Are 2 Better Than 1?
-
I did try Clomicalm for awhile, and although we had to stop because it turned out he was allergic to it, I really didn't like the detrimental way it appeared to affect his personality (which may have been part of the allergy, too.) It was like he was on downers or something like that. No energy, completely lethargic, not interested in anything.
Besides the fact that he was allergic to it… the dose could have been too much?.....
Well, we started at the max dose, then dwindled it over a period of time to almost a 1/4 of the max dose, with hardly any allergy symptom alleviation and no better personality. At that point, the vet decided it just wasn't gonna work for Magnum and we stopped it.
An important point that I believe others have mentioned but that is worth repeating is to keep in mind that if you're gonna use meds, the meds alone do not/cannot/will not solve the problem, you have to use behavior modification in conjunction with the meds. If you don't, as soon as the meds are stopped, the behavior will resurface, and I can't imagine that anyone wants their dog drugged for the rest of its life…
-
Well, that happens, but for GriffensMom… I think that I would give it a try... and see if it helps... also, I am pretty sure that there are other meds that could be tried?...
That's probably true, although my vet didn't suggest any (even after the Clomicalm allergy surfaced), and, also, my vet was very leery about prescribing it in the first place…there were lots of questions about Magnum's SA behavior to answer and what I had done to try to alleviate the behavior, before he felt comfortable prescribing it. And, truthfully, after Magnum's reaction to it, I wasn't real hep on trying any others.
-
Has anyone had any luck with natural/herbal remedies? I was at Pet Smart today and saw some natural pills to give dogs for anxiety. The technician at the in-house veterinary clinic wasn't much help - figured I might as well ask all of you instead. :D The bottle I was looking at was NaturVet® Quiet Moments™. Anyone ever hear anything about it?
-
Dash took about a year to get completely housebroken. Many times he would pee as soon as we walked away. We restricted food and water. He only gets 2 hours to eat/drink at night and that's it.
We tried turning the radio on, DAP, the TV anything. Nothing helped. The vet recommended strict routine with him so he knew what to expect. We also give treats to go in the his crate/run.
We did get another dog as well. It really helped him as long as they are together.
I understand this will take patience. Best of luck to you!
-
Just spoke with my vet and she agrees that it's separation anxiety. She's giving me some Clomicalm and we'll see how that goes. Thanks for everyone input! I'm really hoping that a few weeks on meds will help put him back on track again. I'll keep you posted!
-
Just an update…Griffin has been on 20mg of Colmicalm for about two weeks now and it's making a difference. I was doubtful that it was going to work for the first week because he was still having accidents, but this week we've had 3 out of 4 days with NO accidents when we leave him! We're still doing all the same behavioral things (leaving the TV on, lots of exercise, limiting water, DAP pheromone plug-in, leaving a stuffed kong with him when we leave, etc.) - I think the meds are what he really needed to give him that extra push. The best thing is that the meds haven't affected his personality, so he's the same goofy basenji that we love! Just wanted to pass along some good news and progress about Griffin - for once!
-
Get a second dog who's NOT a basenji. Some nice, calm, older mutt of the opposite sex. Larger than the basenji, too. Lavish attention on the big dog for her good behaviour, and the little one will try to emulate it. We've had that arrangement with two wicked basenjis, both of whom loved their big mutt girlfriends and learned from them.
