Sileo has been a miracle for my noise-phobic dog, Tim.
At the age of 7, Tim, a Silken Windhound, decided to become terrified of thunder and other loud noises. The first incident was during a wind and rainstorm -- no thunder -- and involved several rapid power off-and-ons, which sent him fleeing into the dark yard in the torrential downpour. I found him huddled in the corner where the fences meet, under some pine trees, and had to crawl in, drag him out, then carry him into the house.
I had some alprazolam (generic Xanax) and Trazodone (another anti-anxiety drug) that had been prescribed for a different dog, and gave him those. He finally fell asleep, trembling in my arms. From that night foreward, he began reacting to all kinds of things: Wind, rain, the sound of my generator running through its weekly systems check, people coming into the house to do work (this, from the world's most social dog), and of course, thunder and fireworks.
Since that day we've also been on a journey to find him some relief. We've checked him for Cushings and thyroid disease. He had a spinal tap and MRI, looking for brain tumors or nervous system infections. We've seen a boarded behaviorist. I've tried a Thundershirt, Adaptil, omega-3 fatty acids, lavender oil, Solliquin, Zylkene, and several other herbal and holistic remedies, as well as many different medications and combinations of medications.
It's been exhausting.
Some of those things helped a little bit, but nothing really got him the kind of quality of life I found acceptable, let along got him back to his old self. He was in a constant state of terror that seemed only to abate when he was deeply sedated. It was a nightmare, and I was getting to the point where I was considering euthanasia to relieve his suffering.
I was actually hoping he had a brain tumor so there would be something we could treat, that's how desperate I was.
Then his behaviorist prescribed Sileo.
This drug has been miraculous for Tim. Its effect is fast and amazing. It even appears to be reducing his reactivity over time; he no longer reacts, for instance, to the tornado warning signal test siren or the sound of the generator running its weekly test cycle.
It's also blessedly cut his post-incident recovery phase to zero; the minute the noise is over, Tim is normal. This period used to last days after a serious event.
Problem solved? Actually, no. Of course, like all drugs, Sileo has potential side effects, but given the seriousness of Tim's condition and how close to euthanasia we had come, I was and am willing to risk those. To understand the problems, consider this: They're predicting thunderstorms lasting from 4:30 pm this afternoon until 12:30 pm tomorrow. That's twenty hours.
If that actually happens, that's twice the period during which you can give Sileo, which was brought to market on the absurd assumption that "noise incidents" wouldn't last beyond 10 hours.
You have to dose it every two hours. You can only give five doses before you're supposed to stop for an unspecified amount of time that, when I contacted the company, was told is ten hours.
So essentially:
- If you work and don't have your dog with you when storms or other triggers begin, this drug is useless.
- If you live somewhere thunderstorms regularly last more than 10 hours, you're screwed.
- Over the Fourth of July weekend, when fireworks go on for days, you have to guess about when to begin giving the drug and how best to spread it out.
What's more, while I haven't had any problems using the applicator or locking mechanism to control the dosage, apparently some owners do, leading to reports of accidental overdose.
My life this summer has been a constant vigil looking at weather reports, and trying to plan how I'm going to get Tim's Sileo into him before the thunder begins, and keep giving it to him at appropriate intervals to last the entire incident without hitting our maximum number of doses before the incident ends.
If this was a drug that could be dosed like Trazodone or alprazolam, I could give it to him "just in case," then leave the house or have him pre-medicated before a storm hit while I was asleep at night. (While either or both have worked very well for other dogs, Trazodone and alprazolam did not help Tim and in fact, made him worse.)
When the stars align, it may be a miracle, but the dosing schedule, period of efficacy, directions for use, and delivery method are all preposterous. And although it doesn't really affect me because Embrace Pet Insurance pays all but 20 percent of the amount, it's also very expensive.
They have to do better with this drug. It works too well for desperate and terrified dogs to have its effectiveness hampered by these limitations. They need to develop a sustained release formula that can be administered over a longer period of time or at least without such a long washout period between incidents. And they need to make the application/administration idiot-proof.
I suppose adding "reduce the cost" is a hopeless dream when I've added many costly features to the drug, but it really breaks my heart to know how many dogs can't take it because it's unaffordable.
Tim is now on only two drugs all the time: Generic Zoloft and a low dose of gabapentin, an anti-seizure and nerve-pain drug that also has mild anti-anxiety effects. These, combined with the way Sileo seems to stop the cumulative worsening we'd been seeing after each incident, have managed his day-to-day anxiety to the point that he's like himself again between triggering events, and recovers rapidly from those that occur. His life is more than acceptable, it's good. I am incredibly grateful for this, but still hope for more, for Tim and for other dogs, in the near future. Paws and fingers are crossed at our house.
Disclosure: I didn't realize when I've commented on Sileo on my social media before that it's made by Zoetis. I occasionally write freelance articles for Zoetis for Shelters, their animal sheltering newsletter. I have no other ties to the brand, and did not receive any form of compensation, discount, or free product for this or any other post about Sileo.
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