Calming Stuff for Dogs?

Troglin · May 2009

I've never really had a dog with separation anxiety - or, I use/used exercise and training just to eliminate it. But I need a quick temporary "hold-over" for a dog. He's developed separation anxiety from me and my dog, Mimi. He's never had separation anxiety before because his first owners kept him crated about 20 hours a day and his second owners left him in the apartment or just ignored him while they were there. I think he's just gotten used to actually being someplace where someone actually walks him and there's a real dog he can sometimes play with. The thing is, he has to stay in 1 room from probably about 7 am until noon M-F. I can only walk him for 15-20 minutes in the morning before I leave. After I get back he'd get a good 30 minutes of free run in a field (with Mimi), then possibly free run in a fenced yard, and then a good 30-45 minute walk a few hours later. I'm just looking for something that I can use now that will actually work. Otherwise I'm definitely going to have to go board him tomorrow morning because I can't have him barking and whining where I'm at. (Long story, don't ask.) Right now I'm using a shock bark collar, but I don't think the battery is good enough to actually be shocking him. And don't tell me that the only way to fix anxiety is exercise, I'm a bad owner, shock collars are cruel, etc. Simply put, you don't know me or my dogs. My question is, has anyone ever had any success with a particular calming spray/meds/collar? Any to avoid? Price doesn't really matter, but I'd want something under $20. I don't care if it makes the dog drowsy. I would actually prefer that. XD Just as long as it makes them content enough to stay quiet, that's good though. - Anastasia

BuffyBoarding · May 2009

Children's benedril has always worked on our dogs. I've slipped it into their wet food before and they either calm down tremendously or fall asleep

Pandalove · May 2009

I would suggest toys that simulate the brain, like kongs, which you can find at the local pet stores.

Troglin · May 2009

Buffy - Thank you. I'll go ahead and try that. We used it for my mom's cat when we had to fly from CA to VA, but it had a strange affect on her. XD But it's worth a shot. Pandalove - He gets enough mental and physical stimulation, and he has multiple chews, ropes, tugs, and a kong (old, but works), but he doesn't show any interest in them unless he's with me or Mimi. I've stuffed or dipped them with peanut butter, which he likes. If I'm around, he's asleep and doesn't move unless I move. If Mimi is around, he's no more than 2 feet away from her. Once he's away from us (just us), he begins the whining and carrying on. He can be around another person, but he'll whine if Mimi/I/both of us aren't there. But thank you. ^-^ [Well, ideally every dog, in my opinion, should have probably 5-10+ miles of exercise a day. Varied of course (rocky uphill trails, muddy marshlands, flat trails, etc), otherwise dogs will get bored with it. Realistically, that's not always possible. I can give him that much, but not before I leave in the morning. XD]

3eagles · May 2009

Anastasia wrote:

Buffy - Thank you. I'll go ahead and try that. We used it for my mom's cat when we had to fly from CA to VA, but it had a strange affect on her. XD But it's worth a shot.

.. to say the least. lmao! I'm no help, I just had to say something about that. If I stayed on topic I'd also suggest what Buffy said. lol

SandPiper · May 2009

Benadryl is supposed to work. I think its 1g to 1lb ratio. Fairly easy. It should work for allergies too. >;] I've never had a dog with severe anxiety problems, but my GSD has a slight anxiety. One of the things that worked for him [for awhile anyways, since he's a tough dog. i dunno how hard/soft your dog is] was to give him a tee-shirt. I wore the tee-shirt for a few days without washing it [sleeping in it mostly], so that my scent would stick to it. Then I stuck it in the room/crate where he was for the length of time he'd be there... and he calmed down. He's a hard dog, so the technique didnt work real well... but his anxiety isnt terribly bad either, so.

He's gotten used to us leaving now, although he's still a bit nervous about it. When we first got my other two dogs WAY back when, they were still young and tended to rip all our furniture up. So, we tried turning on the radio for awhile to make them believe that someone was still home. It reduced the amount of fuzz and fabric we had to clean up

Here are some good sites that deal with separation anxiety. <a href="http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/separation_anxiety.html"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_p ... xiety.html</a> <a href="http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm</a> They tell you some easy ways to fix it.

I'm afraid you'll have to spare some time with your dog in order to make it work, so...

Not exercise, but more sit-stay-come type of training. :]

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Calming Stuff for Dogs?

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