[Dailydrool] Prozac

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

When you are putting a hound on a drug for a behavioral issue, it's important to get the right one. When Abner got aggressive, we tried one drug, it may have been Xanax, which did nothing for him. Prozac quelled the aggression quite a bit, but it did not stop it all. You have to use behavioral methods along with the drug. Finally we discovered that Abs was in pain, which caused the aggression. Once we started the glucosamine and chondroitin that eased his back pain, he was fine.

Coming up with a solution to behavioral problems is a multipronged matter. I usually tell people that as the ones living with the dog, they have insights no vet can have. Watching what triggers the problems is a key part of dealing with the issue. When it seems that no triggers exist, you may actually be missing the key one, so you have to watch the dog for a while. It's not easy to come up with a solution. And of course, when it's a health issue, as it was with our Abs, you have to hit on the source of the pain. We actually came on the solution for Abs by talking to a surgeon who was looking at his cancer, not his back. I was so thankful I mentioned the back trouble to that vet, even though that was not specifically what we were there for.

Abs used to bite at my feet when I tried to walk past in him in narrow spaces. So I learned how to manage that. Throwing treats to him did not solve the problem, but I got bitten a lot less. I also learned not to look him in the eye, which he saw as a threat. These things helped me live with him, but only finding the real problem, his back pain, solved it.
 
Finding out what causes a dog to be aggressive can be a long road. Medication can help, but it's not the only part of the solution. Still, if it helps keep people safe, I am all for it, under a doctor's direction.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets