Almost daily, I hear from owners that they have dogs (and occasionally cats) that are noise sensitive, to a small or large degree. This can happen with ANY noise, but especially thunderstorms, fireworks, vacuum cleaners, or noisy vehicles like motorcycles, trucks, and buses. I even had one this week that barks if the microwave beeps. A mild noise phobia (fear) is some whining, or pacing, or aversion to the noise (running away to hide). A severe phobia has dogs scratching up doors, jumping through windows, digging to get under covers. I had one client whose large Labrador would hide in the upstairs bathroom during thunderstorms. One time he got wedged behind the commode, and started shaking and busted loose the water supply line to the toilet. The next thing the client saw downstairs was water leaking through the ceiling! So we need to look seriously at the effects of noise and anxiety on own individual pets.
Noise is hard to avoid, but there are some tips that might help. Ideas include staying inside during thunderstorms and planned firework displays. My clients in Flower Mound complain about the weekly Friday night fireworks from the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine upsetting the dogs. This year I see many cities are planning events on July 3. Some sounds can be masked by a TV or soft music. There have been lots of studies on calming music for dogs. There are even playlists that shelters use! https://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2017/05/04/turning-page-music-shelters; http://rescueanimalmp3.org/; http://throughadogsear.com/free-music-to-shelters/
There are some non-drug therapies that I recommend for mild to moderate noise phobias. The first is calming pheromones (hormones that travel through the air). The brand I recommend is Adaptil, and is designed after the natural pheromone a momma dog makes between her breasts to calm puppies. It is available as a 30 day diffuser/plug in, a spray (like on a neck bandana, towel, or bedding), and is available at local pet stores or Amazon. The second is the Thundershirt idea, which is just like swaddling a baby. I actually find my noise sensitive sheltie does pretty well with a Thundershirt, so we can all sleep at night when storms pop up unexpectedly. The third therapy is aroma therapy, like lavender. I love essential oils, but I am very cautious about using them topically across the board on pets. Use a diffuser, and keep it out of range of licking or eating.
Lastly, we have prescription medicines. The two medicines I most commonly use in 2018 are Trazadone and Sileo. Trazadone is a human drug, originally an antidepressant, but most commonly used as a sleep aid now. I prescribe Trazadone for all forms of anxiety in my canine patients, to be used intermittently for anxious situation to help them not be scared and have a positive experience (like at the vet). It takes 90 minutes to work, causes only mild drowsiness, and lasts 6-8 hours. This might be overkill for a 10 minute thunderstorm, but Fido still might appreciate it. The other drug, Sileo, is an oral paste based on an injectable sedative we commonly use. It works great, easy to administer by mouth, only lasts 2-3 hours, but can be redosed if needed. The downside is once the multidose syringe is opened, the paste is only labeled for 14 days.
So as we come down to the week before Independence Day, think about your pets needs and contact our staff at 972-436-2199 if you need advice or medicines. We will be closed July 4th only, and reopen July 5, 2018. Have a happy and safe Independence Day.
