Hello all.

Long time member here for help......get the message.

Sadly my beloved Sal (sbt) was PTS this year.
Happily I was matched with a gorgeous SBT bitch called Bella since June from SBT welfare she is an angel and perfection on legs like every Stafford. She is approx. 5 years old and sadly is petrified of thunder and that then sets her on edge so she is expecting it and something like a car door slamming she would not bother about causes her to dash into the house from the garden.
She is also fireworks scared - how much so I am uncertain.
So the picture is she pants, tried to hide in small dark places and looks totally unhappy. She finds the W.C safe and under the kitchen table. I am hoping that as she settles more and more with us we will take the edge off.....
In desperation due to the thunder earlier this week (when it came to light) I rushed out and brought some Serene Um   now this appears to have made her noticeable less stressed during the thunder storm the other night but it was not as bad as the one earlier in the week. Now it could just be a series of coincidences, ie we know what to expect.

Have been looking more and more into it and looking at something for fireworks night/week. So suggestions/advice on the following please or is the Serene Um okay to use long term say a month over fireworks time?
Zylkene - Skullcap (and Valarium) - Flowers remedies.....lots of suggestions being given to me but need one with no side effects as such....no point sorting one issue to gain another.

Oh by the way I am not of the school that says ignore a dog when stressed like Bella is she likes curling up on the sofa with us and seems happier when we are in the room. In fact seeking me out.

Oh by the way I am not of the school that says ignore a dog when stressed like Bella is she likes curling up on the sofa with us and seems happier when we are in the room. In fact seeking me out. So although we carry on as normal when she comes for support then she will get it (in bucket loads) but I will not force her into anything My part in her life is to relieve her stress not increase it.

Yes it is fine and I have used it for a couple of reasons.

To help with one of my now departed girls who used o hate having her was clipped. A couple if doses before I did the deed and she would lie down and almost hand each paw to me !!

I have also used it on Bog when we first got him as he was quite stressed and this materialised in quite manic behaviour ! I used it when we first started his socaisation and it really helped taking the edge off so he could listen and be able to respond to me :-)

I think it is a very product and from first hand experience would recommend it.

Opps meant to say I cannot avoid the fireworks I live In B'ham on an estate and we have fireworks here ALTHOUGH I am going to speak to my neighbour 5 doors up who always has a fireworks display and ask when they are having theirs to let me know.

I do not want to stop their fun - but would like to be forewarned

You are a star I love Ya so the Calm Um is okay.........I have read the instructions....but wanted first hand experience of people I trust (like you lot)

I must admit I am a little "over cautious" with Bella as she has had a rough start and I want the best for her. She needed a home and I desperately needed a Stafford we were and are each others missing pieces of the jigsaw.

Yes it is absolutely fine and as you say if you can anticipate things that trigger her fear at least if you give her a few doses before then it will have a greater effect.

I found especially with Bog once I had been able to stop the behaviour with the help or it I gradually stopped using it. I class it as an aid not necessarily a cure.

Good luck and hope you will see it helping her :-)

I used Skullcap and Valarian on one of my Retrievers who was scared of any loud noise and in particular, thunderstorms. It didn't take her long to realise that thunderstorms are also accompanied by heavy rain, so would work herself into a panic even when it was just rainfall. I found the S & V worked pretty well, didnt cure her but made her more relaxed and easier to keep reasonably calm. The other retriever I had at the same time wasn't in the least bit worried by noise and would join me at the window to watch firework displays. Sadly, the only thing that totally calmed my frightened dog down, was when she went deaf.

Yes, I use Dorwest Skullcap & Valerian tablets...(there is also a liquid form) on one of mine & they work fairly quickly(sometimes within 15 minutes). As with most herbal remadies, they dont always work on some dogs & to varying degrees but I personally would reccommend giving it a go.
I also use the S&V for another who gets stressed travelling & it helps her aswell.

We use a thunder shirt on Bree the Elkhound. Had a terrible thunderstorm yesterday, she was really not happy, put on the thunder shirt and she went to sleep!!! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. We got it from Xtra Dog at Crufts.

Hearing lots good things about the thunder shirt may give that a go.

Get it direct from the company - they offer a full refund if it doesn't help, thundershirts are not cheap and don't work for every dog so worth having that option just in case :-)

There are many options though - I like valerian tincture and melatonin, can be hard to get but it can be very effective and it is very safe.  It's the only thing that helps my collie with her noise phobias that I can use daily.

I have tried so many different things with my GR who is terrified of both thunder and fireworks - never used to be until we had an incident with a neighbour's fireworks :-( Last year he was so bad he was a danger to himself. As well as panting, drooling and pacing he also tries to dig or climb - and ended up trying to scale the fireguard and climb on top of the woodburner which was alight.

My vet prescribed Diazepam for him which makes a big difference - he still pants and drools but is more settled. He goes in a covered crate with the door left open and will settle there - still worried but not in danger. I sit next to his crate and groom him  which is something he likes and it does help to relax him.

I was away this weekend at an agility show camping in a tent and nearby someone let some fireworks off late in the evening- so I had to put him in the crates in the car and then covered the whole car up with the reflective sheets I use and he settled quite quickly. The next night we had a huge thunderstorm right overhead and I had to give him the Diazepam and put him in the car crate and he actually settled down really well - no panting or drooling. Although he wasn't keen on either the fireworks nor the thunder he seemed to settle far quicker than he does when at home. I couldn't leave him in the tent with me as he would have escaped and run and I can't physically hold him when he is panicking and trying to escape.

His main fears seem to be at night when it is dark - we often hear the guns being tested and spare ammunition being blown up at an army range and that doesn't bother him at all, nor does gunshots heard when out walking, birdscarers or the maroon going off at the lifeboat station. I know a storm is coming an hour or so before it arrives as he becomes unsettled and starts to dig and climb way before any visible or audible signs are seen or heard.

I have to say before Bella this week I never considered this but am coming to realise it is a nightmare for dogs and owners alike.
Before I  could not tell you when a thunderstorm had happened now I think I will KNOW. Although saying that thunder tonight and she has been okay just looked up a couple of times maybe my "grasp of the situation - although I did not kow I had a situation before."
Think the tablets are working.