Hello forum, I'm pretty new here (been stalking), but I got this news story tweeted to me and wanted to know what you guys thought.

Now Prozac for Pets

The way the article makes it sound, you'd think this is going to be the "new thing" for your "problem pet." Personally, it sounds like another incident of humans not recognizing the real problem.

What do you think?

The vets have been putting 'anxious' dogs(& other dogs with issues) on prozac & other similar meds for a long time. Many of the dogs on this type of 'treatment', is because the owners haven't a clue how to handle their dogs properly(or put in the time for proper training & exercise) & just want them 'taken care of' (the easy way out) just like the parents & teachers of ADHD kids. Although, there are probably a handful that really need some treatment & really benefit from it. JMO

It's come up once and awhile. I suspect that 90% of dogs do not need mood altering drugs but rather need biological needs met and behavioral issues that could be addressed in other ways.

There are dogs however who I have seen that do need some help to avoid some seriously damaging behaviors. The latest one was a dog that I met at my job who decided that he would remove his own front leg at the elbow rather than be confined to a crate for 15 minutes while his owner walked the kids to the bus. This was not the first time this dog had attempted such self mutilation but rather was the breaking point where the owners decided they needed to either cure the problem or put this poor animal out of his misery.

I have a couple dogs that come to my boarding kennel on Xanax and heavy doses of benedryl. Seriously, both vet prescibed. The major dog is a big female GSD that is on a dose of Xanax that she comes in every time staggering because she has had it. That is the last dose she gets during her stay. Thankfully her owner leaves it to me to give it to her "if she needs it". Her owner needs the Xanax! The dog needs a stable environment. She is a totally fine, stable and calm, cooperative dog when she is at the kennel. She can be there the weekend or three weeks and she is FINE. How sad that she has so much stress at home!

Again, couple dogs come dosed up on benedryl....vet prescription because I guess saying ....get some cheap benedryl and give him this much... will cut into their profits....but the dogs are 99% fine without it.

It is scary to read some of ya'lls descriptions of dog anxiety. Though I do see the owners stressing way more than the dogs when they get dropped off to board. I love it when they come a second or third time and the dog is dragging them IN the door to my office.

Prozac has been Rx'd for dogs for 15 years now....

It's over-used, but for some dogs with a particular problem, it's beneficial.
Remember that dogs, just like humans, can have mental illness ( and that sub-set of canines may actually benefit for the SSRI class of medication ).

I just wonder if they have the same side effects though. I work at a doctor's office and have switched through a number of very low dose SSRIs and other meds for GAD. I suffer from severe insomnia but don't want to take sleep meds. Some of these drugs will be the worst experience of your life. It takes months to years to find the right one. How can we determine what's working for animals that can't talk to us?

Sonya, your experience with the GSD and your kennel remind me of that movie "Best in Show". The two weimaraner owners that are complete spazzes and their calm dog- lol good stuff.

I've met a LOT of owners that are the ones that need drugged.

Prozac should always be prescribed in conjunction with training referral.

LOL oh yeah! I remember that.

Poor Lady is such a nice dog too. I always wonder about people that want to drug their dogs, especially when they are leaving them with me.....let them be dogs! Unless it is doing some harm I let them be. Usually it is fence chewing that gets them. Have an Amer. Bulldog....110# and total nutz. The owner even said he would NEVER get another. Gus rubs his face on the fence til it bleeds. I have to crate him away for several periods of time a day or he would go home bleeding and mutilated....not from another dog just himself. Now HE might benefit from meds. He even has a torn ACL....cornell said they could fix it for like $3000. Then he needed weeks of crate rest, then if you aggravated it they could amputate for another $7000. The owner is like, I have a three legged dog (Gus doesn't use the leg and still is psycho) and you say for $10k more you could make him a three legged dog? They say "well, he is in pain" "Obviously not enough!"
I have owners that bring BARK COLLARS>...hello! It is a kennel, it is torturing them.
If a dog is gonna bark enough to be totally hoarse I will consider benedryl if the owner wants. Otherwise I leave them be. And you can always tell the workers from the pets. The pets go home exhausted. The workers are all torqued out and ready to run.