Helping a Dog Stay Calm Before the Storm

Dear Dr. Fox:

In your Nov. 23 column, you discussed dogs that suffer stress during thunderstorms and your recommendations for treatment.

We live in Florida and have a 12-year-old husky mix. The dog has been reacting to storms for only two years, but last year was especially bad. We took Frankie to the vet, who prescribed Prozac. Frankie did not respond well to it, as Prozac made her even more paranoid, and she didn't want to go outside except to do her duty. I read on the Internet about using melatonin and decided to try it in place of Prozac. What a change. Frankie responded almost immediately; she calmed down and handled the stress from the storms much better.

I give my 43-pound dog half of a 3mg tablet of melatonin when I see her getting into listening mode. She hears or feels the storms long before I do. If I know a storm is coming, I'll give her half a pill about an hour before the storm. In Florida, storms pop up quickly, but I'll give her half a pill as soon as I can. If that doesn't help much, I'll give her the other half as soon as possible. The most I have given her is 1 1/2 tablets over a 24-hour period. At night, when she sees lightning but it is not raining, I might give her half a tablet to help her relax and maybe sleep.

Before I put her on the melatonin, she was so stressed out I thought I might lose her. She had stopped eating and wasn't interested in her treats.

R.B.

Naples, Fla.

Thanks for sharing information that might help many animals. Prozac is not the drug of choice; Xanax is superior. But if melatonin does the trick, I vote for that. It does help people sleep better, by most accounts. Wrapping an ace bandage or T-shirt tightly around the animal also can make a dog feel more secure.