Ptsd? After Firework Season

[MattB]

I'm posting in Health & Medical but don't quite know how to distinguish from behaviour.

 

My sweet beautiful Charlie hasn't recovered from firework season, I say 'season' because where we live they start in October and go on until now. It's been particularly crazy as they've been going off randomly at all hours of the day so we haven't been safe on a morning walk (even at 5am!). They seem to have finally stopped but Charlie is a mess - after a month of very little exercise he's now coming out in the mornings but he's neurotic about where we walk, refusing certain streets and sides of the road (ironically the only walk he will come on takes an hour and is through a very spooky forest), he paces around the house after mid-afternoon (he lives with our other hound Daisy and they're alone very little) and completely refuses to walk in the evening, when he does walk he's like a robot, stares straight ahead and won't deviate from his course (I dropped a glove and he statued when I tried to go back 5 steps to retrieve it the other day). He's constantly on edge and seems to associate non-firework noises (from a bus hitting a manhole cover to someone's stomach rumbling) with fireworks and runs out of the room. My mum's house in the rural countryside which was always a haven for us all is now surrounded by an estate which runs regular shooting, even when they're not shooting he's very wary of leaving the house.

 

It breaks my heart to see Charlie like this and it's exhausting for us all - often he won't go out in the garden before bed so needs to go in the middle of the night.

 

We're tried Zylkene and adaptil but I think we need something stronger. We're going to the vet tonight, my idea was some short term medication to calm Charlie down and help break some of the negative cycles he's got into.

 

I would appreciate any advice from people who've tried medication and suggestions of what drugs we might try.

[JohnF]

I know how annoying this is. Fireworks are only supposed to be let off within certain defined periods, but it would seem our trouble-making chavs don't think that particular law applies to them. The law says you must not set off or throw fireworks (including sparklers) in the street or other public places. You must not set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, except for: Bonfire Night (Nov 5th), when the cut off is midnight, New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, when the cut off is 1am. Fireworks will only be widely available during the weeks leading up to Guy Fawkes Night and a few days before New Year's Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year.

• 15 October to 10 November
• 26 to 31 December
• 3 days before Diwali and Chinese New Year

 

Peggy is alright with fireworks, but Angel, my last one, was not. There was no possibility of coaxing her into tolerating fireworks. If we were out walking and there was a bang she would turn and head straight back home and then go to her safe place which was under my computer table. Acting as though they weren't an issue didn't make the slightest difference, sending the 'lick-yawn-look-away' calming signal cut no ice either. Medications made her worry about them in a more 'dozy' way, so the only help from that was to have the humans thinking they had done something. A thundershirt didn't work. Having another dog visit who didn't mind fireworks also made no difference. It was as if I had failed her in being able to stop the fireworks and if even I couldn't stop them then it was a massive problem that demanded being scared.

 

Is Charlie's eyesight good? Perhaps he is over-compensating with the hearing sense?

Have you any experience of leaving him with someone else when there are fireworks? If so, does he react differently?

[racindog]

Well I know straightaway she needs and would probably benefit from Bach's Rescue Remedy (and mimulus and aspen). A good holistic/homeopathic vet would be one of my first stops. They can prescribe the most likely things to help. One prescribed aconite for a dog once for me and it really worked great! Also talk to Charlie and explain to him exactly what the noises are and why he doesn't have to fear them. One thing that is often overlooked is that when a dog is seriously startled it is a PHYSICAL reaction too. Many hormones etc are released. It takes TIME for these to dissipate and their system to get back to normal. If they keep getting startled it is like a vicious circle because its like it is easier each time to reach that thresh hold since physically those hormones etc are already raging before they even are exposed to the noise. Don't know anything about this supposedly new med in the link below but I thought I'd just pass it on just in case it may help.

 

 

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/why-thunder-and-fireworks-make-dogs-anxious/

[robinw]

Iker is the same way. The best thing for him is the No Escape No Pull Harness from One Stop Harness Shop. Believe it or not, it worked wonders. There seems to be something comforting about the way it fits and I was able to finally walk him after three years.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/568743733161925/permalink/815704828465813/

[Remolacha]

It can take weeks for them to “decompress” especially if the fireworks have gone on for awhile. They start to think the noises aren’t going to stop, so they have to be alert all the time. Conner does eventually calm down, but he is still hyper sensitive to certain types of noises. The other day someone ran over a plastic water bottle, which makes a pop sound much like a firework or gunshot and he started to shake I would have your vet try several different drugs, but if something works, he will probably have to be on it for awhile.

 

I just hate that some people are so inconsiderate!

[txsbbtc]

I adopted Allie in January of 2015. Allie had no problem with thunder (even sleeping in a tent during a raging storm) until the week of 4th of July 2015. For about 10 days, we had either huge fireworks going off next door or huge thunderstorms. Since then, any kind of bang (firework, thunder, gun shot, door slam) would elicit a response (startle, shake, etc). It has been over two years, and she is just getting to the point where she doesn't immediately jump up and pace during a thunder storm. She will look when she hears other bangs, but doesn't try to bolt anymore. Progress has been slow, but it is happening.

 

Davis sleeps through anything, except if I get up. He has radar for me moving around.

[NeylasMom]

I think you're very smart to seek out medication rather than letting him suffer. If given a choice, I would opt for an SSRI over an shorter term/faster acting drug like Xanax, Valium, Trazodone, etc. The reason being you're more likely to see side effects from those medications, and with Trazodone in particular you will definitely see sedation. A low dose of an SSRI may be all he needs. Then you want to start a behavior modification program. It's best to do that under the guidance of a good force free trainer, but you can start simply by making sure you always have access to high value food (I saw food because processed treats won't cut it, think canned chicken, hot dog, cheese, meatball, etc.) and every time he hears a loud noise you immediately feed the high value food. You can do this just as it happens, but if you wanted to start a formal training program (better) you would make noises at a volume that he can tolerate (that won't freak him out or shut him down, especially to the point that he won't eat) and feed immediately after each one. Timing and order are critical for this to be effective - food is hidden and only appears AFTER the noise, but as quickly as possible so over time he makes the association - loud noises predict good things (food happening). You'll know he's made this association when he hears the noise and looks at you automatically for a treat. Once this happens, you very gradually and ever so slightly start to increase the volume or proximity of the noise. You can do this using recordings, knocking on various things, etc.

 

You may also want to try a Thundershirt for walks. You can't leave that on all of the time, but it may help him when you go outside. A white noise machine coupled with classical music playing softly may also help to reduce stress inside. Through A Dog's Ear is now available for free through Amazon Prime and iTunes.

[LaFlaca]

Lola experienced her first fireworks at Thanksgiving. The poor thing was catatonic for 3 days. Our vet has prescribed Trazodone and I purchased a Thundershirt (www.thundershirt.com). I can't speak to the efficacy of either yet but we'll find out on New Year's Eve. Not looking forward to that. I've placed DAP diffusers in every room, as well.

 

If Charlie is food motivated, and will accept treats when he's stressed, you might try offering high value treats - small pieces of cooked chicken, bits of hot dog - each time there's a "boom". He'll come to associate the sound with yummy treats.

 

Best of luck with dear Charlie.

[MattB]

Thank you everyone. Stressing just how anxious Charlie is was not helped by Charlie walking into the clinic and falling asleep and having to be woken up for his examination.

 

Anyway... The vet initially suggested some strong sedatives for a couple of days then a dietary supplement + adaptil diffuser. However after explaining the pattern of anxiety he thought the sedative were pointless as the anxiety is chronic rather than being linked to a stimuli.

 

So he's given us these:

 

http://www.vetpro.co.uk/stress-anxiety/4593962085

 

We've got enough for a couple of weeks, the vet reckoned he's seen them make a dramatic difference in dogs but I was expecting something more pharmacological, also we've been advised to give one per day but the instructions look like for a 35kg dog it should be 3. Anyway we shall give it a go and go back if we still need help in the new year. Thank you for your input.

 

Matt and Charlie

[LaFlaca]

Our dogs, much like our cars, make us look like fools when we take them to the vet or the mechanic. Suddenly, whatever it was that ailed them seems to disappear.

 

 

The supplement that the vet prescribed has some great, natural ingredients. I like this better than pumping Charlie full of anti-anxiety drugs. I hope it works for the poor baby. Stay calm and carry on dear Charlie.

 

Happy holidays!

[NeylasMom]

No evidence that l-tryptophan helps with anxiety, but there is for l-theanine and GABA has some promise. Ive had good success with straight l-theanine, but for milder issues. Dosing for that specifically is 5-15 mg/kg as a starting point (twice daily). I suspect this won't be strong enough, but its worth a try. My two cents though, ask your vet how much you can go up to and get up to that quickly because 1 a day is likely too little like you suggested.

 

ETA: Oh, I see the dosing on the pkg is actually higher than what your vet suggested. I would follow the pkg.

Edited December 23, 2017 by NeylasMom

[Remolacha]

My vet often recommends we start at a lower dose (maybe half the regular dose, or even less) and work up to the full amount, especially if your dog has a sensitive tummy, as many greyhounds do. That may have been what your vet had in mind, but I’d call and ask, you do want to know the max you can use. I hope It helps!