Talking to your vet about medication for an anxious dog

Help · 6 min read · Not yet reviewed by a certified behaviour consultant

If you're wondering whether medication might help your dog, you are not giving up, and you are not taking a shortcut. Plenty of caring owners have this conversation with their vet. This article won't tell you whether your dog needs medication, or which one. That isn't something an app or a website can decide. It will help you have a useful conversation with the person who can.

Medication is a decision for your vet

Every source we rely on agrees on this. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior says medication can be needed for some dogs and is a matter for a vet [1]. The ASPCA says medication is for your vet to discuss [2]. Dogs Trust and the PDSA both say medication is a vet decision and should only come through a vet [3][4].

Malena DeMartini, who founded the Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer programme, adds two useful points: medication is a decision to make with your vet, and it doesn't replace training [5]. For many dogs, the two work alongside each other.

Why a vet visit matters even before medication

A vet appointment isn't only about medication. Health problems can cause or worsen behaviour problems [6][3], and pain is often missed as a cause [7]. A veterinary behaviourist interviewed by dvm360 advises that a sudden change in behaviour should be checked for medical causes, including pain, first [8].

So even if medication never comes up, a check-up is a good place to start.

How to raise it

You don't need the right words. You could simply say: "My dog struggles when left alone (or on walks), and we're working on it with a training plan. I'd like to know whether medication is worth considering, and what you'd want to check first."

Some questions you might want to ask:

• Could anything medical be making this harder for my dog?
• Is medication something you'd consider for my dog, and why or why not?
• If we try something, what changes should I look out for, good or bad?
• How long before we'd expect to know whether it's helping?
• What should I do if I'm worried about a side effect?
• When should we check in again?
• Would a referral to a veterinary behaviourist make sense?

Write down the answers, or ask if you can record them. Appointments go quickly, and it's easy to forget things afterwards.

What to bring

Your vet only sees your dog for a few minutes, often on a stressful day. What happens at home and on walks is much more useful when you can show it.

Short videos. The RSPCA notes that many signs of distress when alone, such as trembling, panting, drooling and pacing, are best seen on camera [6]. A peer-reviewed review found that video shows subtle signs owners often miss [9]. A short clip from an alone-time session or a walk can say more than a description.

A record of what happens and when. How long your dog copes alone before the first sign of worry. How close a trigger can be before a reaction. How often hard days happen. Whether things changed after a move, a new person in the house, or a health problem.

Dates. When the problem started, and whether it came on suddenly or slowly.

If you use It's OK Pooch, the Vet Link and PDF report pull your logs and progress charts together, with markers on the chart for when a medication started or the dose changed, so your vet can see what happened before and after.

Logging starts and dose changes

If your vet does prescribe something, keep a simple record:

• the date it started;
• the date of any dose change your vet makes;
• the date of any stop or switch;
• anything you noticed in the days around each change.

Without dates, it's very hard to tell whether a change in your dog came from the medication, the training, the season or something else entirely. With dates, your vet can see the pattern.

Keep training and logging as usual during this time. Medication doesn't replace training [5], and your records help your vet judge what's working.

Never change a dose yourself

This one matters. Please don't start, stop, increase, decrease or skip a medication on your own, even if your dog seems much better or much worse. Medication should only come through your vet [4], so any change, including stopping, is a conversation to have with them first. If you're worried about anything, call your vet.

It's also why we don't name any medications or doses here. Reading about what helped someone else's dog online can be comforting, but every dog is different, and only your vet knows yours.

If you'd like to start building a record before your appointment, you can get your dog's first week, free, no card.

When to get more help

If your dog has bitten, hurts themselves when alone, or has changed suddenly, please see your vet promptly. Our guide on when to see a vet behaviourist covers the warning signs and where to find qualified help.

This guide is general information, not veterinary advice. If your dog is hurting themselves or others, talk to your vet.

Sources

1. Position Statement on Humane Dog Training, American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), 2021
2. Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs, ASPCA, 2020
3. Separation anxiety in dogs: signs, causes and how to help, Dogs Trust
4. Separation anxiety in dogs, PDSA (written by its vets and vet nurses)
5. Dog separation anxiety FAQ, Malena DeMartini, CSAT programme
6. Treating separation anxiety in dogs, RSPCA
7. Pain and Problem Behavior in Cats and Dogs, Mills DS and 18 co-authors, Animals, 2020
8. That 'behavior issue' may actually be a symptom of pain, dvm360, interview with Amy L. Pike, DVM, DACVB
9. Canine separation anxiety: strategies for treatment and management, Rebecca J. Sargisson, Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports, 2014

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