My dog cries from airport noise. How can I help his anxiety?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like your dog is very anxious. I would discuss a long term anti-anxiety medication like prozac with your Vet and maybe xanax, acepromazine or trazadone for special trigger events. You can try to buy some interactive toys to keep him busy or kings that he can push around that dispense his dry food. Also a behaviorist or trainer may be helpful to provide tips on calming him. Sadly due to his underlying condition there may not be a perfect fix for him, just managing it to a point that is tolerable for him and you.

Your best option is to try to wear Sunshine out every day. Making dogs physically tired typically helps to decrease anxiety and nervous behavior. The thunder jacket may help as well but it may not be comfortable to sleep in and could choke her if it shifts around too much. Make sure to try to keep her on the same routine your parents do as this can help her to feel more secure. If you have to work, you may look into having someone take her for a walk for you in the afternoon. Playing classical music in the background and giving her food puzzles, treat balls and frozen peanut butter stuffed Kong‘s may also help to occupy her. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I am sorry to hear about Maverick! There are a few over the counter products that can help with mild anxiety, including an Adaptil collar https://www.adaptil.com/us/Products/ADAPTIL-Calm-On-the-go-Collar , a thundershirt https://www.thundershirt.com/, and calming supplements such as Zylken or Composure. IF these do not help, then your veterinarian can prescribe other medications that are a bit stronger and can help with anxiety.

There are medications you can get from your vet that help dogs with anxiety due to travel. Unfortunately there are no OTC medications you can give them. You can also get them thunder shirts, which have been reported to help dogs with travel anxiety. Without knowing exactly what type of travel they will be doing (i.e. plane, car), I can't give more specific advice, but I would call your vet today to discuss the use of medications for your dogs, and you can order thunder shirts online. I hope this helps :-)

Oh dear, poor Axel! Some dogs have innately anxious and nervous personalities, and German Shepherds (it appears that Axel has a fair amount of Shepherd in him from the pictures!) are known for anxiety issues. Continue gently trying to socialize Axel with new people and surroundings, and offer small treats and gentle encouragement as he is introduced to a new situation. Some dogs also benefit from thunder shirts ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24037 ) for anxiety, as well as calming pheromone collars or diffusers ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=33000 ). If all else fails, consider consulting a veterinary behaviorist to discuss behavioral modifications to try at home, and possible anti-anxiety medication. I hope that all goes well!

You can certainly try any of the over the counter calming supplements although they may not work well. There's also recordings available for purchase that play commonly scary sounds. There's one called Master's Voice that can help to condition Simon to the noises and then normalizes them. The vet will also have stronger anti-anxiety meds that may also help. I would recommend the noise conditioning + some type of medication. Its generally a combination approach. Best of luck with Simon.

Poor Capo! It does sounds like he has terrible anxiety. I can give you a few things you can do at home for him. Loud noises can be very scary for dogs. One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure him. We think we are comforting him when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling him it's ok to be scared. I recommend getting him a thundershirt to wear when he starts to appear anxious. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. You can put him in a dark quiet room by himself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety. If these things do not work, then I would have Capo seen by your vet again (or another vet for a second opinion) to get him some anti-anxiety meds.