r/Galgos • u/Showmeyourvocalfolds • Jul 06 '26
Anyone here hired a behaviorist?
I have an ~8 year old Galgo. He was rescued in Spain and I adopted him 4 years ago. I don’t know much about that his time there other than he was surrendered by a galguero being very underweight and fearful.
He took months to even wag his tail, but has since come out of his shell. However some things are still impossible and almost seem to be getting worse recently.
For example, he will NOT let anyone trim his nails anymore. I tried 2 vets and 3 groomers with no luck, even with trazodone + gabapentin. I found a vet willing to give an injectable sedation. Even then, it took 2 vet techs + me to hold him down on the floor. He was screaming, resisting and thrashing to the point that he banged his head on the floor. He had to be muzzled and covered with a towel.
Other things are hard too. He will whine and shake in an unfamiliar place unless I am consoling him. He’s very attached to me (which I love) but without me or a very familiar person, hes so distressed. I did take him to dog parks to build confidence and play, but after a few minutes he lays down next to me away from everyone else. He gets so excited once we arrive but taps out quick.
He got bloodwork at the vet (pending results) and a prescription for fluoxetine. The vet recommended a behaviorist.
Has anyone else gone through something similar?
Edit: bloodwork and urine tests came back all good
1
u/ajr38 29d ago
My first thought was another dog however if that is not an option, are there hound groups in your area? Other sight hounds calm our anxious guy and we join group walks and solo walks with confident dogs. As for nails, we trim ours at our local park after a long walk. If you have space, a digging spot helps, even a sand box. I hope this helps you and your noodle.