Melatonin Use in Dogs

Crispy · May 2013

I have a vacation coming up soon and I've been toying with the idea of preparing TK by giving him melatonin from now through his stay to help him cope with the stress of boarding. London does fine at Camp (I'll be boarding them where I work) and doesn't need any extra help outside of the TLC my coworkers give my dogs while I'm away. I'm afraid TK won't take the stress quite as well as London manages.

Additionally, I'm wondering if it will be a good supplement to use as a training aid while we're going through his "I like to eat hands" phase.

I've taken it as a supplement to help my anxiety levels and as a sort of "sleep aide"... but just because I haven't seen side-effects doesn't mean it's good for use in my dogs. One of my coworkers swears by it for her Malinois, who has some serious separation anxiety and has been good since she's been on the melatonin. A client I spoke with uses it for their Dalmation and says it appears to keep her happier, overall, as compared to when she was not on it.

Has anyone ever used melatonin in their dogs - short or long-term or does anyone here have any experience with it? I'm going to call my vet, email the behaviorist we see, as well as email my mentor on Monday when people are actually in the office... but I figured it couldn't hurt to find more opinions.

WrylyBrindle · May 2013

I think LJ has used it with her shiba, Jazz, and possibly Casey has used it with Nola?
@lljowen and @sunyata

I dont know if LJ comes to this side of the forum, so you may have to search on the shiba side for her threads...

tjbart17 · May 2013

I've used it on Koda post-op. it's good for keeping them calm and I prefer it to Ace.

shibamistress · May 2013

It's ok. I use it on Bel. I use Ace too, because melatonin is way too subtle for her most of the time. (I don't particularly like ace, but we do what we have to do with my crazy girl who gets hyped up on valium).

My behavioralist told me that in her experience, it works on some dogs and doesn't work on others at all. She said try it, and if it works, great, but some dogs have no reaction to it.

So it's part of our aresenal for Bel. If she's in an anxious phase, I start with DAP diffuser, then add melatonin, then if necessary put on her thundershirt, and then if that still doesn't work she gets some Ace. (I realized just now, though, that I forgot about the thundershirt when she was crazy last week! Might have helped!)

Nekopan · May 2013

I've used it on my anxious dog, it doesn't seem to do anything for him. He's a resistant little bugger, the Thundershirt and valerian root don't seem to work either.

tjbart17 · May 2013

Oh I'm not opposed to Ace but that would mean having Koda on it for four months straight. I use Ace for four weeks post op then move to melatonin. @shibamistress I say use it on Bel. :-) it probably keeps everyone safer.

Crispy · May 2013

@shibamistresss @tjbart17 @Nekopan
Thank you for your input! It's really helpful so far. I figure I'll get a bottle and try it out on TK. I still want to talk to the vet and the behaviorist first just to cover all my bases... and if it doesn't work for him, then I can always give it to my coworker for her dog.

Sangmort · May 2013

I haven't used it on the dogs, but I personally use melatonin for myself to try to help me sleep at night. It's hit or miss & I have to take a high-dosage for it to work.

It doesn't work at all on hubby.

The good thing is, there doesn't SEEM to be too many side-effects from it, especially if just used short term. So it probably wouldn't hurt to try. ~

sunyata · May 2013

I use it with Nola quite often. Especially when we are traveling or when she is having seizure spells. It works very well for her. As does Rescue Remedy, which helps keep her anxiety down without making her too sleepy (she had a couple of healthy doses of RR at the NIPPO Classic).

I would absolutely try it with TK. Not sure how it will do with his mouthiness during training, but it could not hurt to try!

Melatonin Use in Dogs

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