After a night of storms, my dog was unresponsive this morning. I thought her was dead. Slept three hours longer than normal. didn't respond to my call. The vet suggested getting "doggie downers." Any experience out there with this problem?
2006-09-17 07:05:01 · 10 answers · asked by gwynette2728 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
yes my dog was terrified so tgis is what i did. I played clips of sounds of strorms and things like that so he/she was not afraid. If that doesn't work try an private dog teacher or somthing like that.
2006-09-17 07:07:25 · answer #1 · answered by surfgirl7727 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Doggie Downers are often prescribed for this problem. Generally speaking, the drug prescribed is acepromazine. The tablet form can take anywhere from 1-4 hours to take effect. It has little chance of causing problems if you don't use it everyday, so you can give it when you think a storm may happen, but before it gets there. It also has a wide dosing range, so a little of it may knock your dog out for hours, or it may take lots of it to have even the slightest effect. Every dog is different. This drug is not recommended in dogs with epilepsy, as acepromazine has been linked to causing seizures in epileptic dogs. Injectable acepromazine takes effect in 20 minutes. This is not a cure. This is temporary relief. While some people may mention playing sound clips of thunderstorms, it hasn't helped any dog I've worked with. They can sense the pressure changes from a storm, and sound clips can't mimic that. If your dog is just afraid of loud noises, then sound clips may help. If thunderstorms are the culprit, then you have to find a way to deal with the behavior without reinforcing the behavior. Fireworks may upset your dog too, as the loud noise and gun powder smell can be quite frightening.
2006-09-17 14:25:06 · answer #2 · answered by engfoxhound1979 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She's probably afraid of storms because of the way people in your home react around her when there is a storm. Show your dog that the storm is no big deal. Go with her out into the storm and act as though everything is perfectly normal. If there is thunder or lightning, just react as though it's perfectly natural and that you'll all be OK when it passes. The same holds true for fireworks. Show the dog what's going on and enjoy the show together. The trick for you is to desensitize your dog from these things. Police dogs are trained not to fear gunshots in this manner.
Start training now.
2006-09-17 15:36:59 · answer #3 · answered by Ginbail © 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, my mom's dog was so terrified of rain/storms, she actually broke through a door. She would trample on everything and break stuff. Her vet gave her a prescription downer. But you had to give it to her several hours before the storm. We lived in Florida at the time, and it sucked. One of my dogs then started to be scared of storms. She's potty all over the place. Fortunately, as mean as it sounds, she's since gone deaf, so no more problems there.............Surprised your vet didn't give you anything. I've tried OTC stuff, think it was called Calm Down (a liquid) no luck with that.
2006-09-17 14:11:07 · answer #4 · answered by tikitiki 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't 'baby' the dog when storms come around. Comforting/petting a dog during one actually inforces the behavior, and drugs aren't a cure, just another bad 'fix.' Look up Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisper online, there are great tools to teach yourself and help change you and the dog's behaviors.
2006-09-17 14:13:44 · answer #5 · answered by St. Bernards 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My precious Angel (rest her soul) was terrified of storms. When she was a puppy she was left at home one day. We had terrible storms come in that day that we were not expecting. when I got home she had shredded the garbage, had diarrhea all over the place and been vomiting. She was a quivering mess. From that day on I never left her alone during a storm or if there was possibility of one. I was lucky that we were self employed and I could take her with me anywhere. If I was at home during a storm I just kept her with me very close. I really miss her.
2006-09-17 14:12:59 · answer #6 · answered by Blue Eyed Baby 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Several years I had a small dog that was terrified of night time storms. I found a cd of thunderstorms. I played it when we went to bed. After a couple of times she was cured.
2006-09-17 14:38:06 · answer #7 · answered by Candice M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have two dogs a boston terrier and a Spaniel mix...our dogs go berserk when it gets extremly windy.....we live in the desert so we do have high winds periodically....we let them inside during these periods of time.
2006-09-17 14:10:36 · answer #8 · answered by Sparky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My dog goes in the closet when it storms, but it's never been that bad!
2006-09-17 14:07:56 · answer #9 · answered by Amanda 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have had plenty of stormophobic dogs and fireworks cause the same problems, i have tried this and it works for me.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/melatonin.htm
good luck its a hard one to cope with
2006-09-17 14:10:07 · answer #10 · answered by mips1970 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋