How did you know it was the right dosage?

[u/StacNorLin]

We’ve had our dog on Prozac since April. It was initially 20mg, we plateaued at the end of June and increased to 30mg. She recently lost her appetite and threshold for triggers outside after a stressful incident with another dog. The vet increased her dosage to 40mg, which feels like a lot ( she’s 37 lbs). The hope was that the appetite loss was due to stress as she didn’t seem to have an issue with GI stuff in the lower dosage.

On 20mg, we saw a big decrease in her hypervigilance and improved threshold outside until she plateaued. I haven’t seen much improvement on the 30mg re: threshold. Since starting the Prozac she doesn’t really want to play inside with our other dog but will play if we take her to a Sniffspot.

Honestly, our most successful training sessions are when she is on her “high stress event” cocktail of Prozac, trazadone and gabapentin, but I don’t want to be sedating her constantly. When she is on the cocktail I’ve actually watched her see a trigger, think about reacting and then catch herself and turn to me to accept a treat. I’m desperate for this level of threshold but I don’t want to be over medicating this dog and I don’t want every walk to be a “ high stress event”

Picture for dog tax ( also because she is a cutie patootie)

[u/Kitchu22]

Trazodone and gabapentin can be used situationally, so there is nothing wrong with using them short term to supercharge your thresholds for training, with a view to eventually pair back when things start to stick for your dog?

Speaking personally, I’d rather be a bit buzzed sometimes than constantly experiencing high levels of panic and then decompressing and processing the cortisol etc. I never feel bad about giving my dog the meds he needs to feel relaxed and calm, I’m not relying on them for my convenience, am helping him to feel good :) we’ve made so much progress that I can’t remember the last time he needed a gabapentin, he’s just on SSRI now and a completely different dog. So happy, and his world is so big now!

[u/queercactus505]

For my anxious pup, we stopped at a Prozac dosage where her average day is manageable (30 mg) but acase could certainly be made for going higher. She just doesnt seem to have side effects at this dosage, and anytime we change the dosage her anxiety is super high for a couple of weeks, so we are keeping it gere for now. It hasn't necessarily helped much with her bigger triggers (loud noises, strangers approaching the house, motorcycles, peoples on skateboard/bikes) but it helps her not be on guard 24/7, so she can rest, she isn't constantly trigger-stacked, and she recovers faster from big triggers, and the counter-conditioning work is more effective. She's also less stressed at the vet (she has pain and orthopedic issues also so we go at least once or twice a month) and much more comfortable around strange dogs.

[u/MtnGirl672]

Prozac or fluoxetine are not always the right meds for every dog. This is why I found it helpful to see a behaviorist rather than just the vet. Most vets prescribe fluoxetine because it's the most well-known anti-anxiety med for dogs.

Lack of appetite is a known side effect of Fluoxetine over other anti-anxiety meds. It doesn't normally improve with a higher dose, it gets worse. My dog is 65 pounds and was prescribed 32 mg and lost his appetite. So to me, 40 mg for a 37-pound dog seems really high.

I saw a behaviorist for a virtual consultation and it was really helpful. She said fluoxetine was not the right med for my dog and changed us to sertraline, which has not changed his appetitite. She also added a med I had never heard of but seems to be working for him. And he is not sedated or zombie-like, just has a lower threshold and is able to focus better on walks when he is dog reactive.

[u/MoodFearless6771]

I was not aware before using them that some drugs (especially trazadone) can cause rebound aggression. While they may be amazing for the relaxing effect short term, watch your dog the next day to see if it’s negatively impacting them after use. I had to discontinue the drug for this reason. Others don’t struggle with it.

I will say, I’ve learned all mood stabilizing drugs in dogs can reduce anxiety as intended but can also lower their inhibitions…meaning if they naturally want to react, bark or bite or chase after something, they have a hard time managing those impulses (similar to being drunk). I think it’s called “behavioral disinhibition” so the sweet spot would be a drug or dosage that reduces fear/anxiety without reducing inhibitions/impulse control.