My epileptic dog is stressed by storms. Why is his behavior changing?

Hi there. It sounds like Champ may be feeling anxious or stressed for some reason, but without being able to evaluate him in person and get a much more detailed behavioral history, there's really no way to know what might have caused this. You can try using a DAP pheromone diffuser along with a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure for the next few days to see if this helps.

Poor girl! Yes, this could be stress from the thunderstorms. Fireworks and loud noises can be really scary for dogs. 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. I recommend getting her a thundershirt to wear when there are fireworks or loud noises. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. At home, you can 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. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like Chester’s noise phobia has worsened with each passing year (which is very common). I’d recommend getting your vet involved. He or she can help you determine if Chester needs long-term anxiety medication or some some to have on hand for times of known fireworks. Do keep up with the collar and the thunder jacket though both help some. (I don’t know how many times he’s worn the jacket but the latest study I heard about said that is has its biggest effect after the 5th wear during a storm/firework episode). Best of luck to you and Chester!

Thank you for your question. I can't tell you why she is having anxiety, and it would be so much easier if our pets could talk to us! Anytime there are changes in our pet's behavior, I recommend a visit to the veterinarian to make sure there are no signs of illness. If everything checks out alright, I do have a couple suggestions you can try. Composure chews can help with mild anxiety, and are easy to give like a treat. https://www.petco.com/shop/ProductDisplay?urlRequestType=Base&catalogId=10001&categoryId=&productId=19852&errorViewName=ProductDisplayErrorView&urlLangId=-1&langId=-1&top_category=&parent_category_rn=&storeId=10151 Comfort Zone contains a calming pheromone that comes in a diffuser or spray. If you try these and there is no improvement you can always discuss prescription medications for anxiety to help Adela relax. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I would recommend anti-anxiety supplements and calming supplements such as those recommended below. If there is no improvement, you may need to seek behavioral training or see a veterinarian about anti-anxiety prescription drugs. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions / concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Adaptil calming collar and diffuser 2. NaturVet Quiet Moments calm chews with melatonin

I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Rosie. It's terrible to have your pet be so scared. I would recommend asking your veterinarian about using an anti-anxiety medication and/or sedative prior to thunderstorms to help reduce Rosie's anxiety. Medications such as trazodone and Sileo can be quite beneficial in these cases. It may also be worth working with an experienced animal behaviorist to work on counter conditioning Rosie's response to thunderstorms. This can be an involved process, but the benefits can be great in that you may be able to reduce Rosie's anxiety over time by helping to have a more positive association with storms.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this with little Chili. Neurologic disease in elderly pets can be difficult to treat, understand, and very hard to watch, just like with people. It sounds like her seizures are well-controlled with the Keppra, but she is displaying additional neurological symptoms: pacing, circling, confusion. I am not entirely convinced these are all due to anxiety though. Usually neurologic disease in elderly dogs is due to only a few things: metabolic disease (liver, kidney, or diabetic issues), vascular events (strokes), or a brain tumor. If you have ruled out metabolic disease, which I'm sure your vet has, the other two diagnoses carry a very guarded prognosis. My concern is that the symptoms you are seeing are likely the result of progressive disease due to one of those two possible causes. While anxiety medication might help some, I fear that it's not going to give you or Chili the results for which you're hoping. In this case, it's important to think about quality of life for Chili: what's fair to her? If adding in an anti-anxiety medication helps her resume normal activities where she goes back to being Chili and doing the things that make her "Chili," fantastic. If not, it may be time to make some difficult decisions about what's best for her. If you do decide to pursue an anti-anxiety medication, your vet might consider Selegiline (specifically for cognitive dysfunction in people, not a lot of reported success in animals), Clonazepam (in the valium and Xanax family, but slightly different), or Clonidine (a blood pressure medication, also used to treat anxiety) in combination with an anti-depressant, such as Prozac. All of these would require careful monitoring and consideration in combination with the Keppra. Whatever you decide, best of luck to you and Chili!