Bella to the vet tomorrow for anxiety.
 

Bella is the sweetest little dog, but she has a problem with anxiety. It's mainly manifested by obsessive licking (of my hands and face, not herself), and spells of nonstop barking when it looks like I'm about to leave the house. It's been manageable so far with little damage to anything other than our ear drums, but when we have repairmen over to fix utilities, she REALLY works herself up to the point where she overheats. We have an appointment to take her to the vet tomorrow morning. I've been researching medications such as Prozac, but have no idea what the vet will suggest. I will update after her appointment.

.....maybe she needs company....maybe you should adopt another Yorkie...:D

Some vets also use trazodone for anxiety. Also have heard success with the prozac. Acepromazine has been used also.

For about a year (in taper dosages) after Cali's hawk attack k we used xanax. It worked well and gave us time to work through the issue - took a out 1.5 years, it is now anxiety free!

Hope all goes well!

Thanks! I was actually able to talk to the vet about Bella today. She talked about Trazodone for acute anxiety attacks and Prozac for long term anxiety. We decided to start Bella on Prozac to see how she does on that first. We'll start her first thing in the morning, and I'll give updates on her progress. She said it could take several weeks before we notice a difference.

Awww I'm glad you're trying something. It's horrible to see them suffering with anxiety.

I love Trazodone for Jackson. I only give it when he REALLY needs it. Xanax did *nothing* for him. So that's why I need something that works for some stressful events. He doesn't really need it 90% of the time.

Jackson gets really bad anxiety during long travel, thunder, fireworks, etc. He can send himself into a total panic - pacing, panting, shaking. He also does not like vets or groomers. He shakes so bad. It's funny because in 90% of his life, he's a wonderful "bombproof" dog -- he's good on family vacations, he loves exploring new places/towns/etc, meeting new dogs and people, etc etc.

Anyway he is 18lbs and I have found 1/2 of a pill relaxes him for about 4 hours. I have to time it right. If I give it too close to the stressful event, it doesn't help much. I have to give it about 1 hour prior. What I like about it is that it doesn't really "sedate" him. It actually takes his anxiety away where he's able to go lay down and relax. I can almost see the weight come off his shoulders.


Prior we tried Rescue Remedy, calming chews, sprays, Thundershirt, etc, to no avail.

AWESOME :)!!! I so hope it goes really well for her! Sometimes these meds can make miracle changes for these little ones. Just like us, the chemicals in their brains just are a little awry sometimes, and they feel it and can't control it...just like they wouldn't be able to control the chemicals that make diabetes happen. Please keep us updated. All fingers and paws crossed!!!

Callie was having terrible bad night anxiety a few years ago and they put her on Prozac for about 3 months and then she stopped taking it and was fine.

Is that 1/2 of a 50 mg pill?
Thanks. Have thought about trying it for fireworks days!
Xanax works good for Cali, too, and it kicks in fast.

Anxiety
 

These poor babies!!! How I wish they did not suffer from this. It is so heart breaking to know they have these problems. I hope your baby does much better.

We picked up the Prozac pills today (a 60 day supply for only $4!). We're supposed to give 5 mg per day for 60 days and then evaluate her behavior. Thanks for the well wishes!

Poor Bella, I hope this works for her.

Mild side effects so far.
 

About an hour after taking her Prozac, Bella appears to be zonked out. She gets tired and lays down and looks at me like "What have you done to me, Daddy?" But maybe that's my own feelings of guilt making me think that. She perks up again after a while. We've been watching her for the dangerous potential side effects such as seizures and so far, so good. I assume that the mild side effects will improve over time, but if they don't, we'll re-evaluate. She's her normal self at the moment.

I have heard with humans that it can do that for the first two weeks so hopefully it will go away. They also told me to take mine at night.

Jackson is a bigger boy at 18lbs so his are 100mg. Instructions say givr 1/4 to 1/2 tablet, vet said 1/2 was likely better for him.

I have a foster on Prozac. He did improve somewhat on it, but I am not totally thrilled with it...he is so high anxiety. :(
I hope it works well for Bella. So sorry she is so stressed.

Anxiety
 

Has anyone tried holistic remedies with melatonin and natural ingredients?

I tried them all with Callie and not a single thing worked. Those things aren’t really tested.

Update.
 

It's been over 6 weeks, and there has been no change to Bella's anxiety. As soon as this prescription of Prozac runs out, we will speak to the vet again about other alternatives.

We've been giving her the Prozac pill wrapped up in a piece of cheese each morning and she loves it. She will miss her morning treat.

Sorry you haven't found the results you wanted. Definitely talk to the vet about something else that might be worth trying.

I think they can work for a mild case of anxiety. But for certain dogs who get above a certain threshold -- prescription medication is often the key (and even sometimes that doesn't work).

The ones I see the best reviews on are Rescue Remedy and Vetriscience line of calming chews. I do these in conjunction sometimes with the Trazodone -- no idea if it helps at all to be honest.

So sorry....I have not had luck with anxiety treatments with my one foster. I gave up on the Prozac. It helped for a while but in the end we took him off of it.

Get ready to keep giving Bella her treats! LOL I have a little foster who was impossible to medicate when he came to me. No matter what I put it in, he knew. I finally started sneaking it into his food. He had to be medicated 3x/day and to this day he comes to me for that 3rd meal and barks until he gets it! He is the only one in my home on 3 meals. LOL

So sorry you are having trouble getting a handle on her anxiety.
I don’t have a lot of experience with this, but will share that about 3 years ago Cali was attack by a hawk and she fought for her life and won, but we went through about a year and a half of significant anxiety issues. Today she is totally anxiety free - well, except for those pesky fire works:D

We used the liquid Xanax, titrating the dose down over the year and a half. Was not cheap, but was very successful. We could only get the liquid at one pharmacy and they had to order it for us. It kicked in quickly and being liquid we had great control over the dosing.

Have read that others have not had the success with the Xanax but it was perfect for us and really worked.

Hoping things get better for your little girl!

Xanax might be something to look into. I just recalled that Bella is experiencing a *little* reduction in anxiety. I used to have to put her in her crate if I was just stepping outside to get the mail. Otherwise she would bark and get frantic. Now, she can roam free in the house while I'm outside for brief periods. It's a small, but noticeable improvement.

I imagine for short periods it might be ok ... but Xanax is horrible for people in my opinion. It is highly addictive and when people try to get off of it the anxiety they originally started taking it for is 10 times worse. I personally hate the med. I worked with someone years ago who ended up in a hospital because of Xanax withdrawal and she did not abuse it. I don't see any earthly reason to use it...but, of course, it is my opinion.
People can die from withdrawal from Xanax....I personally would not use it for myself or my pups.

There is a behaviorist in this area who does recommend DAP. One of our foster homes years ago went to her and used this with some good results. I had forgotten about it until today....

Dog Appeasing Pheromone-Relieves Dog Anxiety

As well as the anxiety medicine have you tried boosting her confidence with training? I have seen it work for lots of dogs whether it is trick training or obedience stuff.

No formal training, but I work on socialization skills when I take her out on walks and we meet other dog walkers. I see a little improvement.

When we were discussing other medicines with the vet two months ago at the time Bella was prescribed Prozac, she mentioned Xanax, and I told her that I don't want Bella to be addicted, or sit around zonked out and drooling all day, and she said that dogs metabolize tranquilizers differently from the way humans do, and that they don't get addicted or have the same bad reactions as humans. I still settled on the Prozac just to be safe.

That is interesting. I need to read about it...my vet put my foster on Prozac but she didn't bring up Xanax. Thanks for the info!

I tried Xanax with Jackson and it did zero for him lol. He didn't act any different at all! But I only use these medications for high stress events as it is so I don't know- we don't need it for daily life fortunately.