# Anxiety



## Maxy (Dec 30, 2018)

Hi. My 8 year old Golden Retriever has thunder phobia which takes him a few days for him to recover from. We have had a good month of storms which has left him in a highly anxious state. I tried him on a couple of drugs which worked somewhat but I felt he was too wired and it didn't help his phobias, in fact I feel if has worsened. I would rather work with him using other methods such as white noise, a calming environment etc with the addition of a calming aid, ie herbs, vitamin b supplements. Can anyone offer any advice as to what you have found useful? He gets 1.5 hours of exercize a day plus some. Thank you


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

About a year ago I began treating my storm phobic senior girl's arthritis with CBD oil, which helped her immensely, I also found it helped a great deal with the reduction of anxiety/ stress during thunderstorms or stormy weather - she actually slept through most storms last summer, many she hardly paid any attention to. I did try other calming remedies, but had the most success with the CBD oil, I gave her a safe place - for some dogs it may be a kennel, a closet, or corner they can retreat to when they are scared, she chose me, she would come snuggle, ask for pets (long slow strokes) while I talked to her.

Though she is given CBD oil daily for her arthritis, it is also effective when used on an 'as needed' basis, and as with any calming remedies, should be given prior to an 'event' that can cause an increase anxiety. It is easier for a dog who is calmer to stay calm (with help) than to try to calm them after they have hit 'panic mode'. 

If you haven't done so recently, I would suggest a check up to rule out physical discomfort or pain - such as that caused by arthritis, which can cause a dog to be chronically anxious/stressed, increasing the likelihood they will respond with more intensity to something they are afraid of.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

With my Jacks - I found that taking him to a windowless middle-of-the-house room, sitting down in there with him and playing music like LOTR - it helped calm him down or keep him calm. 

That and providing him with "safe places" while I played music for him - helped.

Gradually he got to a point where he was sleeping through the night even with it storming outside. His last 1-2 years were very good along those lines. If it started storming, he just crawled under my bed and went back to sleep. 

He basically did things opposite the normal patterns for golden retrievers. His storm phobias showed up when he was a young dog (about a year old), were at their ultimate worst by the time he was 3 (he refused to go outside if there were any clouds in the sky!), and he gradually got better as he got older. 

We looked into meds - but people warned me that use of meds did not calm the dogs down, it just incapacitated them - which could make the phobias worse. 

Relaxant herbs like rescue remedy and others did NOTHING.

Thunderwraps or similar things like that did not work, because the phobias stemmed from him hearing thunder vs pressure changes. 

I discovered by chance that he loved the music from LOTR and it helped calm him down... so that + staying WITH HIM in windowless rooms was the key. <= He hated being alone when he was scared. He kinda was like a kid and would stick to you like glue until you went with him to his safe room so he could relax in there.


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

One of my girls developed thunder phobia when she was about 7 years old. As bad as I felt for her, I did not want to drug her. I figured I had nothing to lose (about $30) by getting the Thunderwrap. To get her to associate positive things by wearing it, I started putting it on her when the weather was nice with no thunder and praised her to the heavens while wearing it. I'd even give her a treat or two. She accepted the Thunderwrap wonderfully. After a short time, I'd put it on her prior to the storm approaching and as the thunder booms arrived, she was fine. She'd actually go the cabinet where it was kept if I was too slow in getting it on her. She'd actually wait for me to put it on her. Once on, she'd again calm right down. Over time, she'd walk outside while the storm was happening which was unbelievable since her fear was quite bad prior to the introduction of the wrap. I as lucky enough that eventually she didn't need the wrap.

For some the wrap never works, but for my dog it did and I think the way I introduced it to her helped immensely.

I had Rescue Remedy for one of my other dogs years ago and that did nothing, absolutely nothing.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

My Tawny had fear of thunder that kept getting worse as she aged. The Thundershirt didn't completely solve her fear but it took the edge off enough that she was not pawing the carpet and climbing on top of us. Before that we tried Xanax and a tranquilizer but I did not want to give it unless I was pretty sure we were having a storm and by the time it took effect it was too late she was already in panic mode and it didn't help at all.


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## Maxy (Dec 30, 2018)

Thank you all for your helpful posts it was really good to get your feedback. I decided to try the CBD oil in the end but could not source it so am trying a variety of approaches as suggested which is definitely helping. I'll keep looking for the CBD oil in the meantime. Thanks for sharing your experience.


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## danoon58 (Jul 1, 2015)

I have a Golden who has anxiety. I treat it with l-theanine. It works great!


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

I would agree with those who support the Thundershirt. While it has not completely resolved Oscar's fear of thunderstorms, it has made an appreciable difference. I think it does more than address the change in pressure gradient. It is akin to swaddling a baby. The pressure provides a sense of security. It is a cheap investment and I imagine you can return it if you see no difference with it on.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I live in area where we have a lot of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes. Florence hit my area in Sept. last fall. I found some all natural chews from Amazon that I gave my boy. They really helped, I was even able to get him to go out to potty in between the bands and he does not like regular rain storms especially when we have a lot of thunder and lightning.

This is what I gave him-

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H9Y6J90/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had a Thunder shirt for my bridge girl and it helped her. My guys especially my boy, will get in the bathtub in my hall bathroom, there's no windows in there. Or he will get in the shower in the bathroom in my bedroom.


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## Maxy (Dec 30, 2018)

Can hemp oil help with anxiety and arthritis? Is it similar in effect to cbd oil? How much hemp oil would you give a day to a 35kg goldy?


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## Rosebrk10 (Aug 31, 2016)

I Finally bought my first CBD Oil for my almost 13 y/o golden Girl. For many years she has suffered from Thunder phobia, and as we golden owners know, seems to get worse with age. As I live on the west coast of Florida, we get pop ups all the time, it is impossible to predict when that next BOOM is coming. I have come home to shredded stuff ..... last year she started hopping in hallway BR tub, clawing and shedding everything in sight...I do not have a room without windows.....Closets are out of the question.....

Anyway, I have been giving her a dusting (as I like to call it ) of ace, I grind a tab and give her a finger tip with cream cheese. This has worked wonders over the years, that and closing doors to rooms I don't want her to "spook" in..... trouble is I feel it is just knocking her out, really don't want that for my girl. Am trying the CBD oil today, July 3.... has been thundering all afternoon, expect thunderstorms later, and off course Fireworks for the next, How many days....

So far so good, she seems pretty calm although she is very alert... wide awake, seems to be a bit "on guard" ......anyone else have good experience with CBD oil and thunder phobias? I gave her a regular dose as recommended.


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