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Natural Sedative For Dogs?

Hi there. My 12 year old Aussie girl has never enjoyed riding in the car. Now that she is getting older, it's getting worse - she is very anxious, whining and crying constantly, and at the end of the trip she is so worked up that she vomits back the water she is given.

Is there some kind of mild sedative that she can take before trips? I am looking for something as low key and natural as possible, that will calm her and allow her to relax.

I do not like to see my girl so stressed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Kathy

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I feel your pain :/
by:

My 1 1/2 year old Mini Aussie is also extremely anxious in the car, especially when she anticipates that it will be a long ride. Hmmm. The first hour or two is the worse ... frequent panic potty stops. We've tried Rescue Remedy for people (available at health food stores). If it works, it is only marginally helpful for us. There is a formula available for dogs (no alcohol)-haven't tried it. She relaxes at home occasionally to classical music designed to relax dogs; but, again, only marginally successful in the car. I googled this. Suggestions were ginger cookies, some B vitamins, etc. Tried the ginger cookies before a trip. Couldn't tell if they worked. She will not eat anything (including the cookies) while in the car. Hope some of these ideas will help you and your girl. I'm still looking for help, myself.

Baby Gravol
by: Kathy

Hi there

I spoke with a dog owning friend who works as a doctor's assistant and she recommended Baby Gravol. Here is an article about it:

http://www.missvet.ca/siteSearch/view/166008_Gravol.pml

I like the fact that it can be given in small doses - I plan to start Kylie on the smallest dose and work up if needed.

Not the most natural thing in the world, but it sounds like a relatively safe, low tech remedy.

Good luck with your Aussie!

Kathy

Hi Kathy - Thanks
by: Anonymous

Hi Kathy - Thanks for the tip. I will look into it. It is nice to know there may be hope. Hope it works for your Aussie.

None of the Natural remedies worked for us.
by: Mystic

We tried a few over the counter calming treats with Shaman and he did awful with them. After a grueling 3 days of 8 hour drives, where he would not lay down the entire time the car was moving (it took us more like 13 hours a day to make the trip because we had to stop extra to let him out and to let him rest some.)before our next trip we saw his vet. He gave us a prescription for doggy Xanax. For the 1st time ever he laid down in the car rather than standing for hours shaking and refusing to even sit, long past when you would have thought his legs would have given out. Even in one of our laps he wouldn't relax. If the Xanax hadn't worked we would never have taken him on another trip, so we are thrilled that it did. My feeling was that the drugs had to do much less damage to him than the stress levels of traveling. I hope you find something natural for your Aussie. I will say that my mom had a lot of success with a calming treat she got from her vet. I want to say it was pet eaze. It was a chew. However she had to give her old girl 2 or 3 times the dose. She does it at night because Merlin will pace restlessly all night long if she doesn't and then she will get "stuck" on one of the little steps my mom's house has because she is afraid to come down the 3 or 4 inches. Then she would bark until someone came and "Helped" her down. (Meaning stood next to her while she did it herself.) When it got to where she was getting stuck 3 to 5 times a night my mom started the calming treats and the vet had her up them until they worked. BTW: Merlin is at least 16 or 17 years old and she has been deaf and having joint issues for about a year. She does well enough on her meds that they have been able to keep her with them, but we had a huge scare last Thanksgiving when she couldn't get up one day. Thankfully the doctor gave her a shot and some stronger meds for her joints and within a few days she was back to her old self. Still she is at least close to 17 now and maybe older than that so we are all holding our breaths because she is an awesome companion and she will be sorely missed.

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