Normalize Canine Behavior Meds

Normalize Canine
Behavior Meds

Let me just start with a quick disclaimer: I am a Certified Behavior Consultant, and while I have attended seminars and workshops to further my education and knowledge in regard to behavior meds, I am not a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist. I do not nearly have the education or experience compared to what a veterinary behaviorist receives to fully understand the complexity and detail that goes into behavior medication and diagnostics of our canine companions. I am not here to offer medical advice or medical recommendations for your dog. I am simply writing this to spread awareness and break the stigma regarding behavior meds for our pups. 

About a year ago, if you had asked me about my opinion on medicating a dog for behavior, I would have been strongly opposed. I would have explained that drugging your dog would simply suppress behaviors and was not a real solution...that behavior medications have so many side effects, and as people, we can communicate those side effects but our dogs cannot...That the risks outweigh any real benefit. I would have said all of this simply based on my own experience with behavior meds, my sensitivities, and side effects from different SSRI’s... without any real background knowledge on canine behavior meds or factual science to back up my argument, and frankly I would have been wrong. 

I attended The Lemonade Conference last Spring. There was a presentation by Jennifer Summerfield, DVM; “Intro to Behavior Medications: What Are They, And How Can They Help?” A fantastic presentation with so many “aha!” moments. That very afternoon, I researched Veterinary Behaviorists and Consultants in my area, and I made an appointment for my Nadia at Summer Creek Animal Clinic with the amazing Dr. Tucker. I realized during the presentation that my “Naughty Nadia” needed more help than I was giving her. 

I know I’ve spoken about Nadia a lot, she’s been my muse that really inspired me to become a canine behavior consultant. Some background info on my Nadia (I promise I’ll try to be brief...keyword: “try”): Firstly, she’s amazing. She’s a LOVER of all the people, especially kiddos. She is a certified Therapy Dog and she is part of a READ program (Reading Education Assistance Dogs)- she provides therapy to kiddos, lays on a mat with them while they read to her, and she loves it. (Damn the pandemic for putting a pause on this- we miss our friends). She is the best snuggler, kisser, and total ham...AND she has some difficulties with new dogs, reactions on a leash to new dogs look like barking and lunging, with which we’ve made huuuuge improvements. The one area we had continued to struggle with is that she tends to feed off of the emotional responses of others around her with reactions of higher intensity and oftentimes works herself up into a stressed and panicked state. This looked like pacing, whining, whimpering, excessive barking (that super high decibel bark), fixating, dilated pupils, heavy breathing...and she would get “stuck” in these moments. 

There was a time years ago when we lived in a household with a roommate who had several dogs, and these dogs didn’t always get along. There were the occasional fights between dogs, and when I would intervene to separate other dogs from these scuffles, Nadia would jump in and latch on to whoever I grabbed. Grabbing and shaking with difficulty releasing. At first, I tried simply managing the situation. I didn’t have other means of living at the time. This meant she was physically separated and rotated from the roommate’s dogs and was only with my other dogs. This helped slightly, but there were times she would be in a separate space and simply hear other dogs get into a scuffle, get in her stuck high-pitch barking moment, and redirect onto one of my other dogs. To say this was a stressful environment for her, for me, and for the other dogs, was an understatement.

I made the decision to move, and her behavior significantly improved. We both felt a little better (Ok, a lot better), but she still had stuck moments like “You’re gonna chase that squirrel? Ok, I’m gonna REALLY chase that squirrel...until I pass out.” …Alert barking from the other dogs still equaled a panicked state for Nadia. Over the years we had developed some coping mechanisms and tactics to help with these moments (which were oftentimes unpredictable and fed from the reactions of the dogs and people around her). We developed a really strong language of communication, recall specifically, a settlement to the side behavior, massage, and breathing. We had made huge progress with her behavior and managed a ton to keep her feeling safe, but it didn’t seem like enough. 

     Fast forward to our appointment with Veterinary Behavior Consultant, Dr. Tucker. I explained my hesitancy with behavior medication, but I also admitted that I thought I was doing a disservice to Nadia by not considering meds as an option. There were many things that Dr. Tucker said to me at our appointment that really put my mind at ease, but one thing that really stuck with me and how I often explain the consideration of meds to my clients is this: Behavior medications are not a magical fix. They are not going to make a behavior go away. They are simply meant to facilitate training. They can assist your dog in coping with situations a little bit easier. They can bump up their threshold a tad to make progress reachable.

Behavior Medications Promote Learning 

That has certainly been my experience with Nadia. 100mg Sertraline 2x a day + Behavior modification training. I get teary-eyed thinking about the progress we’ve made just in the last year. She’s been able to make new dog friends, she gets “stuck” wayyyyy less often (and not totally stuck anymore, I might add- verbally she can be called away from these moments now 99% of the time), and she has a much better relationship with the other dogs in my household, her reactivity on a leash is minimal. I’m so so proud of my girl, and I am so grateful to Dr. Tucker for helping us get over this hump to a place I never thought we could be. 

I think we often assume that medication is a last resort. “Okay, I’ve tried everything else, guess I’ll try meds.” ...But usually, it doesn’t work that way. I think about if I had tried medication with Nadia sooner if we would have reached this sweet spot sooner if I could’ve helped her to feel safe sooner. 

What if we took the time to frame our thinking of behavior meds a little bit differently? Instead of thinking about them like such a taboo subject only meant for those “really bad dogs”, we thought of behavior meds like a booster seat to behavior change. Think of crowd surfing at a concert, and those people underneath supporting your progression to the front of the stage are behavior modification training AND behavior meds. What if behavior meds were normalized? Like insulin for a diabetic dog, antibiotics for an infection, IV fluids for dehydration….behavior medication for a dog with generalized anxiety disorder? Normal. #mentalhealthmatters

Let me end by reiterating what I stated initially, I am not a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist. Behavior meds are not for every dog, and if you feel like your dog is missing a piece of their training puzzle and you want the help of a Veterinary Behaviorist, I recommend researching Veterinary Behaviorists in your area.