Supplement for Humans Found to Help Calm Excitable Dogs

September 9, 2003

http://www.puritan.com/index.asp?sc=408

Pet Health : Melatonin Can Make Your Mutt Mellow; Over-the-counter Supplement for Humans Found to Help Calm Excitable Dogs

Post-Tribune -

September 4, 2003

Robyn Sydney dreads the Fourth of July, as would anyone who works in a room full of dogs.

Many normally docile dogs turn reckless during fireworks shows, thunderstorms and other displays of loud noise.

"They pace in their cages with a look of fear in their eyes," said Sydney, co-owner of Brady Girls Top Dog Grooming Shoppe in Valparaiso. "There's anxiety, panting and drool. You can't get them to stand still. If they were at home they'd be under the bed."

Or they'd be chewing through screens, scratching at doors, urinating on couches or worse, jumping through windows. Dogs with noise phobias have done it all.

On a dog owner's list of troubles, noise phobias are "way up there," Sydney said. So when owners can predict a loud display -- such as holiday fireworks -- some go as far as tranquilizing or boarding the animals "just so they won't have to deal with it," Sydney said.

This July Fourth, Sydney plans to try something new on her clients: Melatonin, an over-the-counter supplement used by humans to cure insomnia, has been clinically proven to calm riled dogs.

"I've been told it works wonders," she said.

For dogs between 30 and 100 pounds, a 3 mg melatonin pill three times on a day you're expecting loud noises (6 mg for larger dogs) is safe and 80 percent effective, said Linda Aronson, a Boston-area veterinarian with a referral practice in behavior. At Tufts University in the late 1990s, Aronson published her findings in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

"Melatonin works, and it's made believers out of a lot of people," Aronson said. "Last July Fourth a client was camping, and everyone else's dogs were freaking out. Her dogs (on melatonin) just waltzed through it."

How it works

Melatonin had already been used to treat dogs for alopecia (hair loss), separation anxiety and nighttime hyperactivity.

Because the natural hormone can change serotonin levels in the brain (serotonin is a chemical involved in neurological processes such as sleep, memory and depression), Aronson figured it might ease noise phobias.

After three years of clinical research, she found she was right. Melatonin has an 80 percent success rate, she says.

Crush the melatonin pill and mix it with dog food. Of course, it isn't perfect. It's probably unsafe for pregnant dogs. Otherwise, it's usually effective only if the dog takes it before he's riled. So melatonin may be your friend this July Fourth, but maybe not if your neighbor fires a round of gunshots without warning.

"You have to anticipate the noise," Aronson said. For example, search-and-rescue dogs who took melatonin before flying on propeller planes "responded nicely," she said.

Side effects are minimal, Aronson says. Dogs won't fall asleep; an already calm dog will simply grow calmer. You'll know within 15 minutes if the melatonin is working. In some cases, dogs who took melatonin often learned to stay calm without the medication.

The best part about melatonin is it can be taken on an as-needed basis. Randi Olson, a veterinarian at Vale Park Animal Hospital in Valparaiso, recommends melatonin to any owner considering drug therapy. The alternative -- prescription anti-depressants -- must be taken all the time.

"If you're thinking about medication, it's probably one of the first to try because it's easy to get," Olson said. Melatonin is cheap (Walgreens sells 120 capsules for $6.99) and available over- the-counter.

"There hasn't been much research on it (no one's done a controlled study), but clinically it's been shown to work. So it's worth trying," said Andrew Leuscher, an associate professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine.

'It's pure terror'

It's tough to know which breeds will develop noise phobias. Some veterinarians believe golden retrievers and collies are genetically predisposed to the condition. Another theory says hypothyroidism plays a part. But Aronson says the most accurate predictor is whether a dog has had a frightening noise-related experience.

"My dog (a bearded collie) loved thunderstorms until lightning hit nearby and shook the whole house," she said. However, the collies she bought since then "could care less during a thunderstorm."

Owners should empathize with dogs that are affected -- and remember they're not acting up on purpose.

"They just want away from (the noise) because they don't understand it," Aronson said. "It's horrible for them. They're terrified. It's pure terror.

"This is a major problem. Dogs do themselves damage, and they damage property. They jump through windows and chew through doors. It can be pretty devastating."

Empathy isn't usually a problem for most pet owners. Many would be more concerned with helping Pooch conquer his fear than scolding him for tearing a screen door.

After all, pets are usually part of the family.

"People go to extraordinary things for them if they're suffering," said Robert Bill, director of veterinary technology at Purdue. "We see everything from acupuncture to chiropractic. People don't want to see their pets suffering."

MIRACLE DRUG DU JOUR

Where does it come from?

Melatonin is produced naturally, especially at night, in the pineal gland at the base of the brain. But it also can be synthetically produced.

Is it safe?

Melatonin is available without a prescription and is not regulated by the government.

Reporter Carolina Procter can be reached at 648-3086 or by e- mail at cprocter.