Why I Don’t Judge People For Medicating Dogs With Anxiety
Every once in a while you read an article that really gets to you. One that makes you say yes, damnit!
Well for me it was Rant(ish): Don’t Tell Me I’m Doing Too Much With My IVDD Dog!
It brought up all the mixed feelings I have about receiving unsolicited advice, especially when it comes to medicating dogs with anxiety.
I’m not going to tell you whether or not you should use medication, and I’m not going to tell you what medication to use.
I’m just going to tell you from personal experience why I don’t judge others based on their decision to use anxiety medication for their dogs.
Severe Anxiety in Dogs Causes Suffering
My previous dog Carter suffered from severe anxiety, and unfortunately it was not something that was easy to manage.
When I made the choice to treat my dogs anxiety with medication it was not a decision I made quickly. We had tried behavioral modification methods, desensitization, thunder shirts, calming oils, soothing music & supplements. We tried “riding it out,” distraction techniques & just acting like it was no big deal. None of those methods stopped the shear panic & hysteria he experienced during fireworks.
We tried every combination of treatments but nothing worked. While we did see improvements during thunderstorms, fireworks remained a problem.
His anxiety during fireworks was not what anyone would consider normal. It was constant shaking, pacing, whining, drooling & scratching at the door to escape. We’d move to a quieter room yet the anxiety followed him everywhere. It’s heartbreaking to see your dog so out of control with fear, feeling completely helpless yourself because you can’t figure out how to make it stop.
That sort of anxiety is brutal, and I’d certainly classify it as causing pain & suffering.
Sometimes Medication is the Humane Option
Not all dogs suffer from severe anxiety, like many conditions it exists on a spectrum from mild to severe. But for the dogs that do suffer from it medication can be the most humane option.
Choosing to use medication for an anxious dog is not an easy decision, and it’s certainly not one I took lightly. When your dog is suffering you’ll be faced with difficult choices, and they’re yours alone to make.
I didn’t think of anxiety medication as a “quick fix,” and I didn’t have delusions that it was going to erase all of his anxieties. It’s purpose for us wasn’t to fix the anxiety & fear altogether, it was to help make it more manageable.
Some dogs don’t need medications, as much as they need consistent training and exercise, but for others the benefits of the appropriate medication are huge. Talk to a trainer and a vet to determine if medications are an option for your dog. – Medications For Fear & Anxiety, Fearfuldogs.com
Why I Don’t Judge Dog Owners Regarding Medication
After choosing to use medication to help treat his anxiety during fireworks I received some criticism & all kinds of unsolicited advice. Most of it made me feel ten times worse.
When you simply say “well I wouldn’t medicate my dog for that” it seems to imply that you assume we failed. That we haven’t tried to fix the problem hard enough, or that we’re just giving up. That we’re just reaching for medication because it’s “easy.”
When you tell me that your dog used to be fearful of storms but now they’re fine because you found some amazing oil I get it, I really do. You’re trying to be helpful by offering a suggestion, but sometimes that advice just makes us feel like our issues are somehow no big deal. I mean if it can be fixed with oil why the hell am I still having a problem?
I’m glad that worked for your dog, but that doesn’t mean it will work for my dog.
Giving advice isn’t a bad thing, but depending on the subject matter it can get pretty sensitive. When we’re taking about treatments for our pets things get pretty personal, and it’s easy to get offended by advice that seems so simple.
Whether you intend to or not that advice can make us feel like we just haven’t tried hard enough, that we’re making rash decisions, and that that we just haven’t been doing anything right.
I’m not saying that advice isn’t helpful, often it is. I’m just saying that if you’re going to be giving advice regarding medical treatments or anything deeply personal you might want to be careful about your phrasing.
There’s a big difference between saying “this works because my dog is fine” and “maybe this would work for your dog since it worked so well for us.”
Medication can improve your dog’s quality of life while training is taking place and can make that training work more quickly and effectively. – Myth: Anxiety Medication Should Only Be Used as a Last Resort, Paws Abilities Dog Training
If Your Dog Has Anxiety You Have my Sympathies
The 4th of July is a shitty day for pets, and it’s a stressful day for many of us pet owners because of all the chaos. It’s estimated that at least 40% of dogs experience noise anxiety, and for some that anxiety can be severe.
If your dog suffers from severe anxiety you have my sympathies. It’s a horrible condition to try to manage, and the judgments you’ll receive if you even mention medication will make you feel ten times worse.
And if someone tells you that there’s an easier way to treat your dogs anxiety don’t take it personally. Not everyone understands how severe anxiety can be. You know your dog best, and if you see them suffering you’re the one responsible for finding a way to ease that pain.
I don’t judge you for medicating your anxious dog. I’ve been there, I’ve seen the suffering. I’ve seen my own dog go through it, and I’ve seen other dogs break through windows because of it. It can be brutal.
Sometimes using anxiety medication is the most humane option available.
This is such a good article!
While I won’t judge anyone for using anxiety medication, I will judge people when they continue to allow their dogs to suffer while they try all sorts of holistic stuff that clearly doesn’t work for the intensity of issues their dogs suffer from because “they don’t believe in anxiety medication”.
That sort of thing frustrates me so much, especially since I’ve seen such good results with so many dogs, not just my own.
Thank you. The issue of anxiety medication is very personal to me, and until I saw how much pain the condition can cause I was unaware of how big of a problem it really is. Unfortunately there is a lot of stigma around anxiety medication, especially when it comes to animals. While I understand being cautious as you mention there are times when medication works wonderfully when other treatments fail. And for many pets & people alike the best results often come from a combination of medication & training (therapy for people).
I’m actually going to ask my vet about it tomorrow. Blueberry whines, paces, and sometimes will get a glazed look in her eye that tells me she is so afraid, she has no idea where she is or who I am. She’s actually tried to bite me (although she’s so gentle anyway, I wasn’t injured) when I tried to offer her a pet of comfort. My vet has recommended Benadryl, but that really does nothing for extreme noise from fireworks or when a storm really gets going here during monsoon season. And if the lights go out, it takes her fear to a whole new level.
It really is a horrible thing to watch them go through. I hope your vet is able to give you lots of options & information tomorrow. And you’re right about the extreme noises from fireworks or bad storms, it becomes nearly impossible to find ways to help calm them down during those instances.
Great post Jen. Many of the puppy mill dogs we work with have to be medicated just to help them function.
Before Maggie was on meds she was so fearful and skittish she couldn’t even learn how to be a dog. The meds allowed her to actually take time to observe her world (instead of running in fear from it) and to observe her dog friends and start to mimic them. She never would have learned hand-targeting or “watch me” without them.
I used to be against meds for dogs (mostly because I thought big pharma was just looking for another avenue to market their product), but now I am a believer. I cannot imagine what Maggie or Cupcake (who was on meds in her early days) would have been like without them. So glad you found something that worked for your dog.
Thank you. Anxiety can be debilitating, and in some cases there doesn’t seem to be any easy way to help them focus on anything other than the fear/phobia itself. I’m glad you found something that worked for Maggie. For us the combination of medication & training worked very well. As you said the medication allowed my dog to actually calm down enough to start observing things around him, rather than being paralyzed by fear.
Well said.
When Rodrigo and Sydney were puppies, our veterinarian immediately prescribed medication to help Rodrigo make it through the fireworks on New Years Eve. It was unnecessary. Today, our veterinarians would recommend training, exercise, and natural supplements, because they would see that Rodrigo’s anxieties aren’t severe, they’re normal fears of a loud noise. He’s not at risk of harming himself or others.
I have a different experience with anxiety in dogs and have chosen to treat my dogs naturally and that has been successful. As a result of my experience, I try and share this option for people who may jump to prescription medication when it’s unnecessary. It wasn’t until later that I learned what serious anxiety in dogs looks like and it’s nothing like what my dogs experience.
I don’t think it’s okay for me to tell people that they shouldn’t medicate their dogs; instead, I share my experience and research and hope this information will help them make the right choice for their dogs, regardless of what I believe is right or wrong.
Severe anxiety is a horrible thing for dogs to go through. After I saw how bad some dogs got (worse than my previous dog Carter) I was in shock. It’s heartbreaking. As you mentioned before I saw that I had no idea how bad it could actually be.
Great post! I like to try holistic, all natural things FIRST, not just for anxiety but other things as well. But only first; if those things don’t work then sometimes medications are just necessary. I just do for my dogs what I do for myself; I don’t rush to harsh medications for myself, but sometimes that is just what is needed!
I have seen medications that some people don’t believe in work miracles in my pets for medical issues.
We haven’t gotten to that point with Luke yet. But I would never rule it out if his anxieties became life threatening to him. And I try to never judge the decisions that other people make for their pets.
This is a wonderful article. Thank you for the information and sharing your experience.
Thank you for this article!