Neurotic Chow Chow, HELP!!!!
Troy Espiritu
I have a Chow Chow who is scared to death of thunder and lightening.
Not only is he scared, but he shakes and shivers like the world is about
to end. He is about 6 yrs old and this has been occuring for the past
couple of yrs. He recently has been "digging" at the door (scratching
the paint on the door and the door itself) during these episodes. He
doesn't do this when we are at home, although he still appears very
stressed. But obviously we can't be at home everytime it thunders or
lightenings. We have attempted to "block off" the door and this tends
to help some, but sometimes he still manages to do some damage. But my
wife and I often find ourselves "rushing" home to see what type of
damage the dog has done.
My wife has suggested putting the dog on valium b/c a friend suggested
that this helps her cat during car rides and suggested that this will
also help our situation.
I am very skeptimistic about valium for the dog. First, I don't think
we will be able to predict the weather and give the dog the medication
"when it is needed", and second, unless it knocks the dog out (which I
hope is not the case), this dog gets so worked up during these episodes
that I don't even think a little "relaxation" will help.
Will anyone with similar experiences please give me some advice or
suggestions as to this situation. It has become bad enough that it is
really a sore spot for me and my wife to talk about.
Thank you in advance.
Troy
Luminar
Troy Espiritu wrote:
>
> I have a Chow Chow who is scared to death of thunder and lightening.
> Not only is he scared, but he shakes and shivers like the world is about
> to end. He is about 6 yrs old and this has been occuring for the past
> couple of yrs. He recently has been "digging" at the door (scratching
> the paint on the door and the door itself) during these episodes.
what door is he digging at? Is he outside when this happens? If so why
aren't you bringing him inside??????
Susan Mudgett aka little gator
: > I have a Chow Chow who is scared to death of thunder and lightening.
: > I am very skeptimistic about valium for the dog. First, I don't think
: > we will be able to predict the weather and give the dog the medication
: > "when it is needed", and second, unless it knocks the dog out (which I
: > hope is not the case), this dog gets so worked up during these episodes
: > that I don't even think a little "relaxation" will help.
: >
My Sara has the same problem and has improved a lot with a drug called
buspar. It's fairly easy here in eastern Massachusetts to predict when
thunder is likely, and I give it to her on those days. If thunder
comes unexpectedly I give it as soon as I hear it. Even on the rare
occasions when she goes through a storm without it she is less scared
now.
Buspar is an anti=anxiety drug, not a sedative. Ask your vet about
whether it might help your dog.
The other thing that helps is to stay with her and distract her. I out
a leach on her and walk her through the house doing basic obedience
work(the easy stuff she already knows) with lots of praise and
treats. This gives her something to think about besdies her fear.
I know it's usually bad to excessively praise and comfort a scared dog
as this may teach them to act more scared. My vet says thunder is the
one exception-if a dog is totally phobic about it then praise and
conforting seldom has a bad effect and often helps.
Cindi
Susan Mudgett aka little gator (s...@harvee.billerica.ma.us) wrote:
: : > I have a Chow Chow who is scared to death of thunder and lightening.
: : > I am very skeptimistic about valium for the dog. First, I don't think
: : > we will be able to predict the weather and give the dog the medication
: : > "when it is needed", and second, unless it knocks the dog out (which I
: : > hope is not the case), this dog gets so worked up during these episodes
: : > that I don't even think a little "relaxation" will help.
: : >
Have you considered building some sort of enclosure for the dog to reside
in when you are not home? If he's in the yard and scratching at your
door, maybe you could build him a fenced run. If he's in the garage,
scratching at that door, you could get one of those fenced-in enclosures
that are free-standing. That way he's got more room then he'd have in a
crate (and wouldn't really need a crate since he's already in a place
where it's OK if he goes potty, I assume) but he would not be able to
damage any of your house. This would have the advantage over medication
since you wouldn't have to be able to predict when it is going to storm.
: My Sara has the same problem and has improved a lot with a drug called
: buspar. It's fairly easy here in eastern Massachusetts to predict when
: thunder is likely, and I give it to her on those days. If thunder
: comes unexpectedly I give it as soon as I hear it. Even on the rare
: occasions when she goes through a storm without it she is less scared
: now.
: Buspar is an anti=anxiety drug, not a sedative. Ask your vet about
: whether it might help your dog.
Yes, this is a good idea. Buspar is an anti-anxeity drug, but it's
unrelated to any of our existing anti-anxiety drugs -- it is not a
benzodiazepine, like Vallium, Xanax, and the other well-known drugs. It
has an unknown method of action (whereas with the benzodiazepines, we
know exactly what they are doing.) It's given to people who suffer from
performance anxiety, since you can easily take it 30 or so minutes before
the event that you know will cause you anxiety. Some people take it
regularily, and it works well in some cases. It has no sedative effects
and is therefore the anti-anxiety medication of choice for children. It
also has no psychological withdrawal symptoms, which can be very very
great with the benzodiazepines. In people, of course. :-) I'd quess it
would be pretty similar in dogs.
Good luck!
cindi
--
cin...@netcom.com anon...@anon.twwells.com
"Don't be afraid to treat your kids with more respect than
our culture thinks is normal." _Spiritual Parenting_
gregh
On 19-May-97 13:23:24, Troy Espiritu assaulted me about Neurotic Chow Chow,
HELP!!!!
>I have a Chow Chow who is scared to death of thunder and lightening.
Troy,
I have had TWO chows like that. One bashed down a solid fence when she ran into
it, as a result of lightning/thunder.
Not good.
>Not only is he scared, but he shakes and shivers like the world is about
>to end. He is about 6 yrs old and this has been occuring for the past
>couple of yrs. He recently has been "digging" at the door (scratching
>the paint on the door and the door itself) during these episodes. He
>doesn't do this when we are at home, although he still appears very
>stressed. But obviously we can't be at home everytime it thunders or
>lightenings. We have attempted to "block off" the door and this tends
>to help some, but sometimes he still manages to do some damage. But my
>wife and I often find ourselves "rushing" home to see what type of
>damage the dog has done.
I have an enclosure I keep mine in, in which the bottom half of the door is
metal and the top half a screen just because of the same thing, from mine
who have been afraid of lightning/thunder.
>My wife has suggested putting the dog on valium b/c a friend suggested
>that this helps her cat during car rides and suggested that this will
>also help our situation.
Just a personal thing - I dont like doing things like this. There are
medical reasons why taking valium are good, I admit but I just dont like the
idea of giving it to dogs. Back when heartworm tablets were new (daily
tablets), I started my Chows on it and one Chow's tongue started turning pink.
I took her off it and it returned to it's normal healthy dark bluish colour.
Though this didnt happen to my other Chows, it pointed out to me that odd
things can happen when giving drugs to dogs. My vet didnt believe me so tried
it on her, too. Same result. He hadnt seen that happen before - or since.
>I am very skeptimistic about valium for the dog. First, I don't think
>we will be able to predict the weather and give the dog the medication
>"when it is needed", and second, unless it knocks the dog out (which I
>hope is not the case), this dog gets so worked up during these episodes
>that I don't even think a little "relaxation" will help.
>Will anyone with similar experiences please give me some advice or
>suggestions as to this situation. It has become bad enough that it is
>really a sore spot for me and my wife to talk about.
Basically, when we are home and storms are coming on, they are in the house
and follow us like shadows. When we arent home, they are in the run/area
which has an area they can be outside and one they can be inside, with the
door being metal for as far as the Chows can scratch on it from the floor
upwards and a SOLID door. It may not be YOUR idea of the best solution but
apart from being with them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's the best *I*
could do for now. I hope it helps somewhat. The Chows DEFINITELY cannot get
through the door no matter what they do. There just isnt enough room for them
to get a good run going if they run into it, from the inside, so it is strong
enough to stop them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Sysop of Amiga's Sci-Fi BBS gr...@hartingdale.com.au Chow Chow lover! |
|Sydney, Australia. |
| |
|Founding and lifetime member: CHOW ADDICTION SOCIETY. MEMBERSHIP No. 1. |
| |
|Are you old when you enjoy a good headbanger record with others over 40?|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Musto
In article <cindiiEA...@netcom.com>, cin...@netcom.com (Cindi) wrote:
>Susan Mudgett aka little gator (s...@harvee.billerica.ma.us) wrote:
>
>
>
>: : > I am very skeptimistic about valium for the dog. First, I don't think
>: : > we will be able to predict the weather and give the dog the medication
>: : > "when it is needed", and second, unless it knocks the dog out (which I
>: : > hope is not the case), this dog gets so worked up during these episodes
>: : > that I don't even think a little "relaxation" will help.
>
Try a large Kennel and cover it with a blanket...Dogs love the cave
like feeling...
Good luck.
Bill Musto
wmu...@sky.net
http://www.sky.net/~wmusto
dogsnus
Bill Musto wrote:
>
> In article <cindiiEA...@netcom.com>, cin...@netcom.com (Cindi) wrote:
> >Susan Mudgett aka little gator (s...@harvee.billerica.ma.us) wrote:
> >
> >
> >: : > I have a Chow Chow who is scared to death of thunder and lightening.
> >
> >: : > I am very skeptimistic about valium for the dog. First, I don't think
> >: : > we will be able to predict the weather and give the dog the medication
> >: : > "when it is needed", and second, unless it knocks the dog out (which I
> >: : > hope is not the case), this dog gets so worked up during these episodes
> >: : > that I don't even think a little "relaxation" will help.
dislocated my little toe in a mad dash to get into the house. Got
his back foot wedged between my toes.
Im working on playing a CD over and over again, louder and louder.
So far, it seems to be helping his sensitivity, but it's only been
3-4 days now. Day one, he got nervous, day 2, he raised up his
head, flicked his ears and cocked his head. Day 3, he barely noticed.
Worth a try.
Terri