anyone have any luck w anxiety meds lessening reactivity?

[nwmann]

my dog’s extremely reactive to dogs/cats/squirrels, lunges towards them, barks like a mad woman, yelps, whines, it’s super stressful. i’ve been doing my best at keeping my distance from these stressors, but we live in a city so it’s almost every day at least one occurrence happens. aside from this reactivity, i love everything about my dog. the reactivity is getting really stressful for me. i find myself on high alert when going on walks which adds to my anxiety. i’m wondering if anxiety meds have helped any of you with similar issues? i’m not looking for a cure but more so something to take the edge off/dampen the behavior. thanks in advance!

 

[yeshuasown]

@nwmann Fluoxetine (20mg, 1/day). Started at 40mg/day + 100 mg, 1/day of Gabapentin, but wheeled that back to the current dosage -- too many peaks and valleys. I'd pass on anything CBD related, and your mileage may vary on the herbal calming aids. None of it matters if you don't pair it with cognitive training methods, a decent walking rig (harness and double handled leash) and plain ol' maturation. This breed does take some time to adjust to city life because of their need to work and their sensitivity to motion/sound.

 

[mbahchidinma]

@yeshuasown All of this. Plus clonidine 0.4-0.6 mg 2 times per day can help with the impulse control. Depending on your vets experience with behavior meds, this medication may require seeing a veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine. (My mother is a veterinarian, and my entire family has extensive breed experience).

 

[nwmann]

@yeshuasown thank you so much i will look into this/discuss w my vet!!! appreciate it.

 

[lynetteida]

@nwmann I was in the same situation with mine, busy town life and all. I had ramped her up to the max dose of fluoxetine with only moderate impact on her behavior. Unfortunately she developed incontinence after about 3 months, which my vet said was "definitely not related", but the incontinence cleared up once I tapered her off. Go figure.

Anyways, while she was drugged up, I worked to remove every damn trigger I could, while also building on the absolute chillest routines I could. She's definitely improved now, but not as much as I'd hoped if I'd been able to keep her on the meds for longer. If you do this, it can work, but have a plan before you start, on how you're going to retrain her