Does anybody drug their dogs?

[JR6ooo4]

Ours are only 4 and 5 years old but each year they seem to be more and more afraid of the fireworks.

Q shakes so hard...
Freddy (the 80lb guy) tried to crawl behind the toilet and almost got stuck...

I hate to think about doing that, but I also hate watching them in such fear.

The neighbors have been shooting them off for the last week already and Q and Fred do not want to leave the office to come home? They are afraid to be here. I have talked with one of the offending neighbors and told them I hate to be a jerk but they have stop. they said they would. But there is another I am not sure they will.

and I know I can not stop every one the fourth of july....

Not looking forward to it.

Mikeeee

 

[DznyLvr2005]

my vet told me to give my dog benedril during thunderstorms.... it works somewhat... Ask your ver about it, it might help

 

[turkeymama]

I once had a Lhaso Apso that hated traveling. He made himself so sick, and we lived 1000 miles from family. After that first trip, I started tranquilizing him for any car ride that was longer than 100 miles. It made for much better trips for all of us. He stayed a little drowsy and the pills made his mouth dry. Other than that, he didn't have any side effects.

You can't stop your neighbors from popping fireworks. Do your poor babies a favor and get them something to calm their nerves in the meantime.

 

[SCHBR'smom]

Our vet said we could give our dog benadryl during fireworks. But it never seems to make much difference. I mainly put her in the house in her kennel. It seems to make her feel safer. In fact, she's in there right now because the thunder makes her panic, too. It can be pouring down rain, but if there is thunder, she'll run around the yard in circles. An old neighbor used to have something natural to give the dogs to calm them down, I don't remember what. That also didn't work on Lucie. She's a nervous dog, though.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

If I've tried the usual ways to calm down a dog in that situation (petting them, giving treats during the loud booms, playing a CD of fireworks randomly at home to get them used to them) and that still didn't work, then yes, I'd talk to my vet about it.

My kids love it when we get fireworks and shoot them off in the summer. If my neighbor asked we not because they were bothering their dog, I doubt we would stop.

Not to do them every night, fine.....who would do that anyway? It would get expensive and boring. But fireworks (done safely) are a fun family/neighborhood tradition for us.

 

[mckryan]

Try Rescue Remedy for Pets, or just the regular RR. It's safe for pets, too.

 

[OK!]

My parents' Shih Tzu has to be drugged when there's a severe thunderstorm in the area or he's a neurotic mess. If it happens during the night, he apparently tries to sleep on my mom's head; with the tranquilizers, he's much more peaceful and less stressed.

 

[Brit17]

My 7 year old, 75lb lab has been scared of loud noises (i.e., thunderstorms, fireworks, etc.) since he was a pup ... he shakes, paces and trembles so badly, it's just so sad ... we have tried both prescription anti-anxiety meds from our vet, as well as Benedryl (also recommended by our vet) ... unfortunately, by the time the meds kick in, it's pretty much too late as the noises have already stopped, and then he is just drowsy/dopey for the rest of the day/night ... from my experience, the only way the meds can help, somewhat, is if I can anticipate in advance that there is going to be some kind of noise that will scare him, and I give him the meds early enough (usually about an hour or so) to take affect ... also, I find that the prescription meds makes him lethargic the next day also .. and the Benedryl makes him especially thirsty... so I prefer to first try to comfort him and distract him from the noises and only give him the meds as a last resort ...

 

[meliss8599]

Our dog when I was a kid used to feel safer locked in the bathroom with the lights off. Smaller, confined areas seemed to make her feel safer; it's something worth a try when the fireworks start going off in addition to the meds.

 

[LindaR]

Yep. Our 100 lb german shepherd developed a major fear of thunderstorms and fireworks. She got so anxious that I thought she was going to have a heart attack or some doggie equivalent.

She would cram herself into one of our smaller dogs kennels(not her own). I didn't really like the side effects of the drugs.

I have seen these really tight garments that you can get that are supposed to provide comfort and calm them down. They look like a wet suit.

The worst thing you can do (even though that's what you feel you should do) is comfort them. That actually reinforces their fear!

 

[tonilea]

Ask your vet about a 'script for acepromazine. It doesn't knock them out, but it does more than benadryl.

We had lots of clients who used it for thunderstorms and fireworks - most thought it worked quite well.

 

[LindaR]

That's the name of the stuff we used for our shepherd. The good thing is that you CAN adjust the dosage. We used to give 1/2 or 3/4 of the dosage. Enough to calm her down but not the full dosage cause she would have trouble standing and walking with the full dose.

 

[wvdisluv2]

posted on wrong thread~*sigh*

 

[luvmy3]

I don't have dogs but I have had to drug my cat

 

[daisax]

Acepromazine is a very common sedative but also potentially deadly for boxers and many herding breed dogs.

A safer choice is melatonin. If you google melatonin and "Linda Aronson" you'll find info on a Golden retriever epilepsy website about the use of melatonin for thunderstorm and fireworks phobic dogs.

Dr. Aronson lectured at my dog club and she has had tremendous success with it. (She's at Tufts Vet school and works with Dr. Nicolas Dodman who has done some fairly popular writing on dog behavior and medication)

Among other things, they use melatonin on search and rescue dogs being transported to foreign countries for disaster work. They use these noisy cavernous transport planes, and over the years found that the dogs arrived at their destination agitated and stressed. Melatonin just mellowed them out enough that they REST on the way there. It is not a sedative, but it definitely reduces stress. The dosages she recommends are in the document on the Golden Retriever website (sorry, don't have it with me at the moment)

It's safe enough that you can give it regularly, so people who have a "storm season" can give it in the morning before heading to work if there might be storms that day, and people who know a holiday with fireworks is coming up can give it to their dogs just in case the idiots start setting them off early.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Acepromazine is a very common sedative but also potentially deadly for boxers and many herding breed dogs.

A safer choice is melatonin. If you google melatonin and "Linda Aronson" you'll find info on a Golden retriever epilepsy website about the use of melatonin for thunderstorm and fireworks phobic dogs.

Dr. Aronson lectured at my dog club and she has had tremendous success with it. (She's at Tufts Vet school and works with Dr. Nicolas Dodman who has done some fairly popular writing on dog behavior and medication)

Among other things, they use melatonin on search and rescue dogs being transported to foreign countries for disaster work. They use these noisy cavernous transport planes, and over the years found that the dogs arrived at their destination agitated and stressed. Melatonin just mellowed them out enough that they REST on the way there. It is not a sedative, but it definitely reduces stress. The dosages she recommends are in the document on the Golden Retriever website (sorry, don't have it with me at the moment)

It's safe enough that you can give it regularly, so people who have a "storm season" can give it in the morning before heading to work if there might be storms that day, and people who know a holiday with fireworks is coming up can give it to their dogs just in case the idiots start setting them off early.

thanks to everyone for the info.
I trust these opinions over random posts on the web.

Mikeeee

 

[clutter]

Ask your vet about a 'script for acepromazine. It doesn't knock them out, but it does more than benadryl.

We had lots of clientwho used it for thunderstorms and fireworks - most thought it worked quite well.

I used to give that to my late bassett. I was told it was sedative, and it did last for a long time (didn't kick in too fast either). And on a bassett, with droopy eyes already, it was pretty funny!!!

 

["Got Disney"]

yes...my vet gave me medicine that made my one dog very drowsy. Worked great. He was sooooo bad that he would run into the walls trying to find a place to hide. Benadryl did nothing.

I used this medicine on him for 15 years.

 

[daisax]

One thing that Dr. Aronson told us is that research has shown that a lot of thunderstorm phobic dogs and cats do is seek out the bathroom and hide behind the toilet. This leads them to believe that a lot of thunderstorm phobia is based on the unusual electrical charge in the air, and the tile/ceramic atmosphere of most bathrooms doesn't conduct it as well and they feel safer. Same for basements.

So if you're going to shut the dog up, a bathroom might be a better choice than a bedroom.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

This won't help on dogs who are afraid of fireworks, but is excellent for dogs with thunderstorm phobias. This company makes a jacket for dogs who have thunder storm phobias called "The Storm Defender Cape". This excerpt is from their website.


When properly used, the Storm Defender cape will reduce the dog's anxiety. The cape has a special metallic lining that discharges a dog's fur and shields him from the static charge buildup reducing his sensitivity to the charge. The dog gets relief, and after a few storms begins to learn that the secondary triggers like rain, wind, thunder, barometric pressure and smells are no longer to be feared. With the cape on, the dog feels as though he has found a safe place.

The electrical activity is only loosely related to rain. We can have charge without rain such as "heat lightning" or rain without charge such as "April showers." Since humans are largely insensitive to this charge, we must take our cues from the dog. It is very difficult to calm a dog once they have reached full panic, so promptness is essential.

My friend's dog has extreme storm phobias and for years she had to tranquilize her, which didn't help all that much., After seeing these jackets on The Today Show, she purchased one for her dog. She said when she first opened the package, she thought she'd been ripped off since it's a very light weight product and not much to it. But her dog has totally overcome her phobia of storms, and comes to her wanting her jacket put on when storms are imminent. The jacket has a money back guarantee so you don't have anything to lose if you want to try it. Read some of the reviews posted on their site.

I have also heard that you can rub your dog down with a dryer sheet and it will reduce the static charge buildup, but I have no idea if that actually works. You could try that first before ordering the jacket to see if it works for your dogs who are fearful of storms.

http://www.stormdefender.com/how_it_works.htm