A word about behavior drugs

Happy Independence Day!

Today is a good day to talk about anxiety medication because there are a lot of dogs out there terrified of fireworks. It’s a busy time for veterinarians because they are getting asked to fill medications to cope with this holiday, and when dogs are really scared from the noise and commotion, they can try to escape from their homes to get away and end up getting hurt.

I think a lot of pet owners feel a little afraid themselves about giving their pets behavior medicine.

They may think the medication is going to change their pet’s personality, or that their pet will just be sleeping or “stoned” all the time. Others may think the drugs are unhealthy or unsafe and prefer to use natural/holistic treatments instead.

It’s very important to work closely with a veterinarian and make adjustments to the treatment plan when concerns like these come up. Changing the dose or time of day given is often helpful. Starting slowly and being patient for results is important. Or switching to a different medication may be the solution. I worked through 5 different drugs, and natural supplements before I finally learned to wag my tail.

The most important point I can make about using behavior medications, is that it’s never intended to work alone to “cure” the problem.

Whether it was prescribed for separation anxiety, fear aggression, noise phobia, compulsive behavior, overarousal, etc, the medication is intended to help the brain to make it easier to learn and adapt. Behavior modification plans should always be part of any treatment plan involving behavior drugs.

The treatment goal of any behavior problem is modification of that behavior. However, the term behavior modification is vague and depends upon the individual patient and behavior being addressed.

1. Management of any problem behavior requires recognizing and avoiding the stimuli that trigger the behavior in question.
2. The dog needs to learn to behave differently in response to the stimulus. The term differently is intentionally nonspecific because it is tailored to the individual animal and context in which the problem behavior occurs.

Behavior modification might include anything from counter-conditioning a fearful dog; actively training an appropriate, alternative behavior to a cue; or desensitizing a separation–distress dog to its owner’s leaving the room.

In some cases, there are limits to how far behavior modification alone can go. Extreme situational stress or fear can interfere with learning and decision making.

When dogs are overtly reactive—or, in the language of dog training, over threshold—they are physiologically aroused, which involves both the autonomic (fight or flight instinct) and endocrine (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis up-regulation) systems. In these cases, there is rarely any middle ground—the dog will move rapidly from a lack of reaction to extreme avoidance, aggression, or panic.

Temperamental or inherited generalized anxiety can also interfere with learning. Generalized anxiety, similar to situational anxiety, is more pervasive and challenging to overcome through training alone.

In these patients, the addition of behavioral drug therapy can significantly improve response to treatment. When underlying anxiety is reduced, the dog is more receptive to learning and its behavior can change more reliably in the long-term. As one owner of a fearfully aggressive dog reported after 2 months of fluoxetine administration, “I feel like it’s opened a door to her brain.”

WHAT ABOUT FIREWORKS?

Although, on a day-to-day basis, sedation is not a desirable drug effect, it may be necessary to eliminate distress spikes in specific situations, most frequently:

• Separation anxiety (administered at point of the owner’s departure)
• Thunderstorm or fireworks fear (administered 1 to 2 hours before the event)
• Car or airplane travel (administered 30 minutes before travel; then repeated as needed during travel).

Rather than administration on a daily or standing basis, sedative medication can be given on an as-needed basis, often in combination with a daily medication. Adding a short term medication at a higher dose which will cause sedation a few hours BEFORE the stressful event keeps the dog’s brain in a calm place. If it is given too late, and distress has caused the brain to climb over it’s anxiety threshold, it is almost impossible to calm down without removing the trigger.

I hope this helps some readers understand the importance and some misconceptions about behavioral medications. I could go on for hours discussing my own experiences, trials, fails, and successes. Please comment below if you’d like to know more:)