Just say yes....to drugs

I have always been one to push for using natural remedies when at all possible but Langley was sure a lesson to me that sometimes something different is needed for a dog to get to a place where they have a tolerable existence.

I still think that most behavior issues that dogs have come from not enough consistency, time, attention and exercise from their humans and I put the blame in the human's court.  But just like us humans, dogs deal with mental illnesses as well and medication can take said pooches from an unbearable existence to a place where life is happy and normal.

Since Langley's been on fluoxetine (name brand Prozac) he has gradually come back to a place where life is normal.  As I type this he is snoozing in a dog bed with his favorite tug toy.  I have not had to tether him to me in the house at all for the last few days and he no longer feels the need to smash into the windows and sliding doors repeatedly to feed his compulsions. 


Langley, just waking up from a long snooze in his favorite dog bed.

He is now able to be leashed to me in the back yard when he needs a bathroom break and can disengage enough from his compulsions now to be able to eliminate outside. This of course makes me ecstatic since it means we are on our way to a housetrained dog again. When I crouch down to tell him what a good boy he is afterward he pees he can look away from the bird filled shrubs and put his paws on my knees and give me kisses while I give him lots of attention and pets.  And when it is time to go back inside he doesn't need to be dragged inside as he frantically scrambles and barks, he does his little doggy shrug, and then trots back inside with me for some fun wrestling and tug games.

We still have a ways to go. I've been able to take him off of the Xanax and the Ace Promezine has come down from 10mg, 3 times a day, to 5mg two times daily.  The fluoxetine levels are still being adjusted but I'm happy to say that Langley is approaching the status of a normal, high energy, loveable goofball of a dog and I think I'm going to need to start thinking about writing his Petfinder bio once this last med adjustment kicks in because he's officially an adoptable guy again.  I'm not saying he's perfect. I mean, he IS a terrier after all. But for someone with a big fenced yard and a willingness to work with an energetic but super people focused dog, he would make a great family member.