![]() ![]() They need patience, consistency, and a good training plan to teach them what we want.īut for dogs with more serious behavior issues, it’s often difficult or even impossible for them to learn until we address their underlying anxiety. Dogs with training issues don’t need medication – period. It’s important to realize that there is a critical difference between dogs with truly abnormal behavior issues (inappropriate aggression or reactivity, separation anxiety, thunderstorm or noise phobias, etc.) and dogs who have training problems like jumping on people or not coming when called. Simply put – if all goes well, they give us a level playing field for the rest of our treatment plan. So, now that we have a basic understanding of what kinds of medication we’re talking about, let’s get into the crux of the issue: what do these meds do, exactly, and why would we want to use them? The anti-anxiety effects of these drugs are usually much more dramatic and they work very quickly, but side effects (most notably drowsiness) are also more pronounced… as with everything else, there are trade-offs! Meds like this are commonly used for problems like thunderstorm phobia or separation anxiety, and are only given at the time they are needed. Commonly used drugs of this type would include short-acting anti-anxiety meds like Xanax, Valium, trazodone, and even tranquilizers like acepromazine on occasion. The second type is a situational medication, given only “as needed” for a specific problem. Effects are usually fairly subtle, and it can take several weeks to see benefits so they are definitely not a quick fix! But in some dogs, these medications can be extremely helpful as part of a long-term treatment plan. These drugs need to be in the dog’s system at a steady state all the time in order to work – think of them as “background meds,” quietly doing their job 24 hours a day. ![]() SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil fall into this category, as well as TCAs (tricyclic antidepressants) like Clomicalm. The first type is a daily medication, given every single day without fail regardless of what is going on. ![]() As with so many things in behavior, there is no “one size fits all.”įirst, let’s take a moment to outline what we mean by “medication.” After all, this term can encompass lots of different things! I’m using it here to mean prescription drugs, although I will also touch briefly on some natural calming aids and supplements that I’ve had success with in some cases.įor our purposes today, I want to discuss two main types of behavior medications. Medication may be an excellent, life-changing choice for some dogs, and not recommended at all for others. My goal with this discussion is not to convince you of anything in particular, but simply to provide information and clarify some misunderstandings that I often see. You may have strong opinions about this already, and that’s okay. Today, I want to shed some light on a sometimes confusing, often maligned topic in the field of dog training – namely, the use of medication to treat behavior problems. ![]()
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