Anxiety Medications

[Bailey08]

Apologies, because I know this thread is probably duplicative of others... (I think PWC had one recently but I couldn't find it?)

Anyway, I would appreciate hearing from people who have experience with prescription anxiety medication for their dogs. Bailey and I have an appointment tomorrow morning with his gen vet to talk about it.

B's primary issue is separation anxiety, but he has general anxiety as well. Poor buddy just worries a lot.

I just wrote and deleted a long paragraph -- but I'll try to summarize. We have done and will continue to do a lot of behavioral work (including ongoing weekly private sessions with a trainer and lots of relaxation protocol, both of which have been very helpful). I've tried a ton of different things (we regularly see a holistic vet, too), but I really think it's time to try medication.

I know that not everyone has great experiences with meds, and I definitely don't want to change who he is (a super sweet, happy, sensitive, lovely boy) -- I just just take the edge off for him. I'm hoping for an SSRI or something similar, maybe with anti-anxiety meds for situations where his anxiety is more acute.

Did you have to experiment with different things? Doses? Did you see a specialist? How did it make a difference and did your dog (to your knowledge) experience any side effects?

Sometimes I wish he could talk.

 

[sassafras]

Pip is on clomipramine (ClomiCalm, but a generic). I'm not going to go into all the gory details but he has had some problems with generalized anxiety and some problematic behaviors which blossomed out of that. Just a lot of worries, I guess. Anyway, I consulted with a behaviorist about the medication and a behavior modification plan, and I think it's been extremely helpful for him. I'm very, very happy with how he's doing. It did NOT "turn him into a zombie" or anything like that... he is himself, just more relaxed and with an edge of intensity taken off. With the combination of medication and behavioral modification, I definitely I feel he is happier and less anxious. He is, at his heart, a very sweet happy boy and I don't feel that changed at all.

Because he does not have specific triggers (i.e., not separation anxiety or fear of specific thing like storms or whatever) I don't use "as needed" medications like xanax or anything like that, he is just on his daily medication.

I haven't seen any side effects from the clomipramine. However, the first medication we tried was fluoxetine (Prozac) and he actually lost some bite inhibition (which is a known possibility with that medication, disinhibition of aggression) while taking it, so obviously he couldn't be on it although he didn't experience any bad effects on his health from it.

 

[MericoX]

The poodles are on amitriptyline. They do not act any differently, but (Tsuki) does not pace nor potty in her crate as much, and (Lincoln) is not barking all day long.

 

[Bailey08]

Pip is on clomipramine (ClomiCalm, but a generic). I'm not going to go into all the gory details but he has had some problems with generalized anxiety and some problematic behaviors which blossomed out of that. Just a lot of worries, I guess. Anyway, I consulted with a behaviorist about the medication and a behavior modification plan, and I think it's been extremely helpful for him. I'm very, very happy with how he's doing. It did NOT "turn him into a zombie" or anything like that... he is himself, just more relaxed and with an edge of intensity taken off. With the combination of medication and behavioral modification, I definitely I feel he is happier and less anxious. He is, at his heart, a very sweet happy boy and I don't feel that changed at all.

Because he does not have specific triggers (i.e., not separation anxiety or fear of specific thing like storms or whatever) I don't use "as needed" medications like xanax or anything like that, he is just on his daily medication.

I haven't seen any side effects from the clomipramine. However, the first medication we tried was fluoxetine (Prozac) and he actually lost some bite inhibition (which is a known possibility with that medication, disinhibition of aggression) while taking it, so obviously he couldn't be on it although he didn't experience any bad effects on his health from it.

Thank you very, very much for this. That is exactly what I'm hoping for with B.

It's hard. I know that people have strong feelings about it (against), including people whose opinions I greatly respect, and I feel like I've let that inform my decision making for too long. I probably should've done it sooner.

 

[Bailey08]

The poodles are on amitriptyline. They do not act any differently, but (Tsuki) does not pace nor potty in her crate as much, and (Lincoln) is not barking all day long.

Thanks, Mer. Glad to know it has helped your two.

 

[StillandSilent]

Medication is the reason Gambit can function. Flat out, putting him on meds was the best thing I ever did for him, and I wish I had done it sooner. He takes clomiprimine 2x a day, and has changed from a dog that I could barely get out the back door after dark to pee in the yard to a creature who can go on regular walks.

As an added bonus, his stress levels lowered enough that he's actually gaining weight! He's almost at what he should be, which is 8 lbs more then I could keep on him before medication.

I havent noticed any side effects, and he does need to have bloodwork done to make sure the medication isn't hurting his liver, but he's still Gambit, filled with quirks.

 

[Bailey08]

B's bloodwork came back normal, so we tried a generic Xanax last night (small dose), just to see how he would react.

I can't tell if it made a difference or not. He did put up with his sister longer! And then he was all over me, but that's not super unusual, either. I plan to try it again tonight maybe, during a "regular" situation," just to make sure he does okay, and then use it next when we are going to do something that will cause anxiety.

We're going to talk again soon about maybe adding in the generic Clomicalm. I really like my vet and he went through something similar with a dog he adopted -- and said he probably waited too long to medicate, too. Hopefully all of our behavioral work will work better when we've taken the edge off his anxiety, and we can eventually wean him off of medications.

As an aside, and a mini rant, I found this last night when Googling clomipramine, and it really pissed me off:
http://doganxietyblog.com/dog-anxie...m-clomipramine-and-the-other-“puppy-prozacs”/

It's always a great idea to use Wikipedia and a lot of BS to sell your magical product! (I know lots of people have had success with the Thundershirt, which is awesome. We tried it, too, to no avail -- B actually was more stressy with it on.)