Fast working calming dog tablets

BECKIN1507

I've just realised it is nearly firework night, really stupid of me to not sort something out sooner but I need to find some calming tablets that work fast. Any ideas? I usually use serene um but didn't find them very affective last year. My 8 year old ridgie is a wreak around firework night, he has a crate that we cover with a blanket to make him feel safe but he is so bad he bites the cage, bends the bars, escapes from he's crate, we have to use metal cable ties all around it, and if I let him in the garden and a firework goes off he clears the 6ft fence! So as you can probably tell, I also need something quite strong.

zaksmum

My old dad used to give our dog warm milk with whisky in his bowl.

The dog lapped it up, conked out and slept right through bonfire night...in fact, would've slept right through the next world war...!

PasturesNew

They said on the radio last week that you need to start preparing pets now... so getting them into doing whatever it is you do ... so, in your case, get him into the crate every night now for a bit, so it's not a sudden event.

Dollardog

My vet has just sent me some zylkene to try with my dog, not for fireworks - he was born on bonfire night and doesn't bother about them - but for something else.
After the second day I noticed a difference in him.

They also say the Bach flower remedies are good, the rescue remedy or even better if used with Rock Rose.

Fire_Fox

Speak to your vet, they may prescribe something without needing a consultation.

krlyr

Zyklene is a calmative but needs to be built up in the system, i.e. started now and given daily. Calmex is a similar product but designed for one-offs you can predict, like firework night (or stressful vet visits, car journeys, etc) - you give it an hour or so before needed. If he's really scared, and your area is the kind of to have fireworks going off for days either side of 5th November, Zylkene might be the better bet.
There's also products like valerian and skullcap - Dorwest Herbs are a good brand and many petshops and vets stock their products. There's Adaptil plugins, collars and sprays - pheromones meant to mimic that used by a mother dog to relax her pups. Also something like the Thundershirt - a tight fitting dog coat designed to work on pressure points (like swaddling an anxious baby), but ideally you want to introduce that slightly before the stressful event to create positive associations with it (e.g. pop it on every time you feed the dog so coat = food). If you haven't already, I'd buy him a Kong and get him used to that - so you can build up the difficulty of it and on firework night give him a couple of Kongs (I'd go for one really challenging, i.e. frozen overnight, and one slightly easier incase he's a bit too worried to bother with the tough one). Chewing and licking releases endorphins that relax a dog, which is why Kongs are better than activity balls or just giving him dinner in a bowl.
None of the above need prescriptions (most available on https://www.animeddirect.co.uk ) but unfortunately aren't guaranteed to work for every dog (neither are prescription meds actually), each dog seems to be different - some work fantastically with some dogs, others may have no effect. Worth noting down somewhere which ones you try though so you remember what not to bother with next year. If none of the OTC products work, you might want to consider having the vet prescribe something, but do some homework - some vets still prescribe a sedative called ACP for example, which is a physical sedative (i.e. dog won't be able to move) but apparently doesn't really sedate them mentally so they still experience all the emotional panic - in a way I think it's crueler that the dog cannot pace/whine/bark/shake to express its fear. Not all sedatives have this effect though, just something to bear in mind.

BECKIN1507

Thanks everyone I'll look into the things you've suggested, had a quick look at the zylkene, it look a bit expensive, and unfortunatly I live in a area where there will be loads of fireworks going off up untill next year now! So preferbly need something natural like the serene um but stronger. He usually is on the serene um by now untill after the new year. I don't like the sound of a sedative like that, I will try the kongs again but last year showed no interest just panic. Not quite sure why he is so noise sensitive even popping a crisp packet sends him into a panic! He's always been like it but seems to get worse as he is gets older. My other 2 dogs can go for a walk with fireworks and don't even jump at the loud ones.

krlyr

The Zylkene worked out about £1 a day for my Rottie x, not too cheap but it was worth a shot. I think there is a cheaper product with similar ingredients, I'll try to find it for you.

Probably a bit late now but for next year you might want to buy a desensitization CD and work on getting him over his phobia - there's at least one or two out on the market specifically for firework phobias.

krlyr

OK, not the same ingredients as Zylkene, but Kalm Aid contains

L-Tryptophan which is the same as in Serene-Um, as well as l-theanine which is meant to be another good one for anxiety.
http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/kalmaid-liquid-for-cats-and-dogs-250ml.html

I'm not sure if you'll get anything like Serene-Um but "stronger" - just different active ingredients which can be more or less efficient depending on the dog.

Edit: Just remembered seeing this one recommended on a forum I use, worked out cheaper than Kalm Aid
http://www.petspec.co.uk/shop/petspec-professional-calm-focused/ (more info here http://www.petspec.co.uk/assets/documents/pdfs/petspec/Calming%20Supplements.pdf)

You could also try a homemade version of the Thundershirt, or an anxiety wrap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Ed80FVFRo
http://www.ehow.com/how_6173772_wrap-dogs-treat-anxiety.html

lisawood78

krlyr, just ordered some Zyklene for my elderly great dane, thank you.
96p per tablet on Animed direct, that is for the giant breed doseage of course.

BECKIN1507

Thank you, I'm going to try the dorwest herbs valerian and skullcap, seem a good price and the dosage can be put up for stressful situations. You can get them on amazons subscribe and save for £14.50, that helps me too as I won't end up forgetting to order and running out. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003YDIR0U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Thanks again Krlyr, great advise as always ;-)