Dog prescription antidepressants

[thislittledogofmine]

Has anyone tried these for their dog?
I have consulted a dog behaviourist as dog has lots of unwanted behaviours which I felt stemmed from anxiety.
Turns out I was right and behaviourist has given me lots of instructions in terms of modifying my behaviours and how to enrich my dog's environment without over-stimulating him. The behaviourist also suggested asking my vet for anti-depressants to help calm my dog so they can relax enough to take onboard the changes I am making and then in time I can hopefully take them off the drugs.

I know my vet will charge me an arm and a leg for this, anyone had any success with them or will I be wasting my money?

Our rescue took fluoxetine for the same reasons and it did help his behaviour, although we were never able to completely resolve his reactivity.

Just to say you can get it very cheaply because it's a widely available human medicine. Your vet should give you a prescription note for a reasonable fee which you can take to an online pharmacy. We always used Weldricks who had excellent customer service and sent it very quickly. His fluoxetine was only ever a few pounds, while his allergy meds were £100+! Hope it works for you if that's your decision.

My dog takes Fluoxetine, I order it online, it's not super expensive at all (my dog is very small though)

It's been a game-changer for his anxiety, he's really way more relaxed so the behaviourist could start working with him (his issue is separation anxiety)

I'm hopeful he'll be weaned off it at some point, but for now, it really makes a difference without changing his personality at all.

Mine is on fluoxetine for anxiety. I pay around £25 for a vet prescription which lasts me 6 months - I take this to our local pharmacy every month and get the fluoxetine for £7.20 each time.

Wow that is good value! Are the drugs the human ones? I didn't realise pharmacies dispensed drugs for animals?

Vet here - fluoxetine used to be a relatively cheap option as we could use the human version, however a veterinary specific one was licensed last year and vets can legally only prescribe that one and of course that manufacturer charges a lot more because there is no other option. You can still request a prescription and order from an online veterinary pharmacy to keep costs down - your vets will almost certainly need to examine your pet first and may request a report from the behaviourist. It can definitely help alongside behavioural therapy. Good luck!

good grief stop op

get your dog out on lots of long and active and varied walks

play, engage and lots of affection

@beliefbelieve and people with mental health issues should just smile right? You clearly don’t know much about this topic.

@thislittledogofmine we used it. It helped somewhat alongside a LOT of behaviour- related work but didn’t fix everything. It did diminish dog’s desire to play so watch out for that.

absolutely not. Humans most definitely can and do suffer appallingly from mental health conditions and absolutely medicalised treatment is often beneficial

but please… seriously i reckon if this dog is out for two long and nature fuelled walks a day, lots of cuddles and love and stimulation at home…. the difference will almost be immediate

@beliefbelieve

I'm afraid he does have 2 lovely walks a day in nature and lots of love and affection. We play with him, keep him safe, warm, sleeps on my bed, cuddles on the sofa. Good quality food and calm happy housing.

It's not me.

I'm not abusing my dog.

When I mention the behaviourist advising I modify my behaviour it's not that I am beating or shouting at my dog (I've never done those things) but more subtle things I do that for 99% of dogs wouldn't be an issue (eg the way I greet and invite my occasional guest/visitors so that my dog doesn't feel the need to bark continuously at them until they greet & cuddle him etc). He's not spoilt, he has lovely manners and listens to my instructions, but he has anxiety and that's a complicated issue to tackle which anyone who knows a child or person with anxiety would appreciate. It requires a multi-faceted approach, it might be something you would be learning about, Google will be able to help you as a start.

how long has your dog been with you op?

@thislittledogofmine please just ignore the ill-informed pp - your behaviourist is absolutely right, fluoxetine is regulated for anxiety in dogs and can get you to the point where your behaviour training can have an impact.

Thanks sir I've read that was the case. Just with COL don't need another monthly bill at present!
The behaviourist has been clear to me that my dog currently just can't take on board anything in terms of training/positive enforcement while operating at that level of anxiety so it's good to know it's worked for your dog and others on this thread.

I'm sure my vet will be happy to write a prescription after a consultation with him (my dog is super scared/anxious at the vets!) so hopefully I can shop around to keep the cost down.

op i was asking a genuine question
how long have you had your dog?

long walks would be my dog’s worst nightmare! How completely ignorant.

mine is on reconcile, the dog equivalent - it’s definitely helped especially in terms of settling in the house. He’s still nervous out and about but generally happier.

No you weren’t - you came on here to have a go at the OP with your ‘good grief’ and your ill informed comments about how you ‘reckon’ her dog just needs walks, play and affection.

oh i stand by that

but my question was genuine. How long has the op had the dog?

It would make strong scientific sense to give SSRIs a try and see if and how they may benefit your dog, OP. Particularly if recommended by a properly accredited behaviourist and in agreement with a vet.

Whilst we are obvisously quite different species, brain mechanisms in dogs and humans are very similar. Serotonin levels in individual dogs (as in humans) are - to a large extent - hereditary. Indirectly or directly.

Low serotonin can increase anxiety and aggression.

SSRIs (of which, Fluoxetine is one) prevents the body reabsorbing serotonin quite as quickly, allowing levels to build up to a more healthy level.

Long walks in an anxious dog will likely not increase serotonin because the dog is likely to spend that walk on higher alert so they are likely to increase cortisol. Cortisol will increase the transportation mechanism for serotonin and cause the body to re uptake it more quickly - thus reducing serotonin levels. This is especially true if the walks are varied and thus increase the level of 'unknown' that can also elevate cortisol.

What may help is having 'safe' walks the dog knows very well and is unlikely to meet or see anything worrying, such as other humans or dogs if they worry your dog. Knowing the walk and trusting it is safe may allow the dog to relax more and enjoy it a bit more. But this obviously is very specific to your dog and how they experience the walk - some dogs can be so anxious out of the house that no walk is safe to them. In which case, it's a delicate balance of trying to meet mental and physical needs. And, of course, higher serotinin levels induced by SSRIs can help a dog feel calmer on a known walk and thus help move it from the 'unsafe' to the 'safe' category.

Oh I'm sure you do - you're ill-informed and it shows.

I mean you shouldn't take on any pet if your going to find it difficult to be paying for any treatments it may need. Hopefully the anxiety will sort over time bless it and you will both be able to enjoy each day together

Yes, the drugs are the human ones. Reconcile is how it's sold for dogs, but it's expensive (I paid nearly £50 a month) and it's just fluoxetine - there was a problem with the Reconcile supply chain a while back (not sure if it's OK now) so my vet now prescribes me fluoextine for our dog. I didn't know the pharmacies dispensed drugs for animals either, but they can for some meds! The vet writes up a prescription which gives me 5 renewals - so each prescription lasts me 6 months. That costs around £25 (can't remember the exact amount but it's around £25) and I then take it to our local pharmacy each month and they give me the fluoextine at £7.20 each time.

Our rescue is on fluoxetine too.
He was neglected and abused and no amount of walks, spending a small fortune on behavioural experts etc really had much impact.
We do still, of course, do everything the behaviourist suggested but it wasn’t until we gave him the Prozac did we see an improvement. Due to his history he will never be a completely calm and chilled dog but the meds have definitely had some impact on his behaviour issues.

Good luck op and take no notice of people telling you long walks etc will solve all issues.
‘Good grief’ they are talking shite!

I'm not taking on a pet I can't afford.
I already have the dog, she's my dog.
I've had him over 5 years (before lockdown ) but he was originally a rescue with no history.
A very happy go lucky dog until recently, nothing has changed, I think the anxiety is increasing slowly and has reached a tipping point.
No other pets although I've had dogs my whole life and never had this issue

You are spot on.
He doesn't enjoy walks any more.
Just wants to have a sniff and a wee and then go home.
He used to love walks and be a joy off-lead.
I now can't have him off-lead as he will often turn tail and run home.
He's never been attacked or had anything 'bad' happen to him on a walk.
He's been neutered (before I had him, many years ago) and is fine with other dogs/children etc.
Vets checked him, no physical pain or injuries, very fit and healthy dog.

There are other signs of anxiety but the walks is an obvious one and sad because I live near some lovely walks and he used to love his 'patch' and our little routine and when you have a dog one of the benefits is getting out in the fresh air and getting exercise and the quality time together

Yeah - I think we so often see dogs that are not walked enough because their humans don't have the time or inclination that it is easy to forget the other side of the coin: those humans who love dog walks and are caring for a dog that doesn't get as much out of them. There is a real sadness to it. Not least because walks can provide such a connection between you that, when it's not working like that, it gets that bit harder to maintain a strong bond.

PP have given you some good indication of SSRI costs and how to keep them as low as possible. Hopefully, if you go ahead with them, they give your dog the break they need to start to learn life is not so scary.