Anxiety medication

[Kyoko]

Charlie has been prescribed with 20 mg od Fluoxetine. I never have experienced with psychotpotic medication for my dogs, so I am super scared and worried. I have not given her one yet.

I thought I will give it to her when I get home so I can monitor her for several hours, instead of going home on my lunch, give it to her, and leave the house.

I am wondering if any of your doodles are on fluoxetine, or similar medication? If so what was your experience..?

[Kyoko]

I was really skepticle about medication. But, I made a decision to do this, when I took my other dog Pinot Grigio to the beach without Charlie. ( she has some injury and could not go.) This was when I noticed all of the things that would have freaked her out and got her to bark, lunge, etc.... which were no issue to Pinot. These were the things like strange drift wood, bicycles passing by, canoes, etc.... Really, ordinally things. I guess I became accostom to how Charlie is and learned how to scan the environment on constant bases to keep her from freaking out. When I was with just Pinot Grigio, I suddenly noticed that these things did not bother him at all!!! And how these normal everyday things can be such a stress to Charlie... So, I thought she is living a such stressful life which is not healthy for her..... It has been only a little over 2 weeks. And I know as a human mental health therapist that medication itslef is not the answer and there are stil need for the behavioral adjustment training. Bt s far, I see a lot of positives.....

[Kyoko]

Day 17 - I can see that she has been much relaxed at some situations. We have been going for a walk at this outside mall for few nights now since it gets dark so soon, and can't walk at the park. Today, she was able to walk pass people within 2 feet with no problem, with my verbal cues such as " stay with me", and "good". She never showed any behaviors indicating that she was upset or overwhelmed. She was also doing the 'shake it off" every so often which tells me that she is coping. There was this little yorkie who lunged and growled at Charlie and Pinot Grigio, but Charlie showed no concerns. It is not that she is all of a sudden a different dog. I can see that she is looking, and thinking about the possible trigger like a person who is laughing out loud, children running, etc...but I can also see that, with reinforcement ( I took her dinner / kibbles with me ) and verbal cues, she was able to focus more on me and was able to compose herself. But, when we got home, there were some teenagers across the street talking, and she did bark at them. I guess because we were "off" work mode and I did not set her up to focus on me....

[Lauria Orr]

That sounds like such an improvement for Charlie! She must have really needed some help, and this seems to be the ticket.  What a relief for you and for her, Kyoko!

[Kyoko]

I am happy to see that ordinary things are not so scary for her now. I just hope that she is not in the cloud or something, you know? I wish she can tell me how she feels now...

 

[Lauria Orr]

For our Beagle, Lucy, the medication just took an edge off.  She still was very playful, attentive, energized,etc.  We made the decision to start medication, because she developed a mast cell tumor and had to have radiation 3x/wk between her toes.  That continual medical follow up meant many appointments and it was stressful for her, with the trembling and crying.  She was still the same dog, just not suffering.  She had that tail wagging a lot more during appointments.   I wonder if  you can sort of tell by how alert and engaged Charlie  is during walks.  Lucy was always up for exercise. The neighbor's dog that is on Zoloft also does not appear to be drugged.  (In fact, I would venture to say she could use a little more help, one way or another.) 

[Kyoko]

She did lose a bit of appetite. She is excited to go outside but not as spunky... This is possibly due to that she had hairline fracture in her hip over the summer and now is off the restriction for the activities. The vet said that her muscle had thined out from rstricted activities and needing to build it back up. So, the lack of spunk is possibly because she cant do much yet..... She is still a happy girl... so yeah, you are right. I think the medication is taking the edge off of her fear and anxiety.....

[Lauria Orr]

Oh, how sad Charlie had a fracture.  I am so glad she is recovering.  I think there is an initial period of adapting to medication, and I remember learning from a patient on Prozac that she initially lost weight...she was excited about that part.  I think that part is temporary.  I bet you are right about Charlie not being able to do as much yet due to her hip recovery.  

I have not been on DK much in the last year...very sporadic,really.  When did you get your new puppy?  

[Kyoko]

He came to us in January at age 5 months via my friend. He is a standars poodle.... He is a total opposite of Charlie.. LOL. Very laid back and docile....And that is why he came to stay with us. Since he is so docile, Charlie did not feel threatened by him and acceoted him. I  am pretty sporatic, as well. So nice to hear from you~

 

[Lauria Orr]

How exciting, Kyoko!  I am so happy to hear that Charlie accepted her new brother!  What a relief! I think some dogs (mine, for example) do much better having a dog to live and play with.  Melody and Morgan play very well together, and Melody having Morgan around has blossomed.  They "speak dog", and are a hoot to watch.  Melody is very submissive.  Morgan is just happy go lucky.  They do very well together. 

Congratulations!

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Thank you for letting us follow your journey. I'm so glad to hear Charlie is doing better, one step at a time is how we take life with my daughter. We have a one on one with our pup at the end of the month with a special trainer, he comes highly recommended. I'll be anxious for his interpretation of her personality/behavior pattern. Sassy's issues seem minimal compared to what Charlie is going through, my heart goes out to you and your commitment to make her life better - you've clearly earned your angel wings.

[Kyoko]

I give you a lot of credit..... One of my girl friends' son once complained that he has 8 brians and they all do things and talk at the same time and do not quiet down. once on the medication, he too told his mom that his brain works now. Charlie may feels like that.... Goo dluck with the trainer... I will be curious to know how that works out for Sassy.

[Kyoko]

One month - It has been about  month since she is on the medication. As a human mental health therapist, I always tell the parents that they still have to work with their child in modifying their behavior, and medication is not "cure all". They still need cognitive therapy, and behavioral modification, an parents have to work hard at it. Well, that is the same with the dog, I think.

Medication seem to take the edge off of the situation. But I can still see her eyeing the dog, person, etc... and it is my job to enable her to refocus on me. Also I can see her trying her best to compose herself. Yesterday during the hiking, she has to work really hard to keep herself together when a large back lab was jumping and lunging towards her about 10 feet away. I was paying so much attention to her to keep her composure, I did not recognize that Pinot was getting aroused by this. ( He wants to go play ) When Pinot began jumping around, Charlie could not take it any more and took it out on him and growled at him.

But I do see her trying really hard to keep herself together...

Happy thing was that, other dogs we came across were often jumping, barking and lunging. But Charlie walked fine and was able to ignore most of the part....