A Born Frisbee Catcher! How Fidobiotics Can Help Your Dog Stay Calm!

   Our dog, Evee, was born to catch and track frisbees.  And how perfect that is for this disc golf loving family!  But she wasn't always the perfect fit.  We got Evee as a troubled 10-month-old.  Her owners were beside themselves with her antics and her wily ways.  She chased bikers, cars, 4-wheelers, cats, kids.  Aything that ran, she chased. Even though they were sad to part with her, they knew they couldn't manage her.  Having had a border collie before-may dear Daisy rest in peace-we were up for the challenge.  But we weren't quite ready for what we got!  When we had visitors, Evee would become extremely protective and even aggressive, to the point of making people afraid. If she didn't get her way, she tried to bully us by nipping, growling and snarling.   Conversely, she was afraid to jump into even the lowest of cars so had to be lifted in.  When she was actually in a car, she had extreme anxiety, huddling into a trembling ball of fur.  We had our hands full the first year we had her.  She was a wanna-be alpha female, even trying to be dominant to me.  I had to show her who was boss and it took a few tries!  Even now, my husband is the only one who she will completely obey. (He's the Frisbee God) And so even though she is a study in contradictions, we love her so much!  She has turned into the sweetest girl.  
   When we took her disc-golfing the first time, we were stunned.  She wanted to chase every frisbee that went out and bring it back.  It was terrible.  She ran across the field like a streak, tracked down the disc, picked it up and brought it back.  Not good when people are trying to play disc golf.  We knew we had to channel that energy.  So we got her some special dog frisbees and I got to work.  It wasn't too long before she was catching the frisbees and bringing them back.  Now she knows which are her frisbees and which are the discs.  She leaves the discs, only tracking them and giving them a lick, when she finds them.  It has come in handy because she can locate them when they become lost and entangled in trees or brush.  

   With all that extra energy and with the July holidays coming up, I gave Fidobiotics a try. Fidobiotics is a company that is concerned with the health of dogs. You can choose from 3 probiotic formulations--one for digestion issues (does your dog have stinky gas?), a breath remedy, and a calming product. 
   Here in Utah we not only have the 4th of July fireworks, but we celebrate the 24th of July, again with even more fireworks.  And in our area, it feels like a war zone because there are so many going off.  Evee isn't the typical nervous Nellie.  She actually wants to attack the fireworks instead of running away.  She'll run right up to the fireworks on the ground and attack them, even risking injury.  I guess she thinks she is protecting us.  I decided to try the calming formula called 'Relaxin' Rover'.  I didn't start her on it until right after the 4th of July so I had an opportunity to compare her reactions.  
   The formula comes in 30 packets called sachets.  They are full of probiotics and calming herbs like L-tryptophan, chamomile flower and ginger root.  It is to be sprinkled in the food and eaten along with it.  The flavor is called Salmon and Sushi. I found that a whole packet in her food was too much, so I cut it down to 1/2 a packet per day.  
   I've noticed that she is doing well!  I took her on a walk around the neighborhood on the evening of the 24th, when everything was just getting started.  She was definitely aware of the fireworks going on around her, but she didn't seem to pay them any attention.  She was doing amazing, sniffing at bushes and flowers with popping going on all around!  I even got a comment from a man watching us from his deck.  He said she was an amazing dog, and being so good!  We were out for about an hour.  As it got dark, the huge fireworks started going off all around us.  It was then that she decided enough was enough and she started barking ferociously at the explosions in the sky.  I couldn't blame her though.  They were extremely loud and close.  I took her back to the house and she spent the rest of the evening laying quietly under my desk.  She didn't necessarily want to be confronted with the loud noise, but she was calm and quiet in the house.  On the 4th, before I started giving her the Fidobiotics, she was in the house, but would startle every time an explosion went off, sometimes running around the house or whining.  I wouldn't have even dared to take her outside on a walk!  So this was a huge improvement.   

The Relaxin Rover and a sample pack of all three of the

I put half a pack in her food before pouring it in her dish

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