i have three wolfhounds one four year old is frightend of any loud noises some one has just let afirework off and he wee d in the hall he has been on valerian for six months can any one suggest  adrug  they would use but not   asp  i have tried  a plug in calmer to no avail  

Many people find a long course of desensitisation using a recording of the sounds that the dog find scarey helps - but this would take many months.

Drugs should only be suggested by a vet (infact it's illegal for anyone else to prescribe drugs for an animal, although there is no harm in mentioning things which you've had success with personally)

I agree with digger about playing a tape of sounds that frigten him, softly at first and then gradually increasing the volume. When he is upset by loud noises by all means give him a cuddle but don't make a big thing of it or he will think you are scared too. Talk to him in a cheerful upbeat way so that he knows you aren't a bit worried.

You could talk to your vet about getting some ACP to help him over bonfire night but its not something he can be on regularly.

Hi Sandra, someone else on CD gave me this link       http://members.farmline.com/stress/sounds.htm         I started playing it over and over again with the volume just turned on, then gradually increasing it and it has certainly helped my gang.

thank you all for replying i will try the tape  the vet did say acp  but a top wolf hound breeder sai d the amount would kill him so i wont use that last year another vet gave him two days supply of phenabarbatone which does not help as the fireworks have started now  i have tried t0 act normal  music on lights on curtains closed but every bang he jumps on my knee  as he weighs fourteen stone its no joke the only place he felt safe was in the bath room window blacked out socks in ears and scarf round his head music full blast because i am in there the rest join us so it gets a bit congested  i have to sit in the bath  a night i am loth to repeat that is why  iam desperate for a solution  they are letting  fireworks  off as type this  hes puffing well but we are all locked in the bedroom listening to a queen tape full blast  hes happy with  this  but i need socks in my ears

Are you keeping the DAP plugged in and switched on 24/7? as this is necessary, sorry if you are, not all seem aware that this is a "must" :)

Is he still able to respond to you and to eat? You could try giving him a tasty bit of cheese or liver each time fireworks go off - I did this with an elderly dog of mine before the DAP, and it worked really well, but of course won't help if the dog is too terrfied to eat. You have to sit with the dog and feed it each time there's a bang, but it may prevent things getting worse and may even improve things  a bit :)

Lindsay
x

no he is to frightened to eat   i do keep dap on allthe time  i have sent for a tape of firework noises so i will let you know if this works  i have upped his valerian  the other two wolfhounds as long as i am there sleep through it  but my yorkie gets very upset but he is small enough to hide  under the bed  in his den

Have you tried Bach Rescue Remedy, use it on lots of different occasions for all our lot, Nov 5th they have it in the water dish and also neat - about 3 doses in an hour before and during they main village firework display which is about 3 or 400 yds away.
No I can't take them out as two cannot travel in the same car together but I used to drive to the middle of nowhere with previous combination of dogs.
Chris
ps be carefull of valerian as you can get problems with too much - been there done that.

hi chris could tell me the problem you had with valerian  please and how many you gave

How much ACP did your vet suggest using? I've given ACP to wolfhounds in the past with no ill effects but I haven't had to use anything like the recommended dose by weight. My vet recommends giving a relatively low dose to start with and then giving more after 45 minutes if the required level of sedation is not achieved. The only serious side effect I know of for ACP is to make an already epileptic dog more likely to fit and presumably your boy isn't epileptic. As you only want to take the edge off his fear, not to knock him out a fairly low dose might do the trick so it might be worth talking to your vet about it again, mentioning what the breeder said.

I do love the picture of your family and wolfie in the bathroom :) but do realise that its no joke. I've had lap sitting wolfies (affection not fear) and they are HEAVY :D

    the vet  suggested three  25 mg   acp  tablets  as i have lost three of my precious wolfhounds at four  with bone cancer  perhaps iam over protective  with  the three wolfies  i have left  especialy  with strachen who had  a  major    operation on his knee two years ago  which  left him with a limp and i dont like to see him jump around  when these fire works go off  in case he damages it   he has  a magnetic collor and he has glucosamine chondroitin msm  as the vet wanted to put him to sleep two years ago  as he thought he would never walk again  but strac can run  as well  as the others when he wants to  i must say my heart is in my throat when this happens  but i have had two  years  now that i didnt think iwould  have   so he is speacial  he has been through so much

I've not given that much to an IW. I was looking noise problems up and came across this:

BSAVA Small Animal Formulary 4th Edition

Created on 30 Nov 2004
ERRATA

Page 8: ACP and use in sound phobias 'The use of ACP in the management of sound phobias in dogs, such as firework or thunder phobia, is contraindicated'. This is not strictly true.

The use of ACP is discouraged by behaviourists but not contraindicated. Treatment for sound phobias should comprise behavioural therapy with or without medicinal therapy.

The preferred drugs for long-term control of sound phobias are the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (e.g. selegiline) or selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (e.g. sertraline). For short-term control a benzodiazepine or propranolol are recommended.

I have no experience with any of the preferred drugs mentioned as I've never had a dog that was bothered by noise, but they sound as if they'd be worth asking your vet about.

Glad that Strachen recovered so well from his knee op. The worst thing about IWs is that so many die young but on a positive note the last one we lost was 13 years old. :)

i have been consulting the drug book  benzodiazepines have astrong seditive affect  helping to relieve  anxiety  propranol is a beta blocker  and overdose  danger is high  all  quite frightening  some people  wish they could win the lottery  ijust wish one of my daughters or grandaughters had  married a  vet   also i cannot find the word  contraindicated in the dictionary  poor strachen such a pity he is not like the other two   they are so laid back  and for them  sleeping any thing less than twenty two hours a day is called sleep deprevation i am sure they have found some herb in the garden that has certain  propertys  ifeel as though  i could do with some of what ever they are  on  i think i shall have to vist the vet and  ask him some questions   the thing is i am sixty one  and always feel about ten and he would like to smack  my legs  if i question  him to much

Hi Sandra, benzodiazepines are used in human medicine (Valium is the best known one) and the risk of serious problems, even in overdose, is low with the group of drugs. As you say propranolol is a beta-blocker used in human medicine to control blood pressure (Inderal). It is also used for people who have panic attacks. It can have serious side-effects but in practice these rarely happen in humans. The one thing that would put me off using propranolol in an IW is that it can casue heart failure so I'd be wary of it unless you are absolutely sure that the IW doesn't have sub-clinical cardiomyopathy.

Know all about the "more than two hours awake per day is sleep deprivation" syndrome. :D

Don't let your vet intimidate you :) - you're paying to be alloed to ask him questions!

HI, We have a few dogs in our class that are scared of fireworks and our trainer recently went on a course for Tellington Touch. Now i dont know that much about it myself but from what i have seen it helps to calm dogs down and relax's them. I have been shown a couple of techniqes and practiced on my SIL's dog ( im lucky my 2 are brill with fireworks) as she is so frightened she wont go to the toilet after 3pm in the afternoon infact she wont go outside at all and is very scared, they are already getting lots of kids setting them off early evening :(  Anyway i did what i had been shown and within 5 minutes she was her usual self playing and generally calm and later on she even went outside. SIL repeated what i had shown her to do when needed. Doesn't hurt the dog in anyway btw. I was impressed that it worked so quickly and with minimal effort. Heres a link to a site that i found on google, hopefully someone has heard about this and knows how it all works.
http://www.naturalpetcare.co.uk/ttouch.htm

    Just to let you all know how Strachen got through last night  and the noise was worse than last year  At one point I was tempted to give him a sedative as he was so distressed then he dicided that he would hide in the bottom half of the bunk bed it took some  getting on has he cannot bend his bad leg  But he spent most of the night on it behind a curtain i hung up still panting  but sitting still not pacing up and down  Ithought Micah would play up  as this is  his bed but  he was rearly good he  and Oliver slept through it all and it was along night  4 30 till gone 11   he and Iwhere totaly exausted  he only got up for his breakfast  and he has been asleep ever since  my firework tape got lost in the post  and arrived to late  but I shall try it every day  till new years eve and see how it goe s   THANK YOU ALLfor your  advice and concern 

You could also try a T Touch Body wrap as well