Does Annie Need Antianxiety Meds?
I understand all the behavior behind it that she's always reminding him that she is alpha, but this is just not right. We're getting to our wits end and starting to regret our decision. I can't imagine giving either one of them up, but the tension has made my anxiety worse. Anyone think that Annie might benefit from anxiety meds...like me  |
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| Are they getting in all out fights and drawing blood or is she just being a jerk? If it's the latter, I wouldn't worry about it so much. Is he scared of her?
Older dogs especially lose tolerance for "kid" stuff. I've noticed with Lucy, if one of the boys walks by her and she doesn't like it, she might lunge or bark or just do something rude. Usually Bear or Clyde will just scamper by and accept it. They know to let her have her space. It can get annoying to us if it gets loud-- maybe she barks and one of them bark back and they're having a barking fight-- but it's just noise and maybe a swat. Luckily, ours never "keep on" each other. Is Annie chasing Fozzie? Does she not let it go? I'm only asking because I'm just trying to get a better picture of what is actually going on. Do you think the behavior may be bothering you more than it's bothering Fozzie? |
| Of course it's bothering us more than it bothers Fozzie Nope, blood hasn't been drawn since Foz was a little tiny guy. He barks back at her and they sometimes have entire conversations. If he's backed into a corner, he swats at her face and lifts up his lips. They do play tug of war a lot with rings or the rope which is nice. She pisses me off because often she'll bark and snap when he is coming to me (like to get his feet dried off). Then he falls over, I yell... |
| I am using doggie prsac to reinforce Marley's training. I believe it is helping but it isn't instantaneous and training is still a large part of the practice to get her to ignore other dogs. On the plus side she has not attacked her brother Morgan since we started her on the meds. |
Bummer, Stacy! It sounds like Annie could use a little pharmaceutical assistance  to take the edge off.
We are a one dog household, and I do not have any direct experience with anti-anxiety meds, but it sounds like it's a vicious circle. As Annie acts up, you and Steve get anxious, which might be heightening Annie's anxiety, which causes you to get more upset and frustrated. If anti-anxiety meds would help Annie become more stable, it might be worth a try. Just a thought...... at Annie's age, could she be in pain from arthritis, or something else? I know you've struggled with this issue for years with her, so I doubt it's the case, but just thought I would throw that out there. Keep us posted. (You might want to PM Heather, to see what she's come up with to help Walter with his issues.) Give Annie and Fozzie belly rubs from..... Laurie and Oscar |
Thanks for the thoughts, Laurie! I didn't realize Walter was on some meds, I'll contact Heather. I've often thought about "us" making Annie's anxiety worse, but that wouldn't always be the case. There are times when we're not even paying attention to them, Annie will snap as Fozzie walks by...just because she can  Mean big sister! |
| I hope you can help her with meds, Stacy.
I have come to realize that Rags is just bitchy and will strike out at Pepsi or Lacey for no reason other than she feels like it. 
99% of the time it's food related though. So we just need to remember to keep her away from the others when they get treats to keep the piece. |
| I had Walter on anti-anxiety medicine (Clomipramine) for maybe 6 months or so. I ended up taking him off it because it did little to help his anxiety/aggression. It really only made him tired and took away some of his spunk, which made me really sad because that was made him so special.
In the end it took I realized that I was just stressing myself out more by trying so hard to change my boy. I ended up embracing his "quirks" and using positive reinforcement to change the really nasty stuff. So my recommendations: 1. Try a preemptive strike- praise Annie like there's no tomorrow if Foz is around and she's being good. 2. Try putting a little lavendar under Annies nose and see if that calms her 3. Give yourself some quite Annie time every night- I'm sure you both miss it! 4. Relax! I'm sure it bothers you 100x more than it bothers either of them You totally have my sympathy though- so if you ever need to vent I'm here for ya! |
| Thanks, Heather! Now that Fozzie doesn't require as much monitoring, I will try your suggestions more often. |
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