@tylerbalk I save a lot of money on treats nowadays lol she wasn’t big on treats outside prior to starting Prozac and now she has 0 interest. She is still super ball motivated so that will work, but I don’t need to bring one anymore as she responds to commands and vocal praise well.
And nothing really works with her reactivity when dogs are close. I’ve kinda just given up on that, as no trainer has been helpful. I figured Prozac couldn’t fix every problem but it’s doing an incredible job in every other area.
Definitely stay in touch with your vet! My girl has her first appointment since starting Prozac next month and I’m going to bring up the appetite issue, but at least she eats her kibble now with wet food.
@tylerbalk My dog is on clonidine and Prozac. Maybe a combination like that might help. He was already on those medications when we adopted him, so I can’t say for sure that they have been the source of his behavior improvement, or if it is just settling in plus the training we are doing. I can say that we can tell when it’s time for his second dose of clonidine in the evening based on how frantic he gets. Worth a conversation with your vet about changing up the medication routine.
@ccboomboom Thanks for your advice. It's good to know there are other medications out there that may help in combination. We'll stick Prozac out for a while longer and will definitely ask the vets about their thoughts on a combination med if this doesn't work out for us.
@tylerbalk We definitely saw lowered appetite and lethargy for the first few weeks after starting fluoxetine, but it evened out after about 6-8 weeks and she was eating fairly normally again. We saw some positive behavioral impact in the 4-6week range but it really didn't start to show until a couple months in.
My girl is doing great on it. Like your dog, she was always over threshold when we were away from home, and that is no longer the case. She adapts to new places better, can take treats, and is a lot more confident. We've been working with a behavior mod trainer as well, but her reactivity is a fraction of what it was. Mostly I just love seeing her so happy and confident out in the world.
@prophetictimes This is my dream scenario, I'm hoping we start to see some improvements over the next couple of weeks. I'm so so glad your girl is doing well. I'm so happy to hear it's helped lowered her threshold. All I want is for my girl to be happy and confident when we take her out. She's the most sweet and wonderful dog to be around in the house but she's just not herself the second we leave the door and it pains me. I'm not expecting miracles - just hoping to get her to a place where our training can pay off. Thanks for the encouragement!
@tylerbalk If fluoxetine doesn't get her there, keep working with your vet. There are multiple meds in the same class and it can sometimes take a few tries to find the right fit. Your doggo can get there!
@tylerbalk We saw extreme lethargy with Prozac as well. It was so bad we had to carry him to bed at night. Eventually we gave up and switched him to a different medication (venlafaxine) that has been working well.
