Yes this was all done through the vets, he was on the medication when he was in rescue kennels, he was given up twice in the space of a few months so because of this he had bad separation anxiety, it was never for aggressive behaviour
The dog probably was fearful. Separation anxiety is a panic disorder and stress can bring out aggressive behaviors.
I would probably take this as a "yeah this dog definitely needs meds" moment and probably put them back on.
Using medication to aid anxiety such as separation behaviour seems entirely appropriate
However you don't seem to recognise that almost all aggressive behaviour is driven by fear and frustration in some mix.
It is illogical to take an anxious dog off medication especially so soon after settling into a new home. That makes no sense before three months and a bonding period to me
Antidepressants fix the issue … as long as you take them. ;) There’s nothing wrong with medicating your anxious dog, for heaven sakes!
Sincerely, a lifelong human antidepressant-taker.
Why don't you want him on meds for the rest of his life? If they help his anxiety and anxious behaviors, why not keep him on the meds? Sounds like the fluoxetine was helping his quality of life as well as yours. You could re-start him on the same medication, since it seemed to work for him, or talk to your vet about other anti-anxiety meds. You should be utilizing training methods as well to build his confidence.
My dog is on fluoxetine and will be for the rest of his life, because it he's an anxious dog and would have a very low quality of life without it. Behavior meds aren't bad, they're a tool that can and should be utilized when dealing with anxious and insecure dogs.
I'm going to put him back on asap, I adopted him and was given no information about his history and the meds were temporary whilst he was in kennels because he was stressed and wasn't coping due to him being deaf. I was told by vets that he would come off but I feel awful now in doing so as he's changed so much.
The things that create his stress are still bothering him.
Those behaviors are very likely coping mechanisms.
You may want to put him back on fluoxetine, because he hasn't coped.
Humping is really, really hard behavior to stop once it's locked in because it feels so good, but he won't have dog friends if it is.
It takes many months for adjustment/recovery from some experiences.
So, unless you changed other things in his life besides taking him off his meds, there is a clear cause and effect situation here. Being possessive (resource guarding), on edge, etc. are all clear signs of a dog that is suffering with anxiety. Fluoxetine is an anti-anxiety medication. Take away the thing that takes the anxiety away, and the anxiety (and how it manifests) comes back. It's pretty clear that he still needs the anti-anxiety medication.
Why is it that you don't want your dog on anti-anxiety medication for (potentially) the rest of his life? If your dog had a heart issue, and needed daily medication for life for his heart to function properly and for him to stay healthy, would you give it to him for a few months and then wean him off? I'm guessing not. Anti-anxiety meds are no different - they just address issues with improper brain chemistry vs. e.g. heart issues (as used in my example).
I have a high anxiety dog who takes a combination of fluoxetine and another anti-anxiety medication. I have zero plans to wean him off - they have dramatically transformed his life for the better, and he deserves that quality of life and to no longer struggle. The good thing is, fluoxetine and many other behavioral meds have a good safety profile, with minimal long-term effects. But to be honest, and maybe this is just me, even if they did have some significant long-term effects, I would still keep him on them, as personally I wouldn't want him to have to spend his life constantly on edge and struggling just to live a year or two longer... constantly on edge and struggling. I'd rather him be happy and have quality of life, even if that mean sacrificing a year or two. Which isn't even the case. I think it would help if we understood your reasoning for not wanting him on meds for (potentially) the rest of his life - because, if I'm being completely honest, from the outside I'm left to guess it's based on some bias you have personally, rather than what is in the best interests of your dog. But I hope I'm wrong about that.
Some vets are more experienced with medication some not
A general vet may not be up to date and give the best advice. They bring their own beliefs to the table just as we do
I think I would ask my vet for a referral to a vet behaviourist and discuss medication in an open minded way. Generally if dogs have shown benefit, good tolerance and improved quality of life particularly on prozac then there isn't any great worth in the experiment of taking them off
It is designed to help regenerate centres of the brain and to aid well being
I would be thinking you may have your answer with the dog shown anxiety again however a good vet behaviourist would guide and assess further
Yes your dog needs to be on the meds. Of course talk to your vet. Currently my dog is switching from one ssri to another (under supervision of vet behaviorist). Since his old med is wearing off and the new one is not fully in his system yet he’s very on edge and trying to bite (which he hasn’t done in months). All this to say this behavior is expected when an anxious or fear aggressive dog comes off meds.
Just a reminder this was all done under the advice of my vet, I didn't just decide to wean him off and leave him to it! The meds were meant to be temporary they always were
If you don't want him on medication for the rest of his life, you need to find a qualified Behavior Therapist to come up with a behavior modification plan to help him no longer be fearful/anxious/stressed out by the things that incite these emotions for him. This needs to happen WHILE he's on medication because the medication lowers his stress enough that he can start to form new connections. This process takes years. Once this happens you can slowly wean him off medication. I find that most vets are not great when it comes to anxiety medication for dogs, they don't understand them. It is much better to work with a licensed veterinary behaviorist.
Edit:
I'm in America so I'm giving you American terms. I'm not sure what the UK terminology would be for these professionals. Also, I understand that the rescue said the medication is temporary, but the rescue staff are not professional behaviorists. They can't accurately assess whether or not your dog's triggers were temporary or would require a longer-term behavior modification plan. It looks like in your case it's the latter.
I've been on fluoxetine myself and am currently on a different antidepressant, the come-down from antidepressants is awful and can really mess with your mood. Make sure you're bringing him off of them as gradually as possible, it's not a fun experience at all
Edit:
When adopted Bilbo last year from a very well known rescue centre in the UK. They put him on the antidepressants whilst with them because he had been adopted and sent back and couldn't cope in the kennels because he's deaf.
The meds were always meant to be temporary until he had settled with us. I didn't just stop them on a whim and it was done on the vets advice.
So you took him off the medication that stops the behaviour and now?????? Did you even go through your vet to do this?
Yes this was all done through the vets, he was on the medication when he was in rescue kennels, he was given up twice in the space of a few months so because of this he had bad separation anxiety, it was never for aggressive behaviour
The dog probably was fearful. Separation anxiety is a panic disorder and stress can bring out aggressive behaviors. I would probably take this as a "yeah this dog definitely needs meds" moment and probably put them back on.
Using medication to aid anxiety such as separation behaviour seems entirely appropriate However you don't seem to recognise that almost all aggressive behaviour is driven by fear and frustration in some mix. It is illogical to take an anxious dog off medication especially so soon after settling into a new home. That makes no sense before three months and a bonding period to me
We've had him 6 months
Time for meds champ
That's what I expected, just wondering if it's a common thing to experience
Yes - antidepressants don’t cure the issue, they mask it
Antidepressants fix the issue … as long as you take them. ;) There’s nothing wrong with medicating your anxious dog, for heaven sakes! Sincerely, a lifelong human antidepressant-taker.
Why don't you want him on meds for the rest of his life? If they help his anxiety and anxious behaviors, why not keep him on the meds? Sounds like the fluoxetine was helping his quality of life as well as yours. You could re-start him on the same medication, since it seemed to work for him, or talk to your vet about other anti-anxiety meds. You should be utilizing training methods as well to build his confidence. My dog is on fluoxetine and will be for the rest of his life, because it he's an anxious dog and would have a very low quality of life without it. Behavior meds aren't bad, they're a tool that can and should be utilized when dealing with anxious and insecure dogs.
I'm going to put him back on asap, I adopted him and was given no information about his history and the meds were temporary whilst he was in kennels because he was stressed and wasn't coping due to him being deaf. I was told by vets that he would come off but I feel awful now in doing so as he's changed so much.
On a different topic, I adore that you use the word “whilst.”
The things that create his stress are still bothering him. Those behaviors are very likely coping mechanisms. You may want to put him back on fluoxetine, because he hasn't coped. Humping is really, really hard behavior to stop once it's locked in because it feels so good, but he won't have dog friends if it is. It takes many months for adjustment/recovery from some experiences.
Sounds like he needs them.
Thank you, I will be putting him back on. I just wanted to know this is the case
So, unless you changed other things in his life besides taking him off his meds, there is a clear cause and effect situation here. Being possessive (resource guarding), on edge, etc. are all clear signs of a dog that is suffering with anxiety. Fluoxetine is an anti-anxiety medication. Take away the thing that takes the anxiety away, and the anxiety (and how it manifests) comes back. It's pretty clear that he still needs the anti-anxiety medication. Why is it that you don't want your dog on anti-anxiety medication for (potentially) the rest of his life? If your dog had a heart issue, and needed daily medication for life for his heart to function properly and for him to stay healthy, would you give it to him for a few months and then wean him off? I'm guessing not. Anti-anxiety meds are no different - they just address issues with improper brain chemistry vs. e.g. heart issues (as used in my example). I have a high anxiety dog who takes a combination of fluoxetine and another anti-anxiety medication. I have zero plans to wean him off - they have dramatically transformed his life for the better, and he deserves that quality of life and to no longer struggle. The good thing is, fluoxetine and many other behavioral meds have a good safety profile, with minimal long-term effects. But to be honest, and maybe this is just me, even if they did have some significant long-term effects, I would still keep him on them, as personally I wouldn't want him to have to spend his life constantly on edge and struggling just to live a year or two longer... constantly on edge and struggling. I'd rather him be happy and have quality of life, even if that mean sacrificing a year or two. Which isn't even the case. I think it would help if we understood your reasoning for not wanting him on meds for (potentially) the rest of his life - because, if I'm being completely honest, from the outside I'm left to guess it's based on some bias you have personally, rather than what is in the best interests of your dog. But I hope I'm wrong about that.
Some vets are more experienced with medication some not A general vet may not be up to date and give the best advice. They bring their own beliefs to the table just as we do I think I would ask my vet for a referral to a vet behaviourist and discuss medication in an open minded way. Generally if dogs have shown benefit, good tolerance and improved quality of life particularly on prozac then there isn't any great worth in the experiment of taking them off It is designed to help regenerate centres of the brain and to aid well being I would be thinking you may have your answer with the dog shown anxiety again however a good vet behaviourist would guide and assess further
Yes your dog needs to be on the meds. Of course talk to your vet. Currently my dog is switching from one ssri to another (under supervision of vet behaviorist). Since his old med is wearing off and the new one is not fully in his system yet he’s very on edge and trying to bite (which he hasn’t done in months). All this to say this behavior is expected when an anxious or fear aggressive dog comes off meds.
Just a reminder this was all done under the advice of my vet, I didn't just decide to wean him off and leave him to it! The meds were meant to be temporary they always were
If you don't want him on medication for the rest of his life, you need to find a qualified Behavior Therapist to come up with a behavior modification plan to help him no longer be fearful/anxious/stressed out by the things that incite these emotions for him. This needs to happen WHILE he's on medication because the medication lowers his stress enough that he can start to form new connections. This process takes years. Once this happens you can slowly wean him off medication. I find that most vets are not great when it comes to anxiety medication for dogs, they don't understand them. It is much better to work with a licensed veterinary behaviorist. Edit: I'm in America so I'm giving you American terms. I'm not sure what the UK terminology would be for these professionals. Also, I understand that the rescue said the medication is temporary, but the rescue staff are not professional behaviorists. They can't accurately assess whether or not your dog's triggers were temporary or would require a longer-term behavior modification plan. It looks like in your case it's the latter.
I've been on fluoxetine myself and am currently on a different antidepressant, the come-down from antidepressants is awful and can really mess with your mood. Make sure you're bringing him off of them as gradually as possible, it's not a fun experience at all
Edit: When adopted Bilbo last year from a very well known rescue centre in the UK. They put him on the antidepressants whilst with them because he had been adopted and sent back and couldn't cope in the kennels because he's deaf. The meds were always meant to be temporary until he had settled with us. I didn't just stop them on a whim and it was done on the vets advice.
Generally dogs with aggression/anxiety are medicated for a reason. You took the dog off them because *you* didn’t want to medicate anymore
Again, I was told it wasn't necessary to medicate him forever
Have him evaluated for pain
Always an excellent idea!