had come so far. I feel like I am responsible for taking away the things Dipper loves: his walks and the dog park. I wonder if he's happy with us, or if he'll wonder why we don't go to the park anymore.
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    We're trying our absolute best for him but it doesn't feel like it's enough. If anyone has dealt with a similar situation, or can offer any words of wisdom, I would greatly appreciate it.
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    UPDATE A few months back I posted here while I was going through a rough patch with my rescue, Dipper. I got
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    so much loving support and great advice, I thought I'd share a happy update. A lot of people suggested I talk to Dipper's vet about
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    transitioning from Trazodone to Prozac to help manage his anxiety. I went to the vet right away, and he's been on Prozac for about 3 months now! While he is still
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  • 20
    anxious and fear reactive, Dipper is doing much better and everyone is much happier. Two major milestones we've made (directly related to issues in my original post):
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    1. We successfully walked to the local ice cream stand and back! 2. Dipper is once again a happy goofy goober at the dog park.
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    The only issue we've had pop up since starting Prozac is that Dipper, while never fully comfortable in the car before, is now somehow fully terrified in it. We're working on this issue together, and hope to overcome it.
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    I'm so proud of my baby boy, and so thankful for everyone who provided words of support and encouragement on my last post!
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