As you may have read from my other article on how we got a puppy, we have dogs. Two dogs to be exact, currently a 12 year old golden retriever who is wise in her ways and a now 8 month old giant puppy, who is not. When I say giant, I mean that the puppy is now larger than the 12 year old golden. And she has struggled in her… intellectual maturity.
I know she’s still a puppy, even though she’s bigger than the 12 year old dog. But from the get-go I knew that our puppy had some characteristics that were considerably different from other Goldens that I have had in the past (these are my 4th and 5th respectively). She was incredibly skittish of random objects, such as trash cans, benches, and other benign objects. But fireworks? Nope. Big loud explosions? Fine. Large trucks and cars driving by? She sensed no danger. Stationary trash can? GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!
I started getting concerned that she would have a ‘freakout’ while my wife was walking her and due to her already large size, she would overpower my wife on a walk. I had been exclusively walking her due to this possibility. I called my vet and scheduled an appointment to discuss options. The vet recommended training (which we’ve done, but didn’t help this issue) and a crate (which she already is trained for and using). That leaves medication, which she was really weary about.
The vet understood my concerns, but recommended against any medication since one of the side effects of “Doggie Prozac” is actually aggression, which is a total no-go in a house with 2 kids. Plus, the puppy’s personality is perfect for kids as-is, what we need to reign in is her odd skittish-ness towards random, benign objects.
So the vet recommended a supplement called Solliloquin. She said that they have had a lot of success with it in their doggy patients to calm their behavior and take the ‘edge’ off. She prepared us that it would take about 2 weeks before we saw any impact. So we gave it a try.
The Solliloquin not only did the job, but has also made some of the puppy’s other ‘puppy behavior’ far more tolerable. No more late night zoomies right before bed time, now she lays calmly beside me on the couch at night. The skittishness is far more subdued, and while she is still weary of some benign objects, she is no longer getting startled by them, so her reaction is far more tame, more avoidance rather than jumpy-ness.
To be honest, I’m surprised that it worked as well as it did! For something that is available without a prescription, Solliloquin not only did the job but it is easy to buy and priced well. Highly recommended for anyone experiencing minor issues with their dog’s behavior or energy level!