Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It definitely is important not to 'feed the fear'.
Here's a little sidebar on that.....
In addition to dogs, I have parrots. One parrot was 3 years old when we adopted her, so I did not have a chance to help mold her early development. She was a mess when we adopted her (lots of emotional and physical issues). On top of all that, she is an African Grey, a bird known for being naturally nervous and high strung.
In the first few years of adjustment, I was often telling her "It's okay, it's okay Baby (the name she came with)". It was a method I used to help soothe her; to talk her down.
Well, years later, she's a much better bird, healthy and outgoing and not nearly as nervous as she was.
Today, when something DOES happen to frighten her (and that happens often enough), she now talks HERSELF down! She'll say out loud to herself "It's okay, it's okay Baby, it's okay" .
So, if it works with parrots, I think it can work with dogs too - using a phrase or a technique to teach the dog to self-soothe in some way.
how do you guys get pills into a crazy anxious dog. it would have to be liquid and i could force it. storms and fireworks come on suddenly and i could never get a pill into her. how much do you give?? she is 16 lbs.
how do you guys get pills into a crazy anxious dog. it would have to be liquid and i could force it. storms and fireworks come on suddenly and i could never get a pill into her. how much do you give?? she is 16 lbs.
If she likes cheese, peanut butter or bananas just place pill in it and if she's a chow hound like mine she swallow, pill and all. If she's as nervous as you say, I wouldn't dare try the liquid or your apt to be wearing it. I would answer how much to give her, but I prefer you talk to your vet first as a precaution.
There is also a product called rescue remedy out there that works wonders for almost anything. I have known people that take it for hurricane anxiety, people have given it to their birds, dogs, whatever. It's a liquid that you mix in with the water. This is a really good alternative to prescription tranquilizers.
As for getting a dog to take pills, you can hide it in whatever your dog will eat...cheese, yogurt, you can also buy pill pockets, which are very potent smelling little beef pouches with a hole in the middle, you put the pill in and smoosh it together to really hide the pill in there. We use them at work, and most dogs will take them...some will never and you'll have to force it.
There is also a product called rescue remedy out there that works wonders for almost anything. I have known people that take it for hurricane anxiety, people have given it to their birds, dogs, whatever. It's a liquid that you mix in with the water. This is a really good alternative to prescription tranquilizers.
As for getting a dog to take pills, you can hide it in whatever your dog will eat...cheese, yogurt, you can also buy pill pockets, which are very potent smelling little beef pouches with a hole in the middle, you put the pill in and smoosh it together to really hide the pill in there. We use them at work, and most dogs will take them...some will never and you'll have to force it.
Sadly the Rescue Remedy didn't work with my Cleo. It's another product you need start well before the storm or fireworks.
Benedryl, that is what we have been using for YEARS after the vet told us and it works wonders. No knocked out dog but just one that can get a good sleep. Our Dalmatian was TERRIBLY afraid of fireworks and thunder (even an overcast sky got him all anxious, poor boy). So we would give him Benedryl and it worked right off. If we see on the news that there is a storm coming our way we will go ahead and give it to him before it hits our house so he does not have time to get freaked out before getting his meds. Check w/ the vet for the proper dosage. I also had to give my Shih Tzu Benedryl for her allergies. I give it to them in a piece of cheese. That is how I give my Lhasa her heart medicine. The dogs know they get a "treat" every night and the minute I head to the fridge they KNOW and come running. I used sliced cheese and just use half a slice and fold the cheese over the pill and give it to them and they take it and never spit it out. Find something they like that does not require a lot of chewing (more chances of the pill coming out or being spit out) and give it to them in that.
Funny story that happened last week w/ one of our dogs. We have the Lhasa that is mostly deaf and blind then the young Chihuahua mix, aka Killer (that is not her real name but I jokingly call her that when she gets protective of the kids). One morning last week I heard one of the smoke alarms chirping like they do when the battery is low. I was still in bed but it was the dog that came flying and jumped up in the bed shaking like a leaf and hid under the covers that woke me up to hear this chirp. She was afraid of it, LMAO!!! I found it was the one in the study so no big deal or so I thought. When we leave the girls have their beds and food/water bowls in our bathroom and that is where they stay but the closet door stays shut. I got the short ladder out but still could not reach it so decided to let hubby do it when he got home. The entire time I was getting ready this dog went and hid in my closet and every now and then would poke her head out the door to see what was going on. She would NOT come out of the closet and it is not a place they have ever stayed in either but she ran in there to hide. We had an appt we had to get to so she was SO SCARED that I took her w/ us. LOL!!! She was fine once we got out of the house. When we got back and she heard that chirp again off she went flying to the closet. The other girl never even knew we were not home earlier and so she had stayed home. So to keep from having to deal w/ the freaked out scared chihuahua mutt I stood on my tiptoes and finally was able to reach the thing to get the battery out. LOL!!! Goofy dogs.
When my dog was with me a few days he got in my garage and shut the door behind him, a storm hit and he figured he could fit through a 2" hole in the window and got a nasty cut on his forehead. I used pills once afterwards that the vet gave me, but otherwise hes used to it now after being with us, and he matured too.
We had a dog that was afraid of thunderstorms. She would try to hide under the bed forgetting she was a golden lab and really didn't fit under there. What we finally did was pulled out the hide-a-bed couch in the family room if there was a chance of a thunderstorm and we weren't going to be home. If we were home we would just pull it out if it was storming. As long as she could hide under there she was fine.
Our dog now barks at them but isn't really afraid of them.
During last night's thunderstorm, our cats were in the window watching. Apparently they don't know that they're supposed to be scared. They must have seen us sitting on the porch watching the storm and figured it was OK?
Our previous cat, however, was afraid of his own shadow. We made sure to leave open the closet door in the basement den, which was his refuge during traumatic times.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
Apparently they don't know that they're supposed to be scared. They must have seen us sitting on the porch watching the storm and figured it was OK?
