Does your dog really need anti-depressants, or does their behaviour need understanding?
At Homely Petz, we believe that once medical causes have been ruled out, behavioural problems need behavioural investigation, not an automatic move towards medication.
“He looks depressed.”
It’s something we hear from dog owners more often than you might imagine.
A dog stops wanting to play. She sleeps more. He doesn’t want to be left alone. She hides when visitors arrive. Perhaps a dog becomes reactive, restless, destructive or suddenly seems frightened of things that never bothered them before.
As humans, we naturally reach for human words to describe what we’re seeing:
Depressed. Anxious. Jealous. Stubborn. Naughty. Traumatised.
But at Homely Petz, we think there’s a very important question that needs to come before the label:
What is the dog actually telling us through its behaviour?
Because unfortunately, your dog can’t lie on a couch and tell us he’s been feeling a bit low since Tuesday.
And that’s where we believe we need to be very careful.
Behaviour is information
At Homely Petz, we don’t start by asking:
“What’s wrong with this dog?”
We start by asking:
“Why might this dog be behaving this way?”
What we describe as “anxiety” or “depression” may actually be a collection of behaviours with many possible causes.
Fear. Frustration. Lack of confidence. Overstimulation. Separation distress. Changes within the home. Poor communication. Previous experiences. Learned behaviour. Insufficient rest. An inappropriate environment. A change in routine.
And sometimes, importantly, pain or a physical health problem can cause a significant change in behaviour.
That’s why a sudden or unexplained behavioural change should first be discussed with your veterinarian.
The first question should be:
Could there be a medical reason for this change?
If there is, that’s where veterinary medicine is essential.
But if medical causes have been investigated and ruled out, we believe the next step should be to investigate the behaviour, not simply medicate it.
Is your dog depressed or are you calling it depression?
This distinction matters.
A dog cannot tell us:
“I’m depressed.”
We observe a change in behaviour and interpret what we’re seeing through a human lens.
Your previously enthusiastic dog doesn’t want to go for a walk.
Is he depressed, or is something about walking worrying him?
Your dog hides when visitors arrive.
Is she depressed or frightened?
Your dog destroys the house when left alone.
Is he naughty, depressed, or experiencing separation-related distress?
Your dog suddenly reacts to other dogs on the lead.
Is she aggressive, or frightened, frustrated, overwhelmed or experiencing barrier frustration?
The behaviour we see is only the top layer.
Before trying to change it, we need to understand what’s underneath it.
Our position on medication and behaviour
After more than 25 years working hands-on with dogs and their owners, our position at Homely Petz is clear.
If a medical condition has been identified that is contributing to a dog’s behaviour, then that medical condition belongs in the hands of a veterinarian.
But where a dog has been medically assessed and there is no underlying medical condition causing the behavioural response, we do not believe medication should be the answer to a behavioural problem.
A dog displaying fear, separation distress, reactivity, withdrawal, excessive vocalisation, destructive behaviour or other strong behavioural responses cannot explain to us how he feels.
We humans observe those behaviours and give them labels such as anxious or depressed.
But the label isn’t the explanation.
Why is the dog behaving this way?
That’s the question we believe needs answering.
Medication cannot identify the trigger. It cannot change the dog’s environment. It cannot improve communication between dog and owner. It cannot teach an owner to recognise their dog’s body language. It cannot build confidence or teach an alternative behavioural response.
That’s where professional behavioural assessment, owner education and a structured behaviour-modification programme come in.
Behaviour needs investigation, not Just a label
One of our concerns is how quickly difficult behaviour can sometimes acquire a medical-sounding label.
A dog is withdrawn: depressed.
A dog panics when left: anxious.
A dog won’t settle: anxiety.
A dog reacts strongly towards another dog: aggressive.
But those words don’t tell us why.
We want to know what happened before the behaviour started. Has anything changed within the home? What are the dog’s triggers? Does it happen everywhere or only in particular situations? What does the dog do immediately before the obvious behaviour? What does the owner do in response? And what happens afterwards?
Is the dog frightened? Frustrated? Over-aroused? Understimulated?
Is communication between dog and owner clear?
Has the dog inadvertently learned that a particular behaviour gets a particular result?
There can be a considerable amount to unravel.
And sometimes the answer isn’t immediately obvious.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
Vets and dog Behaviourists have different roles
Veterinarians are essential to our dogs’ health.
If your dog’s behaviour changes unexpectedly, veterinary investigation is important because pain, illness and physical discomfort can all affect behaviour.
But veterinary medicine and in-depth canine behavioural work are different disciplines.
Once medical causes have been investigated, we believe a behavioural problem deserves a thorough behavioural assessment.
An experienced canine behaviour professional can look beyond the behaviour itself and consider the dog’s history, environment, daily routine, previous experiences, triggers, learning, relationships, body language and interactions with the people around them.
And yes, that includes looking at the owner’s behaviour too.
Sorry, humans. 😂
Very often, we’re part of the picture.
That isn’t about blaming owners. It’s about understanding the relationship between dog, human and environment so we can change the things that may be contributing to the problem.
Once health has been ruled out, know who to ask next
This is where we want dog owners to have confidence in themselves.
You’ve taken your dog to the vet because something has changed. Your vet has examined your dog, any appropriate investigations have been carried out and you’ve established that there doesn’t appear to be pain, illness or another medical condition causing the behavioural change.
Great.
That’s an important box ticked.
But it doesn’t automatically mean the next conversation has to be about behavioural medication.
At Homely Petz, we believe this is the point where an owner should feel perfectly comfortable saying:
“Thank you. Now that we know there doesn’t appear to be a medical reason for the behaviour, I’d like to speak to an experienced Dog Trainer or Behaviourist and investigate what’s happening from a behavioural point of view.”
That isn’t disrespecting your vet.
It’s recognising that different professionals have different areas of expertise.
Your vet is the professional we want investigating whether your dog is physically unwell.
But once medical causes have been ruled out, the question has changed from:
“Is my dog ill?”
to:
“Why is my dog behaving this way?”
And those are two very different questions.
It’s OK to question the next step
Dog owners should never be frightened to ask questions.
If medical causes have been ruled out and the next conversation becomes one about antidepressants or behavioural medication, you are allowed to ask why.
Ask what the medication is intended to treat.
Ask what has led to that conclusion.
Ask whether the dog has had a comprehensive behavioural assessment.
And importantly, ask yourself:
“Have we actually investigated why my dog is behaving this way yet?”
If the answer is no, our view at Homely Petz is that it’s time to investigate the behaviour.
You should also feel perfectly comfortable saying:
“I’d like to explore behavioural assessment and behaviour modification before considering medication.”
That isn’t being a difficult client.
That’s being an informed dog owner and an advocate for your dog.
Your Vet doesn’t have to have every answer
We don’t expect our Dog Trainers to diagnose kidney disease, arthritis or thyroid problems.
In exactly the same way, owners shouldn’t automatically expect a general veterinary practitioner to provide the same depth of behavioural assessment as a professional whose work centres around canine behaviour.
Different professions have different expertise.
Sometimes the most useful answer can simply be:
“We’ve ruled out a medical cause. Now let’s involve someone experienced in behaviour.”
There’s nothing wrong with any professional reaching the limits of their particular area of expertise.
Our concern is when a behavioural response is given a medical-sounding label and the conversation moves towards medication before the dog’s behaviour, environment, history, triggers and relationship with the owner have been properly explored.
That’s when we want owners to have the confidence to say:
“Before we medicate this behaviour, I want to understand it.”
Don’t medicate the message
This perhaps sums up our philosophy better than anything else.
Behaviour is communication.
When a dog withdraws, reacts, hides, destroys something, barks excessively, becomes fearful or struggles to cope, something is happening.
We want to know what.
Our concern is that medication can become an easy answer to an extremely complicated question when the underlying cause of the behaviour has not been properly investigated.
If a dog’s physical health has been investigated and there is no medical condition causing the behavioural change, we believe the appropriate next step is professional behavioural investigation and support.
That takes more work than attaching a label.
But difficult behaviour isn’t something we believe should simply be suppressed.
We need to understand the message before trying to change the behaviour.
Look at the whole dog
When we talk about taking a holistic approach, we’re not suggesting surrounding the dog with crystals and asking him to find his inner Labrador. 😂
We mean looking at the whole dog and the whole situation.
What is the dog’s daily life actually like?
Is he getting enough quality sleep?
Is his physical exercise appropriate?
What mental stimulation does he receive?
Does he have opportunities to sniff, explore and behave naturally?
Does he understand what’s expected of him?
How does the owner communicate with him?
Are boundaries and expectations clear and consistent?
Is something repeatedly exposing him to fear or frustration?
Has his routine changed?
Has another person or pet entered or left the household?
Has something happened that changed the way he responds to a particular environment?
And importantly:
What has the dog learned from everything that has happened so far?
That’s what we mean by looking at the whole dog.
There isn’t always a quick fix
A proper behaviour-modification programme takes time.
It requires observation. Management. Consistency. Training. Owner participation. Changes within the home.
And sometimes lots and lots of repetition.
Occasionally your dog will also appear to have forgotten everything you’ve taught him approximately seven minutes after demonstrating it perfectly.
Welcome to dog training. 😂
But this is where meaningful behavioural change happens.
Depending on the individual dog, a programme might involve changing routines, managing triggers, improving communication, building confidence, providing appropriate mental and physical outlets, teaching alternative responses and gradually helping the dog learn a different way of coping with situations it currently finds difficult.
And importantly:
There isn’t one standard programme for an “anxious dog”.
Because there isn’t one standard anxious dog.
There is the individual dog standing in front of us.
Behaviour modification requires the owner too
You can’t simply hand your dog to a Behaviourist and say:
“He’s anxious. Please fix him.”
Well, technically you can say it.
But you’re probably getting homework. 😂
Long-term behavioural change usually requires the owner to understand what’s happening and continue the programme consistently.
That may mean changing how situations are managed at home, recognising earlier signs that the dog is struggling, responding differently to certain behaviours, changing routines or practising exercises between professional sessions.
The goal isn’t simply to produce a dog that behaves differently while the trainer is standing there.
It’s to give the dog and the owner the skills they need to manage things differently in everyday life.
Be your dog’s advocate
Your vet knows veterinary medicine.
Your Dog Trainer or Behaviourist knows canine training and behaviour.
And you know your dog.
You live with them. You notice the little changes. You know their routines, habits, relationships and what is normal for them.
So don’t be frightened to ask questions or seek another professional perspective.
Good dog ownership isn’t about blindly following everything you’re told by any professional, whether that person is a Vet, Trainer or Behaviourist.
It’s about listening, asking questions, gathering appropriate professional advice and then making an informed decision about the dog standing in front of you.
At Homely Petz, once physical causes have been appropriately investigated and ruled out, our position is clear:
Before reaching for behavioural medication, investigate the behaviour.
Find the triggers.
Look at the environment.
Look at the dog’s history and learning.
Look at the owner’s responses.
Look at communication, routine, confidence, frustration, fear and previous experiences.
Then develop a structured behaviour-modification programme that supports both the dog and the owner.
Because when the problem is behavioural, we believe the first place to look should be at behaviour.
Neil’s "Take"
After more than 25 years working with dogs and their owners and guardians, our philosophy at Homely Petz remains remarkably simple:
I’ve worked with dogs for over 30 years, and I’ll put it simply.
Stop looking for a label and look at the dog.
If your dog suddenly changes, get him checked by a vet. Absolutely. Rule out pain, illness or anything physical first. That’s what the vet is there for.
But if the vet says there’s nothing medically wrong with the dog, then for me the medical conversation stops there.
Now we’ve got a behaviour problem. So let’s deal with the behaviour.
What happened? When did it start? What changed? What sets the dog off? What is the dog actually doing? What are you doing when it happens? What has that dog learnt along the way?
That’s the stuff I want to know.
I don’t need to call a dog “depressed” because he’s lying in the corner. I want to know why he’s lying in the corner.
I don’t need to call him “anxious” because he loses his head when you leave the house. I want to know what is happening to that dog when you leave and why he can’t cope with it.
Putting a name on something doesn’t fix it.
And in my view, neither does reaching for medication when we haven’t even got to the bottom of the behaviour yet.
A tablet can’t train your dog. It can’t change your home. It can’t change what happened to him before. It can’t teach you how to handle him, and it can’t tell us why he started doing it in the first place.
That’s our job.
And, whether owners like hearing it or not, sometimes you are part of the problem too. 😂
That’s not an insult. That’s dog training. We look at the dog, we look at the owner, we look at the environment and we work out what’s going on. Then we put a plan in place and we work through it.
No fancy labels. No magic wand. No pretending there’s an overnight fix.
Find the cause. Work the problem. Help the dog.
And if your vet has ruled out a medical problem and the conversation starts moving towards antidepressants, you’re allowed to say:
“Thanks, Doc. We know he’s physically OK. Before I medicate his behaviour, I’m going to get someone who understands dog behaviour to find out what’s actually going on.”
That’s not being anti-vet.
That’s knowing when the vet’s job ends and the behaviourist’s job begins.
Your dog can’t tell you what’s wrong in words.
But believe me, he’s telling you. You’ve just got to learn how to read him.
Homely Petz provides canine training and behavioural education, not veterinary diagnosis or medical treatment. Sudden or unexplained behavioural changes should always be discussed with a veterinarian to investigate possible pain, illness or other medical causes. If your dog has already been prescribed medication, do not stop or alter it without first discussing this with the prescribing veterinarian.
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