Anxious 11 year old rescue Beagle - how to improve his life?

[LeanneBeats]

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Hi, sorry in advance if this is a long one! I have a 11 year old beagle which i rehomed 4 years ago (he was a stud dog on a puppy farm - do not know much more than that other than he has a lot of scars and rips in his muzzle bless him). He's always been a fairly 'anxious' boy and very wary of dogs, not an affectionate dog and doesn't know how to play other than de-stuff his toys. We took him on a 6 month adventure in our campervan and he appeared to love the fact he was with us 24/7, on lots of walks and getting lots of treats and attention. Fast forward to half a year since we finished our travels, moved into a new house in a new area (a little bit more built up) and he seems to be more anxious/depressed than ever. He barely wants to leave the house, it's a struggle to take him for walk in the car gets very panty and trembly and walking outside the front door has not improved really. We've been in our new house for 3 months, before which we were house hopping every month as we adapted to normal life again (i mention this as i wonder whether this is a cause of his anxiety - lack of routine and unpredictable). We've recently started him on Reconcile (prozac for dogs) as i was worried his quality of life is bad with him not being able to go out and explore anymore, but i think it's still 'loading' i think they call it as seen no real improvement and its been 5 weeks - vets said it takes between 4-6 weeks to see any improvement. My questions are why do think he has gone so anxious? What can I do to improve his life? Could he still be adjusting to his new life? Do i just need to remain very patient?!! Thanks to anyone who replies in advance!

 

[Flobo]

Dogs that come out of puppy farms generally have been experiencing long term stress/anxiety, as well as never having been socialised, walked on a lead, lived in a house, had decent nutrition etc etc... so all respect to you firstly for giving him a loving home.
In my opinion, after your travels it sounds like you were moving around a fair bit before your new home situation, so its quite likely to have unsettled him, especially being an older boy. In the new home has your routine changed too? As in, is he not with you 24/7 now if you're having to go out to work? What does his day look like? (just trying to get a bigger picture). Presumably as the vet has started him on Reconcile, any physiological problems have been ruled out, arthritis/pains etc?
Also when he's at home, is he quite settled/relaxed, is he content in the garden?

Sure others will be along soon to hopefully help, but yes with any anxiety issues patience and calmness on your part are absolutely key.

 

[Dibbythedog]

Im sorry to hear this . Well done for rescuing him. As Flobo said , he is an older dog with a past and through a a major change.

If he is happy at home and has a garden to play in perhaps leave it a little while longer before you venture out again so he can get back to a state of contentment , It takes a few days at least for hormones from stress to leave the body.

He might be frightened of the traffic.

When you feel ready again , you could start at your gate and feed him treats and back inside before he gets upset. and build up by a couple of feet at a time. This is called counter conditioning .
A clicker might help with this if the noise of the clicker doesnt scare him.

Its not a sin if a dog cant be walked , if he is happy at home he will be ok .

Plese let us know how you get on or need any more advice.

 

[JoanneF]

Sorry, I wrote what's below a while ago, I just realised it's not posted. Anyway ...



When you saymthe new area is more built up, does you mean more than where you used to live, or more than the places you visited on your travels? I'm trying to work out what made him settled on your travels that might be missing now. It could of course mean he does just need a bit more time to realise this is the new normal.