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November 11, 2011

It started out as a necessity. Swamped with deadlines and a work trip on the docket, I didn’t realize Lilly was getting low on her medicine. To stretch it a bit longer, I skipped her evening dose of clomipramine (antidepressant that targets her generalized fears) for a few days. I kept it up, however, even after her prescription refill arrived.

best dog blog, champion of my  heart, prescription graphicCutting back seems to have had no real affect on Lilly’s fearful behaviors. She is a tad bossier to Ginko in the evening, but otherwise we’re not seeing much of a change.

After several years, then, of twice-a-day dosing of chlomipramine, we’re going to stick with once a day for a while.

Granted, my stupid, stupid life lately means that Lilly stays home 100% more than she used to. Lilly isn’t challenged by unexpected, scary things regularly. She simply hangs out at the house, plays in the pastures, and goes for the occasional walk up the mountain and back. We don’t see a lot of strange dogs.

Who knows?

Maybe if I tried taking her in public on a lower dose of her behavior medicines, she would flip out. Maybe not.

Lilly has done really well since we ditched the xanax twice a day earlier this year. Maybe she’ll be OK with this lower dose of chlomipramine too.

I’d love if she didn’t need meds at all anymore, but I’ve always assumed — unlike most dogs who only take behavior meds for a short time — Lilly would take them for life.

 

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  1. Hi Y’all,

    Medications build in our systems over time so it takes a while for them to depart our systems. Let’s hope Lilly continues on her good behavior once she returns to a more active public life. 😉

    Y’all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

  2. That’s cool that it’s ok for fearful dogs to take meds in this modern day. And why not? That’s what modern medicine is for, whether human or non-human.

  3. This hit home with me, as Luna has been on clomipramine 1x/day since June. I haven’t seen a difference in her behavior, really, so the vet said I should try 2x/day (I haven’t yet). Plus, I give her 1 Xanax in stressful situations–doesn’t make a dent. The vet said to try 2 Xanax pills instead. We’ll see today when she goes to her second Treibball class (it took a month to get her to go into the barn, so at least she’s in now, but can’t focus).

    I’d prefer her to go off all meds, too, but instead, I guess she’s doomed to have more meds. I’d be interested to hear how Lilly continues to do with one dosage daily…

    1. Well, remember, Hilary … that we greatly increased Lilly’s doses at first. We had to build them up, of course, but we saw a big difference once she got to a certain level. Then … we were still struggling with some sound sensitivities and other moment-to-moment fears, and that’s when we added the xanax.

  4. I hope the moderate doses continue to work for Lilly.

    Except for your absences, do you think Lilly is enjoying being more of a homebody?

    1. Lilly is ALWAYS happy to go places, Pamela. Home isn’t too bad, though. Remember, we have several acres and lots of wildlife and other interesting things around here. So, it isn’t like she is locked in an urban apartment or something, but I do think she gets bored. And, I do wish both of us could get out more and do fun things.

  5. Would love to hear how Lilly holds up over time. I had Kona on Fluoxetine for several months this year. I took her off of it much for the same reasons (busy, ran low) and because I was suspicious about sluggishness that might have been a side effect.

    It’s so hard for me to tell what works/doesn’t. It’s just impossible to isolate everything to really know. There are certain behaviors that seem to have returned but I would call them minor. Kona’s life is also very managed these days…

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