When did you put your dog on Prozac? (bulldog, biting, vet)
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I adopted a dog 2 months ago from the shelter. She was very fearful and anxious from the beginning, not leaving from under the bed except to relieve herself. It took a week to get her to eat. Her anxiety has improved immensely, however, she still paces, going round and round the floor for an hour sometimes before she goes under a chair. I've never had a dog I felt would benefit from anti-anxiety meds until now.
I'm her third owner. 4 years old. Female. Spayed. Sweet temper...no fear biting, etc. We have very calm house. Retired so home with her most of the day. She's been to the vet twice for all shots and checkup. Healthy. I didn't discuss anxiety with vet yet, however.
So what behaviors made you decide your dog needed Prozac? did it help?
I adopted a dog 2 months ago from the shelter. She was very fearful and anxious from the beginning, not leaving from under the bed except to relieve herself. It took a week to get her to eat. Her anxiety has improved immensely, however, she still paces, going round and round the floor for an hour sometimes before she goes under a chair. I've never had a dog I felt would benefit from anti-anxiety meds until now.
I'm her third owner. 4 years old. Female. Spayed. Sweet temper...no fear biting, etc. We have very calm house. Retired so home with her most of the day. She's been to the vet twice for all shots and checkup. Healthy. I didn't discuss anxiety with vet yet, however.
So what behaviors made you decide your dog needed Prozac? did it help?
thanks for input.
My dog Karma is not on Prozac but on a related drug, Zoloft, for sound phobia.
She was always afraid of thunder, fireworks and gunshots but just didn't want to go outside at those times and was relaxed in the house. Then four things happened in less than a year's time that I am pretty sure pushed her over the edge.
1. We hit a deer at 50 mph during a thunderstorm on the way to agility class. Totaled the van and killed the deer. My dog was crated in the van and not injured but she was very shaken.
2. Lightning hit our house frying the furnace, both garage door openers and our dehumidifier. It also blew the intercom off the wall. I was home...the blazing light and ear-splitting crack was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Even my rock solid dog, Aggie, was trembling.
3. Our carbon monoxide detector malfunctioned, alarming for about 5 minutes until I figured out how to stop it.
4. Our agility class set up the electronic timer for an evening of run-thrus and the sound had been inadvertently set at the loudest setting. Once it went off so loudly I began feeding Karma but the instructor mistakenly thought I wanted to work Karma around the noise and kept sounding it. Loudly. She stopped as soon as I asked her to but the damage had been done. Karma could not handle even one jump, tried to escape the building and her world was forever changed.
At our next trial she flattened to the ground in fear when she heard the judge's whistle for another dog's run.
I tried behavior modification and nearly every single holistic approach/combination before finally seeing a certified animal behaviorist...Patricia McConnell's assistant at the consulting/training service Trish founded, Dog's Best Friend. She diagnosed Karma with severe sound phobia and prescribed Prozac which did nothing for her. We then weaned her off Prozac and tried Zoloft which worked wonders. That is common with the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) drugs...one may not work but another might. I had been hesitant to try the drug route prior to our behavior consult but I am so glad I did. My dog's peace of mind is way more important than my tendency to veer training/holistic.
I had to retire Karma a few double Qs away from her AKC MACH (agility championship) and I was disappointed mostly because she came to me an extremely reactive dog. Many who observed her felt she would never be able to run in an agility class let alone ever trial. We had come so far together. But in my heart she is a MACH dog...I knew she'd have easily made it, and quickly, had it not been for those unfortunate incidents that led to her phobia. She tried so hard for me and I adore her for it.
I have two friends who had to euthanize their dogs...one another Aussie and one a Malinois...for sound phobia so debilitating that each and every day was fraught with fear for the dogs. They could not recover (even with drugs) from the phone ringing, doors/cupboards opening/closing, the microwave beeping, pots clanging, etc.
I am a fan of drugs for dogs who cannot cope after attempting behavior modification and holistic approaches because they can work even though they didn't for me and my friends. But I have also learned that it is unwise to wait too long before trying such drugs.
I strongly advise a consult with a certified animal behaviorist. One cannot just drug the dog. There is a lot more to selecting the proper drug and to changing drugs, if needed, than just writing a scrip.
My oldest is obsessive/ compulsive; it manifests in many ways. But, it wasn't after she started fighting with another of my girls (and then obsessing about getting to her when separated) that the behaviorist recommended the Prozac. She was on it for about 4 years, then we weaned her to some natural remedies.
My male bulldog is on trazadone. He HATED men when I got him from the shelter. He attacked my SO several times to the point he was going to return him. I will never give up on an animal so I called in a wonderful trainer who helped immensely but he was still overly protective of me and was unpredictable when out. He never attacked me but he was never comfortable. He'd fall asleep sitting up and keel over only to wake himself up and sit up again. This was a cycle. About a year later, he had to have major surgery and they gave him the medication to keep him calm during his recuperation. It worked so well, I asked the vet about keeping him on it. It doesn't knock him out or make him drowsy, he just seems happier.
He now sleeps on me and he licked the vet tech today. Enough said.
thank you so much for replies and success stories.
After having 9 dogs in my life and decades volunteering and fostering many dogs in rescue, I've never met such an anxiety filled dog. Lots of scared dogs with long adjustment times...but her obvious stress filled behavior is different. Just like people, it would seem dogs can also suffer from mental illness and I wonder if her anxiety is why she has lost her home, at least, twice before coming into our home. I'm no doctor but I've had family members and friends with anxiety issues and she fits it to a T.
We are trying the Thunder shirt for a while and see if that helps. We've already tried behavior modification with treats, clicks, affection....no luck. If her behavior is due to an abnormal brain chemistry those wouldn't work anyway. She's made brave strides in the last 9 weeks, however she is not a normal dog.
I despair seeing her so stressed. And I agree with you, jumpindogs, sooner rather than later is better for meds.
Again thanks for replies. This is a new issue for me and while I like my vet, I like to do my own research before discussing medication with her.
Last edited by texan2yankee; 08-06-2015 at 03:38 PM..
My dog was very fearful for the first two years after I adopted him, but not to the level you describe. He still doesn't like strangers touching him though -- he'll slink away like a cat. His siblings all have skittishness to some degree. My dog was the worst with humans, but one of his sisters had really awful separation anxiety, to the level where she was hurting herself when her owners left. They put her on Prozac, and here's what they said about their experience:
Quote:
Lila is doing well. She still has her separation anxiety issues, and we have been working with a behavioral vet who has put her on prozac. She is great as long as someone is home with her, but gets very anxious when left alone. She is also still submissive--just the other day I was trying to give her Advantix and she didn't understand that I wanted her back--she kept rolling over and giving me her belly--finally my husband held her up and of course she pee'd on the floor. She's fine with new people, though.
A few months later, she said this:
Quote:
Lila is actually off the Prozac now. She really is much better. The prozac did what we needed it to do--it calmed her down. We definitely saw a difference after we took her off. The best comparison I can make is that she seemed more puppy-like off the prozac, and older dog-like on the prozac. She seems happier and livelier off the meds.
She still looks sad when we leave--she perches on the stairs by the front door or looks at us sadly when we get our coats on--but she is no longer destructive. We also make sure we give her some stuff to "do"--a kong filled with spray liver (kind of like cheese whiz for dogs), a new toy, etc. When she sees me getting something out she follows me around until I give it to her, and she plays with it happily as I leave.
My dog was very fearful for the first two years after I adopted him, but not to the level you describe. He still doesn't like strangers touching him though -- he'll slink away like a cat. His siblings all have skittishness to some degree. My dog was the worst with humans, but one of his sisters had really awful separation anxiety, to the level where she was hurting herself when her owners left. They put her on Prozac, and here's what they said about their experience:
<<Lila is doing well. She still has her separation anxiety issues, and we have been working with a behavioral vet who has put her on prozac. She is great as long as someone is home with her, but gets very anxious when left alone. She is also still submissive--just the other day I was trying to give her Advantix and she didn't understand that I wanted her back--she kept rolling over and giving me her belly--finally my husband held her up and of course she pee'd on the floor. She's fine with new people, though.>>
Just a thought to help your sister. Suggest her hubby feed the dog with something very chewy (not something she can quickly gulp) and offer the food at a level to keep her standing (not so high as to induce a sit but not so low as to induce a down) while she applies the Advantix. Keep food in her face at that level. It will keep Lila in position, distract her from responding submissively and give her a positive association with the process.
I use an empty peanut butter container with peanut butter spread around the inside at the opening. Most dogs find PB completely alluring and it's sticky enough to keep them occupied. Plus the container is easy for people to hold in position...they don't have to keep firing treats at the dog.
I keep such a PB container loaded and in the fridge (keeps them occupied longer when it's cold) for trips to the vet.
3. Our carbon monoxide detector malfunctioned, alarming for about 5 minutes until I figured out how to stop it.
Off topic but it's important to understand what may make a CO detector go off. CO bonds to the hemoglobin your blood cells and once that happens they will stay like that until replaced. Low levels of CO that can be perfectly safe for a short period of time can be fatal over longer periods of time becsue it will build up, if enough of this builds up even if you were sitting in an emergency room you are still in trouble.
There should be no CO gas in your house but gas stoves and other things can cause it to rise for short times so they don't go off simply if they detect any amount CO.
CO detectors have thresholds, each threshold for the levels has time limit. If it exceeds Xppm at anytime where danger imminent it will go off, this is the only time it's an immediate issue. It will also go off it exceeds Xppm for one hour, if it exceeds Xppm for 12 hours it will go off, if it exceeds Xppm for one week it will go off...... These are not immediate dangers however they should be addressed. Get a CO detector with readout so you can understand what the levels are.
These detectors really should have two alarms, one giving you a warning about an issue and another for "get the hell out the house"
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