Anxitane Vs Nutricalm

[Josie]

each winter we experience this situation with Otis; he is afraid of the clicking noises the electrical wall heaters are making at night... When it clicks he will wake up, walk out of the bedroom and start panting and walking around the house whining... in panic mode..

Rescue Remedy does help a little but not that much...

We tried nutricalm last winter and it made it 50% better... I was thinking of trying Anxitane this winter..

Anyone have experiences with this pills?
(maybe this post should have been in the medical and health section..sory)

Edited January 7, 2015 by Josie

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Have you tried to get him used to the noise? I would try blocking him into the room, small area next to the bed, as soon as you hear the click, give him a pat and say something like "oh here comes that sound" and give him a treat. Dont coddle him, but just act like its no big deal. Thats how I have handled a lot of hounds with thunder phobia and other loud noise problems in my house. I have had hounds that are afraid of the ceiling fan, whole house fan, garbage truck, you name it, they get upset about it.

 

Just a thought.

[NeylasMom]

There is another thread somewhere where someone is having this same issue to a greater degree (dog completely shuts down from the noises so they are unable to use the heater at all). I would look for it - I posted a lot of advice on counter-conditioning so the noise is no longer scary, which should be much easier for you since you're dog doesn't react as strongly.

 

To your actual question - Anxitane is just l-theanine in a chewable for dogs. Which somehow makes it really expensive. So I just buy the human capsules and give them in pill pockets or peanut butter. Violet has been on it for some time and I find it helps with her anxiety issues and her ability to become overaroused easily. She takes 100 mg 2x/day.

 

In cases like this, I think getting anything you can on board is useful and then you can remove things gradually and figure out what's helping so you might also consider getting a DAP collar and if it's safe to use the supplement you used last year with l-theanine, just give both. The capsules are dirt cheap so no reason not to if it's safe. I'm not a fan of Rescue Remedy personally, but I do like Composure Chews so that's another option.

 

Here's the l-theanine I buy:

http://www.amazon.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-L-Theanine-Vegetarian-Capsules/dp/B0013OUH8W/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1420646748&sr=1-2&keywords=enzymatic+therapy+l-theanine

 

ETA: I just looked up Nutricalm. B vitamins are definitely also good for stress. I would check with your vet, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't use these alongside the l-theanine so that's what I would do. And the DAP collar or diffuser won't hurt with either of those either. Get it all on board and then start your CC&D.

Edited January 7, 2015 by NeylasMom

[seeh2o]

It's me, my girl Bowie, normally extremely confident, bright and bubbly, completely shuts down over the wall heater. She hid in the bedroom for almost 2 days. I've had dogs for the entire 20 years I've lived here and never had that happen, so I'm flummoxed.

 

I bought some Composure and will use it when it gets cold enough to need the heater (it is going to be 80° here today) as well as working to desensitized her to it by recording it and playing it quietly, etc. In the mean time, I took all my Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card and bought a big Vornado space heater. Fortunately, it doesn't get crazy cold here.

 

Here is the thread:http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/311064-now-bowie-is-off-need-some-insight-please/

[Josie]

Have you tried to get him used to the noise? I would try blocking him into the room, small area next to the bed, as soon as you hear the click, give him a pat and say something like "oh here comes that sound" and give him a treat. Dont coddle him, but just act like its no big deal. Thats how I have handled a lot of hounds with thunder phobia and other loud noise problems in my house. I have had hounds that are afraid of the ceiling fan, whole house fan, garbage truck, you name it, they get upset about it.

 

Just a thought.

 

we tried to a lot of things to get him used to this sound (it's his 3rd winter reacting like that). Closing the door of the bedroom makes it worst since he will scratch the doors with his paws and start crying to get out.. Interacting with him does nothing since he his completely shut down, wont listen or take treats. we tried ignoring his behavior but he can pant-whine and walk for 45 minutes-1 hour in the house before laying back on his bed (and it starts all over if the heater clicks again).

we will try a white noise machine this week to see if it could help..