When my dog, Sanchez, was recovering from a slipped disc in his neck, for a short time he was on some of the same medication that my mother takes for her back pain — gabapentin and tramadol. Fortunately, his acupuncture treatments were very successful at relieving his pain, and he was off of drugs pretty quickly. In addition to pharmaceutical drugs, psychiatric drugs have also grown in popularity for the 4-legged population.
An in depth article in Salon reported the results of a survey taken of insured Americans:
“One in five adults is currently taking at least one psychiatric drug. Americans spent more than $16 billion on antipsychotics, $11 billion on antidepressants and $7 billion on drugs to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2010. And according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control, 87 percent of people who visit a psychiatristc office leave with a prescription.”
Animal pharmaceuticals are a booming business. Salon also reported that the pet pharmaceutical business has grown from $6.68 billion in 2011 to a projected $9.25 billion by 2015. Zoetis Inc., once a subsidiary of Pfizer, is at the top of the pharmaceutical chain, with yearly sales of Pfizer’s animal pharmaceuticals worth roughly $3.9 billion. Reconcile is an FDA-approved just like Prozac, except it comes with a beef-flavor and is chewable.
One in seven dogs has an anxiety disorder that has been treated by a veterinarian. The company “Lilly” funded a study in 2007 that reported 17 percent of American dogs have separation anxiety.
Clomicalm by Navartis was also recently FDA approved for pets. The active ingredient duplicates the active ingredient in Anafranil. Novartis claims that it helps calm dogs with separation anxiety. Their website says, “CLOMICALM has been shown to be effective when administered in combination with behavioral modification techniques for the treatment of anxieties and stereotypies (obsessive compulsive disorder).”
Herein lies the problem. The majority of people want their dog’s anxiety problem solved, and solved quickly. And it’s much easier to give their pet a pill rather than try behavioral solutions or combine the two. While veterinary behaviorists may prescribe anti-anxiety medication, they only do so in combination with behavioral treatment. But, behavioral treatment often takes time, and pet parents would often rather solve the short term problem now than invest the time to solve the problem long-term.
Salon interviewed Nicole Cottam at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University who had this to say,
“50 to 60 percent of the people who come to the Tufts clinic want drugs for their dog, cat, or bird. Most of our clients don’t call or come back after the initial appointment, unless it’s to get refills. When people leave with a prescription and behavioral exercises, they tend to only use the pills.”
There are many alternative choices for natural behavioral treatments. Humans hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz. Dogs hear at least twice as high, sometimes all the way up to 60,000 Hz. Since a dog’s hearing is their second strongest sense (after smell), it’s not surprising that dogs respond to music clinically tested to calm their nervous system. For thousands of dogs, the sound therapy has helped calm them instantly, even those with severe anxiety issues who formerly had jumped out the window during fireworks. (Click for sound samples.)
For others, there are desensitization tools combined with training protocol by world-renowned trainer Victoria Stilwell. The goal is to change your dog’s association with the “bad noise,” i.e. fireworks, thunderstorms, construction sounds. Yes, that can take some time. But, like most humane dog training, the payoff is huge.
Other natural remedies include anxiety wraps, pheromone sprays, and calming caps. I highly encourage anyone with an anxiety ridden dog to try all of these natural solutions (and combine them as needed) before putting their dog on a doggie downer.
What has been your experience with treating canine anxiety problems? Thanks for sharing your thoughts in a comment below.
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