I have an eight-year-old Jack Russell, Bertie, and in the past three weeks he has developed a problem similar to the 'firework night' problem; he is hyperventilating, listening for something to come, because he has the run of the house and sleeps in our bedroom he's jumping up and scratching us to wake us up and wants us to touch/reassure him, this lasts for ages; in fact, we have arrived at the situation where we put him in my car so we can sleep! He had always been a laid back dog for a Jack Russell, he's our fourth one.
So far we have taken him to the vet, who duly examined him. Bertie's in very good condition and the only problem is his teeth need cleaning, but not urgently. We were advised the DAP diffuser, which hasn't worked, and I have some alternative health Bach Remedy - which also didn't work. It has been suggested that he is picking up on a health problem my husband has, other then the above we don't know what else to do - please help.
Penny Davis, by email
Richard Allport, alternative vet, advises:
I’ve seen very poor results with DAP diffusers in general, and in this kind of anxious behaviour in particular. It will obviously help if you can find out the exact reason why Bertie has developed the anxiety. Now this may sound a little odd, but why not contact an animal communicator? He or she may be able to ‘talk’ to Bertie and find out what he is so worried about, which will naturally make it easier to find a solution. As a starting point, look at the website of an animal communicator I can personally recommend, Pea Horsley (www.animalthoughts.com) and then take things from there.
In general the following natural supplements all help to calm and soothe anxious dogs:
Kalm Aid (a good combination of two anxiety relieving amino acids)
Skullcap and Valerian (a calming herbal mixture)
Dr Petals Fears (a flower essence complex that does what the name on the bottle suggests – calms and soothes fears and phobias)
If you would like any more information on any of the supplements mentioned do contact me on info@naturalmedicinecentre.net.
I have just sent in my comments about a problem with a nervous German Shepherd. The same applies to your dog. The holistic approach aims to treat the individual both physically and psychologically. You have both types of problem here -you mentioned his teeth.
ReplyDeleteI developed Burns foods as a means of managing health problems holistically. If he is over-exitable we need to reduce his overall energy intake by using a low fat, low protein diet which is high in complex carbohydrate. This is absorbed slowly rather than giving him an energy blast.This should be fed as sparingly as possible.
We have a number of foods which should be helpful and our nutrition team can advise.
John Burns BVMS MRCVS
Burns Pet Nutrition
What a horrible problem for your dog to have.
ReplyDeleteI have worked on a similar problem with a Jack Rusell just before the firework season last year.
The dog was a rescue who had been with his owners just over a year, so they had experienced one firework season with him. He was very frightened and inconsolable during this time.We did 3 sessions of Canine Bowen therapy with him before the week of the 5th November and he was much calmer and was even relaxed enough to curl up and go to sleep.
As you are experiencing similar problems I suggest that you have a chat with a canine Bowen therapist as it is a great therapy for relieving stress as the dog dictates the session and not us, and decides how much Bowen he recieves.
If you are interested in researching Bowen take a look at www.caninetechnique.com where you will find a list of therapists and also some more detailed information about what Bowen is.