Author Topic: Anxiety Meds/St. John's Wort?  (Read 3330 times)

Offline PhoebesMom

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Anxiety Meds/St. John's Wort?
« on: September 30, 2006, 06:11:47 am »
Hi, our vet is planning on prescribing anxiety medication for our Dane Phoebe. I've heard of dogs being put on this medication but I haven't heard opinions or much about it. Does it work?

Phoebe just had surgery to fix Lick Granuloma on her front ankle due to her obsession with licking and chewing on herself. She also chews on her tail/nipples. *sighs* She's deaf, was rehomed to us in early August and has never had toys. I can't think that she's bored as I'm home all day with her and she's outside playing a fair bit. We bought toys to introduce to her with no luck, not even the stuffed kong worked.

Someone had mentioned that St. John's Wort can be given as a natural alternative to anxiety prescribed meds. Has anyone used this for their dog? If so how did you find it? Work well? How much did you give? How often? How did you feed it to them?

I want to find something to help Phoebe so that we can prevent further chewing of herself and surgery. Pain is no fun and it's hard to see her do this to herself.

I'd love to hear others personal expieriences with anxiety meds. with their dogs.
 Thanks
Megan- Mom to Phoebe(Great Dane)
Thunder (Chihuahua)
Viggo & Sula (Red Sided Eclectus Parrots)
Meisha & Sydney (Vos Eclectus Parrots)
Skaha (7-toed Polydactol Cat)

Offline Kermit

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Re: Anxiety Meds/St. John's Wort?
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2006, 07:10:49 am »
I have never had to use any anxiety meds for my dogs, but I have had experience with a Dane with anxiety. (Meds were recommended but I opted not to do that.)

Connor had really terrible anxiety when I first brought him home from the pound. He was making himself sick. He had diarrhea (every day) from stress, and he could just not hold still, ever. He was a wreck.

My "treatment" for him was: First... put him on the best diet I could. I prepared his meals daily (fresh chicken, rice, oatmeal, veggies, supplements). I know not everyone can do this, but look at what you are feeding her and make sure it is the best quality food that you can afford. I am a firm believer that the better food, the better the chances of the dog being balanced. :)

Next, I looked at Connor's daily routine and tried to figure out how and where I could take away little stressors. One thing I did was stop taping up his cropped ears. That alone made a huge difference in his life! Next I stopped making him sleep in his crate, and instead I trusted him to a room with a baby gate and gave him a huge cozy bed. I think this also made a big difference! Those were just little things that I did, little adjustments, but they really helped.

Finally, I looked at exercise. Was he getting enough? And was he getting enough mental stimulation? So I made sure to go out in the yard with him every day, and just play with him!! ;D Run around with him, throw sticks for him, and just interact with him. I also did some obedience stuff! Just really casually, to get his mind working and give him the feeling that he could be a good boy, by obeying commands and then getting praised. ;D

I don't know what your daily routine is with your dog, but maybe there are some little changes and adjustments you could make to help her out, without resorting to drugs. Before even trying St. Johns Wort (which is an herb) I would try Bach Rescue Remedy. It is homeopathic and TOTALLY safe, absolutely no side effects, and very easy to administer. You can get a bottle for about $15 that will last you a good while. That stuff is great. (I take it when I am stressed out too!!!) You can get it in any natural food store.

Now Connor shows no signs of anxiety! :D I was worried for a while that he would not do well with my active pack of dogs, but by making the little adjustments here and there and just really trying to get to the root cause of his anxiety, I think I was able to really help him. I eventually weaned him off the home prepared diet and he now eats high quality kibble, and his digestion is back to normal. YAY!

Good luck with your pooch, and I hope you find exactly what she needs to be a more balanced and happy girl! :)

Offline PhoebesMom

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Re: Anxiety Meds/St. John's Wort?
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2006, 07:30:38 am »
Thank you so much for the wonderful response.

Phoebe is crate trained although we opted not to use a crate for her in our home. Instead she is allowed to wander with our small dog while we are out of the house and sleeps either in the kitchen on this soft matt infront of the heat vent or on our bedroom floor. This is a huge change for her as she was basically a full time outdoor dog at her previous home.

We have slowly converted Phoebe over to Go Natural Salmon and Oatmeal dog food, which we have been told is one of the best foods on the market available near us. It's $$$ but a good diet is really important to us. Since we converted her the diahrrea has stopped, she has formed poops, she's not near as gassy and her shedding really let up, not to mention her coat has become really beautiful.

We purchased a ton of toys for her and are making every effort to interest her in them. So far she hasn't shown any desire for them, even when we play with them and try to get her attention with them. We've also tried stuffing food in the kong...no luck. This doesn't mean we'll let up at all though. One of my parrots never had toys and after daily interation with the toys she came around after months and now LOVES toys so there's always hope.

She loves to run around with our smaller dog and play and we spend a good portion of the day outside with her, playing, interacting. In truth she like our other dog is totally spoiled.

Phoebe hasn't been with us very long. She was dropped off at the start of August so I'm hoping after more time she will come around and relax, and realize that we are not about to send her elsewhere.

She had her surgery yesterday so she's not feeling overly peachy right now. She hasn't eaten since Thursday, and had her surgery Friday morning. I hope that she soon feels well enough to stand and eat. I fed her a piece of peanut butter toast this morning and then some cheese to get her antibiotics in, and then I brought her water dish over but she hasn't had any kibble or water yet. :( I just re-wrapped her ankle as per the vets instructions this morning. We put some polysporen on the stitches and re-wrapped it. The incision and stitches look really good, and the vet did a wonderful job on the spay. I feel for the poor babe.

I'm going to go and check into the BACH remedy later today or tomorrow when I go to get myself some things at our Natural Foods store. Hopefully that will help her out, or time and the security that she has found a loving forever home.
Megan- Mom to Phoebe(Great Dane)
Thunder (Chihuahua)
Viggo & Sula (Red Sided Eclectus Parrots)
Meisha & Sydney (Vos Eclectus Parrots)
Skaha (7-toed Polydactol Cat)

Offline Kermit

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Re: Anxiety Meds/St. John's Wort?
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2006, 07:35:56 am »
Sounds like you are doing everything right!! It's probably just a matter of time now. She has only been with you a short while and I bet she has already some a long way in her rehabilitation . I'm sure she feels more secure each day. :)

Offline CalistogaPyr

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Re: Anxiety Meds/St. John's Wort?
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2006, 08:24:42 am »
I'm so glad I saw this post...I'm bumping so hopefully someone will have something more to add.  I wanted to know if you could give St. John's Wort or 5-HTP to dogs for anxiety.  Bo is still pretty anxious and now that we can't give her Clomicalm (gave her seizures), I'm looking for an herbal remedy.  I've used the Bach rescue remedy before, but I was concerned that because Bo is so big (120lb) that I'd have to give her TONS and that it would get expensive, plus it's got a pretty high alcohol content (drunk dogs, anyone?).  Ultimately I'd like to find something I could give her every day, like I do with her other supplements.  I'm anxious (no pun) to find out what might work, as we're coming into the holidays and a house full of guests is particularly stressful for my girl (doesn't know who to guard from what...ah, the plight of a guardian dog). 
THANKS!!
Jenn & Bo (the worrier)
"Be the change you wish to see in the world"-Gandhi

Offline MSF

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Re: Anxiety Meds/St. John's Wort?
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2006, 09:12:26 am »
walks, walks and more walks.
When I have a nervous dog I walk them.
When it's potty time, I walk for 5 to 10 mins instead of just letting them out and getting them back in.
And a 15 minute brisk walk in the morning
and a 20 to 30 minute brisk walk before bed.

Also licking is a habit that took time
to be a 'habit'
It usually takes 6 weeks to make a habit
and 6 weeks to break one.
I'd try the rescue remedy.
I'd give walks more often till the dog mellows out.
And I'd use a collar so she can't lick and chew.
For up a few weeks.
Not 24/7 but at times you see her lick, put it on, walk her
and then take it off.
Breaking old habits will drive the owner as batty as the dog but in the end it's worth it.
Exercise seems to really help when nervous, upset, etc.
Best wishes