Natural Calming
 

Can anyone reccommend natural calming herbs or drops for their baby? Today I got to watch Bailey on camera for the first time when he was alone. It took him over an hour to calm down to the point where I was satified, but he never really accepted that he was alone.

I have this CD and I think it helps them. DogGone Songs - Traveling Tunes for You and Your Pet CD Thomas Schoenberger | eBay

is it classical music or something else?

It's sort of softish kind of music. I can't really explain it other than it has a calming effect. It's sort of made to enhance a dog's brain and focus.

My vet gave me drops called Nutricalm for Pixie's thunder anxiety and they work really well. They are all natural and the vet has to get them for you. You can't buy if you're not a vet.

Maybe you could make a recording of your voice speaking calmly to him? Or would that just confuse him? Anyway my daughter used Rescue Remedy on her cats when she took them for quite a long car ride and it worked quite well. It is all natural. There are formulas for humans and animals. It is available online at various outlets. I know Amazon has it. You can put a a couple of drops in their mouth or in the water.

I've heard a lot of great things about the Thundershirt. I am not sure if can be used for this particular reason, but I know a lot of YTers use it for anxious dogs. I hate hearing my baby cry when I have to leave him by himself, which is not very often.

I will have to talk to my vet about the drops. I need to take him in soon for his rabies shot anyway.

I use the thundershirt and it doesn't that much. Between 1 and 10 with 10 being the worst, it will calm him down to a 8 when wearing the thunder shirt.

I just don't like to give him xanax or benedryl all the time when storms/fireworks spook him. I feel like i'm drugging my baby.

Leaving on own
 

I think every body must worry about it.I know I do.We don,t leave Reuben very often,but I wish he would accept it better.Im,e on edge all the time im,e gone.What can I do about it?

I watch him on camera and he's upset all day!!! It breaks my heart.

How awful for you.What to do about it though.

Training for separation anxiety. If you don't get the desired results within a reasonable amount of time then drugs are not a bad choice. One of mt dogstakes low dose Prozac for anxious chewing. We are happier and he is more relaxed. Drugs are healthier than being worked up all the time.

I have a webcam too. Brandi does a lot of pacing. She used to sleep most of the day but recently it seems she is now up most of the day. I too am trying to figure out something to alleviate her boredom.

Gracie is 2 and she just sleeps most of the time when I am gone. She is a pouter so I guess she puts her head down and falls asleep. I am not gone all day though.

Rescue Remedy is an all natural product that humans and animals have been helped by. If he is that upset by being alone it might help him to relax enough to fall asleep.

When my daughter gave it to her cats to calm them during the car ride. One slept but the other two just sat quietly in their carriers. One of her cats is very high strung and usually cries and throws up in the car. She was quiet and calm the whole way with the Rescue Remedy.

It might be worth a try to see if it helps him to relax.

I'm gonna see what my vet says

Well, I can't say about your Bailey, but our Bailey pretty much sleeps alot. I play with him early. We do lots of chase things and running so he gets some exercise. He takes a walk around the block and then we go upstairs to work. We is behind me now sound asleep. He's done that since we got him at 7 months. He's now around a year and four months. Within time, I'm sure your Bailey will learn to sleep and be comfortable while you're away.

Does rescue remedy have to be given by a vet?

How old is he and how long have you had him?

Have you tried desensitizing him to his separation anxiety rather than dosing him with herbs or medication? Herbs are plants that can be medicinal in addition to smelling, feeling or tasting good. He could likely be desensitized to being alone and then could sleep, eat, play, watch during the day rather than have to lie about fuzzy-headed.

I would Google the term "Separation Anxiety" and look at the various training methods for the problem, going only with those that are positive-reinforcement and reward based and steering away from anything harsh or disciplinarian involving E-collars or anything that tended to spray the anxious dog's face or emit bad odors. Keeping your leaving completely low-key, matter-of-fact and without emotional goodbyes or guilt-ridden hugs/kisses and such will help a lot, too, just in case that is happening.

A few treat/kibble-laden kong toys and other things that would tend to help keep him busy for a while after you leave will help also. I leave the radio or audio-only portion of my TV on when I leave Tibbe alone. Like most dogs, after playing with his kibbled kong for a while, he watches out the windows, barks at threatening noises and sleeps most of the time I'm away. Dogs generally adjust to our being gone over time, even if we do nothing to help them in all but the most severe cases of separation anxiety.

No, Rescue Remedy is an all natural product that is available over the counter at most pet supply places. Amazon . com has it. They make it in different formulas for children, adults and pets.

I have found Comfort Zone to be amazing. Libby was never afraid of thunderstorms until she turned 3 years old. No reason that I can come up with...she just suddenly became terrified of them and other things like fireworks. I got her a thundershirt which seemed to help a little, but she was still very scared. I bought a bottle of spray Comfort Zone and if I spray a little of that in the room when there is a storm, she goes from being anxious and scared, to sleeping! This comes in either a spray or a diffuser which you plug into an outlet and I guess it just lets a little out every now and then. Here's a link to it on Amazon...for the diffuser...and if you look down that page, you will see the spray also. Comfort Zone with D.A.P. Diffuser for Dogs, 48... I did use this when she also was wearing her thundershirt. Next storm I'm going to try it without the thundershirt and see if that works.

I stopped using rescue remedy it had no effect for us.

I like Dogswell brand Mellow Mut chicken jerky.

I have had him since he was 12 weeks old and he is now 8 years old. We have been through 4 trainers with no success. All the training I do is positive, I don't believe in hitting. I drop him off everyday at my mom's (since that's where I lived when I got him and he feels safe). I scoot him in the door without a hug, kiss or a word to him. When I or anyone else tries to leave he starts to go CRAZY with biting the ankles, running in circles and pacing. As he gets older he gets more moody. I just don't know what to do anymore. I have use a thundershirt because he is afraid of storms but that doesn't help. I have even given him xanyx and that doesn't work either. When he is in a mode of being anxious it seems like nothing works. I'm more and more worried the older he gets.

I will try to google some anxiety training and will give it a shot (as I am always willing to try something with him), but I feel like it will lead me to another dead end.

Tomorrow we go to the Vet for rabies and nail trim, so I am going to bring this up to the vet to see if he has any suggestions.

Have you tried exercising him a lot? Sometimes wearing off that excess anxiety can help. It is not a cure but a way of bringing down the anxiety level. It requires fast paced walks at least twice a day. It is possible to use a tread mill if you train him to use it and stay with him.

Usually a dog that is nervous and anxious either has no work to do or feels no sense that its person is the leader. This can create anxiety in a dog and make them extremely bossy and nervous when you or anyone wants to go away or they are faced with situations that make them unhappy.

Do you disagree with his behavior when he acts like that? Do you follow through and allow him to learn that you control the situation - every single time? I would try to become a stronger leader with him, reading all I could about the Nothing In Life Is Free way of dealing with a dog that is taking some control. Just Google that term and read about it.

I would read Tamar Geller's The Loved Dog. It's a wonderful book about how to gently take control of your misbehaving, nervous and insecure dog and do it with a loving purpose behind the training, knowing what you are trying to achieve and why it is so necessary when dealing with a problem dog. I am reading an audio book version of it and totally loving her ways as her philosophy of dog training is how I've always trained.

Giving your dog a job to do learning to follow your direction and obey you can help the most troublesome and misbehaving, scared dog. Separation anxiety is typical of a nervous, insecure dog who is looking for a stronger leader. The more insecure a dog is, the more he needs strong leadership. It seems wrong to humans to think this way but in the hierarchal world of dogs, if done gently(usually involving warning eye contact, body attitude, low growls, showing teeth and body contact or a nip that doesn't hurt) as alpha dogs and wolves in the wild are with their pack members, it keeps the problem pack member happier and more secure in the long run when he definitely knows his place in the hierarchy and that his pack leader is going to keep them all safe. I'm not saying to gently nip your baby or anything like that but dogs use the tools they have and wolves and dogs' pack leaders rarely fight or attack their underlings - they just warn and approach, stare, growl, snap, etc., to show the problem pack member they are misbehaving and that show of leadership and strength gets through to the misbehaving pack member and he shapes up, secure that he's cared for by a strong leader. As I say, it seems antithetical to human mores of how to treat insecurity but dogs get it and are happiest when they have a loving and strong leader that doesn't allow them to act out.

Anyway, see if you can't find that book and read up online on the NILIF method of dealing with your dog and then as the book directs, get working on your dog's problems gently and lovingly through a position of strength in his eyes. It will calm him right down over time unless he is ill or has physical problems. But you have to be consistent and not let him have an inch of misbehavior as you are dealing with his problems - but Ms. Geller will cover how to do that kindly and humanely, making a fun game of it all.

This method of dealing with behavior problems has worked for me for years and years and has helped a lot of serious anxiety issues. And most of all, the dogs love it.

I would love to do that but I've been on modified bed rest for 3 years. I'm almost off it!!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to write so much in your post. I will get the books tonight!!! Can I PM you if I have a question?

PM me anytime. Hope you enjoy the book and the fun training and watching your anxious baby begin to change as you become a benign, strong, patient leader who he can always trust and never fear anything in time, including you of course. He'll know you will always be there positive and strong for him, always gentle yet setting the boundaries he needs. Won't happen overnight and you will have setbacks but those are normal when working with an anxious, insecure dog but just do some of the NILIF program and read the book and start to work. :)