I took Henry off of Prozac about four weeks ago since he was showing signs of no longer needing it.
Last week, he flipped out and tore up the miniblinds in the front of the house, all his stuffed toys, and some rags that were piled outside the laundry room. Ok, I can deal with that… we’ll just go back to crating him. Yesterday, he tore the door of his crate *inwards*. It’s not supposed to swing that way.
Today, he flipped out inside his crate, and left a giant puddle of drool. He also seems to have fractured the tip of another of his canine teeth, although there’s no blood or root showing. I’ll drag him out to the vet for a look-see at his tooth in the morning, but he’s definitely going back on the prozac.
Poor psychodog.
I received word today that Henry’s former owner has been paralyzed from the neck down due to an injury he received while doing a jackass-quality dare at a party.
Best wishes for his recovery. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I feel very bad for secretly (or not so secretly) feeling a bit of renewed faith in karma…
As spring has sprung, Henry seems to have come out of whatever shell he was in. I can’t explain it other than that … he still won’t stay in the crate for very long (and I still can’t figure out how he’s getting out), but other than that he’s a different dog entirely.
Gone are many of the unreasonable nervous “flashes” that once characterized his behavior. He’s still shy, but he’s not automatically anxious. He doesn’t beg. He doesn’t prance in place when he can’t make up his mind. He’ll engage Eowyn in play and chase her in toys, and he’s properly submissive to her when she demands it, and challenging at other times … not automatically freaked the heck out like he used to be. It’s an interesting change, and I don’t know how to define it otherwise.
The downside: I can’t turn my back on him sometimes. He’s downright CLEVER about raiding the compost pile, filching things off the countertop that might be good to chew on, and finding things to eat that aren’t for doggies. (Now if he’d just play with his toys and leave he stuff on the counter alone…)
I’ve been reducing his prozac dose over the past month or two, but haven’t had time to do much with either Henry or Eo because my work schedule has been ratcheted up and I’ve had garden and other chores to do every minute. Since he seems to have come out of his shell somewhat, I’ve taken him off of the prozac entirely as of last Saturday … we’ll see what happens. Maybe my long, dark, psychodoggy night is over!