If you ever wondered if our society is overmedicating dogs, simply type “anxiety medication for dogs” on your Google search and see how many medications come up. Not only are there at least a dozen type of prescribed medications for dogs, the amount of articles that come up, are at a minimum, overwhelming. The question I often ask myself is why do vets think they know how to “cure” a behavioral problem if behaviorism (or dog psychology) is not taught in veterinary school? Why are we (as a society) so quick to prescribe Tradozone, Fluoxetine, Acepromazine and other SSRI or TCA medications to beings that have never had these type of issues for thousands of years of coexisting with humans. Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves if there is something going on (beyond our relationship with our dog) that is causing vets to prescribe these type of medications for a being that lacks a sense of self? A being that, if left alone without human interaction, would never, ever have access to that type of behavior, let alone medication. Our inability to recognize that we (humans), as a species, lack many of the natural interactions that might make us less anxious, stressed or depressed is now resulting in us drugging an animal with serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. That, in my mind, is mental.
To be absolutely clear, I am not against vets or giving animals medication. I defer to medical experts when my dogs or any dog is in physical distress or needs a check up. Veterinary care is one of the most stressful professions there is and I am grateful to a great many professionals for healing my furry companions. I wish, however, that vets displayed the same level of respect for behaviorists. We in the dog training community (I use this term loosely) have spent decades learning and working with countless dogs with behavioral issues. I, for one, can say that I never saw a dog be cured with Acepromazine or Tradozone. We are literally drugging our dogs because we refuse to change something about our relationship with them. Dogs do not posses a sense of self and live from moment to moment. Have done so since they existed. Since anxiety is best characterized by a feeling of worry and fear – particularly about things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future… it is somewhat baffling to me for us to suddenly have a need to medicate beings that are clearly caught in a state of fight or flight simply because they are living with humans that do not know how to fulfill their need.
As of 2023 it has been reported that anxiety and depressive disorders affect about 39% of the US population. Since dogs imitate behavior is it any wonder then that we are seeing the same conduct that we are displaying in our pups? More importantly, however, can our dogs be showing us that we are not ok even when we are taking all those medications that are supposed to help our mental state? Maybe, just maybe, our pets are trying to show us that we need to change something in our behavior. Go back to a way of life that was more rooted in the now and not in the future or the past.
Therefore the answer to the question should we medicate our dogs is, in my opinion, a two folded one. If your dog has a physical ailment like a heart murmur or an infection, by all means go a trusted vet and listen to what they say. Veterinarians are doctors that studied for a long time in order to understand the physical body and how best to help it return to a healthy state. I comply with most of my vet’s recommendations on how to heal an injured body. However, when it comes to healing behavior, changing an undesirable state of mind or teaching a dog to live in a calmer mindset, I do not believe that medications work. They are a bandaid that will, maybe, address the actions displayed but will not change anything about the underline cause of said behavior. Anxiety in dogs is a consequence of humans not treating them like dogs. Of not knowing how to fulfill a being that has needs different that your own. If one believes that their dog is suffering from anxiety, they should do their research and find a behaviorist to help improve the quality of life of that dog. And, maybe, by extension, increasing their own quality of life.
We all want what is best for our pups. Hence why the medical industry is investing big bucks in mental medications for dogs. There is a lot of money to be made where people are confused and scared. The work comes in finding out how we can return to a more natural way of being. One where we live more for the now than for what happened yesterday or may happen tomorrow. Our dogs are trying to help us with that, but we choose to medicate them instead of doing the work in changing how we relate to them and to the world. I truly believe that dogs can help us achieve a calmer state of mind. Our work comes in finding a professional that can help us change and improve the communication gap between what we want and what we are saying to our pets. That is the best medication… information and a willingness to learn from the other. Your dog will be more than willing to change their behavior if we only change ours. There is no need for medicine for that.
