Guest Latch Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Im sure this has been discussed before, but what are some good calming supplements for greys (to reduce anxiety)? I read something about L-Theanine - anyone have experience with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest goddessgina Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I've used rescue remedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I've used Calm Spirit by Health Concerns (must be ordered by a vet or MD) and Er Yin Jian made by Jing Tang, and my vet made up a combination of bach flowers that works better than rescue remedy alone. I have the "recipe" somewhere.... Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest houndlover Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Why do you need to calm the dog down? Is the dog afraid of loud noises or just nervous in general? Is it separation anxiety? I have a dog that has always been afraid of loud noises (thunderstorms, lawnmowers, snowblowers, etc) but he is a nervous dog to begin with. He was on Clomipramine for years and it worked wonders. I recently weaned him off of the meds and he is doing much better. I did not have good luck with rescue remedy b/c it took a little while to get into the dog's system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Latch Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Why do you need to calm the dog down? Is the dog afraid of loud noises or just nervous in general? Is it separation anxiety? I have a dog that has always been afraid of loud noises (thunderstorms, lawnmowers, snowblowers, etc) but he is a nervous dog to begin with. He was on Clomipramine for years and it worked wonders. I recently weaned him off of the meds and he is doing much better. I did not have good luck with rescue remedy b/c it took a little while to get into the dog's system. Well, to be honest, Im not really sure if he needs calming down. I think he has some seperation anxiety, but Im not sure... When I leave, he is happily chewing on his kong, but when I return several hours later, the following things have happened: He ate an entire box of Cheez-Its and pooped on my rug. He also tore up an empty ice cream box. He jumped up and got some business cards out of my letter holder and destroyed them. He took a strainer, fork, and plastic container out of the sink and chewed on those a little. ...And most recently he jumped up on the blinds and destroyed them (this was DH's fault because I told him to leave the blinds up for him so he could see out and he didn't). It's like half of the time he is fine and nothing happens. The other half of the time, something gets destroyed. I'm not sure if it's SA because he is only getting into food or things that smell like food...or like the other day, just trying to see out the window. He hasn't tried ripping up carpet or chewing pillows or anything like that. We don't want to crate him because we are trying to cure happy tail and it's almost cured (thank goodness!) and if we put him in the crate he bangs his tail so hard against the crate that it makes his tail bleed. He is a very happy boy when he first sees you or meets new people. It's hard to keep him from jumping up on people and banging his tail into things. After about 5 minutes though, he's back to his natural calm self. He doesn't seem to be scared of anything really, but if we crate him while we are home and we are in another room, he will whine and whine (we tried crating at night at first - but now he sleeps in the room with us). Maybe I should post this under training and behavior, huh? Anyway, I don't know if he needs a calming supplement, but I was just wondering what all there was out there...Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GreytMuse Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 He ate an entire box of Cheez-Its and pooped on my rug. He also tore up an empty ice cream box. He jumped up and got some business cards out of my letter holder and destroyed them. He took a strainer, fork, and plastic container out of the sink and chewed on those a little. A small suggestion: You have a scavenger! Tighten up your pet-proofing, especially in the kitchen and consider using babygates (if you aren't already) to minimize his access to office supplies, rugs and other cool forbidden goodies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jennifer4719 Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Xena is a scavenger too, although she doesn't chew the things she takes. She just plays with them awhile and then leaves them. The trash is now on the counter, nothing edible gets left out within reach. Xena does it out of boredom when she is home alone. I guess she really isn't "alone," my other dog is with her. I can just imagine what is going through Honey's mind. Honey would never even think of touching something that wasn't hers, not even the trash. I agree with tightening up your dog proofing in the kitchen, use baby gates, maybe even leave him muzzled when home alone. Is he getting enough exercise? Maybe longer walks in the morning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest goddessgina Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 He ate an entire box of Cheez-Its and pooped on my rug. He also tore up an empty ice cream box. He jumped up and got some business cards out of my letter holder and destroyed them. He took a strainer, fork, and plastic container out of the sink and chewed on those a little. A small suggestion: You have a scavenger! Tighten up your pet-proofing, especially in the kitchen and consider using babygates (if you aren't already) to minimize his access to office supplies, rugs and other cool forbidden goodies! Yep, I agree a definite scavenger. Sadie's a scavenger too. She has to inspect every bag that comes into our house for food. Once she ate entire box of "heartguard" My non-grey, Daisey has a paper fetish, so I have to keep tissues and paper towels out of reach. Just some pet proofing will do wonders for you, and after a while it will become second nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Latch Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I was pretty sure that he was just getting into whatever he found appealing so we tried doggy-proofing the house and that worked! ....until DH forgot to put up the blinds!! Grrrrr...bad DH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest houndlover Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I was pretty sure that he was just getting into whatever he found appealing so we tried doggy-proofing the house and that worked! ....until DH forgot to put up the blinds!! Grrrrr...bad DH! Sounds like you are doing what you should be. As for DH, maybe you should try some training and behavior methods on him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sighthounds4me Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Not SA. And I don't think you really need anything to calm him, other than more exercise. Give him a good, long walk or run in the morning before you head off to work. Sounds to me like he's a normal dog, doing normal dog things! Quote Sarah, the human, Henley, and Armani the Borzoi boys, and Brubeck the Deerhound.Always in our hearts, Gunnar, Naples the Greyhounds, Cooper and Manero, the Borzoi, and King-kitty, at the Rainbow Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lizmego Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Not SA. And I don't think you really need anything to calm him, other than more exercise. Give him a good, long walk or run in the morning before you head off to work. Sounds to me like he's a normal dog, doing normal dog things! I agree with this advice. Other non-prescription things you could try along with the exercise is a DAP Comfort diffuser. Its a plug in, like a Glade air freshener that emits a mother dog's pheramones, one diffuser will not cover the whole house, but if you know where he hangs out the most, I would place the diffuser there. You can find the diffuser at any large pet store chain - Petsmart or Petco. Usually the attachment/insert needs to be changed on a monthly basis. Another option is to place Bach Rescue Remedy, directly on his tonuge before you leave and place two dropperfuls into his water bowl. Its a herbal remedy that is for human use as well (you can't overdose) - like if someone is afraid of flying, they recommend placing 3-4 drops into water and drinking it before your flight and during youR flight if possible. You can find RR at most natural food stores, and Whole Foods or Wild Oats Markets. You can also find bot the DAP and the RR online, but I figured you would want to buy it now, to try it out. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rubysdad Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Why do you need to calm the dog down? Is the dog afraid of loud noises or just nervous in general? Is it separation anxiety? I have a dog that has always been afraid of loud noises (thunderstorms, lawnmowers, snowblowers, etc) but he is a nervous dog to begin with. He was on Clomipramine for years and it worked wonders. I recently weaned him off of the meds and he is doing much better. I did not have good luck with rescue remedy b/c it took a little while to get into the dog's system. Well, to be honest, Im not really sure if he needs calming down. I think he has some seperation anxiety, but Im not sure... When I leave, he is happily chewing on his kong, but when I return several hours later, the following things have happened: He ate an entire box of Cheez-Its and pooped on my rug. He also tore up an empty ice cream box. He jumped up and got some business cards out of my letter holder and destroyed them. He took a strainer, fork, and plastic container out of the sink and chewed on those a little. ...And most recently he jumped up on the blinds and destroyed them (this was DH's fault because I told him to leave the blinds up for him so he could see out and he didn't). It's like half of the time he is fine and nothing happens. The other half of the time, something gets destroyed. I'm not sure if it's SA because he is only getting into food or things that smell like food...or like the other day, just trying to see out the window. He hasn't tried ripping up carpet or chewing pillows or anything like that. We don't want to crate him because we are trying to cure happy tail and it's almost cured (thank goodness!) and if we put him in the crate he bangs his tail so hard against the crate that it makes his tail bleed. He is a very happy boy when he first sees you or meets new people. It's hard to keep him from jumping up on people and banging his tail into things. After about 5 minutes though, he's back to his natural calm self. He doesn't seem to be scared of anything really, but if we crate him while we are home and we are in another room, he will whine and whine (we tried crating at night at first - but now he sleeps in the room with us). Maybe I should post this under training and behavior, huh? Anyway, I don't know if he needs a calming supplement, but I was just wondering what all there was out there...Thanks!! Why do you need to calm the dog down? Is the dog afraid of loud noises or just nervous in general? Is it separation anxiety? I have a dog that has always been afraid of loud noises (thunderstorms, lawnmowers, snowblowers, etc) but he is a nervous dog to begin with. He was on Clomipramine for years and it worked wonders. I recently weaned him off of the meds and he is doing much better. I did not have good luck with rescue remedy b/c it took a little while to get into the dog's system. Well, to be honest, Im not really sure if he needs calming down. I think he has some seperation anxiety, but Im not sure... When I leave, he is happily chewing on his kong, but when I return several hours later, the following things have happened: He ate an entire box of Cheez-Its and pooped on my rug. He also tore up an empty ice cream box. He jumped up and got some business cards out of my letter holder and destroyed them. He took a strainer, fork, and plastic container out of the sink and chewed on those a little. ...And most recently he jumped up on the blinds and destroyed them (this was DH's fault because I told him to leave the blinds up for him so he could see out and he didn't). It's like half of the time he is fine and nothing happens. The other half of the time, something gets destroyed. I'm not sure if it's SA because he is only getting into food or things that smell like food...or like the other day, just trying to see out the window. He hasn't tried ripping up carpet or chewing pillows or anything like that. We don't want to crate him because we are trying to cure happy tail and it's almost cured (thank goodness!) and if we put him in the crate he bangs his tail so hard against the crate that it makes his tail bleed. He is a very happy boy when he first sees you or meets new people. It's hard to keep him from jumping up on people and banging his tail into things. After about 5 minutes though, he's back to his natural calm self. He doesn't seem to be scared of anything really, but if we crate him while we are home and we are in another room, he will whine and whine (we tried crating at night at first - but now he sleeps in the room with us). Maybe I should post this under training and behavior, huh? Anyway, I don't know if he needs a calming supplement, but I was just wondering what all there was out there...Thanks!! When I leave mine alone at home, she is very happy to go in her crate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 You can also try padding the area of the crate where his tail hits so that he doesn't redamage it. Is the tail bandaged? Dog proofing the house, and upping the exercise - as others have mentioned - should help him out. Calming meds for what sounds like a normal dog getting into what he can, will just make him happier about getting into things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HeatherDemps Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I agree with what several other people have already mentioned- doggy proofing and exercise. Although this doesn't sound really like SA, exercise made a huge difference with my grey when he had problems with SA. It also worked wonders with my italian greyhound as he went through puppyhood and still continues to be a miracle in terms of fixing bad behaviors (too bad it's so darn cold right now!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Latch Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 You can also try padding the area of the crate where his tail hits so that he doesn't redamage it. Is the tail bandaged? Calming meds for what sounds like a normal dog getting into what he can, will just make him happier about getting into things! His tail is bandaged, but it doesn't seem to help with the banging. We tried to line the crate and he ripped it to shreds! We lined it again and he ripped it off again...lol The part about calming meds making him happier about getting into things is hilarious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundgang Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 some suggestions: - Exercise - Exercise - Exercise A tired dog sleeps. Dog Door to fenced yard will help dissipate some of his energy. Muzzle will help with destruction. Blinds should never be left closed, as you knew . Just asking to be eaten cause dog wants to see what's happening outside. You're learning, and he'll continue to teach you how to dog proof. re Calming: Greyhound Gang Good Smells has calming and lavender oils, plus calming spritzers too. These are human products, fine to use on hounds. They can help in some situations with some hounds. They all smell good . Separation Anxiety has info about true separation anxiety. Quote Claudia & Greyhound Gang100% Helps Hounds GIG Bound! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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