Reconcile - getting through the loading period?
Hi. My 3yo Romanian rescue just started on Reconcile this past Saturday. He’s very dog reactive, bike reactive and somewhat reactive to men (people reactivity has gone down drastically though and is rarely a problem during our daily walks anymore). We’re doing a slow increase of the meds so he’s currently on a third of the intended full dose, and over four weeks we will increase the dose until he’s at 1,5 16mg tablets a day (currently on 0,5).
No side effects like upset stomach or lethargy, thankfully. But I’m definitely seeing the ”it might get worse before it gets better” aspect. Some things are better, for example I feel like he’s sleeping more deeply. But walks are a bit of a mess. He’s a lot more anxious, pants and licks his lips, whines a lot, gets very stressed with people walking towards him (this hasn’t happened for months) and has had a few pretty explosive dog reactions.
Did you find anything particularly helpful during the loading period to make things easier for your pup? This is what we’re already been doing day to day since long before medication:
- He gets part of his daily food frozen in a Sodapup or Kong for licking
- Daily access to chews
- He gets the kibble not used for training/during walks either on a snuffle mat, or sprinkled outside in the grass
- I try to do one thing a day for enrichment, like scent work, tracking, shredding cardbox etc.
I think shorter walks would benefit him rn, but he won’t pee or poop unless we walk for a while unfortunately..
Photo of my boy having breakfast in the garden at my parents’ house a few weeks back as tax.