So I'm new to posting, even if I've lurked the forums for some time, and I'll put up a full introduction later, but for now, here's the story: My dog, a 10 month old Mostly Labrador Retriever (he's a little skinnier than breed standard and has a curled tail, but considering we got him from a rescue that got him from a rescue that got him from an abuse situation we have no idea what else might be in there) neutered male named Trip is being trained to be my assistance dog. Or he was. As it turns out, due to the trauma he went through — Hurricane Irma, which destroyed his home — followed by the trip to the US and a few other hurdles, Trip is an extremely anxious dog. Anxious, stressed, and the behaviorist/trainer we work with has reached the point where she can't work with him without having him medicated. He does seem to be perpetually stressed, and often looks exhausted or miserable. I take anxiety meds myself and I want my dog to not feel like I feel inside my head, so of course I agree. She recommends trazodone. My vet does not prescribe trazodone; the vet is giving us clomicalm instead. Now, I'm a psychopharmacologist by bachelor's degree at least (though no longer by career, as I'm in graduate school for something else) but that's on humans. I knew the two drugs were similar enough as drugs to be okay with the substitution ... but while my trainer was able to say how he'd be with trazodone and how long it would take to work, she had left by the time we got the rx for clomicalm. Trip and I would love to hear about any positive experiences from this drug! Negative things are just going to scare me and in the midst of writing stressful grant proposals I can't really take being scared right now. So neutral to positive feedback please.
Hi there and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry, I can't help you specifically with this drug, but I wanted to tell you you're not alone with having an anxious dog; two of my Labradors are anxious by nature. This is nothing to do with life experiences, as I've had them from puppies; it's in their breeding. My younger dog has a rock star's confidence in comparison. Willow, my black girl, is medicated with Fluoxetine and it has made a massive difference to her quality of life (albeit we have had a couple of blips recently). I wasn't making a hint of an impression against her fears without the meds, but once they had kicked in, the difference in her was amazing. It took a good six weeks before I started to see the effects of the medication. Once I did, there was a cumulative effect and it just got better and better, and I was able to start working on her fears. We went from her being terrified by a party popper going off at a huge distance to being able to sit by my side as I fired a dummy launcher (which uses a blank gun shot). She is always going to be an anxious dog, but the meds have been brilliant for her. Sorry it's not specific to the meds you've been recommended, but hopefully knowing there's someone else out there with a medicated dog - and it works! - will be of some comfort to you. You need to be patient, and maybe have a word with the vet to see if there's any other drug Trip can have in the short term if the Clomicalm is going to take time to take effect. Willow was on Clonazepam for those first few weeks. I really didn't like it because it gave her big mood swings, but it did make a difference in being able to get her out of the door. I'm sure you're aware, but not all drugs work with all dogs, so it might be a bit of trial and error to find the right one for Trip. I was lucky that the Fluoxetine worked on Willow so we didn't have to move on to a different drug. Please do let us know how you get along with him.
My 2 1/2 yr old boy has been on Clomicalm for a year now and I am very happy with the effects - and he probably is, too. I felt so guilty about even considering medicating him in the beginning, but now I'm so happy I did. For general anxiety, we had tried the Thundershirt, Adaptil, and Zylkene (all vet-recommended) and finally went for a prescription. I was warned that it might take a while to find the correct medication to help him, but we tried Clomicalm first and it's helped immensely. I can't remember exactly how long it was before I saw the effects - two weeks, maybe a bit longer. It wasn't instant but it wasn't inordinate. And I've seen no side effects. The vet did blood work after 6 months and again recently to check his liver function and all was okay, so we're happy to continue with it. He had issues with general anxiety and over-arousal so that any visit somewhere new would end with his barking, leaping, nipping at, and muzzle punching me, and I despaired of ever being able to do any training outside of our property let alone any kind of dog sport. The Clomicalm has made a real difference and although it still takes him longer than other dogs to acclimate to a new place, we can get out and do some training and have lots of fun. I really like that the Clomicalm got rid of the anxiety/frustration/I-don't-know-what he was feeling without changing his personality or energy which are now directed toward fun and productive things. He just seems happier in himself and more content. I hope it works for you and Trip, too.
Welcome from another anxious dog owner. Homer was first put on Selgian which he didn't respond well to, he became a bit of an insecure over confident bully. We switched to Sertraline which does appear to have made a difference. Having an anxious dog is stressful, we understand what you're going through.
I crashed his training blog by mistake, so I can't write anything there, but I can provide a really boring Trip update: He's been on the med for 3 days. His dose is 80mg, which I think is the only dose you can really put a Lab on considering the weights listed. He drinks a lot more (not surprised), has had no decrease in his anxious behaviors (not surprised) and is much more lethargic in the morning. That was briefly concerning, but I'm assuming/hoping that like in human TCA meds, the side effects taper off after a week or so ... a few days to a week before the therapeutic effects start. We're apparently allowed to give him some of my Xanax; my vet doesn't write controlled substances, but when the behaviorist recommended a short course of benzos in really bad situations, I told them that I had my own prescription, so he can have 0.25mg of Xanax if he becomes totally inconsolable. This has only happened once. Last night he did a lot of angry barking and growling at the UPS truck, but he did it from inside his crate. Mighty defender Trip will fiercely save us all while being too scared to leave his corner.
Hi My dog Duke has been on Clonazapam (Clonicalm) for 2 years. He started taking it as a 6 month old for over arousal, as well as separation anxiety. At 2 1/2 he is a much more settled dog, but still struggles with anxiety. While he does seem a bit sedated while resting, when on walks or when playing with other dogs he is full of life. We are however actually thinking a trying a different combo of medications as Dukes anxiety seems to be getting worse over the last few months - elderly women, outboard motors (not on) and rubbish bins particularly dangerous in Dukes eyes. On the whole however medication has made a huge difference.
