Run the dog!!

You've read about Moose before in earlier posts. I've written about his antics and the medications we were trying for him. They didn't work. I then decided I was going to try a little experiment with him because really...he couldn't get any worse than he was behaving. So my experiment was simply, more exercise. I wanted to see if getting Moose to run more, spend more time out in the sunshine and more time integrated into our family unit would help calm his anxieties inside the home ,at all.

So far- it has, but it's also made him the complete velcro dog. His breed is known as the velcro dogs {he's a Hungarian Vizsla}. Since making a conscious effort to include him in our family activities and outings, he's been super attached to me, no matter what I'm doing. He's there, his nose to my knee. It's like he's just waiting. Waiting for what we're doing next, where we'll go...something. I'll take it though, over the super anxious, skiddish, nut job we had before. He's on no medications , I was seconds away from filling a script for human anti depressants for him. So with this discovery, it means I'll be hiring a dog walker for the colder months, or signing him up for doggy daycare a couple of days a week during the winter. Call me crazy but if getting him out in the public running around will make him a happier dog...then I'll do what it takes to get him there.

It's also incredible how great he looks these days- everyone who sees him thinks he's just a puppy and are floored when I tell them he's 6yrs old! There was a period of time where he was over weight but happy- {aren't they always that way?! } and we would get comments like "stop feeding your dog hamburgers" or my fave, from a true Hungarian, in his Hungarian accent " your dog is too fat. You Canadians feed your dogs TOO MUCH!" and that came from a random man, as I walked past him at the park. We switched Moose's food to a higher quality one than he was already on, {higher price tag too of course!} and I started running him more. Now he's a lean , sleek , young looking pup who is happy with himself. Finally.

He is a part of our family, he is my 5th child and it killed me to see him suffering from anxiety , depression and maybe even low self esteem. It was easy for me to tell him to get lost though when I was swamped with babies, daycare, etc. "Moose Go! " was a common phrase in this house, and even the kids were saying it. Poor guy- so it took the visits to the vet, the talk of medications and the research I did about the medications and his symptoms, to really show me what was going on.

So we have a handle on it for now, he's happy, healthy, and enjoying every moment with us. The kids are enjoying his company, and he now thinks that everytime I get my keys and the diaper bag that it's time for him to come with. Half the time, he manages to guilt me into bringing him along, even for just a car ride - which I never thought I would do!! haha.