KathyM Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Hi all I posted a bit about Sid's issues on T&B a while ago. More recently we decided to go ahead with neutering as although there was the risk of lowering his confidence further, we felt that his nads were causing him more stress than good. He is now 11 days post neutering and finally has the collar off. However, the vet has suggested that we consider some of the lower end treatments for Sid's stress due to him plucking hair off his legs (not just the shaved one) and his fear/stress issues at home and out and about. The vet has given us a leaflet about the DAP collar and Zylkene and I wondered if anyone has used either of these and how they worked for your dogs? Diet wise Sid is on Naturediet but is nibbling a lot. Vet thinks it's stress related as there's no skin condition. Didn't know if there was a particular food for stressy dogs, or if it's worth trying him on something else, eg. Orijen, or JWB grain free? Thanks Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 I don't think going grain free would make any difference to his stress, the only dietary tweaking you might try is the feeding separate amounts of plain carbs 2 hours after his main meal, and (I think) B12 supplements, I've tried Zylkene a few times and haven't noticed any improvement, but I know it does work very well on some dogs, I've been told that the DAP collars work much better than the plug-in's. There is a bit of research that was done on stress relief for dogs, and it was found that doing some training every day had the same effect on the brain as medication ! how amazing is that, I'm afraid I don't have a link to the research as we got it as part of our "Fears and Phobia's" seminar last weekend. Tellington Touch was also mentioned as being effective, and I've certainly found it to work on my own dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyM Posted October 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Thanks Celeste - that's really helpful. The reasoning behind a low end treatment for him is to help cut through the stress to be effective in other ways (like the training). At the moment he is a very stressy animal and I think we need to get him chilled a bit to know he *can* be chilled and won't die from it. At the moment, he shakes a lot, self-barbers, cowers with mid to high level noise (even happy noise) and pees in "submission" (rolls on back, pees in air). He is overly sensitive inside and out on walks. He's desperate to please but it's awful seeing him grovel and cringe as he has no need to here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 I haven't used either but have read that the DAP spray on a bandanna works and is cheaper than the collar, which only lasts a month. For out door use,I think it was said to spray it on about fifteen minutes before going out. You could also spray it on his bedding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumpole Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 zylkene is quite good for nervous/stressy dogs though ive not found it particularly outstanding with serious stress ie fireworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted October 11, 2009 Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 Aww, thats a shame, we did do one dog that was like him (it was a hands on seminar) she was lovely but was incredibly frightened of everything, and she'd been bred by her owner, who had her mum, gran and sister with no problems. Scent work was used a fair bit, as just the act of scenting helps calm anyway, if you can encourage it then it can help, we used squeezy cheese in a tube and laid trails over the floor, skirting board, chairs, where ever,you then encourage and help the dog to follow the trail, they soon get the hang of it and enjoy it tremendously, once you've laid your trail, you can either point out the trail, or (this is dead funny) if you look at the trail with intent and sniff your self (you have to do 3 sharp intake sniffs followed by a big exhale through your nose )then they will start to investigate, it, may seem to simple to work but engaging the brain in doing something like the scenting has an effect on certain chemicals in the brain which influence the ability to be calm. If he's keen to please then you can use that to help him develop confidence and safety strategy simply by doing training, just start with very simple things that he'll get mega pay out for, we all like to feel we can succeed, think how good you feel when you've done something right, it's no different for dogs. Use lots and lots of treats. You could try "scatter feeding" at his meals, this is simply scattering his kibble over the floor, rather than putting it in a bowl, it's just another way to get him scenting and using his brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyM Posted October 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2009 I can't thank you all enough, I will try everything that's been recommended. I have bought a couple of trial packs (20 days worth) of Zylkene to give it a go, and also some DAP spray. Will look for a bandanna for him too (anyone here selling them?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gremlin22 Posted October 12, 2009 Report Share Posted October 12, 2009 not sure how long the dap spray takes to work but i know they say give 1 to 2 weeks to see effects of dap collar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyM Posted October 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Yep, I think the spray is more effective from what I've read? Still, it arrived this morning along with his Zylkene so we'll get cracked on with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple_mog Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Hey Kathy - as you probably know my Finn was, and sometimes still is, the king of random constant stress. What I've found really helpful for him has been working through the relaxation protocol (can email you a copy) teaching a 'relax' cue TTouch and massage sessions (from me) individualised homeopathy Valerian tincture (to begin with we used this twice daily in his food for about 6 months then weaned him off) Valium given in small doses to block memory formation when something really scary happens like a huge set of fireworks or a thunderstorm What didn't help us DAP of any kind skullcap/valerian tablets CSJ calm down herbs other 'generic' anti-anxiety stuff t-shirts or wraps ignoring him! I think its worth emphasising that for Finn his nervousness/anxiety/stress was very strong and involved physiological reactions like constant pacing, panting, staring, drooling etc. The specialist we spoke to felt that the stuff that had not worked for us was simply not strong enough to get through to his system. Lots of luck and really hope you get good results with the spray and Zylkene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyM Posted October 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 Thanks ever so much for that Mrs Mog! With Sidney the main issues are the shaking and cowering/slinking, then the crying/howling/yapping when out and about. I think this effects how well he interacts with other dogs too, we hadn't put the spat he had with another dog down to fear (the other dog, an Irish Terrier type, literally walked like John Wayne with intent up to him and he fought back when it started on him) but I think it's worth considering. He had his first "dose" this aft and obviously too early to report any findings, but so far he seems less shaky and he was calmer on his walk. Saying that, one of the kids ust raised their voice and he's now inside Baz's recliner chair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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