Case: Elderly 40 pound dog with anxiety and arthritis

Signalment: 40 pound older Beagle with anxiety about separation which has been met with vocalization (howling) and recently: Destructive behavior. He’s already on 20mg Prozac but it’s declining in effectiveness. (Prozac induces enzymes and eventually fails.) This dog could be taking twice as much Prozac. Here’s the case communication:

“He could be taking 40mg of Fluoxetine a day. That would be a high dose but NOT “above a normal” dose. That would just be “the upper end of the dosing range” so, since he seems to be resistant to it now, in order to get continued benefit, you might go to twice a day dosing on the 20mg for a daily total of 40mg

But.

We’re likely to add CBD to his list of medications – because it can ameliorate anxiety and separation issues, ALSO helping with arthritis and other issues faced by ‘old timers’ (See CBD2019)

So if we add CBD, should we continue with the 20mg dosing on the Fluoxetine, or double up anyway?

If you want to rely on Prozac only, then double dose the fluoxetine now.
If you want to add CBD, then keep the Prozac at 20mg a day.

To add CBD

W_____r needs 10mg twice per day.

Of this size CBD tincture: (Click here) you would give 0.10ml twice a day = Bottle lasts 150 days

Of this size CBD tincture: (Click here) you would give 0.20ml twice a day = Bottle lasts 75 days

And

Of this size CBD tincture: (Click here) you would give 0.40ml twice a day = Bottle lasts 37 days

37 days is enough to see a benefit to anxiety and even arthritis if present. (Two weeks is not)

There’s better economy in more milligrams in a bottle, but maybe for starters, smaller bottle is better.

Nevertheless I put dosing above, so you could pick whatever bottle suits your situation.

As a side note, to flesh out the subject fully:

Here’s a roundtable discussion with a panel of vets who are experts in that field. (Click here)

Here’s a link to the Keep Calm I was mentioning, too. I don’t know if it would be beneficial or cost-effective for long term use, and it has no arthritis benefits.

You should be aware that while we’re considering CBD as the mainstay of his anxiety medicine, there ARE many other medications I’ve used in the past. Oxazepam, Alprazolam, Clonazepam, Clomipramine, Mirtazipine, among others, are beneficial. Old stand bys. No side benefits as far as antioxidant, or anti-inflammatory or anti-cancer benefits to elderly dogs.

My point is, that if he’s not soothed adequately by the CBD we can fall back to Western drugs. I can control the symptom and make him calm, somehow. Sometimes there are more elegant ways than others. Which is what we’re going for. “

.Doc Johnson