Puppies on Prozac: How to handle your pet’s anxiety

UNITED STATES – When my dog Ozzy feels stressed, he emits loud, rambly groans that are not only ridiculously cute, but also make me wonder if he is having a stroke.

Our veterinarian prescribed him the antidepressant trazodone for when he is especially stressed, including before vet appointments.

Ozzy appears to be in good company: In the process of reporting this article, I learnt that two of my editors have cats on Prozac.

While there is no data yet showing that furry friends are grappling with more mental health issues today, the veterinarians I spoke with said that pet anxiety was a common concern among dog and cat owners right now.

“I do believe more pets are being treated for anxiety than in the past,” said Dr Leni Kaplan, a veterinarian at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Some 23 million American households adopted dogs or cats between March 2020 and May 2021. Lockdowns prevented many of these pets from being properly socialised, so it is not a reach to imagine that encounters with other people and animals may now make them anxious, Dr Kaplan said.

Many dogs and cats got used to having their owners around all the time, so the transition back to “normal” may have been hard for them, she added.

Beyond that, pets can sense human stress and anxiety, which can cause them to feel nervous as well.

Anxious pets can behave in a variety of ways, some more obvious than others, said Dr Stephanie Borns-Weil, a veterinary behaviourist at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

Hiding or cowering is one clear sign of anxiety. Anxious animals may also exhibit “displacement behaviours” – where they do things that make sense in some situations, but not in the situation they are in.

For dogs and cats, these can include random sneezes, yawns, lip-licking, scratching or grooming.

Pets may also freeze when they are scared, and owners may interpret this immobility as calm – but really, they are “anxious beyond the ability to react”, Dr Borns-Weil said.

With dogs, you can usually tell from their eyes that they are nervous, she said. Their eyes will open so wide, you will see the whites around them; or their pupils will be dilated.

Cats’ ears may flatten against their heads, and they may puff up to try to look bigger than they are, she added.

Aggression can be another sign of anxiety – pets often lash out when they are scared because they are acting in what they consider to be self-defence, she said.

Separation anxiety can cause animals to destroy things, bark or meow a lot, or urinate or defecate indoors (or outside the litter box if you have a cat) while you are gone.

Some dog breeds are more prone to separation anxiety than others, said Dr Jerry Klein, chief veterinary officer of the American Kennel Club. These include herding breeds such as border collies and German shepherds.

Once you have addressed underlying medical issues, ask your vet about treatment options, Dr Borns-Weil suggested.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a handful of prescription drugs for dog anxiety: One is Sileo (dexmedetomidine oromucosal gel), which can help nervous dogs tolerate loud noises such as fireworks or thunder.

There are also Reconcile (fluoxetine hydrochloride) and Clomicalm (clomipramine hydrochloride), which are FDA-approved to treat separation anxiety in dogs (and can be prescribed off-label to cats too).

A number of other human drugs can be prescribed off-label for pets as well, including various antidepressants, the anti-seizure drug gabapentin and the blood pressure drug clonidine, Dr Borns-Weil said.

Over-the-counter anxiety aids could also help, but all the experts I spoke with recommended consulting a vet before trying one. That is because some products may not help and could be harmful, Dr Borns-Weil said.

Dr Kaplan said that studies showed that other over-the-counter products could help with pet anxiety too, including Zylkene, a calming supplement for cats and dogs that contains cow’s milk protein; Feliway, a diffuser for cats that releases calming pheromones into the air; Adaptil, a similar pheromone diffuser but for dogs; and Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Supplements Calming Care, a probiotic supplement for dogs.

But again, talk to a vet before using one.

While certain drugs can help, “medication alone is not a silver bullet”, Dr Kaplan said.

Owners may need to tweak their pets’ environment to make them more comfortable, or teach their pets to feel less nervous. For instance, Dr Klein said, separation anxiety can be treated by having an owner leave the home for brief periods – at first, just a few seconds – and gradually increasing his or her time away.

Owners can teach pets to feel more comfortable in other situations too.

Although the vet prescribed Ozzy trazodone to ease his nerves before appointments, she said it would be even better for me to take him by the office every so often just to get treats.

If I can teach him to start associating the vet’s office with milk bones rather than blood draws, he may not need drugs.

He will be thrilled, rather than scared, when it is time for his check-up – and that will make things easier for everyone. NYTIMES