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I moved over the summer and my dog has been in my new apartment since the middle of July. Now that the weather is cooler, our heat is on. We live in an older place with big radiators that sometimes make a clinking sound. It’s not very loud, but it makes Diesel freak out. He will be awake all night pacing and panting and crying and drooling. This past week he was so stressed and anxious he peed and pooped the floor. Is there anything over the counter that I could give him at night to help him?

I moved over the summer and my dog has been in my new apartment since the middle of July. Now that the weather is cooler, our heat is on. We live in an older place with big radiators that sometimes make a clinking sound. It’s not very loud, but it makes Diesel freak out. He will be awake all night pacing and panting and crying and drooling. This past week he was so stressed and anxious he peed and pooped the floor. Is there anything over the counter that I could give him at night to help him?

Updated On November 7th, 2021

Pet's info: Dog | Havanese | Male | neutered | 11 years and 1 month old | 18 lbs

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Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

Veterinarian

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I'm sorry to hear that Diesel has so much stress and anxiety associated with your radiators! Calming pheromones, like Adaptil collars or diffusers, may be helpful. However, it's unlikely that that alone will help with the degree of anxiety you've described. No other over the counter medications are likely to help with this situation. Instead, I'd recommend calling your vet to see if they can prescribe an anti-anxiety medication, such as trazodone, alprazolam, or fluoxetine (although this one can take up to 2 months to reach peak efficacy). You can also work on helping Diesel to acclimate to these noises by short training sessions. For instance, sit beside the radiator with him when it's quiet while petting him and offering small, high value treats (peanut butter, canned cheese, or tiny pieces of meat work well for many dogs). When the radiator starts making noise, sit with him and again offer high value treats. Repeat this many times throughout the day to help him acclimate both to the quiet radiator and when it makes noise. The goal is ultimately for him to associate the radiator noise with a positive effect - the treat. This doesn't happen overnight and will take a lot of patience on your part, but it should be helpful in the end. You may also want to run a white noise machine overnight to try to block the radiator sound as much as possible in the meantime. I hope that everything goes well!

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