Question:
My dog get's extremely stressed when groomed, he has to be clipped about once every 3 months and inevitably gets a cut somewhere - today on his face. He is quite panicky and vocal throughout the whole process and at 9 is showing no signs of improvement. I am wondering if Zylkene would be suitable, but I cannot establish from the information available how long before the groomer visit it would be best to start the treatment - can you advise please?
Answer:
I would start the day before and make sure he has a dose on the day of grooming before he goes in. Zylkene is likely to be a slight help, but not a complete answer.
Have you asked your vet about tranquilisers? There is a human medication called Xanax which is quite cheap and usually works marvellously for this sort of problem, as well as for firework phobias etc. It is not a sedative so he will not be sleepy, just much less bothered about stuff. Half or one tablet 30 mins before you take him there would be my recommendation. It is a prescription drug though, so you would need your vet to prescribe them, we cannot. The tablets are so cheap that we do not currently find it worth listing them, but they should not cost much from your vet.
Failing that, Zylkene is worth a try, but is less potent.