Anxiety Supplements?

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  • #37256 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Okay, so I will let y’all know my story…

    Last year, a month after my favorite baby boy was tragically killed, I adopted what I thought was my “dream dog”. A blue Merle blue eyed prick-eared Aussie/kelpie. I was totally prepared for hyper, but the shelter had told me he was good with other dogs (they just said “he plays a bit rough, but loves dogs”).

    Either they did a lousy temperament test, or he completely changed when he got home. He is an anxious mess when around new dogs. He’s on his second obedience class (there are only two types of trainers in town…one gears towards lots of correction, which only made him worse. His current one is purely positive reinforcement, and it’s not helping either). Regardless of the amount of exercise/mental stimulation (he gets pack walks, running, fetch, obedience, tricks, agility, frisbee, Kongs, other brain teasers, etc. ), he is severely anxious as soon as he sees another dog.

    He has gotten slightly better, but ultimately I have concluded that I do not have the resources (or money) to have him remain calm. I do consider myself a knowledgable trainer as well. I know just as much as both of the obedience instructors know, and I’ve trained a few dogs successfully. Loki just lacked the vital socialization needed as a puppy (history is unknown) and has EXTREME fear-anxiety driven dog aggression. I’ve talked to a student of Cesar Millan (yep, I’m jealous), and she said that his only chance would be therapy. She doesn’t have the time to do it, and I don’t have the money (or resources to do it myself)

    Anyway, with that big long sob story of my boo-boo-baby-bear, onward to the title: one of the trainers suggested an anxiety supplement (can’t remember the name of the one she said, but it was sourced from green tea I think). She has a couple dogs similar to Loki, and said the supplement helped them a LOT. Here are my questions:

    #1. do they really work?
    2. What are favorite brands/active ingredients?
    3. What are “avoid at all costs” brands/ingredients?
    4. Do they ONLY calm the dog? I do not want anything that’ll turn him into an inactive blob.
    5. What are some of the more affordable ones?
    6. If it will work, how long will effects start showing?

    Please do not think that I’m a “lousy owner who shouldn’t own such a high drive breed”, because that is NOT me. I am hoping to be a dog trainer one day, and I do consider myself fairly good with dogs. If Loki was with anyone else, I do think he’d have been put down or shoved back in a shelter right now, and I really do mean that. He’s an amazing dog who has potential, if he can just overcome his extreme anxiety.

    And no, I’m not expecting this supplement to be “the ultimate solution” to his anxiety and POOF make him nice to other dogs…I’d just like something to take the “edge” off of him and make him a bit happier/mellower in class.

    #37260 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

    First of all, run don’t walk away from Cesar Milan tactics and don’t be jealous of someone that took that route.

    Second, there are no anti anxiety supplements that I know of that are avoid at all costs, or super effective. They are definitely something that you just have to try and see what works for your individual dog. Some dogs are helped with one and some with another and some are not helped by any of them.

    Third, are you sure that your dog isn’t part Border Collie?

    #37267 Report Abuse
    InkedMarie
    Member

    I agree, Cesar Milan is not someone to emulate. I’d bring in a trainer to my home, see if they can offer help without going to class. A behaviorist would be a good help & a holistic vet for possible medication.

    Have you tried a Thundershirt?

    #37274 Report Abuse
    Susan
    Participant

    Have ur seen or heard about those collars that have Pheromones, Google (Adaptil collars) I was thinking of getting one for Patch, when he travels in the car he doesnt do to well, also at the dog park, he gets very very very excited if off lead, then he starts to play very very rough if there’s a ball involved causing his excitment to turn to aggression sometimes, when I saw the behavourist at the vets she told me about pheromones..Ive never tried them there’s a spray, a fuser for the house that u plug into power point & lets out pheromones helps too relax them & the collars.. I found I just keep Patch on a lead & he’s a little angel & everyone says, Oh aren’t u a good little boy, I think to myself, yeh right they haven’t seen him when he’s a nut case, running & doing everything at once, Im reading Cesar Millans book at the moment called ‘Short Guide to a Happy Dog’ 98 Tips & Techniqiues, that I just borrowed from the library.. It’s a good read…Good-Luck

    #37292 Report Abuse
    aimee
    Participant

    Anxitane is the brand name of the supplement the trainer is referring to. L Theanine is the active ingredient. It is in blends of other supplements as well at lower levels than in the Anxitane. Anxitane is my preferred product and I have seen it help facilitate behavior modification.

    Desensitization and counterconditioning of dogs with profound anxiety is a process whereby attention to detail and keeping the dog below threshold is important. I know as I own such a dog. I don’t like to ever see reactive dogs on neck collars. Initially I used a head collar and/or front attachment harness. The most frequent mistake made is putting the dog in situations that he/she is not ready for. This takes time… a lot of time and realistic goals.

    General obedience classes may be inappropriate for your dog as many dogs are over threshold, Feisty Fido classes where the ratio of trainer to student is often one to one and they use screening between dogs to keep them under threshold until they are ready for contact can be helpful

    You might want to buy Patricia McConnells book Feitsy Fido which is an excellent resource. If you are not familiar with BAT it is a useful technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WrseJPY09k

    Working with a board certified vet behaviorist, a CAAB or a vet interested in behavior would be an excellent idea check here http://avsabonline.org/resources/find-consult

    or hook up with a Karen Pryor trainer which you can find here: https://www.karenpryoracademy.com/find-a-trainer?source=kpctnavbar

    #37307 Report Abuse
    aquariangt
    Member

    We teach a shy dog class that maybe helpful to him (not me, so I can’t explain how to do it myself, I only do obedience and agility) perhaps see if you have something like that near you? I would research the type of training though. A, I agree with others and wouldn’t touch a Caesar trainer. They will do irreparable damage. That man should be taken off the air and his books burned. B. careful for adversive shy dog trainers, I did a visit to one who was teaching a fear class and the forced interaction “flooding” methods were pretty awful. I hope those dogs are ok.

    #37311 Report Abuse
    Susan
    Participant

    The Adaptil collar isn’t a collar where u attached a dogs lead, it just goes around their neck & lets off phermones, they look like the red flea collars but are grey, you attached ur lead to his harness not the Adaptil collar, in America you may have a different name for these calming collars… Ive never used one but they are big in Australia instead of people using drugs..You still do their normal training & use the Adaptil collars as well to help ur dog with their anxieties, fear & phobias…

    #37314 Report Abuse

    5htp and valerian root are also used in combination for stress/anxiety.

    #37329 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Thanks all for the help. Patty, you know, he may have border collie in him. I really have no clue, since he was a rescue. The only reason why I say he has Aussie is due to the Merle/blue eyes….and it’s quite uncommon for a bc to have the blue eyes/Merle (although I have seen many pictures of them, yes.) He does the crouch down-stare thing whenever he sees something.

    #37330 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    I will have to say though, I do like Cesar…sorry, guys. I’ve tried his techniques on my other dogs and they are beautiful creatures with amazing behavior and respect today. I will say – there we many methods, and I believe that they all (short of flat-out improper ones like hitting/screaming) can work, if executed properly that is. On the flip-side, any method can make a dog worse if executed even a tiny bit wrong *holds fingers in a pinch*

    I don’t want to start an argument though, please…can we respect each others’ opinions? I do not like being against anyone… 🙂

    #37331 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Aimee, appreciate your reply (thanks for not putting down Cesar…). Sounds like a very interesting book for sure, I’ll look into that. I guess I forgot to describe his classes better:

    First class was more like doggie boot camp. The trainer is very very strict and corrective, she makes the dogs /really/ work for an award. I will not put her down, I have a huge amount of respect for what she does. I even did my other dog in her class (he was already a pro, but needed to brush up around a distractive situation like that) and he passed with flying colors and a wagging tail. There were about 20 other students though, so it just doesn’t work for a reactive dog like Loki.

    Current class: only a couple weeks into it (it’s a 5wk course), but it’s much better for Loki. It’s positive reinforcement (personally I don’t think it’s working for the other people, as they are trying to always hold the treat in sight of the dog as a bribe rather than a reward) There are only 5-7 other dogs, and there is an extra room for Loki to go in. The wall is low enough for me to see and him to hear/smell, but he can get out of sight. Gradually, we leave the door open and let him come out bit by bit. If he has a freak-attack, we simply go back I the little room, take a deep positive breath, and go back out when calm. Since he already knows his obedience quite well from doggie boot-camp (first class), we work mainly on the cue for “watch me”. I was so dang proud of him when he maintained eye contact even when a dog barked at him (just one time. But hey! When I adopted him, he would have been freaking if a dog was laying down calmly across the room!)

    #37332 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Marie, I haven’t tried a thunder shirt yet….I’m quite low on funds to say the least LOL! I may look into it, though. I wonder if I’d ever be able to just try one and return it if it didn’t work out…
    Our training options are very very limited around here. Honestly there are only the two trainers from obedience classes that I can think of that would do the home calls like that. They charge 200$+ for home things….I just can’t drop that kind of money for something that I don’t think will work (especially since I stayed 20-30m after each obedience class, just asking questions and “gathering info” on their opinions for a solution to his issue. First trainer told me I wasn’t being bossy/assertive enough. If I was any more “assertive”, my dog would have been dead pretty much. It was not a boss issue for his attacking, it was him basically telling me “I’m scared to death, so I’m defending myself against these dogs…”). There aren’t any behavioralists/therapists around here either, I’ve asked.

    Oh yes…Aimee, I tend to agree with the collar. In Loki’s first class, she had the poor guy on a pinch. Sure, it gave me more control, but it just aggravated him more. I’d imagine it made him think something was biting him, so he needed to defend out of fear and bite back. I deserved the 5 bruises and couple welts I got on my calf/shin, LOL! In this class, he’s on a head collar. It works much better since it is more of a guide to him. I’ll admit, it’s rather annoying when he shoves his snout between my legs, hahaha! He doesn’t like having that on his face (don’t worry. He’s getting used to it and isn’t scared of it at all. He just knows that he can swipe it off, so he tries.)

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by Shasta220.
    #37335 Report Abuse
    Susan
    Participant

    If Loki is the dog lying down next to the dog with the blue collar sitting in ur photo from the post “What part of the world is everyone from” I can see Australian Blue Cattle dog in him, he has the white grey & black on his head & white & sholders & the white front legs a colour that is very Cattle dog, These dogs are used in Australia as farm dogs & very smart. We call them Blue Heelers …I cant add a photo of the Australian Cattle dog, but if you google Australian Cattle dog or Blue Heeler u’ll see what I mean…

    #37337 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Yes, I think he may have Heeler in him. The color resembles blue Merle much much more than it does the blue color of heelers though. He had a very soft double-coat (only double during winter months).

    I’ve narrowed it down to 4 breeds that he has at least two of: Australian Kelpie (he has a frame much like one), Heeler (veeeery strong jaws, and attempts to snap at the feet of anything moving), Aussie (blue Merle color is the only reason, really.), and border collie (he also has a natural tenancy to do the crouch-and-stare when he sees something to potentially herd). I’ve done research on all four of those breeds. He has certain characteristics of all of them, in my opinion.

    I don’t think there’s anything outside of those four herding breeds….who knows? Maybe he came from someone who was trying to invent a new herding hybrid with traits of all those! XD pics don’t do much justice….always seems different in real life, but here are a few more..
     photo image_zps45cf94b6.jpg
     photo image_zps3214d47b.jpg
     photo image_zps994b1cac.jpg

    (Hehehehe….can’t resist adding his derpty-derp face!)
     photo f46935fb-eed1-40f8-859d-e765d5c52680_zpse9045113.jpg

    #37338 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Blue_Heeler_Q.jpg
    That heelers colors are similar to Loki, but it is more of a unison blue rather than the random blotches that make up Merle coloration.
    I’m just not seeing any Heeler coloration in him…I’ve looked at hundreds of images as well. He also doesn’t have that “thick” build, his head is very narrow. There’s a huge possibility he has Heeler though, as I have said: he’s quite the “snapper” haha!

    By the way: you guys just call them Blue (or Red) Heelers? I’ve heard of the name Queensland Heeler as well….read somewhere that people in Australia use that one. You’re in Australia – right? Is it common to hear Queensland Heeler as a name for the cattle dog?

    #37340 Report Abuse
    aimee
    Participant

    The second class definitely sounds better for him than the first. I’ll share a few things I learned. For the scared reactive dog the function of the behavior is to make the scary thing go away so when the dog is removed from the situation or the other dog goes away while your dog is reacting the behavior is “rewarded”. If your dog “freaks out” in class and you remove him back to the room the “freaking out” behavior is rewarded. I’m not saying don’t remove him, I think it is the right thing to do in that emergency situation but do realize that it is reinforcing the behavior. This is why you want to stay “under threshold”. If sees the other dog and he doesn’t react than “mark” that non reactive behavior and take him back in the room (which reinforces the non reactive behavior) and reinforce with food/play. BAT is effective as it uses both a functional and operent R+ when the dog disengages.

    I found that a calming cap, now called thunder cap, helped facilitate learning by dampening the visual stimuli. I still use this on Jack when I have to take him to the vet for example. I know he will be over threshold in that situation.

    Other authors I can rec are Emma Parsons Click to Calm which shares her journey with her reactive dog Ben and Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt.

    watch the videos found here http://dogmantics.com/free-video-list/reactivity-and-barking/
    and scope you tube for stuff by Sophia Yin and Jean Donaldson and Patricia McConnell

    Best of Luck

    #37341 Report Abuse
    Susan
    Participant

    Hah, he’s got the stumpy tail, they call them Stumpy tail cattle dogs, they are born with the stumpy tail, they often call Blue Cattle dogs ‘Bluey’ or ‘Blue” or ‘Red’ for the red ones, they were used to round up the cattle & drive the cattle all over Australia in the olden days, they are a hardy dog that live out under the stars as Queensland the top end is very hot in summer & Queenslands winter are still very warm, but I see what u mean about the Blue merle colouring, He’d do real well in Agility Training, You should start up ur own little Agility course & charge a few dollars..He’s a good looking boy..

    #37346 Report Abuse
    aquariangt
    Member

    I just had a thought-

    Does anyone know if Lavender has any effect on dogs? It’s calming for people, I wonder if that could help. If so-I know you make your own dog treats Shasta, you could potentially work in some culinary lavender (not ones made for fragrance, though you could try a lotion of sorts) into some treats for Loki

    #37348 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Aimee, I do see what you mean about reinforcing the wrong behavior. I am not quite seeing it as rewarding the wrong, because I immediately am asking for his attention when we go into the room, and he comes right back out within a few seconds. The trainer knew a severely aggressive dog (WAY worse than Loki, she said….hard for me to imagine!). Every time there was something “scary” and the dog got tense, the trainer would walk in the opposite direction – away from it. Eventually they moved the dog into a class similar to Loki’s and gradually got her closer and closer. Now she is amazing around new dogs.

    Sue, I don’t believe he was born with a stubby tail, actually. I have almost no doubt that it was cropped. It has 2-4 kinks in it, as if it was in an accident or possibly tied off with a rope when he was a pup. He adores people, but is very very frightened of older men with beards…I wonder if that says anything about him.
    I’ve tried agility with him. He has zero desire for it. He hates the jumps, ignores the weave poles, and refuses the dogwalk/teeter. I do my other dog, Shasta, in it though. He’s great at it.
    Aww thanks, his “good looking” is one of the main things that made me fall in love….that and his happy-go-lucky-“take-me-home” personality at the shelter =D

    Aquariangt, I’m not sure how well lavender would work. It doesn’t work very well on me, personally; but I have seen some lavender calming treats in PetCo before. I will definitely need to look into making those! I wonder how much dried lavender would cost… Brilliant idea though 😉

    #37353 Report Abuse
    Cyndi
    Member

    That is so cool Shasta220, I’ve never seen a dog with a half brown, half blue eye. That is awesome! Very pretty dog!

    #37354 Report Abuse
    Haywood U
    Member

    Your dog is beautiful.

    It’s possible you have an Aussie Shepherd, ACD mix. Do an image search for “aussie shepherd cattle dog mix” – they turn out all sorts of ways. 😉 They also call them Texas Heelers.

    I have an ACD – rescue dog that I took sight unseen. Was told it was an Australian Shepherd, and I always wanted a “frisbee” dog…….there is a big difference! He’s been a great dog – coming up on 15 years. He’s “red,” and must be mixed with something else, because he’s 70+ lbs….but looks are all Red Heeler.

    Queensland Heelers – Best I could find is “The ARF has registered Australian Cattle Dogs without papers as ‘Australian Cattledog Queensland Heelers’ since 1965”

    On to the anxiety side – I’m curious as to what you mean. What type of behavior?

    Have you thought about using Benadryl? Apparently it’s fairly common to use for dogs for anxiety. My ACD had a bout of vestibular disease last year and the vet recommended Benadryl for its calming effect.

    Dosage recommendations are 1mg per lb of body weight – but always check with your vet.

    #37359 Report Abuse
    aquariangt
    Member

    When I was young I remember my mom used to use a half Benadryl for one of our goldens during thunderstorms. It was crazy how much of a meltdown she had. Even getting in bed with someone, laying on the floor next to her, nothing would work. That was enough to put her to sleep, not sure how it would work for Loki since he has issues around people in general.

    I haven’t looked into it enough to know if its something I want to do

    #37361 Report Abuse
    aquariangt
    Member

    And Shasta-

    Lavender doesn’t particularly work for me either, but I know a lot of people love it. I have a friend that is a lavender farmer so I can always get it from her, but overall, it shouldn’t be too expensive.

    If it’s something you want to pursue, and have trouble finding any, message me and I can get some shipped over to you, nice and local too!

    #37363 Report Abuse
    aimee
    Participant

    Shasta,

    In learning theory the term reward isn’t used, behavior is either reinforced ( becomes more frequent or more intense) or punished ( less frequent or intense) but in common use many people use the term reward for reinforcement. This is why when I first used the term I put it in quotations. I’m simply saying that the behavior served its purpose… space was increased between the scary thing and your dog. Removing the dog when he alerts (tense) but doesn’t react ( lunge bark) can help the dog to learn he doesn’t need to react to get out of the situation. In BAT the dog alerts but hopefully far enough away so doesn’t react and the trainer watches for a disengaging behavior (breaks eye contact with target, turns )then marks that behavior and leaves the dog. Following with food/toy serves to both classically change emotion and reinforce behavior.

    When training Jack I used a squeeky ball. The squeek was used as a positive interrupter. To get the behavior of “disengage”. Squeek was taught to mean give eye contact and that was reinforced with toss of the ball. Real world training isn’t as clean as a controlled environment so I need a way to get his to break focus as we would often be over the ideal threshold when out and about in teh real world. Squeeky also triggers a positive emotional response( he loves fetch) which then became associated with the scary thing. Scary thing becomes a predictor of fun. Ceaser uses aversive interrupters. Neck jab, kick to haunch get the dog break focus.. but the dog then makes the association between scary thing predicts scary things. Not an association I want to make. This is why I don’t use Ceasar’s methods.

    So what I have now is Jack sees something that he used to react to and instead of reacting he turns back to me doing a happy dance looking for his ball to be thrown.

    #37364 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Thanks, Cyndie! It’s fairly common, I guess. I didn’t even realize it until a couple days after we brought him home. I thought it was just the shading in his eye! From a distance, it always looks like he’s squinting lol

    #37365 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    You guys are all awesome. I’m pursuing to be a dog trainer, and all this info is just amazing!!!

    I guess I didn’t describe his behavior too thoroughly: he’s got a lot of “instincts” going on as well. I’d love to get him into herding or Treiball to redirect it, but there is just nowhere to do it (people suggest letting him herd my cow. My cow thinks he’s a dog, so it doesn’t work out LOL).

    He is fantastic with people. Never has attacked anyone (except he freaked at a couple old bearded men…they creeped me out too, so I didn’t mind lol).
    Soon as he sees a new dog though? A switch flicks and he gets tense and fussy. If the other dog is anxious too, he goes nuts. He mellows down when he’s sitting, but when moving it’s almost impossible to redirect his focus.
    I don’t see it as aggression at all, I like to call it fear-anxiety. One trainer had her chill dog and had him stand. We let Loki approach his rear, Loki nipped at him nervously, sniffed, then was fine. I also think he has a degree of leash reactivity; because once he was in an open field and a tiny dog approached him. Immediately I thought, “great! I have to apologize to the owner for my dog killing theirs…” But Loki just followed it and sniffed it. When it growled/snapped, he was fine.
    Other times, he does have aggression. He’s got into several scuffles with my other dog, Shasta. Whenever they run together, Loki will almost always growl and bite Shasta’s legs.

    I’m sorry if I’m doing a lousy job at describing him….he’s one of those cases where you’d have to see to understand.

    Haywood, Aussie/ACD was my first thought when we adopted him. I was researching Kelpies out and saw that he has some very very similar physical/personality traits, plus I saw an Aussie/Kelpie that looked /almost/ exactly like him (the only difference was that it had more Merle to black ratio, and both ears were flopped at the tip instead of just one)

    #38162 Report Abuse

    One of my dogs have fear induced dog aggression but only towards certain dogs (usually those who are energetic/dominant and want to run up to him on walks. He will lunge at another dog when it comes to on leash face to face confrontation. Its been a bit of an uphill battle, but I finally have found something that seems to be making a difference.
    Right now I’m working hard with clicker/treat and desensitization routine.
    Before, I would use a prong collar in order to control him and after talking to my vet who is also a behaviorist she suggested using a halti instead. She made a good point that using prong is basically telling a dog every time he sees another dog is equals to being stabbed in the neck. Long term use could also lead to tracheal damage and thyroid disorder which could also cause aggression (not sure if you’ve done a thyroid check on him).
    I used the halti for a while and it worked fine, but he absolutely hated wearing it. Right now I’m using a harness called harness lead which is made of a rope. Basically when the dog pulls, it tightens around the girth and tell them to slow down. It was almost like an instant transformation for my dog. I took him out in the harness, saw someone walking towards us with a dog. As they were passing, he lunged and I lightly tugged at the leash and then told him to sit. He sat down, I clicked and treated him.
    I’ve been using it ever since, its worked better than any gentle leader/halti/prong/choke, etc.
    You probably already know about reactivity zones that your dog has. How close do you need to get to another dog before he reacts. With mine I’ve been taking him out of that zone and very slowly have been shortening the distance, getting closer and closer to other dogs on walks and having him sit and watch me without reaction.
    We had a breakthrough moment last week when I asked a friend of mine to bring her dog to a park to see how he would act towards her. As I anticipated, with on leash introduction, he went crazy and lunged at her dog. I told her to take the dog and start walking and I would follow her few steps behind. We did this for few minutes and since he wasn’t acting nervous or tense, I kept shortening the distance until we lined up right next to each other. He completely ignored her dog and kept on walking calmly. After she left, I decided to take it a step further and walk him on a narrow greenway with lots on new dogs coming face to face. Even though the distance was very small between us and the other dogs, he responded well to minor harness correction and sit command coupled with clicker and treat. By the end of the walk he was so tired, he payed no attention to any other dog. I couldn’t be happier with that outcome, I think it’s starting to click with him that coming face to face with another dog does not equal danger and theres absolutely no need to lash out.
    I recently started adding in this supplement and rubbing few drops of rescue remedy on his ears before the walk, which I think has also contributed to him being more relaxed.
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OTPBP6/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I also strongly suggest a book called Click to Calm by Emma Parsons if you haven’t read it already.

    Best of luck

    #38163 Report Abuse

    Also, heres a link to the harness I’m using, it’s really been great for us. I think another reason it works is that it’s similar to thundershirt. When the rope tightens around the body, it seems to calm them down. http://www.harnesslead.com/

    #38166 Report Abuse
    Shasta220
    Member

    Mountainhound: you’re describing Loki almost perfectly!!!!! I started him on a prong as well (his first trainer, like I say, was way more about the correction than the praise). It’s difficult to correct, because when I tugged on the prong when he was in such an anxious mode, it made him turn and bite me – HARD (I had a ring of swollen bruises around my leg)

    The gentle lead helped a lot, as a squeeze around the nose is much less “alarming” than a prong, but equally as controlling. I tried a slip lead one time (he wasn’t even around dogs). Pfffffft, never again. I’m completely convinced that dogs want to pull against tightening sensations around that dang neck lol!

    It’s hard to tell where his reactivity zone is. It depends on /everything/ from the environment, to the dog, to his “momentum” and the dog’s speed as well. He is always very scared though. In our second class (positive reinforcement), he was on free time (laying down) and I allowed him to near a cocker puppy. The pup was crawling toward him, and he toward it. He acted calm and relaxed, but then randomly stretched out and snapped at it :/

    Usually he will get stiff if he even sees a dog across the street. What I do is (try to) get him to sit and “watch” me. When he’s focused on me for a few moments, then I click and reward.

    He tends to be a lot better when he’s sitting/laying. When he walks, it gets him even more tensed up and it gets hard to redirect that focus.

    I’ll look into that harness for sure. Ive never used them since it’s harder to keep the perfect heel going that I like (ear level or behind my waist….if he’s any forward, then he tenses up even more. When he stays there, then it makes him a touch more calm)

    #44848 Report Abuse
    Leah12345
    Member

    As usual…genius input. A friend tried the anxiety supplements and they didn’t help. I was really disappointed bc I planned to try them for my reactive girl. Keep us posted regarding how effective the harness lead is. Everything said in this thread is applicable to my Lhasa mix. She is an okay heeler unless she sees a “threat” and then all bets are off. I am going to research the harness lead today.

    #44873 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

    Every dog reacts differently to anti anxiety supplements. Just because one doesn’t work, doesn’t mean the next one won’t. And just because xyz didn’t work for their dog, doesn’t mean it won’t work for yours.

    #106033 Report Abuse
    Dean J
    Member

    Hi All, I just want to ask if anyone ever tried using medical cannabis as an alternative meds? I have read many articles about medical marijuana and how it can help you in terms of chronic pain, bone injuries, eating disorder/anorexia, anxiety disorders and panic attacks, inflammation, even cancer and a lot more. Like this article about a marijuana strain from:http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/purple-nepal/ . Cbd and thc are also new to me and I don’t even smoke. If this is true I cant find any solid conclusive evidence that speaks to its efficacy. Any personal experience or testimonial would be highly appreciated. Thanks

    #106036 Report Abuse
    haleycookie
    Member

    I know a lady that has a senior french bulldog, he’s fought cancer many times and recently it has returned. She has decided to not fight it this time. So she uses a form of medical canabis in his food just to bring him some relief. He isn’t in much pain while on it. It’s good for pain but it isn’t going to fight anything. Just let them have peace before passing on or help relief pain and the anxiety that goes along with it while having treatment for something painful.

    #106038 Report Abuse
    anonymous
    Member

    Here we go!
    http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=marijuana
    below is an excerpt from the first article.

    “So right now, we are at a place where the hype and the marketing far exceed the real evidence that cannabis-based products are safe and useful for our pets. Using them could be worthwhile, but currently it is essentially rolling the dice, an uncontrolled individual experiment that could also make the patient’s life worse. Hopefully, further research will elucidate the real harms and benefits for our pets so we can make sound decisions about the appropriate role of cannabis-based products in veterinary care.”

    BTW: What does your vet recommend? There are plenty of effective pain medications, anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants available by prescription.
    Hope this helps 🙂

    #106221 Report Abuse
    anonymous
    Member
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