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Question

Our 12 year old Akita mix is TERRIFIED of lightning and thunder storms.She destroys door ways,carpet ,etc .along with scratching and pawing us during storms.It is getting worse the older she gets (if that is possible).She will not let us get any sleep even during the mildest storms.She is totally driving us crazy.Are there any meds that can sedate her and allow all of us to get some sleep and stop the extreme damages she is doing to our home?

Submitted: 499 days and 9 hours ago.
Category: Dog
Value: $15
Status: CLOSED
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Optional Information

Optional Information:
Age: 12; Female; Breed: Akita mix

Already Tried:
locking her in garage..Extreme damage. Kava tablets..no results Just about everything short of tieing her up

Accepted Answer

Hi there. I have a couple of ideas for things you can try. The first is something you can buy online, and is called a 'DAP diffuser' that stands for dog appeasing pheromone. Its a plug in device that releases a calming pheromone into the air, to have a calming effect on any frightened dog. A lot of people swear by them, i would have to say in your case it will probably work better with some drug therapy in addition- but this will require a trip to the vet. A long term treatment that can work for dogs that are very frightened by noise is a combination of phenobarbitone( a drug thats usually used in epileptics), and beta-blockers(usually propranolol or atenolol) your vet will need to check she is in good health first. The phenobarbitone has a mild sedating effect and the beta blocker stops the heart racing/fear she gets when she hears a loud noise. This combination needs to be used for at least a month, but isn't addictive. Valium(diazepam) is also another option due to its calming effect, but can be very addictive even in dogs.

If you are opposed to drugging her up, there are natural remedies you could try in conjunction with the DAP diffuser, such as skullcap and valerian, which you can get from the herbalist. If you are getting to your wits end though-i would be inclined to go for the drugs and DAP combo!

Hope you find some advice here you can use

Andrea

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Expert: andrea roberts
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 7/11/2008

Dog Veterinarian

bvm&s degree, 15 years in companion animal practise

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