My Dog needs Prozac

Alright is this medical, civil, or just a conspiracy? I have no idea so here it is.

My dog needs Prozac!

Well, my dogs don't but some people seem to think theirs do. After all what to do when you have a pooch locked up inside the house all day and when you come home all it want's to do is run and play.

Pets and Prozac

MYFOXNY.COM - Not all pets are calm, and as a result some pet owners are giving their pets Prozac or Xanax. But is it the right thing to do? Dogs are known for being full of life -- barking, running and playing. But when you have a pet that is overactive, uncontrollable or exhibiting anxiety should you turn to doggie drugs?

Uh huh, not sure if I'm buying this completely in the first place. "Say doc my dog is kinda stressed could you give me... er, him some pharmaceuticals?"

Pet expert and trainer Andrea Arden says she has seen a dramatic increase in the last 10 years of owners getting prescriptions for Prozac and Xanax from their vets to calm their pets down. She believes the reason for anxious pets is a change in the owner's lifestyle. Arden does not believe that drugs are the solution. She says owners need to spend more time with pets so they don't exhibit behavior problems. In fact, Arden says you have to be careful because Prozac and Xanax could actually harm your pet.

So before you resort to drugs, Arden suggests getting your dog trained and giving it some puppy love.

This seems a bad idea to me for the most part. I've had dogs forever and the only one that ever needed a tranquilizer was a small terry-poo when we took it on a trip. Guess now that people have so many of the kids medicated it's time to work on the pets.

Maybe it's time to call the SPCA instead. People who can't or won't take care of their dogs shouldn't have them in the first place.

that is lazy and poor pet ownership and frankly typical of the average american entitled attitude, deserve a dog with out doing any of the needed work.

If your dog needs prozac... I think the people are projecting their issues on the dog.


Dogs need calm firm owners in order to not be neurotic, I have a Puggle that was abandoned for being "crazy", hes not, he just needed an owner willing to walk him regularly and do the things a PET owner should.

reply to post by Bassago


I have three dogs, they are elderly one 15, two 14, when they were about 11 and 10 my doctor told me that two of them required medications for life for thyroid problems, dry eye syndrome, hormones and steroids for inflammation that added to about over 100 dollars a month I went searching in the web for alternative medications and found alternative treatments.

As they get older they suffer from paranoia and anxiety, no Prozac or Xanax, is alternative medications for that problem too.

My dogs are doing fine without all the fancy medicines that this days doctors wants to prescribe to animals like they were humans.

Yes dogs are living longer due to better care, but it doesn't have to drain your pockets.

Well, I hate to admit it, but I just recently started giving my dog prozac. I really didn't want to, but his anxiety was getting worse and worse and it was completely irrational.

It all started with a text one day. My husbands phone beeped, and my dog ran to me, wiggled his way under my legs and was shaking like he was having a seizure.

He has heard this sound many, many times before and it never bothered him. Then it happened with the microwave beeper going off, then the batteries in the smoke detector beeping, then the oven timer.

I have panic disorders and i could see the striking similarities between his behavior and a panic attack.

I talked to my vet, and we discussed behavioral modification without drugs, but he is 12 and we feel that it is related to dimentia.

Believe me, I would never have thought of putting him on something like that, but at the same time, I couldn't let him go through day after day of panic and anxiety. That would be just as bad for him in the long run.

He is much better now. The noises aren't sending him into a panic and he is much happier and more relaxed. He does not look or act "drugged", he is his old self again.

So, I guess not all instances are bad, but I believe only the extreme cases should be using these drugs.

reply to post by marg6043


If you don't mind me asking, are you using an alternative for prozac for your pups? I would like to know what alternatives are out there instead of having to use the heavy drugs. Thanks!

aimlessly
I have panic disorders and i could see the striking similarities between his behavior and a panic attack.

I talked to my vet, and we discussed behavioral modification without drugs, but he is 12 and we feel that it is related to dimentia.

And believe me your dog knows it, he looks to You for strength, and when you have that problem, it feeds directly into his behavior.

the "uncontrollable" pug came from a person with bi-polar personality, the horror stories I heard about the pug, from Defecation when panicking all over, to destructive behavior.

She was going to put him down because he was panic biting, I got him, day one no problems.

aimlessly

I talked to my vet, and we discussed behavioral modification without drugs, but he is 12 and we feel that it is related to dimentia.

Believe me, I would never have thought of putting him on something like that, but at the same time, I couldn't let him go through day after day of panic and anxiety. That would be just as bad for him in the long run.

He is much better now. The noises aren't sending him into a panic and he is much happier and more relaxed. He does not look or act "drugged", he is his old self again.

So, I guess not all instances are bad, but I believe only the extreme cases should be using these drugs.

Sorry to hear about your dog like that. Yes there are some instances where meds are needed. Looks like he's lucky to have someone who cares so much for him. They are part of our families and we need to care for the. Meds aren't always bad. Never heard of a dog diagnosed with dementia before but they get old too.

It's medical for the most part. Veterinary med is not a pawn of big pharma, not yet anyway(insurance companies are trying to ease their way in), clinics do not make a margin off of drugs as human doctors do.
With that depends on a trusted Veterinarian for your companion animals.
IMO it should be a last resort and when no other options help such as with conditions from old age as opposed to being thrown around like candy because a dog has separation anxiety, which can be corrected.

reply to post by aimlessly


I used "only natural" brand from the only natural pet stores, because one of the dogs developed anxiety and would keep us awake all night, first I found out that it was linked to a florescent light that I kept on at night in the kitchen where they sleep, never before it bothered the dog until one year ago, so I turn the light off and that help a lot.

Now, at night I spray on the bedding "Phero-Soothe" that is a herbal calming spray to help them sleep, you can spray during the day in their favorite resting places in the house.

Then I have the "Relaxi-Herb" a liquid that I give them all 3 times a day to keep them relax, then one of the dogs have a cough that was keeping all us at at night also, once I found out that it was nothing malignant, just that for her age her laringe is semi collapse I use dog cough medicine and that helps, thankfully it only affects her during the allergy season in the spring and fall.

For the elderly of the two dogs, she no longer can hold her urine so rather than putting her on dog hormones I just put a dog diaper on her and make sure that her elimination areas are dry and clean, to avoid infections.

I also keep them all on Cholodin supplementfor dogs to slow down the deterioration of neurological activity, my older dog is having that problem, but you have to be careful with cholodin as too much can make the dogs hypersensitive, so monitoring of the dosage is important.

Yes is a lot of work but I had this dogs since they were born and I treat them like part of the family.

Drugging animals for fun = cruelty.

I've seen a horse given beer not so recently on TV. What gives him the right to do that?

The owner that is.

Let them be themselves, most dogs are absolutely fine. As long as they have at least 1 good walk a day, and the ability to get cuddles and attention from time to time. Eat right.

My inlaws had a black lab and I use to walk her all the time when she was a pup we trained her for hunting and things were fine then one day we got home and it looked like a murder scene in the house blood all over the walls, carpet and the bed she also crushed all of the door handles in the house but the worst part is she tried to get into the tub and bit and broke the glass shower door and cut her tongue a bit, this was all due to a thunderstorm, never happened before but was never the same after that even when the vet tried prozac to help during the storms, my inlaws never went out if a storm was coming.

reply to post by FreedomEntered


Sadly they are also living longer and getting human like aging side effects as they get older, so they do deserve to get treated to make their short lives and quality of life better.

My dog was on Prozac for a short while. She's a rescue from Alabama who came across country to live here in Philadelphia. She had anxiety issues when I first adopted her and my vet suggested medicating her. I think it certainly helped as she adjusted to her new environment.

She's been off meds for over a year now and she's doing great (and loving life) in her new home!

reply to post by benrl


Actually, I have had my panic problems under control for the last 12 years. I can't tell you the last time I had a panic attack. I am a very calm, easy going, not too much gets me riled up kind of person. I don't think he is picking up much from me.

Although, you made me think about the stress that my husband has been under lately, and it has got me wondering if my pooch might be picking up on that.

reply to post by Bassago


I love him more than i love human members of my family. He has a great life. A pond to swim in, trails to walk and a very loving mama!

reply to post by marg6043


Thank you! I will look into the products you listed. At his age, and with other issues (hip and leg problems) I just want to make his remaining time happy.

Haha this is too funny. but at the sometime I wonder who these tablets are for.
The dog or the owner?


So wrong on many levels

reply to post by Bassago


Twisted mindset, no doubt many of these people consider themselves 'animal lovers'.

I consider them vile hypocrites

reply to post by Bassago


Hang in there, go natural.

www.dogchannel.com...

My dog had severe hip displasia pain, an they prescribed something like "Temeril" (I checked, it's not it), and I googled it...it was a freaking SSRI likened to EFFEXOR!!!!

I was a little weirded out giving the poor guy an SSRI, but in two days, he was out of pain and happy and bouncing around like a puppy again!!!



- SN