A question about giving dogs anti anxiety meds

[dsc]

I am pretty much an anti drug zealot so I am wondering if I am not giving my dog something he might need. When I take my dog to visit a friends house to play with other dogs he plays for awhile but then whines for me to pick him up and hold him. She thinks it is a sign he is anxious and needs meds. I don't but given my anti drug bias I am wondering what people who are neutral think. He does show reaction to loudness more than most dogs but is OK during storms and doesn't destroy stuff when I am gone. Any thoughts.

[frogmarch]

1. Your friend is anxious and needs meds.

Really, she thinks that because your dog may feel a little uncomfortable away from home that he needs to be medicated? That's unreal! Your dog sounds normal to me. I'd say don't medicate him.

[iscooterliberally]

2. I have given my dogs anti anxiety meds before.

Not all of them, just the ones with the major fear problems. I don't think your dog needs them based on your story though. I don't like giving my dogs those meds because it makes them loopy. They get all dazed and glassy-eyed. My long gone Shih-Tzu had storm and fireworks phobias. I now have a Chow/Collie mix that has major storm phobias and freaks out when it rains. We're trying to work around that with a trainer. We have used the Thundershirt before, but it didn't really work. Sometimes we just give our dog benadryl and he sleeps through the storm. It's nice to have the meds handy, but only as a last resort. Sometimes we have a major storm come through at night and if we don't give the dog the meds, we don't get any sleep. I would not fear using these meds occasionally, but you probably don't need them at all from what you have said.

[woodsprite]

3. We have a shepherd that's afraid of storms.

She can't take Benedryl (messes w/ her breathing), so the doc told us to try "Rescue Remedy". We got it at the local co-op. Last night we had some terrible storms. She was pacing back/forth for about an hour. After I gave her the liquid, she at least stopped pacing and finally snuggled under the desk so sound asleep that she was snoring. The few times we've used it, we have been pleased with the results.

[iscooterliberally]

4. I'll have to check Rescue Remedy out.

Benedryl works well for Samson, and we already have some heavy duty prescription from the vets office. Samson weighs 85 lbs, and one night he ran into the bedroom and jumped on my wife's head while she was sleeping. We had to take her to the ER after that. She was OK, but had a terrible headache from a sprained neck. Samson was a stray dog from the streets of Miami. We rescued him from the pound. I have no idea why he's so afraid of storms. My other two dogs could care less about them.

[OnyxCollie]

5. I don't think he needs meds at all.

When he whines and you pick him up, does he use his "elevated" status to growl or bark at the other dogs?

I work at a boarding kennel and there is at least one dog I know of that is on Prozac. She's from a dysfunctional family, and she has attacked her sister, who in turn, attacks the cat.

She and her sister require individual doggie daycare, as neither get along with other dogs.

[dsc]

6. not really

he just gets petted, kisses me, and that kind of thing.

[OnyxCollie]

7. Your dog's fine.

He loves you.

[nadine_mn]

8. I had a dog on puppy Prozac, and we tried rescue remedy

My black lab (who is now romping around in that great dog park in the sky) had horrible separation anxiety...to the point where he would injure himself. He was such a sensitive dog. As I have matured and learned more about dog behavior, I realize now that he was really feeding off of my own anxiety and separation issues from him. But at the time we were desperate...we tried Rescue Remedy which worked for others, just not us. We tried Prozac, nope didn't work either. It was very stressful, which just led to greater anxiety about leaving him, which caused him more stress...you can see the cycle.


Now we have had 4 wonderful dogs with unique and friendly personalities.... Ed, Leinie (the dog mentioned above), Jazz and Durango. Of the 4, Jazz (another lab mix) has the weird anxiety of not liking to be anywhere but home. If we go visit family and their pets, she is fine at first...greets everyone and plays a little. But then, it is time to go home. She paces, she climbs all over me, she just cannot relax at all. Our other dogs have all been boarded at some point and have all lived in other homes (we moved a lot early in our marriage, and we are Durango's 4th home...all have been rescued) except Jazz...she has lived in the same place since she was 6mos and never been boarded. Maybe that is why she gets anxious? Our other dogs loved to visit, she is just a homebody. She is a wreck at the vet, we used to have Leinie or Ed go with her because they kept her calm, but since they have passed she has had to go alone. Durango is so protective of her (he is a GSD and has latched onto her) that small spaces where there might be other dogs is not a good idea.

So I rambled a bit, but really to show that I have had different experiences with anxiety in dogs. In some cases meds have worked, sometimes it is me, sometimes having another dog around helps, sometimes just being at home is preferred.


Your dog sounds fine and sounds like it is just the one instance so maybe your dog is picking up some vibe from your friend?