Won't go outside after 4-5 pm!!

My Louie is extremely scared of fireworks ( all loud noises). Now I can't get him to outside ( even without fireworks) after 4 -5 pm and he is having accidents in the house. He is solid at 65 lbs and I can't budge him. If I am lucky enough to get him outside, he runs back to the door and shakes. He is scared to death. I never crate trained him so I think I would stress him out even more if I locked him up. I am very stressed and not sleeping because he gets up a lot during the night because he he has to go to the bathroom and is looking for the opportunity to go in the house. I have tried to lure him outside with his favorite treats. Any suggestions appreciated

Is this a permanent situation? I mean, is he like this even after a period of no fireworks?
He sounds really stressed and terrified.. poor lad.
I would not try and get him outside after 4-5pm then if possible. He clearly can't deal with the situation so forcing or luring him won't do any good. If possible I'd give him somewhere to pee inside the house for the moment, like a pee pad or litter box. That way he can relieve himself without doing something naughty and without having to confront the stressor. I'd give him lots of rest, short walks in the morning and when he's calmed down (after a few days or weeks) try and do some really short walks in the afternoon with lots of praise and extremely tasty treats (not quite at his problem time though). Then, if he's ok with that you can start going out a bit longer or a bit later and build up from there.
Dap diffusers work on some dogs (they worked well with mine) and Zylkene is another mild remedy for stress. Thundershirts work on some dogs if they like the sensation.
I'm not at all one for promoting medication for stress and anxiety cases if they can be worked on without it. But if your boy is so stressed out by fireworks that he can't lead a normal life even when there are no fireworks, you might want to look into that as a temporary solution so you can desensetise him to firework noises. Your vet should be able to advise you on this.

Good luck, I hope it works out!

THanks Florence..I spoke with his neurologist last night ( Louie is an epi dog. She wants to start him on Prozac. I am really hoping this will relieve his extreme stress. I will keep you posted..thanks for your help, its greatly appreciated
Gina
Louie (epi)
Angel ( "the devil dog)

You could try something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Naturals-V...erian+for+dogs

Definitely not those as they contain rosemary extract and Louie is an epi dog - rosemary is a no-no for epis as it is a known trigger for many.

These Complete Calm

or these Anxiety Free

are both fine for epi dogs.

Malka,
Rosemary Extract is recommended here for epi Pets.
"It's very important to know that the essential oil of rosemary, which represents a concentrated form of a select number of chemical constituents of the plant, is a very different medicine than the whole-plant, or a preparation of the whole plant. In other words, where rosemary essential oil represents only a few parts of rosemary's chemistry, rosemary tincture or tea represents hundreds of parts of its' chemistry. From a herbalist's perspective the essential oil is closer to being a drug than a herbal medicine. "The "whole plant" is always greater than the sum of its parts......."

http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/herbsforpets.html

And:

"I’d like to address some confusion about the use of rosemary in dogs. Rosemary is commonly used by herbalists and holistic veterinarians in canines (4, 5). However, you may encounter claims online that rosemary causes seizures. Rosemary as a whole herb, extract or tea does not cause seizures, particularly when used in appropriately small amounts. Moreover, rosemary in small amounts has been traditionally used by herbalists in chronic seizure disorders, though this is not a use to try without the aid of a trained practitioner."

http://www.zukes.com/join-us/dog-blo...ry-does-it-all

The above was written by the authors of the books from which the information was used in the article. Books that were written some time ago and that article is well out of date now.

On all Canine Epilepsy groups, messageboards and lists, owners of epis post requesting information on foods that do not contain Rosemary in any form whatsoever, as it has been shown to be a possible trigger for many thousands of epileptic dogs, and it is recommended by all to steer well clear of it.

And one thing in that article sticks out like a sore thumb:

Nothing can "address the underlying causes of convulsive disorders" unless they are secondary convulsive disorders caused by a brain tumour. The only treatment which will, hopefully, control seizures are AEDs - Anti-Epileptic Drugs such as phenobarbital, potassium bromide, or other AEDs, and only Pb and Kbr have actually been tested on epileptic dogs and proved to help control the seizures. The others have only been tested on and proven to be effective in controlling seizures in human epileptics.

Human epileptics such as my own Vet, who has made a special study of canine epilepsy and gives seminars on the subject.

However, these various human AEDs are prescribed by some neurologists for dogs with uncontrollable seizures in the hope that one or other of them will help.

Pereg's seizures are extremely erratic and severe and are not well controlled at the moment, but there is no way my Vet will ever prescribe any human-only tested AED for her or any of the many other epileptic dogs that he has on his books. At the moment she is still only on Pb as she has been for over three years now, although there is a possibility that he might start her on Kbr if her current round of seizures continue to be so frequent. That, however, will be a last resort and the last resort for her.

I trust him and I actually asked him this last Sunday whether he thought the Pet Natural Calming Chews might help her during the current situation here, and when he read the ingredients he told me to never give them to Pereg due to the Rosemary. He is, however, quite happy with the two items I linked to in my previous post, and having tried both in the past I now stick to the Complete Calm chewable tables for her, which do help somewhat when she gets a bit antsy.

Is he ok to go outside at 3 or 3:30? What if you were to go for a long walk before the time he gets stressed at and see how he reacts? He might not even notice the time if he's having a good time somewhere.