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Agression Following Use Of Xanax


Guest Willow
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Does anyone here have a dog that has been treated with Xanax (Alprazalom)?

I have been warned that it can temporarily cause an aggressive response, and just wondering if anyone has experienced this, and how intense or long-lived the response is?

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I was under the impression it just lowered inhibition, not actually caused aggression itself (if you get what I mean).

We've got a pup on phenobarb at the moment and between long naps, he gets very hyperactive and does a lot of mouthing. Unlike his normal softer mouthing, it's very hard and if you try to withdraw yourself from the play, he gets upset and even more bitey (sometimes to the point of getting himself into a bit of a frenzy).

Most sedatives are going to have that particular risk though.

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There are some drugs which lower inhibition and if the dog is known to be aggressive at times and has cause to react, it can be quite bad in some circumstances. If you've been warned sounds like it may be one of those drugs that can sometimes have this affect.

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Yes, kind of :( Molly has severe storm fears and I give her Xanax, never had a problem. But one time while my foster was here she went a bit cujo after dosing. She did no harm thank dog but I did pull her off bloody fast. She has never had an episode the same with subsequent storms but now she is on Prozac full time.

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Most sedatives are going to have that particular risk though.

They sure can. On vet advice I gave my cat the recommended dose of serapax when she had a lull in labour in between kittens but was very unsettled,late at night.

She went ballistic :confused: Attacked my legs & barred the door every time I moved, I couldn't get out of the room for ages. It was so scary. She was not having contractions or struggling but the drug sent her crazy.

When I managed to get out using a pillow to guard myself I had to check her through the window. She gave birth to a big, dead kitten the next morning. I tried giving her the first 2 kittens back, which I had put with another nursing mum & she was aggressive with them too so I took them off her. This cat usually has the most beautiful, friendly & loving nature & has been a good mum before so I can only conclude it was the drug. They don't always have the expected or desired effect.

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Hi can I ask Bianca if you have experienced any side effects from Prizac. My reactive boy has just gone on it and my vet wasn't very helpful. Said it was unlikely to make a difference and had no side effects but I was wondering if there's anything I should be watching for. The most allergic dog on the planet.

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yup indeedy which is why I dont like it. Animals cannot comprehend what is happening to them and a proper freak out whilst on them or trying to then wean them off is not uncommon. Have a crate handy, a strong one.

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Hi can I ask Bianca if you have experienced any side effects from Prizac. My reactive boy has just gone on it and my vet wasn't very helpful. Said it was unlikely to make a difference and had no side effects but I was wondering if there's anything I should be watching for. The most allergic dog on the planet.

Hi Hankdog, Molly has been on it for just shy of a month now and so far zero side effects. I had pretty much tried everything I could before this option. She is reactive too but the reason why she is on it is not for that, she has pretty severe anxiousness.

I know when I first went on it myself, the Dr told me it takes about 2 weeks to notice any difference so I would *think* it may be similar for your boy. The only obvious thing I can think of may be lethargy. Good luck and I hope it helps your boy and he has no side effects.

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Most sedatives are going to have that particular risk though.

They sure can. On vet advice I gave my cat the recommended dose of serapax when she had a lull in labour in between kittens but was very unsettled,late at night.

She went ballistic :confused: Attacked my legs & barred the door every time I moved, I couldn't get out of the room for ages. It was so scary. She was not having contractions or struggling but the drug sent her crazy.

When I managed to get out using a pillow to guard myself I had to check her through the window. She gave birth to a big, dead kitten the next morning. I tried giving her the first 2 kittens back, which I had put with another nursing mum & she was aggressive with them too so I took them off her. This cat usually has the most beautiful, friendly & loving nature & has been a good mum before so I can only conclude it was the drug. They don't always have the expected or desired effect.

Does the same thing in humans, too. Even alcohol can cause it (and very often does).

We recently had a murder up here where the guy had taken 20+ diazepam, 5 temazepam and then washed that down with enough alcohol to drown a bull elephant. He kicked his girlfriend to death, doesn't recall much of it though (surprise).

Personally, I'd avoid using depressants in dogs unless I really had to.

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The benzodiazepine drugs can cause temporary loss of learned responses and loss of inhibition (which is most significant in cases of aggression).

I only really prescribe alprazolam as an adjunct treatment in cases of severe separation anxiety or storm / noise phobias and although I warn owners about the possible side effects I do my best to avoid giving to any dogs with a history of aggressive behaviour. It can occasionally cause a paradoxical excitement as well which I always warn owners about. I always recommend giving trial doses prior to actually needing the medication and very rarely prescribe drugs just to 'settle' animals down.

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The benzodiazepine drugs can cause temporary loss of learned responses and loss of inhibition (which is most significant in cases of aggression).

I only really prescribe alprazolam as an adjunct treatment in cases of severe separation anxiety or storm / noise phobias and although I warn owners about the possible side effects I do my best to avoid giving to any dogs with a history of aggressive behaviour. It can occasionally cause a paradoxical excitement as well which I always warn owners about. I always recommend giving trial doses prior to actually needing the medication and very rarely prescribe drugs just to 'settle' animals down.

My boy has been prescribed it to treat EXTREME storm and noise phobia (think teraing apart steel with his teeth, and ripping doors down in panic....), for occasional use (along with another drug for everyday use). I have also been told to give trial doses until we work out which dose works. He has NO aggression history at all, including resource guarding, so hopefull we should be ok then!!!

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The benzodiazepine drugs can cause temporary loss of learned responses and loss of inhibition (which is most significant in cases of aggression).

I only really prescribe alprazolam as an adjunct treatment in cases of severe separation anxiety or storm / noise phobias and although I warn owners about the possible side effects I do my best to avoid giving to any dogs with a history of aggressive behaviour. It can occasionally cause a paradoxical excitement as well which I always warn owners about. I always recommend giving trial doses prior to actually needing the medication and very rarely prescribe drugs just to 'settle' animals down.

My boy has been prescribed it to treat EXTREME storm and noise phobia (think teraing apart steel with his teeth, and ripping doors down in panic....), for occasional use (along with another drug for everyday use). I have also been told to give trial doses until we work out which dose works. He has NO aggression history at all, including resource guarding, so hopefull we should be ok then!!!

Hi Willow..I use xanax for 3 of my dogs....one of whom has extreme storm phobia (the other 2 are less severe) I have had no problems with any of them in regards to aggression. I found it useless for the storms in the beginning but discovered I wasnt giving enough. Discussed it with my vet and now I give 2 tablets initially and top her up with one tablet every 4 hours if needed.I found that this made a huge difference in the result I got. In conjunction with this she was put on Clomicalm ( sounds like you are using this too ?) for 3 months while I worked with a behaviorist for this particular dog and it's really helped. You might want to look into doing that as well. Good luck with it, extreme storm phobia is no joke and can be terribly hard to manage. My severely phobic dog is now off Clomicalm and is manageable with the xanax and using the training techniques we learned. :)

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Years ago we used Xanax on our previous dane and greyhound for storm anxiety.

They showed no signs of aggression, but took to taking food off the table and benches, which they NEVER normally did. With both the dogs, we could leave biscuits on the coffee table for the night and they never touched them, but after a dose of Xanax, both would dig in the bin or try to get something off the bench if it was left out. Munchies!!!! :laugh:

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Years ago we used Xanax on our previous dane and greyhound for storm anxiety.

They showed no signs of aggression, but took to taking food off the table and benches, which they NEVER normally did. With both the dogs, we could leave biscuits on the coffee table for the night and they never touched them, but after a dose of Xanax, both would dig in the bin or try to get something off the bench if it was left out. Munchies!!!! :laugh:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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