[Dailydrool] Meds for aggressiveness

[Pam McQuade]

The first thing I would do is have a thorough check by the vet. Have 
Dottie's thyroid checked. A low thyroid level can be connected with 
aggressiveness, and the good news is that this is easy to treat with an 
inexpensive medication. I would also have a test for Lyme disease, which can 
also cause aggression. Your vet can tell you if you need to check out 
anything else.

Before you put Dottie on any medication for aggressiveness, make certain 
that she is not in pain from anything else. Pain can make dogs 
unpredictable.

Our Abner, who has a low thyroid, is on hypothyroid medication and Prozac. 
That combination helped him a lot. Sure, he still chases the cat 
occasionally, but so do all the dogs when the cat gets in their face. 
Generally he's calmer around the other dogs and MUCH better with me. But the 
thing that helped him most was putting him on glucosamine and chondroitin, 
for the arthritis pain in his back.

Another thing I have found very helpful is to be able to read a dog's signs 
of aggression. If you watch Cesar Milan, you've probably seen this. When a 
dog gets extremely quiet but is staring intently at another dog, it's time 
to intervene by distracting that dog. If you don't, you will be facing 
trouble in a second.

Not using medication that could help may put your dog at risk. If everything 
else checks out, I would ask the vet about the risks, and maybe try the 
Prozac for a while. If the risk for dog aggression is low, it's probably 
worth trying. After all, if Dottie bites someone else's dog, you could have 
a much harder time of it. Alternatively, your vet may be able to prescribe 
another medication that does not have that risk.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets