Thunderphobia - Time For Drugs. Any Suggestions?

[gracegirl]

Hi all! My poor, sweet Grace girl is terrified of thunder and fireworks. She turns into a shaking, drooling, panting mess! Poor thing. She's 8 years old and it only seems to get worse as the time goes on, it's noise related. Can anyone give me suggestions for some drugs they have used and what the results were? My vet suggested we think about drugs this year, and after the first few storms we've had I agree! I've tried melotonin without any success. Same for Rescue Remedy and DAP. Thanks for the insights!

Edited June 2, 2011 by gracegirl

[TheFullHouse]

We gave in and used Ace. I was very hesitant but I have to tell you, it worked wonders on my three girls. They are horrible and Bebe shakes so badly I was sure she was going to have a heart attack. At her age I kept waiting for her to just drop. I tried everything and finally agreed to the Ace and I'm glad I did. Bebe is still alert, she knows what's going on but she's calm with it and so is Heart, no more whining and pacing the floor and shaking. If we're expecting bad storms I make sure I give it to them about an hour and a half before the storms are expected. Yes, I've become a weather watcher.

[OwnedBySummer]

You might want to try the Thundershirt. They don't work for all dogs, I'm told, though. So... with hesitation... I bought one for Summer the other weekend, when we were enjoying both thunder and fireworks on the same weekend. Well, it worked and I'd recommend it to anyone to try. They only cost $36-$38 or so... so if it doesn't work, it's not a big loss. Just don't expect a 100% result the first time it's put on. Summer started at about, oh, 50%, then it increased thereafter. Here she is in her new shirt, on the couch, WHILE there's noise going on! Shortly after this shot, she actually rolled over and stretched out!

 

Edited June 2, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest TheDoggfather]

When we were in FL with it's daily summer thunderboomers, Icee was a hot mess. She's a pretty big girl at 70-72lbs and she did fine with half a tab of Ace. Hated giving it to her, but, I'd much rather sedate her than to have her scared to death.

[gracegirl]

Grace won't wear coats. She needs meds.

 

I'll call the vet and see if Ace is one that he was thinking for her. Any side effects I should know about? She's on proin for spay incontinence.

[GeorgeofNE]

Grace won't wear coats. She needs meds.

 

I'll call the vet and see if Ace is one that he was thinking for her. Any side effects I should know about? She's on proin for spay incontinence.

 

I thought I'd read never give Ace to a Greyhound, but if Judy and Chris have both done so with no problems...

 

I can tell you that I used to give it to Kramer before we flew (12 seater Cessna, dog on the floor by my feet) and once he got to be about 9 or 10, my vet would not prescribe it. He said it was too dangerous.

 

Kramer was a mixed breed, very strong and healthy 75 pounds.

[cacky]

Grace won't wear coats. She needs meds.

 

I'll call the vet and see if Ace is one that he was thinking for her. Any side effects I should know about? She's on proin for spay incontinence.

OK I'm still kinda new at this, I'm begging someone with better smarts than I chimes in quickly.

Run as fast as you can from ACE it is brutal, and if you love your pup don't do it.

Maybe I saw it here or maybe someone can find the link but a vet under supervision of a doctor took it and she came out of it saying it does nothing but paralizes(SP) you. The fears stay the same it's just you can't move. So think of your little fella scared out of his mind and now he's trapped inside a shell of a body.

Look else where I beg you, don't do this to your hound.

[TheFullHouse]

Half of a 25 milligram tablet works for my girls. They're not paralyzed with fear, they both act perfectly normal with the drug. It was stories like these that had me scared to death but I'd rather give them the drug than watch them both die from a heart attack or stroke because they are so afraid they can't function. Bebe and Heart shake and pant so badly during storms they can't even walk. I looked over during the last horrible round of storms we had and with the medication Heart was roached in her crate, completely calm. She was awake and responded to her name and even gave me a kiss. Bebe was stretched out on her bed. When she heard thunder she would pick up her head and her ears were up but she would immediately lay back down. Neither were panting or pacing and they were able to sleep through the night.

[gracegirl]

Thank you all for your input.

 

Grace shakes like a leaf, won't eat, will break down baby gates to find what she determines is a safe place to hide when she hears noises. What also has me really worried is that she *thought* she heard thunder last night and was like that for two hours before she came out of her episode.

 

Like you, Judy, her behavior is worrisome. Can they really have a heart attack or stroke from work themselves into a frenzy? Oh my!

[TheFullHouse]

It was my worry because Bebe is 11 and Heart is 10 and when they get that worked up, logic tells me their blood pressure must go up also. Grace sounds just like my girls. They won't eat treats or their dinner just like Grace. If either of my girls had had a bad reaction the first time I gave them the meds I would have never used it again. I was also reading that all the drugs in the same classification as Ace work the same way.

[DesiRayMom]

I split a 2 mg Xanax between my 2 boys & they actually slept through the fireworks last year.

 

Haven't had to use any yet this year.

[Batmom]

Some dogs do just fine with Ace, some don't. Like any other drug. There are some "bad drug" stories about it, but those seem to be based on one human being's reaction to taking the drug herself.

[NeylasMom]

If it were me, I would probably start with Xanax.

[BatterseaBrindl]

I have to second the Thunder Shirt.

 

Our 14 1/2 yr old GSDx doesn't 'do coats' either, but has a Thunder Shirt.

 

She has been thunder/loud nose phobic her entire life...and it has gotten a lot worse as ashe has aged.

 

I can put her T-shirt on her when she is shaking/panting/pacing and within 5 minutes she has clamed down and often falls asleep.

 

As a horse owner...I would be very cautious about using Ace on a dog. Very cautious.

[JJNg]

I respect that some people have had good experiences with acepromazine, but it is definitely not my first choice due to the potential for making things worse. For dogs whose fear is bad enough to need medication, I prefer to start with a true anti-anxiety medication like Xanax or Valium.

 

Here's what I wrote in another recent thread on the issue of ace:

 

"Sorry, but this is a bit of a soapbox for me... A lot of older vets use acepromazine for storms (and fireworks, and other anxieties), but this is not recommended by veterinary behaviorists anymore. Ace does not have any true anti-anxiety effects and mostly just immobilizes the dog so that they can't respond. Unless you're using a high enough dose to completely knock them out, the dog may be just as scared and just not be able to show it. Some dogs will get worse after being given ace because of this. In some very select cases, where there is risk of the dog hurting themselves, ace may need to be used as part of the protocol along with another anti-anxiety medication, but for the most part, ace doesn't have much of a place in behavioral medicine."

 

We use acepromazine regularly as a pre-medication for anesthesia (much lower doses for greys than other dogs), and I find that it makes them groggy and 'out of it' but not necessarily relaxed. We had one dog who was sedated enough that she couldn't fully stand up or walk, but she became extremely aggressive - half-rising and lunging at anyone who came near her. This was a dog with a history of fear aggression, but she did ok with handling if we just took our time with her. I suspect that with the sedative on board, she became even more scared and panicked due to not being in full control of her body.

 

Here's a good article about storm phobia by a veterinary behaviorist. She talks about why ace is not recommended on the 3rd page.

Edited June 3, 2011 by jjng

[Guest RichardUK]

I don't know if this is any help.

 

Brutus my old GSD was originally seriously frightened of thunder and lightning - and would rapidly zoom around the house looking for a place to hide. One day by chance the basement/cellar door was open and light off - he zoomed downstairs and stayed there quite happily until the episode was over. So after that I built a dog door into the basement door so he had a bolt hole in storms. He was happy down there and would readily eat meals or treats - coming up after the event. Later I postulated that the reason he felt better was because the basement, being damp and underground, held no static electric charge (which is the main reason apparently some dogs are so unsettled. Over the years he became considerably less frightened.

 

He hated rain too - In fact on his first day at home he happily stood for his leash to be put on - I opened the door - he saw the rain and bolted back in! He would never go outside at night in the rain and would leave a "deposit" on the mat instead. It happened rarely say twice a year and it took me nearly ten years to make the connection. As it was so rare I learned to live with it and bought an easily washed door mat!

[Guest BrianRke]

I tried ACE but the effects it had on Diamond were scary. I switched to 2mg of xanax and that works much much better. You can actually see that the anxiety is all but gone. With the ACE, I thought she was dead a couple times and was still terrified!! Horrible drug!