Any luck with medication?

[mellie]

Originally Posted by Toby

Noah ( Toby was our last love, not that we do not love Noah as much and do not the heart to take him down or change my username yet ) is not crated at all he is about four years old usually goes for a walk ever day but I know he needs more to blow off some steam. Usually tell him no when his barking gets out of hand.

Sorry for your loss of Toby and I used the wrong dog's name...when Sally starts with this, i will ask her to give me five or jump through my arms-do all her tricks to distract her and calm her down some. Also putting a leash on calms her or putting her in a down helps but she will still bark some.Just throwing stuff out there. I lean more to behavior training because I believe our dogs should obey our commands whenever possible even though it may take a lifetime for them to learn to do so. I realize some dogs do need the help of medication though...I know Sally is less barky if she has played a lively game of fetch and worked on some tricks.

[OntarioSheltie]

I have a sheltie with anxiety issues that I treat with anti-anxiety medication. Toby takes fluoxetine, but he's also taken Reconcile, which is the canine version of fluoxetine.

Typically things like Xanax are used short term during stressful periods and are not meant for long term use.

Medication can be a handy tool, but its important to use in in conjunction with behavior modification. If you haven't already tried, I'd suggest contacting a good positive reinforcement trainer and/or canine behaviorist to help you, whether or not you go the medication route. They may be able to help you understand your sheltie's behavior more.

Toby has general anxiety as well as noise anxiety, which I really struggled with controlling. I spent almost a year training Toby and trying alternatives before medicating him, then I continued with his training after I began medicating him. I do wish I had medicated him sooner, but it is important to exhaust all other options before resorting to medication. The medication can put stress on the liver if used long term.

There are a number of over the counter, natural remedies which can help manage anxiety without stressing any of the dogs organs. Lactium and L-theinine are both great alternatives that I've used with Toby on and off.

I also bought Toby a Thundershirt, which has been REALLY helpful. A snug fitting child's t-shirt or a medical bandage can work the same way if you don't want to spend the money.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[Sheltiemama]

Casey, my oldest sheltie who will be 13 this month, has OCD or whatever the canine equivalent is.

He take Clomipramine 2 x a day. It's an anti depressant/anxiety type of med. It has helped him considerably AS LONG AS the routine stays pretty much the same.

He licked his feet constantly and has almost totally stopped that. I think what licking he has done recently is due to coming in from the snow.

He paced and panted constantly till it drove me up the wall! It was just awful!!! If he wasn't asleep, he was pacing and panting.

AS LONG AS the routine stays pretty much the same, he does much better.

However, when it got to be Christmas time and the routine changed a lot, he went right back to pacing and panting and driving me nuts again.

Now that things are getting back to normal, he is calming down again. Thank God.