Medication Recommendations For (?)Anxiety

[laurie]

Wasn't sure whether to put this in Training & Behavior or here.

 

My sweet Rose, who has been with my for two years now, has always been scared of her own shadow. Since Rhem's passed on (six months ago), things have gotten steadily worse. She rarely comes out of my bedroom. If she is in the same room with me, and I reach forward to get the remote, or cough, or change position, she runs upstairs. These days, she won't even stay in the bedroom with me when I sleep. As soon as I go up to bed, she goes downstairs, or if she stays, she leaves as soon as I need to change position in bed.

 

In the last two years, I've tried everything to help her, but nothing works. I am so sad for her! We have a vet appointment this coming Thursday. Does anyone have a dog on meds for this type of thing? I'm thinking she needs a daily medication to ease her fears and help her be more comfortable. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Thx for any input!

[greyhndz]

Hi Laurie

 

I have a galgo with anxiety issues, particularly fear aggression. He's seen by a vet behaviorist, which is ideal if you have one in your area.

 

He's currently on clomipramine (clomicalm) and xanax (to prevent overstimulation, which leads to aggression). He's been on Prozac but I didn't see a difference, and it caused chronic diarrhea.

 

I've talked with the vet behaviorist about other options, and specially she's used Prozac or Zoloft, as well as BuSpar (buspirone), and xanax on an as-needed basis. She also uses tricyclics, such as clomipramine or amitriptyline. This is used in combination with behavior modification.

 

Your best bet is to find someone who is very familiar (and comfortable) with prescribing these meds. They can make a big difference.

[Batmom]

Any chance another pup would be of help to her?

 

Sending hugs to you and your sweet girl.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

I second the clomipramine, my SA dog just started that about 8 weeks ago. What a different dog! She is much more relaxed all the time now, and we haven't had any side effects. She is more outgoing and seems much more in tune with us. The price is cheap, around 20 dollars a month for two pills daily. Your vet will (should) run a full blood panel to make sure nothing else is going on, but once you get the all clear for that, hopefully he will put her on something to help. I am hoping we don't have to keep her on it permanently, but with behaviour modification and the medicine, she should eventually "forget" to be upset when we leave. It's only been 8 weeks and today she was loose in the house, no muzzle, and no damage or soiling. I can't believe how fast it has worked! I noticed a change in her within 2-3 days too.

 

I've never really been a pill person, I rarely take anything myself, and I believe we jump to medication to fix all our problems, but I have to say my mind has been completely changed with the results of my baby! Sounds like the loss of her pack mate really knocked her back a step, poor thing! Good luck!

[Guest lat41065]

what about Melatonin ? It has done wonders with my thunder phobic who gets it as needed and 2 others that tend to be uh assertive ........... 3 mg twice a day. Just a thought.

 

Lesley

[PatricksMom]

At least in humans, clonzepam is your best bet for daily use because it stays in the system longest, so you aren't getting any ups and downs in blood levels. Xanax is one of the shortest acting drugs in the class, so it's better for acute attacks, say a thunderstorm if that is a source of anxiety. The same should be true for dogs, but the half-life's might be different, and I would think the dosing would be different.

[Burpdog]

I'd do a thyroid panel first. Get another dog second

 

Calm Spirit is a chinese herbal combination and very good. Doesn't drug them, just takes the edge off.

[greysmom]

I second the clomipramine, my SA dog just started that about 8 weeks ago. What a different dog! She is much more relaxed all the time now, and we haven't had any side effects. She is more outgoing and seems much more in tune with us. The price is cheap, around 20 dollars a month for two pills daily. Your vet will (should) run a full blood panel to make sure nothing else is going on, but once you get the all clear for that, hopefully he will put her on something to help. I am hoping we don't have to keep her on it permanently, but with behaviour modification and the medicine, she should eventually "forget" to be upset when we leave. It's only been 8 weeks and today she was loose in the house, no muzzle, and no damage or soiling. I can't believe how fast it has worked! I noticed a change in her within 2-3 days too.

 

I've never really been a pill person, I rarely take anything myself, and I believe we jump to medication to fix all our problems, but I have to say my mind has been completely changed with the results of my baby! Sounds like the loss of her pack mate really knocked her back a step, poor thing! Good luck!

 

 

I had to be persuaded to put Cash on pills as well. We had somewhat the same experience as you. Cash lost her older sister about 6 weeks after coming to live with us (up to that point she had been making progress with some of her issues) and Cash simply fell apart. She was scared and anxious 24/7, or nearly everything, barely slept, and spent all her time hiding in our upstairs bedroom.

 

We too tried all the usual behavior modifications, training, exposure, and got every test available. We did DAP infusers and collars, Rescue Remedy, melatonin, and other homeopathic and anxiety potions. We researched and read and talked to experienced greyhound people. We ultimately started her on alprazolam (generic Xanax) and noticed a difference within a week. She does get a dose every eight hours - I'm home and able to give it too her, but a longer acting drug might be better for your situation.

 

The best thing we did was adopt a sister for her. She has two brothers, as well, but they didn't make a dent on her behavior. Since Toni came, Cash has made HUGE strides in overcoming her fears and her "attacks" of panic are much less, shorter, and she recovers from them within minutes instead of days. I had really discounted the effect of a same-sex house-mate having that much to do with it. I am now convinced!

 

A couple things to remember: Different medications work on different areas of the brain and different chemicals eleased by the body. They all work differently for different dogs, same as with people. The first one you try may or may not have the desired effect. You might have to try different doses or kinds of anxiety meds to find the right one for your dogs particular problem.

 

Clomicalm is usually the first one vets try, since it is actually the only one approved for animal use so far. The others are all off-label uses of people drugs.

 

Good luck! You might try searching in the Training and Behavior section for more info in threads about SA, anxiety, shyness, etc.,..