A quick look at my blog stats indicate that a number of people have ended up here after searching for information on mysteriously anxiety-ridden dogs who pant and pace and keep their people awake all night. People, I feel for you. After wrestling with this problem for about two months, and experiencing the bizarre effects of sleep deprivation, I was this close to deciding to euthanize poor old Sam (I’ll even admit there were some dark hours in the middle of several nights when I could have euthanized him with my bare hands).
Good thing I didn’t, because there was a light at the end of the tunnel. After trying two different kinds of painkillers and a sedative – all of which had some pretty unpleasant side effects – the vet prescribed Clomicalm. It’s a doggy anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication. It doesn’t start working immediately, but I noticed some modest improvement within the first week and considerable improvement in the second. At this point – 15 days after starting the drug – Sam is sleeping through the night and his daytime anxiety attacks are less frequent and less severe than they were. The vet thinks I will see further improvements as time goes on. As an added bonus, he doesn’t seem to be suffering any side effects.
So – all you midnight googlers who live with dogs tormented by invisible demons – take heart!
I am so pleased for both of you!
Thanks Julia. It’s a relief seeing Sam back to his old comfortable self again. And I never realized how much I love sleeping.
This Clomicalm sounds like good stuff. Did your veterinarian actually have to see your dog before prescribing it?
Like could you go in and say something like, “yeah, see, I’ve got this dog, yeah, this big dog, and he stays up all night, like watching CSI, I mean barking at stuff…”
Ha! Unfortunately it’s one of those cumulative drugs where you have to take it every day for weeks before you see any results. There are undoubtedly faster and cheaper ways to achieve the effect you might seek.