Have you ever arrived home to discover a panting, barking, or drooling dog? Does your dog panic while you are away, destroying household items and structures within reach? Owners often bring dogs to our veterinary office with these complaints; we usually don't know what trauma or abandonment history the pet has. Our first step is to make sure the pet is not suffering from pain or other physiologic problem that may cause anxiety; if no underlying medical problem is evident, our diagnosis is separation anxiety. The symptoms of separation anxiety vary from mild (panting, drooling, trembling) to severe (self-trauma, destructive behavior, panic, mania).
I understand first hand how frustrating and severe this disorder is. My own dog drools puddles when I leave the house, and attempted to chew through her crate, bloodying her mouth and injuring herself. She has also defecated and urinated in the house on multiple occasions, clawed/chewed through a screen door, and hurled herself through a car window to be with me. Flattering that she likes me so much? Not really. Separation anxiety is a debilitating, severe emotional disorder in dogs, and the resulting panic behaviors and destruction can drive owners to seek euthanasia or surrender their dogs to shelters.
Clomicalm is the brand name for Clomipramine, a generic medication for mood disorders in humans. Manufactured by Novartis, Clomicalm was the first canine drug to be FDA approved for treatment of anxiety and behavioral disorders in dogs. The drug is typically used once to twice a day, and comes an easy to administer tablet.
Deciding to use a mood stabilizing or behavioral modifying medication on your dog can be difficult. For some owners, avoiding medication means intensive behavioral training instead. Crate training and desensitizing the pet to anxiety triggers through sessions with an experienced trainer may be effective. Common concerns are that their pet's energy level or personality will be squashed by Clomicalm, or that their pet will seem "sedated." Luckily, Clomicalm has few, rarely seen side effects. Dogs often display only one "side effect" of the medication: reduced anxiety! Clomicalm may take as long as 30 days to attain an adequate dose, and to reach an effective, steady level in the dog's system, so owners are advised to wait that amount of time, rather than discontinue the medication prematurely. As with all behavioral modifying medications, Clomicalm should not be abruptly discontinued, to prevent behavioral relapses or behavioral problems.
Dual modality treatment is often necessary to eradicate separation or other anxieties in dogs. Dual modality, in this case, means using both a medication and effective, consistent behavioral training sessions. Severe or long term anxieties require basic training and counter-conditioning exercises to settle the dog and then to disarm certain triggers for anxiety. Clomicalm is often indicated as an adjunctive training tool while training; the medication enables the pet to better accept training lessons with a reduced overall anxiety level. Pets are calmer on the medication, and will tolerate being exposed to anxiety-inducing situations without panic; these situations eventually become so usual for the pet that they are no longer negatively charged and the panic/anxiety reaction is reduced.
Many dogs can slowly be trained and medicated so that their anxieties dissipate entirely. Others may be maintained on the lowest effective dose of Clomicalm necessary to keep the anxiety and associated misbehaviors at bay. Periodic monitoring bloodwork is used to be sure the medication is tolerated by the pet's organs. Typically Clomicalm causes no issues with organ function. Many of our patients respond to Clomicalm and training, but some require a low dose of medication long term to maintain low anxiety.
If your pet has any of these symptoms, discuss the potential benefits of Clomicalm with your veterinarian. It may provide life-changing results and reduce anxiety in ALL household members.
Jann R Elliott DVM
Palisades Veterinary Clinic