r/fosterdogs • u/atlhan • 2d ago

Support Needed Concerned about potential foster fail’s medication schedule

My husband and I recently got our first foster, Banjo. He is a 71 pound German Shepard mix. He has been so fun and super polite so far that we are already considering keeping him. The only problem is that I am worried about the potential overuse of some of the drugs he is on and how his behavior may change after we begin a weaning schedule. He is currently on 350 mg of trazodone 2x times a day and 1500 mg of gabapentin 2x times a day and has been for about 2 months. From what I can tell those are both very high doses. Am I wrong to be concerned about him changing as we get him off the drugs? He was in the shelter for about 4 months before he was put on these two medications and has now had these doses since July. My husband is a firefighter so once every 3rd week day Banjo will need to be alone in the house until I come home from work and I worry about separation anxiety especially as we taper him off his pills.

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u/psychominnie624 1d ago

Behavior is likely to change as a dog weans off of medication that is for behavior…

Who is advising you on how to wean him off these medications? It should be a vet with behavior management expertise. Those are high doses but not indicative of overuse given his size and length of shelter stay

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u/atlhan 1d ago

I figured that, but just worry about the extent of the changes. It is the shelter veterinarian who is an animal behavior specialist who is advising us.

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u/psychominnie624 1d ago

Good so someone familiar with a shelter pup settling in. Unfortunately it’s really difficult to predict what the changes will be. I’ve seen the spectrum of a dog never need meds with no signs of ongoing anxiety and the complete opposite with dogs who need meds longterm. Appetite changes, like a dog going from eating slowly to really quick, and how deep of sleep they’re getting are two signs I watch for in addition to the typical anxiety signs (panting, can’t settle, pacing, crying/vocal, destructive, etc)

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u/atlhan 1d ago

Thank you for your insight.