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We received the following question:

Could you please give me some more information on the product ZYLKENE.

I have three dogs – two black Labradors and a Boxer.

I work for Labrador Rescue and in fact rehomed my youngster just under a year ago when he was 12 months old.  Lovely natured dog with very good working pedigree.  Reason for re-homing from original owners was that he was beginning to develop behavioural problems – NOT SURPRISING since they left him at home all one for up to 10 hours a day!!!

Anyway, he was passed from pillar to post and when I originally bought him home he was a little unsettled when left alone for more than half an hour (used DAP plug-in) which had a reasonably good effect.  When travelling in the car (with or without my other dogs) he was always calm and no doubt looking forward to walks/socialisation.

As time went on he became totally over-excited in the car – jumping up and down and screeching his head off.  This is not fear but most definitely excitement and a desire to get to destination before we even start.  Tried everything to calm him down but to no effect.

This is getting me very stressed as I have a desire to shout at him to pipe down!!   No doubt he senses me getting wound up.

My vet suggested Zylkene as his dog had behavioural problems and he was impressed with the results.

Sorry for the long winded email but thought it important that you have full facts.

IS ZYLKENE the right product for him?   He has no fear of fireworks, loud bangs, thunder, gun shots etc etc

I had 4 tablets from the vet – all they had at time until they receive delivery on Monday/Tuesday – so gave him one capsule this morning (450mg).

The dog is highly active – does some gundog work very well and this certainly is great for him as it focuses him both mentally and physically.  On the way home from a training session he is as quiet as a mouse – drained probably!

In the house he seems to be constantly alert to what is going on and he could be described as an “attention seeking missile”   He feels the need to follow me everywhere!!!  Possibly anxious and unsettled or plain nosey and needs to be where the action is!!!!  He sleeps on his own in the kitchen and loves his bed and quite happy being apart from the other dogs at night.

Our vet's response:

Zylkene is completely safe, the worst that can happen is that it will fail to work and you will have wasted your money. It might well help, depending on what the actual cause of the behaviour is. If some of it is down to stress/anxiety, then it is likely to be a help, though not the complete answer.

If your dog naturally has a lot of "get-up-and-go", which is needed for working, then he will tend to be excited and keen perhaps, when you might want a more relaxed dog. Training is the answer to this, rather than medication.

As for the car, if you have the time you should be able to get him to be better. Ideally you get in the car and as soon as he gets excited and a pain, you stop and switch off the engine. This might be before you have even left the drive, or maybe you do not even switch the engine on. You just get in, make as if you might be going somewhere, then if he is a pain, you get out again. Each "stop" of progress should be accompanied by a short, sharp rebuke (which he might seem to ignore at first, but will after a while associate with stopping). If he is keen to go somewhere, he will in fact learn that the way to get there is to be quiet! You should look happy and pleased, but in a calm way, every time you are making to set off, but unhappy when you have to stop. No actual punishment though, it will not work. Initially all your journeys might be very slow, so it is best to set off like this when you do not need to get anywhere. Ideally not once from now on should he be in the car, being a pain, and you keep driving. Every journey is a lesson, and you can easily teach him to ignore the training by ignoring it yourself. Absolute consistency is vital. It will work.

By the way the worst thing you can do is talk to him nicely when he is misbehaving. You will accidentally be teaching him to do it. You have to look un-affectionate and almost silent when he is being a pain, then calmly happy with him when he is being good. A harsh, briefly barked "AH!" or something is best when he is a pain, then nothing else.

Zylkene is great for stressed/worried dogs, but that is not the case in the car at least.