Behaviourial Medication- Clomipramine

[Seamus & Haidee]

After a visit to our dog trainer and animal behaviorist, he recommended that Seamus try anti anxiety medication.  he recently bit me on two occasions due to an event when he reacts towards skateboards and razor scooters.  I was just wondering if any one else has had their doodles on meds for this and if so what your thoughts were on the medication.  Our trainer also recommended more training with skateboards and scooters.  Thanks for your thoughts on this. xx

[F, Calla & Luca]

Medication can be very helpful, along with training for anxiety.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

My Murphy had a serious issue with skateboards, bikes and roller blades.  They frightened him and he reacted.  On one occasion he actually knocked me down and dragged me for several yards before I was able to get him under control.  We worked with our trainer, who would roller blade with Murph running along beside.  I think it helped to desensitize him, but I was never fully able to trust him.  So we made a decision that if that was so frightening to Murphy that it would elicit that strong of a response, we would just not take him to places where he would encounter any of these things.  It has limited our ability to walk on our beautiful bike trails and in parks, but that's okay.  I've been able to find other quiet places to walk him where he will not get stressed.  Murph had other anxious behaviors that were difficult to manage, especially his reactiveness to other dogs.  We did have him on meds for several months while going through a behavior modification program.  I think they helped, although he did have side effects.  He has a very sensitive digestive system and IBS, and the meds did cause this to get worse.  We had to put him on Pepcid to counteract these symptoms.  He was also very sleepy.  Bottom line, even on the medications he sometimes still reacted to other dogs....not as severely but we still had to be very careful where we took him. 

[Seamus & Haidee]

Thank you Jane. Seamus also has a very delicate stomach like Murphy so i will discuss this with our vet.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I remember you when you first signed on. I think we chatted.
One good thing, winter is almost here. Seamus will have time to calm down and skateboards go away.
As a mother of two boys, I spent a fortune on those skateboards. They are not cheap, with the average cost for a new board, wheels, and bearings starting at well over $300.00. They can not be taken out in rain or snow or it will ruin them!!!
They absolutely can not get wet.
You might see a few throughout the season but odds are a serious boarder will NOT be using one :) No way will they ruin their prize possession.

[Seamus & Haidee]

That is good to know. It is still mild in NYC- i think we are having an Indian Summer so lots of skateboards are still out.  I always wished we lived in the country so Seamus wouldn't have so many triggers like boards, scooters, other dogs and traffic but this is our reality for now and I have to try and make it work for us. Thank you!