Behavioural medication advice

[Princess C]

Sorry you and Archie are having such a hard time Ailsa, but as someone who has lived with a 'special needs' hound for over five years I would suggest that you ignore the medication route for the time being - I have a lurcher with 'autistic tendencies' (he's also hypothyroid so has learning difficulties and no memory, added to the fact that he is now blind in one eye and rapidly losing the sight in the other) DAP just made Otis completely lose his inhibitions (his natural bite inhibition was the only thing that stopped him taking chunks out of me and the other hounds) any dog who is a bit unbalanced will not be able to learn if under the influence of skullcap and valerian so the dog might not react but doesn't learn why not (they work by shutting down the learning part of the brain) I would suggest you get in touch with Jon Bowen, who is lovely, a vet and behaviourist and not far from you

[Ali]

Ailsa I do hope that you are able to find a solution for Archies anxieties soon. It must be so frustrating and heartbreaking to see him so concerned, especially when you see him being perfectly normal and happy at other times.

Jan 9, 2009 15:44:34 GMT -5 Princess C said:

I would suggest you get in touch with Jon Bowen, who is lovely, a vet and behaviourist and not far from you

Absolutely - Jon Bowen is excellent and has a lot of sighhound experience however he does also prescribe medication in some cases. He prescribed Prozac for Murphy but after much discussion we decided not to go that route.