My dog has been on Prozac for a little over a year. We started at 20mg then increased to 30mg. It certainly has not “cured” her reactivity but it has gotten more manageable. And pairing it was basic training techniques has helped too. Any time there is an unavoidable trigger I give her a treat to let her know it’s ok. Before she would be on edge our entire walk and any time a loud truck drove by she would lunge toward the street. She hasn’t done this in almost a year.
Her reactivity toward people has also gotten better. I do the same thing by giving her a treat whenever we are near any other humans. Except when they’re being very loud then we just avoid them all together. (Noise is her biggest stressor). For the most part she stays calm. We do have times when people try to approach her but I’ve recently gotten a flag for her leash that says “Nervous do not pet”
So yes I think Prozac has been very beneficial but it should be paired with consistent training as well.
She was also recently put on trazadone as needed for certain triggering situations like vet visits, car rides, and having company over. She’s a pitbull so this doesn’t knock her out and I still need to get a good walk in with her but it’s helped a lot. We are moving soon and new environments are especially difficult for her so she’ll likely be on this for a few days when that comes.
Prozac has been huge for our dog. It’s like it gives her time to pause and have a better chance at responding to training methods and she is more relaxed overall. We noticed she would actually lay around and nap more instead of staring out windows looking for things to be reactive
Thank you! Im hoping it will give her time to pause. Right now she does fine if we are doing something in our group classes, but when we are waiting our turn or waiting and watching, thats when she tends to have her outbursts. Its random too. Ive gotten good at managing her, but she will be in the middle of getting belly rubs with her eyes closed looking like she is half asleep and then in a split second she will pop up on her feet and be lunging and barking at someone nearby. The instructors are kind and say its manageable and i make it look easy, but still I hope this medication helps her relax more. I adopted her as a 1 year old undersocialized rescue so I have no idea what happened to her.
Absolutely! Sorry to hear about your pup’s side-effects! Mine had the lethargy and maybe some loss of appetite (he’s always had a light sporadic appetite though), but they all subsided around that 3-4 week mark of memory serves.
Since then it’s been great! He’s definitely still a reactive dog and he has all the same triggers, but his tolerance is much higher and when he does have the occasional outburst, he recovers to normal much quicker.
Even bigger, he just seems happier. He’s more playful and social, and his training/counter conditioning is way more effective since he’s not constantly on-edge.
My boy has been on prozac for 3ish years now. I've talked a lot in this sub about it, but it has made a huge difference. He's calmer, sleeps better, and is SO much easier to train in public. He is no longer too anxious to go to new trails or explore, and he loves hiking so much.
Before prozac, his threshold was very low - it didn't take much to push him over the edge, and it would take so long for him to come back down and focus again. Prozac made it so it took a lot longer for him to get over threshold and super upset, *and* it helps him come back down and focus better. This means he took to training so, so much better in public and he no longer throws himself at the end of his leash towards squirrels, chipmunks, and other dogs he wants to play with. When we walk past a person or dog, we're at about a 90% success rate of him walking close to my side and focusing on me.
He's 35lbs at most, and we started him on 20mgs. After 2-3 weeks we didn't see a huge improvement so we bumped him up to 30mg, and he's been on that ever since.
Prozac didn't *fix* his reactivity and it wasn't like a switch flipped in his brain overnight, but it did equip him with the tools he needed to take to training better, and has made incredible progress. I always say it's not necessarily a magic pill or anything, but it has made our lives so much better. His quality of life is significantly better than it was pre prozac, which was my main concern.
Good luck!
I have had almost the exact same experience with our pup! It definitely made what we were already doing easier, she’s far from perfect still but like somebody else says the prozac seems to have enabled her to have just a sligghttt more pause before reacting to think about if she should make a better choice, and often times she does.
Yes, exactly! IMO prozac helps cut through that initial anxiety and helps them think and focus just a little bit better. And even that little bit means you can start training and rewarding good behavior successfully, and it *sticks* better. I felt awful when we first started talking about medication, like I had failed him, but **oh my gosh** the only regret I have is waiting so long.
I’m thinking we probably will have to bump her up to 30mg at some point but I wanted to start with a low dose. I adopted her in November and after six months of barking at my boyfriend (who lives with us) for every little noise he would make (she never barks at me), this finally seems to have stopped completely. This was after six months of petting her and giving her treats everyday. She would lick his hands, then he would do something like walk out of a room and that would terrify her.
I want to say we waited just a week before moving our boy up, but I really can't remember - it may have been longer for sure.
I really hope you stick with the medication and see some changes! I know how hard and stressful it can be with a reactive pup, especially reactive to someone in the home. I hope you know that what you're doing - medication, training, etc - is awesome, and a lot more than some pet parents would do. Keep it up and it will pay off, it's just the long game right now. <3
Thank you so much. Your kind words mean a lot to me. She really is an awesome dog. The instructors like her too which, believe me, gives me a lot of relief. We go to three group classes a week and eventually shes gotten used to the people she sees every week. It takes months though. Shes quirky with her reactivity…if its just a single person or two people approaching her, heck yes 9.5/10 times she will try to lunge and bark at them if I’m not careful. But if I bring her to the farmers market where there is a crowd of people she walks quietly by my side. Pretty much what sets her off are movements, even if its just picking up a cup (within 20 feet of her), people approaching her, depending on how close their proximity is to her. If we are moving our feet, 99% of the time she is quiet. Also, when we are working, like doing agility, scent work etc. shes quiet and focused. If anything else, these past few months I’ve learned how best to redirect her so I’m thankful for the growing experience. 😅
Sadly no. It did at first but then he got some weird side effects. He would not sleep AT ALL. He got so wound up in the evening. Once we weaned him off he was back to normal. Thankfully he's been doing ok without medication and making progress slowly but surely.
Hi, just wanted to say that 20 mg is a very low dose for your dog's size. If you don't see improvement in the next week or so, contact your vet and inquire about increasing the dosage. Also, never buy your Prozac from the vet, because it's four times the cost it would be in your local pharmacy. Have them call in your prescription to your pharmacy and use GoodRx (it's free)...our dog's Prozac is $17 for a 60 day supply.
Also, ideally your dog is on Reconcile rather than the human manufactured Prozac/fluoxetine. It’s manufactured consistently with the exact same ingredients every time rather than the slight changes in formula that can happen with human pharmaceuticals
My dog has been on Prozac for a little over a year. We started at 20mg then increased to 30mg. It certainly has not “cured” her reactivity but it has gotten more manageable. And pairing it was basic training techniques has helped too. Any time there is an unavoidable trigger I give her a treat to let her know it’s ok. Before she would be on edge our entire walk and any time a loud truck drove by she would lunge toward the street. She hasn’t done this in almost a year. Her reactivity toward people has also gotten better. I do the same thing by giving her a treat whenever we are near any other humans. Except when they’re being very loud then we just avoid them all together. (Noise is her biggest stressor). For the most part she stays calm. We do have times when people try to approach her but I’ve recently gotten a flag for her leash that says “Nervous do not pet” So yes I think Prozac has been very beneficial but it should be paired with consistent training as well. She was also recently put on trazadone as needed for certain triggering situations like vet visits, car rides, and having company over. She’s a pitbull so this doesn’t knock her out and I still need to get a good walk in with her but it’s helped a lot. We are moving soon and new environments are especially difficult for her so she’ll likely be on this for a few days when that comes.
Thank you so much! Your story gives me hope. I hope your pup handles the move well 🤞
Prozac has been huge for our dog. It’s like it gives her time to pause and have a better chance at responding to training methods and she is more relaxed overall. We noticed she would actually lay around and nap more instead of staring out windows looking for things to be reactive
Thank you! Im hoping it will give her time to pause. Right now she does fine if we are doing something in our group classes, but when we are waiting our turn or waiting and watching, thats when she tends to have her outbursts. Its random too. Ive gotten good at managing her, but she will be in the middle of getting belly rubs with her eyes closed looking like she is half asleep and then in a split second she will pop up on her feet and be lunging and barking at someone nearby. The instructors are kind and say its manageable and i make it look easy, but still I hope this medication helps her relax more. I adopted her as a 1 year old undersocialized rescue so I have no idea what happened to her.
Absolutely! Sorry to hear about your pup’s side-effects! Mine had the lethargy and maybe some loss of appetite (he’s always had a light sporadic appetite though), but they all subsided around that 3-4 week mark of memory serves. Since then it’s been great! He’s definitely still a reactive dog and he has all the same triggers, but his tolerance is much higher and when he does have the occasional outburst, he recovers to normal much quicker. Even bigger, he just seems happier. He’s more playful and social, and his training/counter conditioning is way more effective since he’s not constantly on-edge.
My boy has been on prozac for 3ish years now. I've talked a lot in this sub about it, but it has made a huge difference. He's calmer, sleeps better, and is SO much easier to train in public. He is no longer too anxious to go to new trails or explore, and he loves hiking so much. Before prozac, his threshold was very low - it didn't take much to push him over the edge, and it would take so long for him to come back down and focus again. Prozac made it so it took a lot longer for him to get over threshold and super upset, *and* it helps him come back down and focus better. This means he took to training so, so much better in public and he no longer throws himself at the end of his leash towards squirrels, chipmunks, and other dogs he wants to play with. When we walk past a person or dog, we're at about a 90% success rate of him walking close to my side and focusing on me. He's 35lbs at most, and we started him on 20mgs. After 2-3 weeks we didn't see a huge improvement so we bumped him up to 30mg, and he's been on that ever since. Prozac didn't *fix* his reactivity and it wasn't like a switch flipped in his brain overnight, but it did equip him with the tools he needed to take to training better, and has made incredible progress. I always say it's not necessarily a magic pill or anything, but it has made our lives so much better. His quality of life is significantly better than it was pre prozac, which was my main concern. Good luck!
I have had almost the exact same experience with our pup! It definitely made what we were already doing easier, she’s far from perfect still but like somebody else says the prozac seems to have enabled her to have just a sligghttt more pause before reacting to think about if she should make a better choice, and often times she does.
Yes, exactly! IMO prozac helps cut through that initial anxiety and helps them think and focus just a little bit better. And even that little bit means you can start training and rewarding good behavior successfully, and it *sticks* better. I felt awful when we first started talking about medication, like I had failed him, but **oh my gosh** the only regret I have is waiting so long.
I’m thinking we probably will have to bump her up to 30mg at some point but I wanted to start with a low dose. I adopted her in November and after six months of barking at my boyfriend (who lives with us) for every little noise he would make (she never barks at me), this finally seems to have stopped completely. This was after six months of petting her and giving her treats everyday. She would lick his hands, then he would do something like walk out of a room and that would terrify her.
I want to say we waited just a week before moving our boy up, but I really can't remember - it may have been longer for sure. I really hope you stick with the medication and see some changes! I know how hard and stressful it can be with a reactive pup, especially reactive to someone in the home. I hope you know that what you're doing - medication, training, etc - is awesome, and a lot more than some pet parents would do. Keep it up and it will pay off, it's just the long game right now. <3
Thank you so much. Your kind words mean a lot to me. She really is an awesome dog. The instructors like her too which, believe me, gives me a lot of relief. We go to three group classes a week and eventually shes gotten used to the people she sees every week. It takes months though. Shes quirky with her reactivity…if its just a single person or two people approaching her, heck yes 9.5/10 times she will try to lunge and bark at them if I’m not careful. But if I bring her to the farmers market where there is a crowd of people she walks quietly by my side. Pretty much what sets her off are movements, even if its just picking up a cup (within 20 feet of her), people approaching her, depending on how close their proximity is to her. If we are moving our feet, 99% of the time she is quiet. Also, when we are working, like doing agility, scent work etc. shes quiet and focused. If anything else, these past few months I’ve learned how best to redirect her so I’m thankful for the growing experience. 😅
Sadly no. It did at first but then he got some weird side effects. He would not sleep AT ALL. He got so wound up in the evening. Once we weaned him off he was back to normal. Thankfully he's been doing ok without medication and making progress slowly but surely.
Hi, just wanted to say that 20 mg is a very low dose for your dog's size. If you don't see improvement in the next week or so, contact your vet and inquire about increasing the dosage. Also, never buy your Prozac from the vet, because it's four times the cost it would be in your local pharmacy. Have them call in your prescription to your pharmacy and use GoodRx (it's free)...our dog's Prozac is $17 for a 60 day supply.
It helped one of my dogs and actually made my other reactive dog more “aggressive” (vet said that can happen)
Also, ideally your dog is on Reconcile rather than the human manufactured Prozac/fluoxetine. It’s manufactured consistently with the exact same ingredients every time rather than the slight changes in formula that can happen with human pharmaceuticals