Mellowing Molly Dog

This is Molly Dog. She is still very puppy but the vet warned us it would be so for at least 2 years. Now don’t get me wrong she is smart and learning but well she gets excited. “Easily stimulated” was the nice phrase her dog sitter uses. But when she gets in that state she doesn’t listen. She’d just all bouncy as her breed is prone to be (think of foxhounds baying and jumping fences in excited pursuit of the fox and you’ve got it). Now we are facing a long drive to our new home I didn’t relish the idea of a bouncy hound in the seat next to me in a loaded SUV going down the interstate. I am sure you can imagine why once you visualize a fox chase in the passenger seat while barreling down the road at 70 mph.

So the search was on as to how to chill her out a bit for the long ride. One person suggested Dramamine. Looked into it and appears it doesn’t calm dogs down but it does keep them from vomiting. Not the problem here. So a bit more research and got a two pronged approach.

First is the same we did with Mr. Blue to make the intro of Molly into his life less stressful on the old fella. (Mr. Blue was our 17 year old cat) Per the vet’s suggestion got an air diffuser of kitty calming pheromones. He swore by the the Feliway brand which contained synthetic feline pheromones instead of just natural oils that calm humans mostly. Use it in Mr. Blue’s space and life improved. He came to tolerate the rambunctious youngster without peeing outside the litter box in protest.

Again the first prong for a more mellow Molly is calming pheromones but this time the canine variety known on the market as Adaptil. For doggies it’s a bit easier in that in comes in a collar form. Also suggested the spray for the new place to ease transition. So off I went to the local pet store and got both. When I was getting the collar the owner helped me find it and explained she might be groggy at first but once she’s worn it a day or so she’ll be more herself. I put it on her as soon as we got home and yep she was groggy. It looks like the flea collars we pretended were effective back in the day.
However by evening she was just calm Molly dog as if both Mike and I were there not on edge as she has been expecting Mike home any moment. Why hadn’t I done this sooner.

The next step is Benadryl. Yes the over the counter antihistamine. Now this does make doggies drowsy. Thus good for anxious puppies in short term situations. Oh like say a day’s drive in the car to Tennessee. She weighs around 40lbs and the dose can be up to 1 mg per pound of dog. However, it was suggested to try one 25 mg tablet see if that takes her down enough with the Adaptil to make the journey. Give the dose every 6 to 8 hours as needed. Benadryl is in the cabinet for allergic reactions. Got this.

Today I was to try the dose. No we aren’t going any where and I am packing but to first see if it’s good enough and second in case in the far chance she has an adverse reaction we’d be near our vet and not on the road. This morning in her treat was hidden a tablet.

The result? I now have a very mellow Molly on my hands. Very chilled and happy but a bit groggy. She’s dozed, she’s chewed her bone. She went outside and after a race about to check rabbit spots she quickly settled in the sun to just sit and yawn. I took her on a walk. Her business done she was getting tired before we did half our normal. Now granted this is not the Molly I want all the time but this is the Molly I want in the passenger seat next to me for 10 hours on the road driving to a place I’ve never been before. So no Benadryl again until we leave and 25 mg did the trick no need to up it.

The plan is to mellow her out for the ride like this. Then when we get there drop the Benadryl and spray the temporary apartment with the Adaptil. Along with this bring her bed and toys to quickly add friendly Molly scent to the home.  Here’s hoping this helps our girl do the best she can with the changes.

More tales from the moving road as they come up and I have the time.  Until then enjoy a very mellow Molly image.