# zylkene....



## Lil Red (Jul 21, 2012)

hi...
I have a ten month old beagle who suffers from seperation anxiety. I have had trainers round to try and help but nothing  i could be out the house for just 10 minutes and we will have urinated along with destroyed some form of furniture. He also howls and cried whilst im away, he chews the skirting and has dug threw my wood floors also. He is the perfect beagle when people are with him, even walks off his lead, very rarely on. 
The vets have perscribed him 2 weeks of Zylkene and then to be reviewed again. He has been on it now for 3 days, he isnt following me around the house as much but not great on his own but i know it isnt a cure and that will take time, i was just wondering what other peoples experiences are of this medication. ALso he seems to be quite sleepy??? I dont know if its just because he is catching up on 10 months of not sleeping great because he always making sure im with him? or did other peoples dog go sleepy?


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

http://www.zylkene.cz/downloads/zylkene_dog_selgian.pdf

Elsevier

Links to two papers on the effect (or otherwise) of using caseinate hydrolysate (zylkene) to control anxiety in dogs. It would appear that there are no hegative side effects, so why not stick withit?

He may be sleeping purely because he is less anxious!

You say he is destructive if left alone. Did none of the trainers suggest crate training him? What did they suggest you do? How many trainers have been to try to help you?


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## Lil Red (Jul 21, 2012)

Thats what i was hoping that he may just be sleepy beacuse he isnt having to watch me and follow me around all the time like he use to.
We tried two trainers, one recommended a crate one didnt. We tried to crate him as a puppy when we got him, but he got very confussed by it and kept going into his crate and weeing on his bed  so we gave up after about two weeks because apart from the urinating in it, he also howled in it from about 10pm he was in it to around 3am then stopped for around an hour then continued to 7ish when we got up. We tried it again when he was 8 months old, leaving the crate open and slowly making it that happy place, leaving the radio on, having it covered up, and gradually built up closing the door, we got him to sleep in it for about 2 hours when we were around when we then started leaving him in it, we filmed him and every time he escaped even after 5 minutes, so we cable tied the sides and he still managed to escape, he was throwing himself against the side and looked like he was really hurting himself so we stopped that, would rather have a destroyed house than him hurting himself. i left him for 30 minutes today, since my last post and was no distruction, he had done a wee tho
the vet thought about trying a pet behavourist they use but i dont want to pay more money for something that isnt going to work. he has a kong when left on his own, the tellevision or radio is left on, a top of mine so he has a smell of me, i ignore him when i leave and when i arrive.... i dont know what else they would reccommend??

thankyou for the journals they are very interesting. cant get on the second one however, dont have a log in. have an athens log in from my nursing training so might see if i can get on any journals from that


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

Lil, you should be able to get it from your Athens account (mine has run out, but there are a number you can register with for free and access journal articles)

I understand your disappointment with the previous trainers, but usually what they do is they assess the dog, give you feedback and suggest a "programme" to try. They SHOULD then come back to see what is happening and if it isn't working well, tweek it. They shouldn't just throw ideas at you and disappear! Certainly, a good behaviourist wouldn't do this. In fact most would keep in telephone contact (daily) at the begining to see hwo it's going in between calling to see you. Would your insurance cover a behaviourist? many do and it may be worth contacting them. I am loathe to suggest anything as it sounds as if he's very distressed and confused, but it may be worth having a look at Ian Dunbar info here Raising A Puppy | Dog Star Daily
He recommends a programme which begins the day you bring the pup home to get him housetrained, crate trained and happy to be left at home. There are downloads (free) from his site. Although your pup is not 8 weeks anymore, it may be worthwhile going back to basics and following Dunbars programme.

Yopu say you use kongs, do you fill them with treats? I find yukky stuff, like cream cheese/pate takes them longer to get out than kibble (which eventually just falls out). If you freeze the yuk filled kongs they will also last longer. Dunbar suggests feeding ALL the pups food in this way to keep them amused and to help them to discover the calming effects of chewing on the "right" things.

Not sure what else to suggest


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## Lil Red (Jul 21, 2012)

Just to let you know, Jenson has just been diagnosed with beagle pain syndrome...thats the sleepy effect i thought it was having. he has just arrived home today, almost didnt make it! but he is a little fighter. 

He wont be left on his own for a while now, guna take me a long time i think to try that medication again, although i know its just a massive coincidece it fell t the same time

thankyou


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## moonviolet (Aug 11, 2011)

Poor Jenson, i hope he is responding well to treatment.

I hope you won't mind me pointing you in the direction of the health section of the beagle welfare website. There is some interesting information on Steroid responsive meningitis (also known as beagle pain syndrome) Beagle Welfare

They are also conducting research into the causes. Information you provide could be helpful to them. if you are interested all the contact info is on the link 

Best wishes for a full recovery


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