She is our youngest puppy. She's a lovable, playful, energetic, joyful, amazing shih-tzu who will be TWO YEARS in August. Chloe is the life of the party and she doesn't meet a stranger. She isn't really scared of anything, either. She'll even fight the vacuum cleaner.
Until recently.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a HORRIBLE storm here and something happened to Chloe. She's experienced quite a few storms in her lifetime and has even played outside in the rain without any issues. But for some reason, this one storm really bothered her. And she had a really bad panic attack. Here's some video of part of it.
It all started when I got out of the shower that night. I went in the bedroom to change and when I walked out, I found her crouched in between the toilet and the shower violently shaking. I called her to come into the bedroom with me and she ran into the corner in between the bed and the wall and hunched over. When I walked over to her to try and comfort her, she started frantically running around the room in circles, and after much comforting by both Nate and myself, she resorted to what looked to me like pacing all over the apartment.
And now, ever since that storm, she starts to have these anxiety attacks every time she hears thunder. We've been putting her in her crate or holding her really close to us to help her feel safe, but I'm still not convinced it's really working. Any other ideas on what to do? Or do y'all think we're doing the right things?
23 comments:
O goodness sweet Chloe... That's how my large Airedale was growing up. Imagine the same things from a 90 lb dog... I usually would go lay in his bed with him, give him snuggles, sometimes the vet can give you a sedative if you know it will storm, or you can get herbal ones, it's up to you though, it's a personal decision to give your dogs drugs of any kind. I personally used Dramamine, which I know is safe for dogs with motion sickness, and makes mine really sleepy and really they don't care about much! Let me know how she does!!
Thanks! Yeah, I think we're going to have to talk about it. I'm always nervous about giving our dogs medicine meant for people just because they're so small. I mean, she only weighs thirteen pounds! I'm so nervous about accidentally overdosing her on something!
But I'll definitely look into the Dramamine and the herbal alternatives. :)
Our dog used to have major panic attacks too. We eventually had a trainer come to our house to help, and he is so much happier now. This is what helped us the most:
Give him affection when he's scared but not too much more than usual. Dogs recognize when you're trying to protect them and that reinforces the idea that there is something to be afraid of. This was so hard to do at first because I just wanted to hug him and make him feel better, but it made a huge difference.
If that doesn't work, your vet can prescribe anxiety medicine. Small dogs can't take human doses but a vet can prescribe you prozac or something similar in the right dose for her. (I've heard good things about this, but I don't know from experience as our dog is epileptic and can't take them).
If neither of those ideas work, you can also try a trainer who specializes in anxiety. It did wonders for ours.
Good luck!
Thanks Kathy! I guess it's the same as when I'm working with my kids. If they're ever upset, the more I feed into that, the more upset they get. I just need to remember that with the dog. Nate gets on to me for babying her when she's scared, so he's probably on to something there! It's just SO hard because she's shaking so much...
She needs to go to the vet soon, so I'll mention it at our next visit and see what he says to do. Maybe there's something we can give her on an as needed basis.
Poor little baby! :( That's so sad when they get that way. What everyone has said about tranquilizers and herbal sedatives are definitely both good ideas. There are lots of human meds that vets give or will tell you to give a dog. Another example is Imodium. I am certified in dog and cat first aid and CPR from the Red Cross (necessary as I run my own pet-sitting biz) and those classes are where I learned about the Imodium. As long as you check with your vet about the appropriate dose for your dog's size, the Dramamine is a great idea too.
As someone who has worked with all different types of dogs for over 10 years, both when I worked in a vet clinic for two years and through my pet sitting biz, you def don't want to give her too much attention and "over baby her" as Nate put it, when the storm is happening. Dogs are SO good at sensing our emotions, as you know, and if she gets too much attention, then it kinda feeds into her thinking that there IS something wrong and she SHOULD be scared. If that makes any sense?
Good luck and talk to the vet about your options, including a trainer recommendation....also a great idea. I do have several dogs that I watch who take a small dose of a tanq. medication when storms come around...works great.
hope that helps! :)
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