Dog with separation anxiety

[mlincoln3]

We adopted an 7-8 year old very sweet dog from a shelter a few months ago. We don’t know her history but she has moderate to severe separation anxiety, more so with me than my kids or husband. Our vet has given her a good looking over, had to sedate her first because she was so wound up. She was put on metronidazole for colitis, had her ears thoroughly cleaned and nails trimmed while knocked out. She was diagnosed with IBS as well. Also, I am in the process of weaning her very slowly from home cooked rice and chicken, back to her blue buffalo dog food as per his suggestion. She also gets one 30c pulsatilla bead and chamomile tincture at each feeding. (Total daily food divided into morning and evening meals so it’s easier on her stomach.)

We are handling the digestive issues fine now but the anxiety cannot be helping her at all. She has not been left completely alone yet. There’s been at least one person here so we really don’t know what she’d do if we left her alone. Holidays are coming up and we can’t take her with us every time we go to family gatherings. Our vet wants her on clomicalm but I’m very nervous putting her on it just yet because I’m worried about the side effects. He had her on amitriptylin but it caused her to not be able to urinate for very long periods of time.

Are there any herbal tinctures or other suggestions we can be giving her to ease the anxiety as opposed to the Clomicalm? We have been working at exposure and training but not seeing an ounce of improvement.

So sorry for the long winded post.

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

I’ve used this formula on lots of dogs with separation anxiety:

In some cases, I’ll also add this one:

IBS has lots of emotional components. This combination works well for IBS if that gets to be a problem: http://homegrownherbalist.net/products/new-ibs

Behavioral training can be helpful too. When you come or go from the house, do not acknowledge the dog at all. No excitement…no comforting him when you leave. Also, several times a day, grab your keys and your coat and leave the house for a minute then come back. Again, no acknowledgement of the dog before or after. We want him to learn that leaving the house is a boring non-event and that as often as not your only gone for a minute. 🙂

Doc

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

[Michelle KochStudent]

Also, a few months really isn’t that long. Depending upon how much “baggage” a rescue dog is carrying, it could take a few years to really make significant progress on behavior issues, and for a dog to really settle into the new home. You are right, all those pharmaceuticals just mask the underlying problems and may even make things worse. Always use positive conditioning while training, and avoid aversives. There is an excellent forum you might want to check out, where there are people– including professional dog behaviorists– who can give you some very detailed advice. It’s Victoria Stilwell Positively forum. Good luck!

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