If one of the great fictional detectives like Holmes, Dupin, Wolfe, or Maigret were to dig through our medicine chest, he would conclude that someone in the family suffered from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. He would be wrong. To calm her anxiety during thunderstorms, Tigger has recently been prescribed Clomipramine. For humans it's a medication for OCD; for dogs it's been approved for separation anxiety. I suppose it's useful to have around in case I suddenly develop the symptoms.
Unlike the humans, she gets her pills wrapped in cheese.
Posted by Linkmeister at November 14, 2004 12:01 AMThat's a great idea. Perhaps I should wrap my immunosuppressives in cheese. I prefer low salt swiss! WOOF.....
Posted by: toxiclabrat at November 14, 2004 06:42 AMI wonder if this works for cats as well. Stinky is terrified of thunderstorms. His feet sweat, his hair falls out, and big gobs of frothy drool hang out of his mouth. Poor cat. It's quite awful.
Posted by: Kate at November 14, 2004 08:52 AMWorth a shot, I'd say. The Clomipramine is pretty big. It's a 25mg capsule about the size of a Contac. The vet also prescribed 25mg acepromazine (much smaller; about the size of a child's aspirin) as a sedative to be given two hours ahead of thunderstorms (or fireworks displays, which are much more predictable).
Posted by: Linkmeister at November 14, 2004 09:25 AMOne thought regarding fireworks...unless you really enjoy hearing the loud noises - here where I live a fireworks display is a yearly event and I had one dog that nearer the end of her life was so panic struck literally shook on the bed in terror. After that experience I would load up the car with carriers ( with the cats) and the dogs and head out of town for about an hour or so. That way no one had to listen to the noise that sounded like a war zone. Perhaps a better solution than medication for the fireworks situation. Surely can understand their fear of storms -many pets have that fear. Nice of you to help your pet deal with that fear.
Posted by: Nancy at November 14, 2004 10:17 AMNancy, that might work except that the dog fears the car nearly as much as she does the fireworks. :( I let her get to be about ten before offering her rides (the vet makes house calls), so she never got accustomed to it.
Also, this island has so embraced the idea of New Year's Eve fireworks that escaping is virtually impossible.
Posted by: Linkmeister at November 14, 2004 10:33 AMWell, it sounds like you have a pet that at least is being cared for with medication for her fear (alot nicer than how some people might approach that fear). My dog Daisy seemed to be more traumatized after she lost her vision - cataract surgery gone bad. Guess on an island - if everyone celebrates at the same time then there would be no escaping it.
Posted by: Nancy at November 14, 2004 11:46 AM