What Anxiety Med To Try Next ?

[Busderpuddle]

We have been dealing with escalating anxiety issues with Ruby for quite a while now. She had been doing a bit better since she can spend more time outside when we need to leave her, which she loves. Lately though, with her running away and then the fireworks, she is back to her panting trembling self. It has been so hard to watch the last few days. Tomorrow I am going to call the vet and ask for some kind of anxiety med and try this again. She is suffering. The last 2 nights I have given her 1.5 mg of Xanax which did nothing. Tonight, since it will be so noisy, I am going to give her the last 2 25mg Acepromazine pills I have left. We have also tried Clomipramide, Xanax, Melatonin, DAP, all the OTC stuff we could find and one other RX that I cannot remember the name of. I am going to call the vet tomorrow and see if I can get something else that is fast acting to get her through the next couple of noisy weeks. Any ideas ?

Edited July 4, 2011 by Busderpuddle

[Guest KennelMom]

We use valium...it's worked for our crew for fireworks and t-storms. Just a small dose, 5mg.

[JAJ2010]

Prozac (long term) and Xanax (short term) worked for my special pup.

[seeh2o]

Valium (AKA diazepam) here, too. $6 at Target with a prescription.

[Busderpuddle]

Prozac !!! That's the other one I tried. It made her even crazier. Valium sounds like a good one to try. Will give them a call in the morning and see if we can get some for her.

[Walliered]

I am using Valium right now and it is doing nothing. Something hit our roof today and I thought Da Vid was going to stroke. She was panting, drooling and shaking so bad. It seems to be getting worse. We tried Prozac and all it did was make him crazy..totally black eyes and could not walk on his hind legs. I think I will call the vet tomorrow and see if she has any ideas. Do any of you??? Thanks, Nan

 

Sorry, I did not mean to say "she". Da Vid is a 5 year old male.

[Busderpuddle]

Prozac is scary stuff. I am DREADING tonight and just wish it would go away so that the pups can all enjoy the peace and quiet they deserve.

[GreyPoopon]

FWIW (and too late for tonight), Betsy needs at least 3@3mg of Melatonin for fireworks, with the first no later than 4pm, and the other two with dinner at 5:30pm. Any less or later and she's a panting nesting mess.

[Guest lynne893]

Greta and Swiftie are on 1/4 of a Acepromazine pill (25 mg pill) and it's been knocking them out pretty good the last couple of days. Swiftie's eyes will barely stay open. Hopefully won't have to give more tonight (We're only supposed to administer every 6-8 hrs).

 

Greta won't even go outside past 1pm, when the firecrackers seem to start. We try to gently lead her out in the backyard and tell her to "go potty" but she's so anxious, she's holding everything in. Fortunately, she has seemed to snap out of it by the morning and will go outside normally in the early AM.

 

GOOD LUCK tonight everyone.

[Remolacha]

valium is what works best for Fletcher.

[Busderpuddle]

I just gave Ruby 50 mg of Acepromazine and am praying it knocks her out. I have given her 1 1/2 of the 25mgs before with no relief. Hard to believe 1/4 of a 25 mg works for your pups. You are lucky !

She has been pacing all afternoon and I have been feeding her the OTC calming chewies but they don't do a thing for her. If she would just close her eyes and sleep through the night I would be so happy....and so would she.

Going to see if I can get some Valium tomorrow for her.

Edited July 5, 2011 by Busderpuddle

[greysmom]

No matter what drug you try, you need to have it on board BEFORE they start having anxiety, or else it won't do anything. Once the adrenaline gets going it's hard to get under control again. And many drugs like prozac and clomicalm need two or three weeks to build up to a clinical dose in their systems. They aren't drugs you can give an hour before the event and have it work.

 

If Ruby weighs about 65-70 lbs, she can take up to 4 mgs of xanax in one dose once a day (not more than 4 mgs in 24 hours). Most of these drugs you will need to play around with the dosage to find one that works. Lots of people also use two drugs at once - prozac (a longterm drug) and xanax (a fast-acting drug) as mentioned above.

 

Some things to help her - give her safe room/place in as quiet and isolated a room as you can (an inner bathroom with no windows, or a walk in closet). Many feel better when crated, with a blanket over the crate. Turn an a fan or the AC or a white noise machine as high as it will go. Keep a radio or tv on fairly loud.

 

Most of all, don't stress *yourself* about her being stressed out. Be calm and matter of fact, sit quietly with her and do something else - read a book or knit, something that calms you too. Pet her softly if you feel that helps her (it doesn't help my spooky girl who just wnats to be left alone). Don't ignore her but don't fuss over her either.

 

And if nothing is working, make sure she is safe and let her do what she needs to do. It's hard to watch and know you can't do anything, but sometimes you just can't in the short term. Good luck.

[3greytjoys]

Some things to help her - give her safe room/place in as quiet and isolated a room as you can (an inner bathroom with no windows, or a walk in closet). Many feel better when crated, with a blanket over the crate. Turn an a fan or the AC or a white noise machine as high as it will go. Keep a radio or tv on fairly loud.

 

Most of all, don't stress *yourself* about her being stressed out. Be calm and matter of fact, sit quietly with her and do something else - read a book or knit, something that calms you too.

 

Two of our hounds have a really hard time with fireworks. One girl has extremely severe anxiety and separation anxiety anyway. One boy has no SA but panics over fireworks or other extremely loud popping noises. I know you said you tried this before so it's understandable if Ruby needs a different drug. (We're careful not to mix drugs.) We give 6 mgs. of Melatonin (plain, and naturally derived) about 1 hour before fireworks begin (30 minutes minimum). Also about 1 hour before fireworks start, we close all window coverings, turn on 4-5 of our most loud fans on high speed in the same room and neighboring room. (We have several fans from Home Depot that sound like airplanes taking off.) We've had better luck with fairly loud jazz or other music instead of TV because music is more constant noise with instrumental changes. If a hound starts to look nervous like they "think" they might have heard something, we can distract them with of an interactive game, brief obedience lesson with food treat rewards, and/or chew dental treats. We act normally and happy so they don't feed off of our stressed mood. Miraculously, this recipe has been working great here for NO shaking whatsoever from any of the hounds.

 

If you're in a 2 story home, being farther away from the roof, downstairs rooms (away from the street) are sometimes a little more sheltered from high loud noises outside, especially if you live in a neighborhood sheltered by nearby homes.

 

Good luck this week...

[Guest BrianRke]

Diamond gets 2-3mg of xanax for her thunder/firework anxiety. It works great if she gets it about 45min before the storm. 1.5mg of xanax, imo, isnt enough. Her script says take 1 or 2 (2mg). 3 seems to be the magic number.

[Guest budsmom]

I've just recently tried trazadone for Twiz - she had storm phobia and fireworks - and so far this has worked the best. She blew through all the OTC stuff and even the max dose of valium, and xanax made her even more skitzy. We gave her her trazadone at 8 last night and the fireworks started at 10. She was still scared, but went to her bed and laid there rather than pacing. I laid with her and covered her including her head with a blanket, and that also seemed to help. My vet did some research on trazadone before we tried it, and said that all the literature he found showed that it was very safe for dogs, so you might want to check with your vet about it. I heard about it here and asked my vet.

[Guest Swifthounds]

What kind of behavioral conditioning program do you have in place? You really should have a plan in place and start executing it before you start tranquilizing a dog. All medicating should do it buy you a window where the adrenaline and behaviors (panting, pacing, destruction, etc.) aren't preventing the dog for learning. No matter which medication you choose, all you are doing is quashing symptoms. There's no learning or improvement for the dog from medication alone.

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

I know we've had this conversation before... but acepromazine SHOULD NOT be used for anxiety, especially noise phobias like thunderstorms and fireworks. They make the animals hypersensitive to sound. Old school vets prescribe this for fireworks, but all it really does is paralyze your dog. It is a sedative, not an anti-anxiety medication!!

 

Maggie's magic cocktail is 100mg trazadone every 12 hours all weekend, plus 1mg xanax just before dark, and her thundershirt.

 

It's all about finding the right drug(s) at the right dosage and timing is key. Short-acting meds like valium and xanax need to be given at least 45 minutes BEFORE the stresser. Once the dog is stressed, it's almost impossible to get it back under control.

 

Busderpuddle- It really sounds like your dog could use a "standing drug" like prozac or clomicalm. Your hound has a lot of anxiety, frequently, that is not responding to short-acting drugs. My boy Guinness is on clomicalm for separation anxiety and some general anxiety. He's been on it for about 1.5 years and it works great for him. He has bloodwork done every 6 months and it has been normal. (We also do behavioral work with him but he's pretty severe.)

 

Most general practice vets don't have the knowledge or experience to deal with behavior issues. If your dog has an ongoing issue and your regular vet can't seem to get it under control... might be time to find a specialist!!

[CaliforniaGreys]

Sometimes, the drugs just don't work. Lenny has severe thunder phobia and after trying the different drugs, my vet feels that the drugs, no matter what the dose, are not going to help him. I also have tried the thunder coat.

 

He has his 'safe place' in the bathroom which is in the middle of the house with no outside walls and no windows.

[Guest KennelMom]

ace has been debated before...I don't like it for anxiety. I don't really like it much at all for greyhounds, with the exception being IV ace given by the vet before surgery. It's one of the few drugs I've seen wildly different reactions to when given orally and it's too easy to overdose a greyhound.

Edited July 5, 2011 by KennelMom

[Busderpuddle]

If you had read my first post, I have tried Colmicalm and Prozac with Ruby with zero results. Just trying to find something that will calm her down and at this point, will try pretty much anything as she is suffering. We tried a trainer, 3 different vets, etc......and yes, a conditioning program.

I am about to the point as CaliforniaGreys, and that is to say that nothing will work for her. That breaks my heart though to watch her anxiety rule her life. It must be miserable. I got Valium today from the vet so will try that when needed.

[Guest Swifthounds]

It might not be an option you want to consider, but if you have exhausted other options, have you considered a new placement for her?

[krissn333]

Sometimes, the only thing that helps is to add a confident dog to the home. I know that is not always an option, but, it sounds like you've tried everything else. A couple of my dogs would be more anxious if I didn't have Ace here-she gives them the cues on what to do. Once, I had to leave her at the ER for surgery and the two dogs I'm talking about were completely beside themselves and just didn't know what to do. The simple act of going out to the yard to go potty was confusing for them because Ace wasn't home to lead them.

[Busderpuddle]

If I knew she could go somewhere and be happier, I would do what is best for her. What she needs is no loud noises and to never ever ever be left alone for a second. I don't think that is reality. I know that no family could love her more than we do.

I have talked with 2 of the vets we have taken her to and have asked if adding another one to the family would help and both said they didn't think so. If I knew it would help, I would do it. I would hate to have 2 of them with SA though. I don't think my heart could take it.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Busderpuddle

[krissn333]

Well that's why you'd need to adopt another dog that is confident and does not have SA. Does your group do fostering? The foster homes should be able to help you find a dog that will fit the bill.

 

Have you worked with your group to get help with Ruby's problems?

[greysmom]

Most people are just posting their experiences. Some people have tried for years before finding the right combination that works for their dog. For many, OTC works just fine. For others, it takes prescription help. None of these drugs are miracle cures that will instantly make your dog calm and peaceful in stressful situations (except for actual sedatives like acepromazine).

 

If you've given each drug you named an honest 4-6 week trial, with adjustments in dosages to account for your indvidual dogs metabolism and needs, then you've tried it and no need to go back to them. You don't mention trying two or more drugs together, which has worked for some. You also don't mention whether Ruby is or has been on any long-term anti-anxiety medication, which it sounds like she needs.

 

Vets and trainers are NOT certified animal behaviorists. There are relatively few in the whole state of Oregon. These are professionals that can evaluate your dog, their behavior, their medical history, and offer solutions which may include behavior modification training and drugs. They are also licensed to prescribe medications, which most trainers can not do. It might be worth your time to talk to one about Ruby.

 

Oregon AVSAB List

 

and one who has been recommended to me

 

Animal Behavior Clinic