Has anyone used supplements to calm their hyper dog down? At our training session last week, Annette suggested these:- Dog Appeasement Pheromones such as, DAP collar and/or atomiser or relaxation aids:- Zylkene Skullcap & Valerian Any help would be great. Thanks xx
Re: Relaxation Aids Oh yes Helen , one of my dogs had seizures and used to get very anxious at loud noises , I used the Skullcap and Valerian from Dorwest Herbs , they definately relaxed her a lot , Dorwest are a good company and will even send samples , good luck
Re: Relaxation Aids I use calm down herbs from CSJ. You have to give them 3 weeks to get into their system. I did think they helped as they reacted less in situations that set them off until the vet visit on Friday. However their nervousness is a big thing to overcome its not just about calming them down so I wouldn't stop using them. Not yet anyway. You sprinkle the herbs on their food and they can be used indefinitely.
Re: Relaxation Aids Thanks Kate and Jen, Jen maybe a different vet practice altogether might help and you could start from the beginning ??? Our vet is great and they told me I could take Charlie anytime I want and just sit outside for a bit and then sit in the waiting room to desensitise him as he was a little anxious but nothing like your poor boys, that must be so stressful for you too I have heard of the Calm Down but does it taste of anything, not that I think you have tried it ;D Do your dogs just eat it without any fuss?
Re: Relaxation Aids Unfortunately Helen this is a new vets !!!! . He is very good with them though, calm, gentle and very patient. I don't think I've ever apologised so much in such a short space of time but he was really nice about it. This veterinary practice is just him so hopefully over time they will get used to him rather than seeing someone different every time like the old place. Not that I want to be going that often. : The herbs smell nice but no I haven't tried them. The dogs had no problem with them though just gobbled them up with their food. I sprinkle them in a bit of a pile then put some food on top of them but I don't think I need to. I emailed the nutritionist about them. She was very helpful and apparently gives them her spaniels. She says she can tell in a couple of days if her husband has forgotten to give them the herbs. If you try something different let me know how well it works. I need all the help I can get. PS Having given them their herbs on their tea I should add once the food has gone there are herbs left on the bottom of the bowl. The bowel is then furiously licked clean and if scout isn't quick enough Scott pushes him out of the way and cleans it for him. Perhaps that's why Scott doesn't race for his ball as quick as scout. He's like 'chill out what's the hurry' I would say my dogs definitely like the herbs.
Re: Relaxation Aids Helen, I brought Adaptil spray for Harley when I was first getting her used to the car as she hated it. It worked brilliantly quite quickly
Re: Relaxation Aids Jen, would you be able to take them to the vets just to sit either outside or inside just very briefly, NO treatment or even seeing the vet just to get some good association going? Thanks for the suggestion for the calm down too Ternaya, thank you for that, I am going to look into this in more depth
Re: Relaxation Aids I've used pretty much everything available during my time working in kennels. Zylkene can be very expensive (£1 a tablet) and can take six weeks to take effect. I have never noticed a difference in the dogs behaviour whilst on or off it. DAP products are great as they are so versatile - plug in diffusers for at home, collars for out and about and spray for every now and then. I used a DAP collar on Penny when she was younger because she was crying at night. The first night she had it on - silence! I'm planning to get her a collar and a diffuser for when she goes to stay at my mums during my honeymoon. Various herbal extracts i personally have seen no results with. As with all herbal supplements there's no harm in trying, even if they don't work. The best thing I have ever seen was a thundershirt. Quite expensive but very good. Works on the idea of pressure points to cause relaxation - I'm sure it's a bit more complicated than that but there's lots of info on the website, just google thundershirt. Seen some good results with them both in kennel situations and at home. There's also a dog at my training class that wears one.
Re: Relaxation Aids DAP collars work well with Cuilli....I know when hers is about to run out as she'll start barking at light reflections in windows, when she see trees waving through windows at night etc. Stops when new collar affixed.... I have heard great things about the new tablet form of DAP to, but not trialled myself. I think its more incident specific, the collars are for out and about generally as well which is why I use... have heard good things about Zylkeine too but yes apparently needs a fairly long time to kick in...
Re: Relaxation Aids [quote author=Penny+Me link=topic=4805.msg60118#msg60118 date=1394541902] The best thing I have ever seen was a thundershirt. Quite expensive but very good. Works on the idea of pressure points to cause relaxation - I'm sure it's a bit more complicated than that but there's lots of info on the website, just google thundershirt. Seen some good results with them both in kennel situations and at home. There's also a dog at my training class that wears one. [/quote] I do wonder about Thundershirts - I need to caveat this by saying I have no experience of them at all apart from examining them. I've never put one on a dog. Debsie and I discussed this a while ago in another thread. Charlie is not nervous, he's mad excitable. But if I put a fleece harness on him, it "calms" him down instantly. When I say "calm" I actually think it's fear. His heartrate increases, and he goes very still. This is what makes me wonder about how Thundershirts really work (although there may be absolutely no connection between Charlie's reaction to a harness and a Thundershirt - but a tight fleece generates the same response in him). I can't really work out how a Thundershirt would work. I mean, pressure points to cause relaxation? Which pressure points, and how does it work, exactly? This is what the makers say: http://www.thundershirt.com/Product/Thundershirt.aspx?item_guid=ad60b946-f758-45e2-a589-331dda09637e What do people who have used one think about how and why they work?
Re: Relaxation Aids Cuillin is super sensitive (inherited from her dad apparently!), and also hates harnesses, and her fleecy coat. But Thundershirts have quite an effect on her! She almost closes down when wearing one initially, she will stand stock still wherever it was put on, and not move for ages. she will then just go and lie down somewhere and not move, and she is quite unresponsive and miserable looking (though she is the same when you first put on a harness or her fleecy coat, but perks up again quickly). in a Thunerdshirt this state will last for about an hour, then she will get up again and start behaving a bit more like herself, but most definately subdued. I've never tried one on her out of the house as an adult dog, and dont use them much at all now- she only wears one on firework night indoors, she used to wear one in the car when she was a puppy and hated car travel (same effect then, stopped her cockerelling in the back of cars as she went into some sort of semi awake state instead...) but loves the car now so no need.... I think Cuillin hates having things put round her body, and gets herself in a fankle about this. But with harnesses and coats, the fankle disappears once she is having fun (game of ball in park with harness on and she doesnt even know its on). The fankle with a Thundershirt goes on much longer, and she does seem to close down. I've no idea why they have this impact - I guess they are really tight so her horror at having something round her is x 100.... I don't really like the effect it has on her, I wouldn't say she looks relaxed, more sort of shut down, if you know what I mean....
Re: Relaxation Aids [quote author=debsie link=topic=4805.msg60129#msg60129 date=1394547406] The fankle with a Thundershirt goes on much longer, and she does seem to close down. I've no idea why they have this impact - I guess they are really tight so her horror at having something round her is x 100.... I don't really like the effect it has on her, I wouldn't say she looks relaxed, more sort of shut down, if you know what I mean.... [/quote] Shut down - yes, I know exactly what you mean, that's exactly what happens to Charlie if you wrap something tight around him. I think it is very interesting that both Cuillin and Charlie (who seem to be at the opposite ends of the sensitivity scale) react in a very similar way.
Re: Relaxation Aids Another aid to relaxation that I tried on Lily was massage . I followed the T Touch method , it certainly seemed to calm her a lot , also used it on Millie when we first had her and she was a little anxious and worried
Re: Relaxation Aids I looked in to Thundershirts awhile ago for my cousins dog for fireworks. I think they are supposed to work by restricting the dogs breathing (that sounds bad not worded well) so the dog breaths deeper and so helps calm it down rather than rapid shallow breathing/panting which they do when worked up. I did watch a Cesar Milan video about them. He suggested you need to get the dog used to them when it is calm and relaxed so when you put the shirt on when it's stressed it associates the tightness of the shirt with feeling calm. I didn't get one.
Re: Relaxation Aids [quote author=kateincornwall link=topic=4805.msg60136#msg60136 date=1394549061] Another aid to relaxation that I tried on Lily was massage . I followed the T Touch method , it certainly seemed to calm her a lot , also used it on Millie when we first had her and she was a little anxious and worried [/quote] You recommended this to me sometime ago Kate, and I use it on Charlie which really helped him allow me to examine his ears, feet etc. He goes completely relaxed when I do it ;D I wonder if I need the relaxation aids ;D
Re: Relaxation Aids [quote author=Helen] I wonder if I need the relaxation aids ;D [/quote] ;D That's why I did a course on mindfulness
Re: Relaxation Aids [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=4805.msg60253#msg60253 date=1394574612] That's why I did a course on mindfulness [/quote] O - I heard about that on the radio. Sounded v interesting. Can you recommend a book?
Re: Relaxation Aids Julie - I don't have an extensive knowledge I am afraid. Maggie might be able to help here as I know she has used it too. I did a course on teaching calmness to kids, that included autistic kids (I went a bit off piste on this having been granted an extra study day for one reason or another). The teacher Lorraine Murray has a book which is very readable though Calm Kids
Re: Relaxation Aids [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=4805.msg60257#msg60257 date=1394575420] Julie - I don't have an extensive knowledge I am afraid. Maggie might be able to help here as I know she has used it too. I did a course on teaching calmness to kids, that included autistic kids (I went a bit off piste on this having been granted an extra study day for one reason or another). The teacher Lorraine Murray has a book which is very readable though Calm Kids [/quote] Jac thanks for posting this, very interesting. I am going to see if I can get a copy as it might help my son Joseph who has High Functioning Autisim (16 years old) with his stress levels and mine x
Re: Relaxation Aids I was looking for a mindfulness or meditation class locally that might suit teenagers and there was just nothing around. I was a complete novice but Lorraine was wonderful. Probably doing some meditation yourself and knowing the score is a help to start with. I definitely felt calm after my training day!
