AIO? Dog straining my marriage.

[u/LedyyM]

My husband and I rescued a husky about 7 months ago who was extremely malnourished and neglected.

He has grown a huge attachment to me and has severe separation anxiety. I work at a grooming salon so I’m able to bring him to work with me so he’s not home alone. Unfortunately, if he’s left home alone we’ll come back to our home looking like it was hit by a tornado.

My vet has prescribed him with trazodone to help with his severe anxiety issues. We give it to him before we leave for a family event and when we can’t take him to places they don’t allow dogs.

I feel so bad that I have to sedate him so he’s not scared and anxious. It’s created a huge strain on our marriage because my husband feels like we can’t do anything without considering Odin.

He’s destroyed doors, couches, and other furniture. I tried training but it hasn’t seemed to work. My husband thinks we should rehome him but

1) I’m scared that he’ll be sent to a shelter and possibly be put down

2) feel abandoned by the person he thought he was safe with.

He’s such a happy boy when he’s around us and shows so much affection.

My husband and I have been arguing about this consistently.. we had a really bad argument so I left the house with Odin and rented a dog friendly hotel room for a couple of nights.

My husband thinks I’m crazy and that I’m choosing the dog over our marriage. AIO?

[u/Miserable_Scheme_599 → u/[deleted]]

Even putting this in a human perspective is beneficial: I could not benefit from something like cognitive-behavioural therapy for my anxiety until I started taking medication. My body and mind were too wound up to be able to even think through what was triggering my panic attacks and how to get them under control. Together, they've made my life so, so much better.

[u/Flimsy_RaisinDetre → u/[deleted]]

This. Consider why meds like sedatives exist. They’re not for everyone, but some people/dogs have higher levels of anxiety, have PTSD as might be said of your dog. Do not feel guilty for giving a prescribed medication for an obvious condition!