The Responsibility Project^®. Exploring what it means to do the right thing

Puppies on Prozac

31 Comments

August 7, 2008 by Kathy McManus

Cats on Quaaludes.

Dogs on downers.

Pets on Prozac.

Fido has a new medicine chest. And though it’s still stocked with worm and flea treatments, it increasingly includes medications that were originally developed for humans. On the front shelf: behavior modification and “lifestyle” drugs, now for pets.

Is your dog overweight? The first canine obesity drug is available to help him slim down. Is your dog lonely? “Reconcile” was developed to help man’s best friend deal with separation anxiety when man has to leave his best friend alone all day. The drug works like Prozac, though the doggie version is chewable and tastes like beef. Is your pooch having “senior moments?” There’s a pill for that too--the same medication used to treat Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases in humans.

Are pets mimicking their owners’ behavioral and lifestyle problems?

“All of the behavioral issues that we have created in ourselves, we are now creating in our pets,” says Dr. Nicholas Dodman, founder of the Tufts University Animal Behavior Clinic, “because they live in the same unhealthy environments that we do.”

According to a New York Times article titled “Pill-Popping Pets,” Dr. Dodman’s theory suggests that humans and their pets share similar causes for what ails them. “Whether cubicle or cage-bound, we get too little exercise; we don’t hunt, run or play enough to produce naturally mood-elevating neurochemicals.”

And the new prescription treatments, The Times says, are sometimes more for the convenience of owners than they are for the health of the pets.

Modern owners are increasingly trying to “sterilize” pet ownership, says veterinarian and animal behavior specialist Ian Dunbar. “What people want is a pet that is on par with a TiVo, that its activity, play and affection are on demand,” Dr. Dunbar says. “Then, when they’re done, they want to turn it off.”

“In the wild, the dog’s major activity is looking for food,” Dr. Dunbar explains. “What most owners do is they feed the dog in the bowl, and within two minutes you’ve stolen his raison d’etre. So now the dog is looking for activity, which we label ‘trouble’ and diagnose as all sorts of things like compulsion and separation anxiety.”

Tell us what you think: Are we responsible for making our pets fat…driving them to despair…making them lose their minds? Could it be that when we look at our pets, we see a bit too much of ourselves?

31 Comments

What do you think? Leave a comment

• August 9, 2008 by Kelly

  Do we honestly need doggy meds to fix problems that some love and real play time could easily take care of? Before shoving chemicals down our pets' throats, why don't we see if maybe we could get them on a healthier diet, spend more time with them, or get them some fresh air? The way I see it, people can consent to taking medication for depression and the like -- dogs can't. I'm sure any dog would opt to go outdoors and have some real fun instead of sitting in someone's living room, only content until the meds wear off.

  Reply

  • May 8, 2010 by crytsal

    why should we put that stuff down an animals throat before playtime?

    Reply

    • January 15, 2012 by shayshay

      hey love pets

  • September 16, 2011 by Doris

    I have a question, not a comment. What odor is offensive to dogs, like putting that substance on a rug to keep the dog from using it to pee on?

    Reply

• August 10, 2008 by AnnMarie Cunniff

  I suffer from depression and take medication to stay at a therapeutic level. I never see that in my cat -although he has me well trained. Every time I get up he is expecting to be fed but I am enabling that behavior in him. I realize that and my children tell me he's spoiled but that's fine with me. As long as I know he's happy nothing else matters. I do notice if I am vulnerable and have a bout of crying he is more affectionate so our emotions do affect them, but I think in line with the example above, they would tend to be being more affectionate. Well, my cat does sleep a lot (laugh). What animal doesn't? I believe that some people see their animals as human and I see that I do that also, but I also take into account animals everywhere, they have as much right to proper care as we do, but I really do not believe that an animal can be psychoanalyzed and treated for depression or obesity with medication, it send a really bad message. They are creatures of habit, however human they are, and what we teach them they learn, so maybe they can be depressed, but it is a little farfetched to think I would treat my animal with an anti-depressant, when all he needs is more attention and exercise for obesity. If they are like us then exercise should do the trick. My neighbor went on vacation for a week and she was adamant about making sure I left her television running while she was gone. I'm sorry...but that becomes a green issue for. We are replacing light bulbs with neon, people are building windmills and, adding solar panels, so I think that leaving a television on for a cat is a bit over the top, but it is how she chooses to raise her pet and pay her bills. I still laughed really hard the first time when she told me.

  Reply

• August 13, 2008 by Charlotte Lee

  Calling depression a "lifestyle" is the truly irresponsible part. Depression, like any other mental illness, is not a lifestyle, it is not a choice. It's a chemical imbalance and while it may affect the life you life, you don't lead a life of depression. As far as animals with depression go, if you don't think they can suffer serious depression, go check out zoo sometime. Wild animals forced into captivity often display signs of depression, anxiety, and trauma. Really, your wording is careless, which to me, is not responsible.

  Reply

  • August 22, 2008 by AnnMarie Cunniff

    I don't see reference to depression as a lifestyle, I read that the type of drugs they will offer animals are drugs that will "change their lifestyle." In other words, give them so called "happy pills" so they can live a life like addicts do. Live a life on drugs, like ecstasy, cocaine and other recreational drugs. There is the irresponsible attitude...that scientists would waste time creating a "medication" to make a "happier pet." Who benefits from that (besides the pharmaceutical companies?) The owner is responsible for the "lifestyle" and "attitude" of the dog. If you are constantly depressed and even medication doesn't help, then maybe you should have a dog that is trained to let others know how severe your depression is, and send signals to let others know when you are going to need a medication change. They are training animals now to signal people about cancer, and I have a young girl in my neighborhood, who is going to school with her dog, to train him to let someone know when she is about to get a migraine. I think she is entering first grade, and the dog will go everywhere that she does, including to school. Animals do not need to be medicated to change their "lifestyle" under any condition.

    Reply

• August 19, 2008 by Ashley Rainey

  It’s the owners fault if they’re going to get a pet they should be committed to giving it exercise daily and giving it lots of love. Pet owners should be committed to their pet’s health and well being.

  Reply

  • August 20, 2008 by Kati C.

    I believe that when it comes to our pets, we should only give them medication if they are sick. If your dog is too fat, you should take it on walks more often. It is idiotic to give your pets antidepressants because you don't give them enough attention. If you can't give an animal the love and care it needs, don't get a pet.

    Reply

  • February 9, 2011 by Chris

    Well, folks, sometimes it isn't settled with fun and games or a healthier portion at dinner. I have two labs that I rescued and the original owner was good enough to dump them in the country to fend for themselves after severely mistreating them for a few years. When I caught up with them (the dogs, whom wouldn't go near people) after tracking them for a mile, I find them to be way under weight, they had scarred joints from sleeping on concrete, very unhealthy looking coats, tick infestations, ear mites, and one broken rib. The worst of the damage wouldn't surface for several hours, and the scope of that damage wouldnt be revealed for a couple of weeks. I took the dogs to the vet, put them on frontline to kill the ticks and fed them. Those dogs slept for days after I took them in and healthy diet does wonders for a dog, but the mental damage is all but irreversible. One is afraid of everything, belts, tape measures, dinner plates, jeans, shoes, anything. If I'm having a bad day they hide from me like I was the one that beat them. If I speak too loudly, maybe to my wife in the other room, they flinch.They both chew their own arms and have huge scars from it. Sometimes, the "stress" of being a dog gets to be too much and they puke bile. They cannot be put in a kennel or they will hurt themselves trying to get out. They cannot be shut into a room or it will look like a bomb went off. They cannot be left outside or they will escape. They will go under a fence, break collars, once one of them broke the barn she was chained to. Then she broke the chain. We lived in the country and they always ran until they were tired, but no amount of exercise will remove the years of abuse. According to the vet giving my dog lots of "love" and attention will actually make this worse, they reccomend prozac after 3 years of trying everything else. so, to those of you that have it figured out for the rest of us pet medicating morons, think again. Sometimes people really screw an animal up.

    Reply

    • April 22, 2011 by Joan Greenberg

      Hooray for you for doing your best for those two dogs and for realizing, I think, that it's never going to be perfect and yet you keep trying. There is a place in heaven for you and your wife. Thank you, Joan

• August 25, 2008 by t.amerson

  Coming from someone who suffers depression, I know when I do not get out with my best friend ”ROCKY"; we are both worse for it. Although I do agree that giving an animal medication for things such as depression, anxiety and etcetera is not in the best interest of our four legged friends.

  Reply

• November 15, 2008 by Kathryn Muffley

  Most American's should have fish for a pet, or at most, a cat. Especially if one is single or a couple who work, staying away from the home for 10-16 hrs. a day. It just isn't reasonable to expect a dog to stay indoors by itself for hours on end at least 5 days a week. If one is intent on dog ownership, then it's necessary to do research on a type of dog that will fit one's lifestyle and the environment that it will have to spend most of its time in. Dogs are social animals, unlike cats. Being by themselves for most of the time can cause them to be agitated, etc. With nothing must to do and no one to do it with, they can eat too much and get too little exercise. As owners, we have the responsibility to not bring a type of dog that can't handle the situation into it. If we've managed to make a poor selection for our situation, we have the responsibility to revise the situation so the dog can be happy and healthy, not medicate the animal so it can continue to exist in an environment that doesn't work, just for our convenience. We get into trouble with our way of living with a dog strays from the member of the pack format. Treating a pet as an accessory, or as offspring or other non-dog examples will only bring out behavior that "necessitates" medication or leads to human types of health problems like obesity. The sad fact that local pounds are always full of pets that have been dropped off by people that can't handle them any more is more than proof that responsibility in pet ownership hasn't been a part of the selection/assimilation of the pet into the home. We can do a lot better!

  Reply

• February 10, 2009 by carl

  I think that we are getting to crazy on what we are forcing our captive animals to do!

  Reply

• August 5, 2009 by susan brocca

  My sisters do needs surgery for a bulging disc. the clinic in pittston, pa will not perform the surgery until it is paid for. the cost..almost 2,000.00. does anyone out there know of a vet in eastern pa that will do a payment plan or help this animal without the dollar being the most important thing?

  Reply

• August 6, 2009 by Dorothy Tramontano

  I just have a question: Is there any literature for someone who is really suffering because it is time to let his aged, ill pet dog go ?? We realize this id a very hard time for him and are trying to help. Thank you for any advise you can give.

  Reply

• September 5, 2009 by Loretta Anne Dobbins

  I love all kind of dogs.

  Reply

• November 21, 2009 by nancy caso

  we have 5yr old tea cup yorkie male ,has a doggie door continues mark our house would having him snipped help

  Reply

• December 1, 2009 by steven ingargiola

  what is the cause of this , and who do i prevent it?

  Reply

Tell us what you think.