Firework med advice please

[DogAnxiety]

We are due to go out on NYE, locally and will have a camera on doggo.

He was entirely unbothered by fireworks until he was 4. now very distressed by them: panting for 6+ hours, digging into and destroying furniture, and hiding in the bathroom.

We have Trazodone 150mg which I am trialling tonight, but doggo does not seem the least sedated. He just seems very hungry and is going around looking for food. Still getting up to every clank of a plate or opening of a fridge and also a trial with something we know he is irrationally afraid of (large umbrella)

We have Sileo as a top up med.

Should I just hit the poor fella with a double whammy of the trazodone and the gel? Vet has said ok to give together but am worried about sedating a dog so heavily - are they not at risk of like, falling off the sofa or similar?!

Im considering just not going out, or putting him in a side room at the ‘do we are going to where I can keep an eye on him.

If it matters he is a flat coat retriever around 31kg.

Personally, can’t imagine dosing up my dog with sedatives and then leaving her alone for hours with fireworks going off outside. I would just stay home.

@IaltagDhubh well, to be honest, I had this same thought. But on the other hand, where we live means fireworks probably about 6 weeks out of 52, pretty constantly during those six weeks - a combination of Diwali, Bonfire Night, and in particularly unluckily-timed years, Eid too. Some Hannukah celebrations as well.
if it was just a couple of nights here and there then I wouldn’t be bothered. As it is, I am pretty restricted for 6-8 weeks each year, despite doing loads of sensitivity training with my young dog.

Yeah I agree, I wouldn't go out. You know for sure it's going to be a fireworks heavy night. He needs you, especially as the training and meds haven't been effective.

Sileo gel worked really well for my very firework phobic cocker spaniel but it needed to be used before he got stressed and topped up if the noise went in for more than a few hours. Classical music also helped to keep him calm. I wouldn’t have gone out and left him though.

OK, thanks for your thoughts. I’ll take them on board.

Even if I am here, I can’t make it better/ go away. It’s just me, ineffectually comforting the distressed dog.

So 46 weeks of the year when fireworks are pretty unlikely?

i get it, I also haven’t been out on NYE for the last 8 years because we can’t leave the dog alone, and we have the same with weeks of fireworks here too. It sucks, but she needs me to be there.

im sure you’ve already tried everything, but just in case, a combination of thundershirt, Anxitane, Adaptil, Classic fm Calm, hemp oil, and in extreme circumstances gabapentin, seems to help my very anxious dog.

Right I think I have a plan. Trazodone 3 hours prior to rhe likely onset of fireworks. Sileo 45 mins prior to midnight. I’ll trial the Sileo tomorrow to see how long it lasts/ how long it takes to work.

If you want to go out can you afford to pay a pet sitter to be there?

@IaltagDhubh yes, you are correct, I have tried all of those.

The issue I really have is incarceration by dog anxiety from mid October to 31 December. No second responsible adult, no adult kids to take up the slack, both ND).

if the drugs don’t work, then it’ll be off to stay with a rural sitter at great expense! No doubt we will all be happier except my credit card 😂

Pet sitter here is £50 a night minimum in their home. £65 min in your home.

If you are near Winchester, I'll look after him for you. I am licenced and insured.

No charge.

We just don’t go out anymore if we think there’s going to be fireworks.

it’s bloody awful where I live. Sounds like ww3.

I would never enjoy myself thinking the dogs were distressed

we have tried so many things and nothing really works. One of ours now won’t walk at night as he was spooked by fireworks in November.

the only thing I quite like is the snood think that goes over his head.

never found a medication that works 😞

Not sure how you can plan to zombie them out on meds and then leave them, sounds a bit cruel to be truthful. I've got a very anxious sprocker who has improved well on a low dose of daily Reconcile (Fluoxetine) and we also use a calming band that goes over her ears.

That’s so kind. Thank you! We are in the North East unfortunately, but how lovely of you. Hope you have a great new year.

My dog gets trazadone for vet visits… tbh, you’re probably not going to know if it’s actually working as you want it to until there’s fireworks. They’re not full on sedated on it, like, my dog is very noticeably better at the vets on it, but he’s still “normal” enough that I doubt anyone else would know he’d had anything.

it’s nothing like when he’s actually been sedated and we’re waiting for it to wear off.

Better than abandoning a distressed dog.

My dog had a combination of Trazadone and Gabapentin. But I wouldn’t leave him. They can be more distressed as they are still stressed but also feel ‘out of it’. With ours we found it took the edge off it enough to stop him spiralling, but that was also because we were there. So instead of him hearing them and getting more and more worked up, he’d hear and notice them, we’d reassure him and he’d be dopey enough to just settle back down.