Zylkene

Hi i have read a lot about Zylkene in the last few days and must admit it seems quite amazing.
The reason behind all the reading ive been doing is because i have a 15 week old puppy who is very nervous around strangers god knows why because he has been socialised with lots of different people from birth {i bred him} and nothing scary or untoward has happened to him he has been loved and cared for from day 1.He goes to puppy class once a week and Ringcraft once a week, i take him to parks and quiet pubs i ask strangers to give him a treat which he will take from them and then he just turns away not looking at them,any suggestions on how i can make him more confident would be really appreciated.His mum is just the friendliest dog i have ever met she loves everyone.Back to Zylkene is it safe for a puppy.

I would not be resorting to drugs for such a young puppy. Rather than forcing him to accept people he doesn't know by allowing them to enter his"comfort"zone,it would be better to desensitize him to them.

I would sit with him where he can see strangers, but where he is comfortable without showing any stress. Every time he doesn't react to a person click & treat him, thus rewarding his lack of fear.

With a dog savvy friend, have the sit near him with a high value treat in the pal of their hand, not giving him any eye contact, allow him to approach in his own time & not speaking to him at all. When he does take the treat, you should click & treat him. He shouldn't take long for him to connect people with rewards.

At ring craft don't force him to accept a trainer going over him as this can reinforce his fear/stress. Allow the trainer to look at him whilst he is stood & you should click & treat if he stands still. Move hi by all means but have the trainer stand to one side so he doesn't get stressed moving.

Young puppies go through periods of "fear"& forcing them to accept the approaches of strangers(ie judges etc)can ingrain a fear into the that can be excessively difficult to overcome

Zylkene isn't a drug its a supplement,its a milk supplement supposed to contain the same pheramones mothers secrete whilst lactating,I've found it great in cats but although I know many people who use it with dogs I don't believe its as good,I personally think the dog owners who think it works are ones who are also using behaviour techniques advise by a qualified behaviourist so don't believe just using zylkene works

I tried Zylkene with Kyiro and his firework phobia and it never done a thing for him.

Kyiro also used to be terrified of men because of beatings he had sustained before I had him. He would see a man approaching and fall on the floor screaming and shaking and wetting himself. He was also terrified of children.

I did get him over it, but that was by telling men that come to the house to stay right away from him and ignore him and not make eye contact. Also men we met on walks and stopped to talk to I would tell them to again do the same and just focus on talking to me.
Slowly and I mean slowly he started to realise they were not going to beat him and he would edge forward for a sniff. I again made sure they ignored him. Eventually after about 18 months he would go to my sons if they visited and they would then hold out a treat and he would take it but they made no attempt to touch him or make eye contact and i done the same out on walks.
It took two years but he would eventually let men stroke him but only if he went to them. He never did like men that came at him from above.

So I think you need to get people to back off and slow things down, stop people bringing a big hand down from above to the top of his head and making eye contact. If people come round by all means pop some treats on the floor a little way from them and over the weeks move them nearer as your pup becomes more confident. Make sure nobody makes eye contact with him or attempts to move towards him as he goes to take the treats as that will intimidate him more.
Let curiosity heal his fear. It takes time but patience will win through.

Zylkene may be a"supplement"but if it works it is treating the symptom & not the cause & so when not given the dog will be back to square one

Pippa is on Xylkene as recommended by a qualified behaviourist to help with stress whilst implementing new training techniques to deal with barking for attention and being over stimulated. The xylkene is not a long term solution or in fact a solution at all, but an aid to help ease Pippa through the new training as we've made lots of changes to her routine and later down the line we will stop using it. The training is what will be changing her behaviour (hopefully!) not the Xylkene.

I'm not a vet or behaviourist but would certainly question the use in such a young pup as I'm sure being fearful is all part of growing up and just needs to not be rewarded?