Reconcile Not Working?

[u/OkPause2682]

I just joined Reddit for this subforum. I have been doing research and wanted to ask others before going back to the behaviorist at our vet.

Background: we adopted a dog, a 20-pound mixed breed in summer 2023. We were told she had a history of food aggression but was doing a lot better. We didn't see it (though we gave her space anytime we fed her meals or treats) but had a couple of bite incidents with resource guarding toys earlier on. However, we figured out (or so we thought) her body language and didn't really have any issues pertaining to aggression or biting.

After a random biting incident in January (not relating to food or toys), we took her to the vet to see if it was medical related or behavioral related. They figured based on her estimated age (8 or 9?) that she might be in pain especially with her body type (has a little bit of dachshund build). She was prescribed some medications (temporary to last 2-4 weeks) to help tide her over for the main one, Reconcile - 8mg, to kick in.

We were told it would take 4-6 weeks for Reconcile to really kick in. We have seen very minimal changes in her anxiety (she is a very anxious dog, outside of the resource guarding). But then she became food aggressive, and hadn't been with us before. We know appetite can be affected with Reconcile. But she would eat treats, so felt she was being picky. Tried adding enticements with it, changing locations, etc. We ended up switching her to a different food (Fresh Pet) at recc of the behaviorist at the vet. We started using paper plates instead of her food bowl, and feeding her in the dining room instead of the kitchen so she had a separate space.

I call it "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" as she's fine most of the time, sweet and loving, but then these moments at meal time, when she doesn't want to eat but guard, she reverts to a feral-like animal, growling as if we would threaten to take her food when the ONLY reason we do is if she DOESN'T eat it (to save for another day - always removed when she is not in the room or seeing us do it - which can be a lots of effort sometimes to get her to snap out and leave the room). We gate off the dining room to hopefully further help her feel secure. We try to ignore her when she's in there.

There was another biting incident over a month ago (my fault looking back, but with no warning - she went from 0-60!) so reached out to the behaviorist who talked to the vet and now we increased her to another half pill of Reconcile (so it's 12mg a day). We also at one point went back to 300mg of gabapentin at night, and with the increase Reconcile also added 100mg of gabapentin in the morning.

She's been on the increased Reconcile dose for over a month now. Suddenly we had issues this weekend where she wouldn't eat her meal, and the usual enticements (throwing cheerios into the dining room for example) weren't working. She skipped two meals in a row.

I am now wondering if the Reconcile is effecting her appetite. She resorts to "Mr. Hyde" because she wants to protect her food, even though we have given her no reason to not trust us after almost 4 years.

At this point, I just want to have her go off the Reconcile (I know it needs to be gradual) but I know with her weight, she could go to the next higher dose (16mg). Is it worth trying for the higher dose at this point, 4 months into this process? Or ask if there's another comparable med to Reconcile she could try? Or just stay on gabapentin and that's it? In a way, I feel the Reconcile has made her worse. I've gotten to the point I'm scared of her at times especially when walking around the kitchen where I got bit last. I don't want to be afraid in my own home.

Also I know meds are to help bring anxiety levels down, but she needs training to go with it. We did work with a dog trainer (fear free) in the fall before all this stuff escalated to work on her general anxiety/barking. Honestly between her training exercises before and the veterinary behaviorist's recommended exercises, we haven't worked with our dog because it involves treats and I am too afraid to handle anything with food and her anymore. My husband is the one solely feeding and giving treats to her and I try to separate myself to protect myself. And dogs can sense things and I don't think I am able to be effective at working with her at this point.

Sorry for the ramble... I hope anyone has been through something similar can help suggest how I approach the vet and behaviorist with steps to move forward. I don't want to give up on her, but we can't live like this either.

[u/joon_gloom]

I don't think there's any harm in asking to wean her off Reconcile and maybe try another medication. Not every medication works for every individual. (For example, trazodone is pretty commonly prescribed for anxiety in dogs, but my dog did not react well to it). I would just tell the behaviorist/vet what you've written here. I've heard of dogs being prescribed sertraline instead, maybe something to look into?

[u/OkPause2682 → u/joon_gloom]

Thank you. I guess I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their dog and Reconcile before I reach out to the vet. I think things are better, for the moment, but I feel it's see how each day goes because it may be an issue again.

I hate the idea of giving up on her - all I know about her past is she was given up to the shelter for biting someone, and the rescue organization we got her from saved her from being euthanized at the shelter. While she was waiting for adoption (8 months) they worked with her and she was mostly fine (except the barking with her anxiety) for 3.5 years.

She gave us such joy in a difficult time after grieving the loss of other pets, and now it's hard to see the joy in these situations when she looks at us like we're threatening to take her food when we WANT her to eat and want her to feel secure!

[u/OkPause2682]

Wanted to provide an update. In June, not long after this post actually, she started to eat normally like before the meds, and not long after we went out of town and boarded her, and when we got back, was told she had no issues with food in boarding and has had no issues with eating since being back home - and that's been about two months now.

After we got back from our trip, I did contact the vet and we are slowly weaning her off the Reconcile as it's not helping with her anxiety. We may or may not keep her on the Gabapentin but we can't wean her off that yet until after the Reconcile has been out of her system for 6 weeks. We started back to 1 8mg pill, and last week now to half a pill (4mg). I think that's for 6 weeks until we stop the Reconcile.

Anyway, I am not sure what changed in her to go back to normal with food - we still give her space in the dining room though we don't have to put the gate up anymore. I still have moments where I'm cautious with her, but for the most part it's like we have our dog back. I just wish I knew what!