OT - Any veterinarians on the board
- Thread starter SteelCurtain74
- Start date
Are there any good over the counter anxiety meds for dogs?
I have a 50 lb Labrador/bulldog that gets very anxious anytime there is bad weather. It seems to be getting worse. With the storms predicted for Tuesday, I'm trying to find something to give her to help calm her down. Most of what I've read indicated a prescription was required but if there is anything over the counter I could get, I would rather go that route.
Your dog sounds exactly like my flat-coat retriever mix. We have pills to give him but have to remember to do it about 2 hours ahead of time. He's a nut job with storms; he even wants to go out in the middle of severe thunderstorms (we can't figure it out). The only "zen" place he has is our minivan . . . he'll go stay in it. He's a mental little pill, that's for sure.
I've had a coworker suggest using specially-formalized CBD drops for dogs in his food, but we haven't tried that approach yet.
I've had a coworker suggest using specially-formalized CBD drops for dogs in his food, but we haven't tried that approach yet.
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I've started to use CBD drops in my Ole English Bulldog's food before bad weather. Now he sleeps right through it.
I'm not a vet but have experience with this. Over the counter I can't help you. But when I took my bulldog mix to state they gave her trazadone because she wouldn't calm down post surgery and wanted her to stay more calm and still for recovery. She was on it for a couple of weeks. Apparently people take it too. Should be to talk to you vet on Monday explain what's going on and they give it to you. They even said it's okay to give our other other for baths because she freaks out.
I get asked that a lot. Keep in mind before you read my answer that I am a very conservative, rural, veterinarian who does everything I can to help cut costs for my clients. Home remedies don't bother me, but there is no way to keep up with all of the new ones that pop up almost weekly. I say that so you don't think I'm just trying to get you to spend money somewhere.
Your question was about GOOD OTC anxiety meds, so the short answer is no.
1. I can't speak with authority on CBD because so much research is anecdotal.
2. Benadryl can be useful at a dose of about 1mg per pound of body weight, but it's unpredictable.
3. Melatonin chews aren't a terrible option.
4. There are dozens of "calming" treats available...if you aren't opposed to such, get on Amazon and look for ones with very high sales numbers and good reviews. Most involve some sort of plant extract.
As far as prescriptions go, if you are mainly talking about storms, then the Cadillac is a gel called Sileo. It is specifically designed for noise aversion problems, and it absolutely works. We sell a ton of it in the spring/summer during storm season.
Acepromazine is an old dependable standby...cheap and effective...but I rarely use it anymore because of Sileo.
Trazadone is one that I use in dogs AND horses, and it works pretty well.
Clomicalm is a pretty tried and true product mostly used for separation anxiety. It takes a while to become effective, but once it does it's pretty reliable. We use a lot of it.
Amitriptyline is another, similar to Clomicalm, that we use a lot of. Cheap, used for a number of things, but also a little unpredictable and slow to develop efficacy.
This may be more than you want, but this is based off of quite a few years' experience for me. Hope it helps.
Your question was about GOOD OTC anxiety meds, so the short answer is no.
1. I can't speak with authority on CBD because so much research is anecdotal.
2. Benadryl can be useful at a dose of about 1mg per pound of body weight, but it's unpredictable.
3. Melatonin chews aren't a terrible option.
4. There are dozens of "calming" treats available...if you aren't opposed to such, get on Amazon and look for ones with very high sales numbers and good reviews. Most involve some sort of plant extract.
As far as prescriptions go, if you are mainly talking about storms, then the Cadillac is a gel called Sileo. It is specifically designed for noise aversion problems, and it absolutely works. We sell a ton of it in the spring/summer during storm season.
Acepromazine is an old dependable standby...cheap and effective...but I rarely use it anymore because of Sileo.
Trazadone is one that I use in dogs AND horses, and it works pretty well.
Clomicalm is a pretty tried and true product mostly used for separation anxiety. It takes a while to become effective, but once it does it's pretty reliable. We use a lot of it.
Amitriptyline is another, similar to Clomicalm, that we use a lot of. Cheap, used for a number of things, but also a little unpredictable and slow to develop efficacy.
This may be more than you want, but this is based off of quite a few years' experience for me. Hope it helps.
For my girl, full body, under the blanket, power snuggles. The more she feels me the safer she seems to feel.
8mgs of Xanax? Damn that's a lot lol, even for a human. The normal dose is 1mg or 2 max for an adult human.
Eta nvm. Just got the sarc.
I have a German Shepherd that is the same way.. bad weather and gunfire. I was working on truck one day, hood up and neighbors were shooting guns and he jumped over in the engine area. CBD works for him
I put my German Shepherd on Trazodone because his noise aversion got completely out of hand for a while to the point he was waking me up in the middle of the night if the refrigerator creaked while going into defrost mode. He was on it for a few weeks before he built a tolerance. I took him off and put him on Prozac because his separation anxiety went off the charts to where he was body blocking me from going to work every morning. Stayed on Prozac for about 9 months; I recently took him off and got a refill of Trazodone for occasional planned usage. I think his brain basically says "nice try" to pretty much everything.
100% agree. OTC meds like Benadryl will cause sleepiness at normal doses and melatonin is slow acting. Prescription meds are the most reliable.
Has anyone tried one of these Thunder Jackets?
https://www.amazon.com/ThunderShirt-Anxiety-Jacket-Heather-Large/dp/B0028QK6EY
https://www.amazon.com/ThunderShirt-Anxiety-Jacket-Heather-Large/dp/B0028QK6EY
I used one while I was still in MS for my dog during thunderstorms. It did help temper his reactions. He would still pace around a little but would eventually settle down in one spot.
We were given ACE for my dog. The older he gets (10 now) I've stopped giving it to him. The last time he had it was one evening before overnight storm. I checked on him the next morning and he was laying on his bed, which was covered in poop. He looked at me as if to say "I'm sorry dad, I couldn't do anything about it". He's NEVER crapped inside except the day I got him at 9 wks old and once when he had stomach issues after a surgery.
Talk about feeling like a terrible dog dad.........
I tried a Thundershirt, which did nothing. He's only calm if he can be touching me.
Talk about feeling like a terrible dog dad.........
I tried a Thundershirt, which did nothing. He's only calm if he can be touching me.
I was also told (after the poop episode) that ACE really doesn't relieve their anxiety and calm them. It just acts as more of a paralytic and makes them unable to physically react to anything--thus trapped in their own body while having mental freak outs.
After I learned that I felt even more horrible for him.
After I learned that I felt even more horrible for him.
The wife said "not really, but there are a lot of cheap prescription options you can talk with your local vet about".
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