i searched and didn't find anything. link if you know of a thread.

what's the best calming agent (collar or tablet/liquid/otc medicine) for dogs during thunderstorms, car rides, meeting new people, etc? it needs to be something that we can use on the go (ie. not a plug-in).

i'd been looking at a pheromone collar http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3191645 & veterinarian's best comfort calming tablets http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751921

any thoughts? does pet-eze or any other tablet type thing work better?

5/28/2010 4:02:10 PM

Marijuana

5/28/2010 4:02:57 PM

^

5/28/2010 4:03:11 PM

Are you opposed to prescription medications? You could take it to the vet and get it some xanax.

5/28/2010 4:06:37 PM

or medical marijuana

5/28/2010 4:20:42 PM

my vet is closed and there are supposed to be thunderstorms tonight/tomorrow.

okay, so enough of the bullshit. some real suggestions please

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 4:23 PM. Reason : ]

5/28/2010 4:22:44 PM

how old is your dog?
is he/she scared of meeting new people or just overly excited?
any allergies or medical conditions?

5/28/2010 4:43:45 PM

just give it a benadryl and maybe it'll sleep through 'em

5/28/2010 5:02:15 PM

benadryl, and I've heard pet-eze does work

conversion is basically 1mg per pound...tablet form--don't give liquid.

of course you should check with your vet before doing so, but we've given it to our dog on car rides and it helps (sometimes)

5/28/2010 5:03:37 PM

3 yrs & 7 yrs
scared
the 7 yr old is allergic to fleas & corn

we've done benadryl (under the vet's advice) for the allergic one before and it never really made her that sleepy or calm. she takes claritin daily now though (also vet's advice)

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 5:05 PM. Reason : ]

5/28/2010 5:03:59 PM

yeah it's only worked for us maybe 50/50 as a calming agent

but i have heard pet-eze does work, although never tried it. if you try it or any other of what you found I'd love to hear the results. our dog is fine in the car if we're 60mph or less, but as soon as we go 61 she gets upset. and rain while in the car? forget it. but any other storm she's fine.

stupid us for having her in the car driving through a hurricane. we scarred her for life.

5/28/2010 5:08:39 PM

i just went and bought the pheromone collar, pet-eze, and that vet's best kind. we'll see which ends up working the best. they have the collars on now. they look just like flea/tick collars but don't smell nearly as bad. they actually don't smell bad at all. it's better than dog smell

5/28/2010 7:25:13 PM

Bach, the makers of people Rescue Remedy

also makes a canine rescue remedy




ive seen their products in earth fare, but i dunno if any could be found in RM

5/28/2010 7:45:11 PM

i think flea collars smell gud

5/29/2010 12:01:37 AM

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 12:06 AM. Reason : ]

5/29/2010 12:05:52 AM

^ lounge, dude, lounge....

5/29/2010 12:09:36 AM

benadryl

[/thread]

6/1/2010 9:37:56 AM

fail

Quote :

"we've done benadryl (under the vet's advice) for the allergic one before and it never really made her that sleepy or calm"

6/1/2010 9:41:58 AM

We have 1 dog that is terrified of thunderstorms. Whenever a storm is a brewin, we give him half a Xanax.

I had a dog that would freak out when people came over so I would give him a Dramamine, but really all that did was knock him the fuck out.

6/1/2010 10:01:29 AM

hmm, I would like my dogs to be in a permanent knocked out state, but not dead. My wife likes them.

6/1/2010 10:23:24 AM

How about some advice for getting dogs to conquer these retarded fears. Any advice for that?

6/1/2010 10:27:53 AM

6/1/2010 10:29:24 AM

^^yes, in the long run that will work but short of cesar milan, that will not work in just a few days.

6/1/2010 10:42:16 AM

put a shirt on the dog.
I'm serious, it tends to calm them down.

6/1/2010 11:25:38 AM

6/1/2010 11:30:26 AM

^^ this would definitely have the exact opposite effect on my dog.

6/1/2010 11:51:13 AM

Ha I guess that could happen. If you put socks on the dog he freaks out.

But he tends to turn into a statue once I put an outfit on him...
perhaps he's embarrassed?

6/1/2010 12:07:47 PM

Dramamine. It makes them pass out.

6/1/2010 12:38:55 PM

Quote :

"put a shirt on the dog. I'm serious, it tends to calm them down."

No really, she's right. It just needs to be snug and only in about 30 minute intervals or it will get uncomfortable.
see Temple Grandin, animal behaviorist: http://www.grandin.com/inc/squeeze.html, specifically the "Animal Observations" part. The whole thing is very interesting to read though.

6/1/2010 1:16:21 PM

i just give my dog discipline

6/1/2010 2:04:48 PM

how do you discipline the fear of thunderstorms out of a dog? serious question

6/1/2010 2:21:33 PM

By beating it.

6/1/2010 2:36:12 PM

beer

6/1/2010 4:33:47 PM

Quote :

"How about some advice for getting dogs to conquer these retarded fears. Any advice for that?"

6/1/2010 4:43:36 PM

seriously though, i tried to put a shirt on my dog once just to see how it would look.


yeah, good thing that wasn't one of my good shirts.

6/1/2010 4:46:03 PM

Get them used to all the noises . . . basically flood them with it until they don't care anymore.
As long as you remain calm while it's happening and don't coddle the dog if it freaks out, it will eventually settle down and then you can reward it.
Like if a dog is gun shy, take it to a shooting range and expose the dog to the noises. Eventually the dog will not care that it's happening as long as you don't react violently with it. If you're going to hug the dog the first time it freaks out and pet it and comfort it, you will be rewarding it for freaking out and it will think there is a legitimate reason to be afraid.

6/1/2010 5:04:43 PM

i'll tell zeus to crank up the frequency on the thunder next time

6/1/2010 5:29:26 PM

Quote :

"put a shirt on the dog. I'm serious, it tends to calm them down."

I bet it works.

Though I have never done this with a dog, I've done a similar technique with my 2 year old son and it works. A weighted vest or a deep pressure vest helps regulate the nervous system and aid in self calming by providing sensory input. Silas wears his weighted vest for 20-30 minutes and the effects of the vest last for approximately 2 hours. It really makes a difference in his hyperactivity and excitability.

6/1/2010 11:02:50 PM

^^ Or you can play one of those hippie thunderstorm CDs.

6/1/2010 11:16:02 PM

Quote :

"As long as you remain calm while it's happening and don't coddle the dog if it freaks out, it will eventually settle down and then you can reward it."

Pretty much this. If you remain calm...leave the dog alone...and dont reward its nervous behavior (i.e. pet it, say it will be ok, even look at it) the dog will eventually relax. It might take a while, maybe even a long time, but it will work. If you notice him laying down in a relaxed position then give him a treat and some attention.

^ never heard of that trick but that could work too....though you would have to play it very very loud to simulate real thunder.

[Edited on June 1, 2010 at 11:37 PM. Reason : a]

6/1/2010 11:36:21 PM

i don't pay her any attention during storms. i've known better than to do this. she's getting old and more paranoid with age i guess. the younger dog feeds off of this and freaks out more (she's always been afraid of storms).

would just a regular obedience class help in some way? they already know sit, stay, come, shake, lay down, etc. i dunno...

6/2/2010 9:02:28 AM

A basic obedience class probably wouldn't help with this. The class basically has an agenda and they only spend a short amount of time on problem behaviors. A private session with a trainer or consultation with a behaviorist would probably be a better solution. I scheduled a few private sessions with my dog to work on her snatching diapers and a few other irritating things and it was very helpful.

6/2/2010 9:26:26 AM

regular benadryl
1 mg per LB

6/2/2010 9:32:58 AM

please read before replying

Quote :

"fail Quote : "we've done benadryl (under the vet's advice) for the allergic one before and it never really made her that sleepy or calm" "

6/2/2010 10:15:38 AM

Quote :

"Pretty much this. If you remain calm...leave the dog alone...and dont reward its nervous behavior (i.e. pet it, say it will be ok, even look at it) the dog will eventually relax. It might take a while, maybe even a long time, but it will work."

This...has not worked for me. I don't know what my dog's problem is but he's now afraid of the sound of vegetables being chopped up in the kitchen. To the point where he shakes violently and/or hides in an upstairs bedroom closet for hours. I was using a mallet on chicken breasts last night to make them thin, the constant bashing noise did not bother him. I later played CofD with the stereo cranked up, again the sound did not bother him. Loud noises outside (trucks, Tstorms, etc) only draw his curiousity, nothing more.

I'm at a loss, and its super annoying.

Also, he never sleeps in my bedroom and this is the way he likes it. However, in the last 2 weeks he's tried to sleep in my bedroom every night (I don't let him). And every morning after my alarm goes off he's scratching at my door to be let in. This is a new behavior that again, I don't understand

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 11:24 AM. Reason : k]

6/2/2010 11:22:50 AM

http://anxietywrap.com/default.aspx


http://dogtrainer.quickanddirtytips.com/thunderstorm-phobia.aspx

6/2/2010 12:16:24 PM

^^ Hmm if you notice a sudden change in behavior such as what you are mentioning (especially the part about trying to get into your bedroom) you may want to make a trip to the vet...it could be a sign of something wrong...and your dog may be trying to say as much. Any recent changes to the environment around him/her?

Outside of that what kind of history does your dog have? Was he a shelter pup or a rescue?

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 12:22 PM. Reason : a]

6/2/2010 12:22:25 PM

^nothing in the environment has changed. We've been living in the same house for going on 10 months. I've gone out of town the last two weekends but I've taken the dog with me both times (and the last time, this past weekend, he was VERY happy to get home). His appetite hasn't really changed.

My dog will be 4 years old in 3 weeks and I got him when he was 13 weeks old from a breeder in Western New Jersey. He spent the first 2 years of his life in NYC with me, so generally loud noises, lots of people and lots of dogs do not bother him. At the moment both of my roommates are unemployed so they're usually home during the day and keep him company. I never crate him, he has free range of the house (though he's shedding heavily right now [happens about twice a year] so we're keeping him out of our bedrooms) and he's amazing about not ever having accidents indoors.

6/2/2010 12:35:26 PM

Quote :

"allergic to fleas & corn"

Pretty sure that applies to all dogs...

6/2/2010 1:11:05 PM

no it doesn't. fleas make all dogs itch, but if one flea gets on my dog she breaks out in a very nasty, raw, oozing rash all over. it requires steroids (injections & oral), antibiotics (injections & oral), and several weeks to get over.

corn is commonly the allergen in dogs w/ food allergies, but nowhere near "all dogs" have food allergies.

6/2/2010 1:17:45 PM