My puppy seems to be having panic attacks?

Many tricks like puppy xanax or plug in pheremones from mama dogs. Or you can take her with you.

Is she from a puppy mill? She could have been traumatized as a baby.

She is from a reputable pure-bred chihuahua breeder in the area. She has been fine up until recently. There has always been a bit of anxiety when I leave but it seems extreme lately. She even fell down the stairs today because she was frantically looking for me, according to my brother.

My friend had one and it was whiny and neurotic too, really spoilt. Did you ask another owner or the breeder for advice?

I would try Rescue Remedy from the health food store before I would go to Xanax or a heavy duty addicting drug. The other is of course, exercise. Wear the dog out with a long long walk run before you leave. Put it in its crate when you leave. 2 hours in a crate is not a biggie. Leave the telly or a radio on. Put a stuffed animal in with it. But do not coddle it, that is deemed as a reward by the dog. Holding and cuddling it when it is acting nuts is teaching it bad habits. Could it be a pain response, is it well and healthy?

I actually have 2 dogs, so I can offer up maybe a (long story) with little advice. 1 of my dogs is almost in his geriatric years and soon to be 10 and is suspected to be from a puppy mill but was adopted by my husband at 6 weeks old. His emotions are very pronounced. If he is excited he is over excited, if he has anxiety he is over anxious.

Just about 2 weeks ago I took him out for a second walk which is rare, but he loves his walks, and he got so over excited about the second walk when I grabbed the leash that he started hyperventilating and when I touched his chest to help him calm down, his heart was going faster than I have ever felt it. That scared me. Keeping him tired has usually kept him more calm than normal. On the particular “second walk, fast heart beat, hyperventilating” day we did not have a very long first walk to start the day off, that is the only reason I went for the second walk.

And with my dogs, usually 9 times out of 10 I start their day off with a long walk. That way they can rest for the entire day while I am busy. Then after supper we have about an hour of playtime and if I am not involved with that the dogs will bug each other and tire one another out. A tired dog is a happy dog. That is one piece of advice I can give you. If you don’t have time to walk your dog maybe you could get a dog walker, I know it’s another expense but it’s worth it when you think of the outcome, that your pup will be happier.

Next little bit of advice I can give is not to feel sorry. Feeling sorry for your dog while the dog is in an unbalanced state of emotions can lead the dog to learn how to manipulate you. I am not saying it will happen, I am just saying it can happen. Some people will disagree with me on that. But I have never felt sorry or bad for my dogs, my husband did which led to the dogs sleeping in the bed and eating our food and basically taking over our lives, some people are OK with that. If that’s you than by all means go right ahead.

After my husband passed I regained full control of the dogs the way I wanted. To me they are now living more dog like, where when my husband was alive they were more children like, if that makes sense at all. I did not have much control when they were more like children. They slept where they wanted, ate when they wanted, everything was on their terms. And if I did not comply then it was not easy to deal with the issues that came because of it. And what I mean by that is like the time it took me 6 months just to cut my one dogs nails, on my terms, because before that she made up the rules and my husband was no help. :/ I also had to fight for my side of the bed almost every night. lol Yes I can laugh now because I have them as controlled as they will get. And they have their own beds and I cut their nails. :)

That’s a long story for two bits of advice, sorry about that, I wish you all the luck with the pup :)

I agree with everything @rooeytoo said.I have used Rescue Remedy with my dog in the past. In the UK there is a product called Adaptil that has proven very effective with my older, nervous dog. She also has to wear a Thundershirt from time to time.