(Part 2) Best dog relaxants according to redditors
We found 54 Reddit comments discussing the best dog relaxants. We ranked the 27 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
It sounds like your dog has extreme fear. Walks might not be a good thing until she is doing better. Constant exposure to things she is afraid of could be making this much worse.
I would suggest, while seeing a professional, to consider Prozac for her, to help calm anxiety and her hormones. When dogs have freak outs like that, it takes four days for a certain hormone (I forget what it's called) to come down. So she may be living in a constant state of that elevated hormone/extreme anxiety. She won't be as receptive to training if she's not already calm.
I'm sorry I don't have a recommendation on how to find a behavioral specialist but I know that there are some really great ones out there and it's important to have a professional! My dog has extreme fear and through training and medication he is doing much better. Your situation sounds like how he was...good luck!
You might want to read up on...
desensitization and counterconditioning
Also, Bachs makes a great anxiety product. This can help ease some of the anxiety. Hope that helps!
OP it sounds like we have been in very similar situations. My rescue destroyed my door, 85 percent of my clothing, 2 crates, some games, some very expensive headphones. I tried crate training and it's not a option for this dog. I tried prozac and it did not work.
Currently I am using a thundershirt (unsure if it really helps) and some classical music. But what really made the difference was this amino acid
It is hard to say if it he just got more used to his new home, or the training helped (I've also been doing obedience training), or the super long hikes we go on with his backpack full of tuna cans. But it all seemed to coincide with the pills that I linked so I don't dare miss them. It says to give them a month to kick in, I think I saw a difference in him in around 3 weeks after starting the amino acid.
I still get anxious leaving him, he paces a lot and he has destroyed some things recently, but it isn't with nearly the frequency that it was and we are much happier. Note that I've had him for around 5 months now so I believe you when you say it is a slow process. We still aren't there yet... Best of luck to you!
You guys are doing a great job - its only been a month and i'm sure it'll continue to get better and easier!
As far as the separation anxiety goes - in addition to the prozac/fluoxetine, have you looked into trying DAP? Dog Appeasement Pheromones are basically the pheromones a mom dog gives off to calm her puppies - products like Adaptil collars and wall plug ins diffuse this pheromone and can help with anxious dogs.
There are also supplements like Solliquin and Composure that you can get over the counter or online that might help with anxiety issues as well.
They sell a calming spray in animal shops (I bought mine at pets at home), it's kind of a room spray with calming herbs and soft aromas. I tried them on my piggies and it seems to work. Maybe it would help to avoid a fight when they start to be hostile...
Here's an Amazon link, in case you want to check it: Pet Remedy Calming Spray, 200 ml https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007ZYRABG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pVsmDbP3YVSVT
Just saw this on AMZ. Didn't read to much into it but it might help.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KWM25PO?psc=1
My dog has really similar issues with the barking and snapping and we got him Trazadone from the vet and Zen Licks OTC. When he takes either he's a lot less likely to lash out at people/dogs on walks!
However, on Tuesday he took the Trazadone in the morning and a Zen before the groomers and apparently did fine there, then another Zen before group training class in the evening. First time we've tried them together (which the vet said would be safe). He was barely aggressive, but when something set him off instead he went into that same inconsolable shaking you described. So the meds affected him but didn't really solve the problem, just redirected it. The trainer then gave us a thunder blanket and he stopped shaking long enough to focus, and then we did a lot of useful training because he would get closer to people and dogs and then we could reward him big-time. It's definitely a matter of finding the balance but hopefully one of those will help you!
Does your dog get Xanax 24x7 or only one dose per day, before you leave? If it's just one dose, there might be room to increase your dog's dose based on the information I've seen - speak with your vet before trying it, however.
Are you finding it helps at least somewhat? Xanax is in a class of drugs called Benzodiazepines that are effective for short-term anxiety relief, but there is individual variation, and sometimes they even have the opposite effect. We tried our dog on a different Benzo (Clonazepam), and instead of relaxing him it just made him hyper!
I also just re-read your original notes and I'm wondering, did anything happen back in February or March which could have triggered this new behavior? Any construction noises or building cleaners which may have spooked your dog?
My experience with veterinary behaviorists in moderate cost-of-living locales is that they charge about $150-$200 per hour, with the first appointment typically lasting 1.5-2 hours (the first appointment might be a flat fee.) This usually includes prescriptions and email follow-up for three months. Subsequent appointments are an hour, and similarly include three months of follow-up.
After our first behaviorist appointment, we received three new prescriptions, and we then tweaked the dosage via email back-and-forth over the next three months. It seemed like a small fortune to us before our first appointment, but we left feeling it was money well spent.
Beyond the medications you are trying, in the "couldn't hurt to try" department, you could try putting a dog-appeasing-pheromone (DAP) diffuser near where you want your dog to feel comfortable hanging out, and you could also use a DAP spray on his bedding and any other location where you want him to feel relaxed.
Usually I'm not a fan of products that might not have been rigorously tested (I was worried DAP was pseudoscience), but our behaviorist said there is some evidence to show that they help, and they can't hurt.
Final thoughts:
Is your dog a good eater overall? Is your frozen kong full of high-value food that your dog loves? If he loves it ordinarily but isn't always eating it when you leave, that could be a sign he's too anxious to eat. If so, then he probably needs more or a different medication. He needs to be relaxed enough to realize that you leaving isn't a big deal, and then he realizes he also gets an awesome kong to eat, it should build some positive associations with you leaving.
One tip from our behaviorist that helped us: when our dog is very nervous, the frozen kong isn't rewarding enough to distract him, especially straight out of the freezer. Her suggestion was to partially fill the kong (say 3/4 or even just 1/2 full) when freezing it, then fill the top 1/4 with something unfrozen and yummy (peanut butter, yoghurt, etc.) The unfrozen food is easier to eat and more rewarding, and then by the time he gets to the frozen part his anxiety level has improved so he'll continue eating the kong (plus it might have defrosted slightly by this point, which makes it more attractive).
The downside to this is he'll eat a kong faster, so a variation on this is to leave TWO partially frozen kongs. (Adjust meal size as appropriate so he doesn't get fat!)
This could also help with the door issue - if your dog is eagerly eating his kong he can't try and follow you out the door. In addition to the kong, you could also try throwing high value treats away from the door and then slip out while your dog is distracted by them.
Sorry for the essay; hope some of this is helpful!