Why is my neutered dog still aggressive and stressed on Trazodone?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You’ve already named a few of the problems. Neutering probably won’t help the energy level but may help with the dominance actions. Anxiety is huge and often requires anti-anxiety medication and always requires some form of training. In some instances, training will not be effective until you start some sort of medication so I recommend speaking to your vet. Finally, even though you do much more than many owners in terms of exercise (great work!), it still may not be enough for Stitch, depending on his breed and demeanor. Consider dog parks (once neutered), having him run along a bicycle, etc. Finally, give it time. Many breeds do not settle down until 2-3 years of age, but most eventually do settle down. Best wishes to you and Stitch!

If you have a dog with severe aggression, you will not be able to resolve the problem with medications alone. Any severe problem requires medication while you are doing intensive behavioral training. Then, once you have the problem well controlled with the medication, you can slowly taper the medication. For aggression, I always recommend working with a veterinary behaviorist. I would recommend consulting with a veterinary behaviorist ASAP for this problem with Bongo. A veterinary behaviorist is a veterinarian who has additional years of training in behavior. They can also prescribe or change medications if needed. Hopefully you can find one near you here. http://www.dacvb.org/about/member-directory/ There is at least one in the UK even though this is a US organization. Sagi Deneberg Langford Vets Ltd. University of Bristol www.langfordvets.co.uk Email: behaviour@langfordvets.co.uk Langford house Langford United Kingdom Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I am sorry to hear what you and bongo are going through. Prozac usually takes up to 3-4 weeks to start working. Some people feel they notice benefit as early as 1-2 weeks. Many times dogs with extreme anxiety need multiple medications while waiting for the Prozac to reach peak affect ( ie using trazadone or alprazolam and Prozac together). Also working with a behaviorist in conjunction with medications is very important (especially with such a young dog) and will give you the most benefit.

I recommend to call either your regular veterinarian or the emergency veterinarian. Aggression is complicated and someone who is familiar with Jane is the best person to give you advice. I suspect they will likely continue the medication until she is fully recovered. Then again, they could also try changing the dosage or even changing the medication since it did not make her consistently calm. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry you are experiencing this with Bongo, but this is a serious matter. He is not even a year old and what you are describing is very worrisome. A veterinary Behaviorist is the best thing for you and Bongo as you will get the best outcome. Just having him on Prozac is not enough, you need to work and train him daily. Biting your owner, even TRYING to, is unacceptable behavior. I don't think it is territorial aggression that is causing him to not want to go in his sleep area. It could be fear or not wanting to do what you ask. I would suggest, for your safety that you lure him in the sleep area with a special toy, treat, or Kong stuffed with food. Or attach his leash and walk him in to the room after his final walk of the night. If these things do not work, place a basket muzzle on him before forcing him in the room and then remove it. Bongo is not an easy behavior case and there is no easy fix. A behaviorist is your best option so you can manage his behavior in a safe way. I wish you the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, this medication works very well for anxiety. However, I do not recommend starting this unless it has been prescribed by your veterinarian to make sure that he is healthy enough to receive it. Have a great day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Firstly, this is almost always fear-based. Talk to your vet about getting him some anti-anxiety medication to calm him down enough to get the muzzle on. And frankly, even after he is neutered he’ll probably need something like that for daily use while you can do some counter-conditionung training. My favorite is trazodone as it is very safe, can be used long or short term, can be started and stopped, and can be given with certain other sedatives and anti-anxiety medications. Best wishes to you and Max!