My dog's anxious from separation. Can I give more melatonin?

You’re welcome to try the melatonin (1-3mg once to twice daily). My guess is that it won’t work to be honest, but you never know. I’m a huge proponent of anti-anxiety medications (of which there are several) . They tend not to have serious side effects, are relatively inexpensive, and I have had great success with them. I wish you and Flash the best!

Melatonin can have side effects in dogs including itching, increased heart rate, gastric upset, and stomach cramps, but these side effects are rare. If Romeo has a preexisting health condition, however, I would check with his vet first to see if it's safe to give him. Watch out for the melatonin side effects and do not give more than the label states to give on a daily basis. I hope this helps.

I'm sorry that Belle is suffering from some anxiety. Unfortunately Benadryl can have the opposite effect on dogs; instead of sedation, it can make them more anxious. In addition, I cannot legally recommend giving her either drug without seeing her in person. Put her in a dark quiet room by herself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure her. We think we are comforting her when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling her it's ok to be scared. Give her vet a call to see if you can get something prescribed to help with her anxiety. Best of luck.

Hello, thank you for your question. I’m sorry to hear that visits to the vet are stressful for Luke. Yes, melatonin can be safely given to dogs. There are other medications that can also be used to help with anxiety prior to vet visits (gabapentin, Benadryl, acepromazine). I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to discuss which product they prefer and to get accurate dosing for Luke. Hope this helps!

Talk with your vet about an anti-anxiety medication which can help tremendously. I use trazodone most often but there are many options. Other helps include: crate training and the adaptyl collar (a pheromone collar that can decreased stress). Best of luck to you and Sadie!

The dose range for Trazodone in dogs is very wide. For use as needed, published doses range from 2.2-14 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of body weight per day. Based on her current 20 pound body weight, Luna has been prescribed 10.1 mg/kg, which is a perfectly acceptable dose. There are limited studies of the use in Trazodone in dogs, but it seems to be a very safe medication and anecdotal doses have been safely reported in excess of the published doses mentioned above. Since Luna is still a young, growing puppy, expect her dose to increase over time as she gets older and bigger. I hope this helps and that all goes well in managing Luna's separation anxiety!

I am sorry to hear about Max. Lexapro is not a drug we normally use in dogs so its safety and efficacy hasn't been evaluated and I would not recommend giving this drug. The drug also requires several weeks of use before effects are truly seen so it would not help you now. There are, however, some prescription medications your vet can recommend and prescribe to help Max to provide both short term and long term relief. You can read more about this condition and treatment options at https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952970 . You can try over the counter products like an Adaptil collar https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952970 and Zylkene calming supplement http://www.vetoquinolusa.com/content/zylkene though in severe cases of anxiety these may not be enough.