My Dog is on Prozac

Yep, you read that right; my dog is taking Prozac for anxiety. Believe me, I never thought I would actually be typing that. I didn’t even know until recently that some human mood drugs can be used for dogs too, at different dosages. Here’s the story.

This is my beautiful dog, Kinnon. Incidentally Kinnon was named after Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche. All of our dogs are named after hockey players. Kinnon is 3.5 years old and is a resource guarder. This is what I think she would say if she could talk.

Resource Guarders Anonymous Meeting

Kinnon: “Hi, I’m Kinnon and I’m a resource guarder.”

Group: “Hi, Kinnon.”

Kinnon: “I’m here because my human parents thought I needed Prozac because of my resource guarding. I just can’t help growling when I have a really awesome bone and another dog comes near me. I also like to receive undivided attention from my human mom so when another dog comes up when she is petting me I let out a low growl. I am embarrassed to say I also have gotten in a couple of fights with my pal, Crosby, over the dishwasher and an empty food bag. (I guess I thought there might be a tiny morsel left in the bag…). I have even started to covet certain spaces in my home because I don’t want the other dogs to come into that space because there might be something good in there. I’m a dog, ya know? That is what dogs do, in the wild at least, they protect what’s theirs.

These events really stressed out my mom. My mom didn’t know what to do so she called up some really awesome trainers to get some help (https://www.caninecompanionconsulting.com/). My mom does these sessions over Zoom because they live in Ft. Collins. Beth and Wayne have been really helpful with the training, but they thought my resource guarding was getting more generalized and suggested my mom talk to a veterinary behavior specialist in Boulder https://www.vetbehaviorcenter.com/. So my vet talked to their vet and yada, yada, yada, now I’m on Prozac.

I guess my mom and the trainers thought I was having so much anxiety and that was causing me to think I had to guard everything important to me. Even though my mom says there are plenty of treats and pets to go around, I just couldn’t stop doing it. Who wouldn’t want to protect their yummy bones?? I’m the Queen Bee in the pack (AKA the Alpha) so whatever I say goes, right?

I really just want my family and dog pals to be happy so even though my mom was concerned about giving me this kind of medication, she was willing to give it a try to see if it helps. And I’m willing to give it a try too so I don’t feel like I have to protect everything so much. My mom says there is plenty for everyone. Though when I first started the medication my tummy was hurting and I had a diarrhea explosion. My family was on vacation so the dog sitter who was staying with us had to clean it all up. I know my mom felt really bad about that, but I couldn’t help it.

Anyway, that’s why I’m here, to try to learn to relax more in my home. I’ve only been on it a couple of weeks, but here’s hoping!”

Ok, dog mom here. So I’ve been told that I now have a special needs pet. I can handle that. Love my ‘special needs’ kid to the moon and back and love my dog too.

Until next time…

Special Needs Dog Mom