# Considering Prozac for fear-aggression in my rescue dog... thoughts?



## kswaters85 (Nov 12, 2012)

We rescued our 2 year old boxer from a shelter about 6 months ago and have been dealing with fear based aggression towards people and dogs. She goes nuts on the leash when we encounter other dogs (jumping, whining, pawing at the Gentle Leader we use, biting the leash, etc), but what's worse is that she bites people's feet. 

The foot biting is strange: she only does it to people who are standing up. As soon as guests come into our house and have a seat, she's more than happy to be petted and lick their hands, though I notice that when she does this her tail is tucked tight, so I know she's still afraid. Then, the moment they stand up, she nips at their feet. 

We have put her on high quality, grain-free food, increased her excersize and mental stimulation (Kongs and kibble puzzles), and worked on training, but with no improvement. I'm considering the next step to put her on Prozac, but I'm unsure, as most things I read about doggie Prozac list treating seperation anxiety as it's main use. She definitely doesn't have that (sleeps like a baby any time we're gone), so I'm curious how effective it can be for her.

Any insight or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!


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## seaboxador (Sep 23, 2012)

I haven't dealt with what you're doing, but kudos for doing it. What I would recommend is that you reach out to some of rescue organizations around and get some advice. Maybe these guys http://www.americanboxerrescue.org/ or others. Lots of people have been in your shoes and I bet they've faced the same situation. Just google dog rescue or boxer rescue. Lots of people care and want to help.


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## Nil (Oct 25, 2007)

What training have you done? For how long? What were you instructed to do?

Have you seen a behaviorist or trainer?

Are you sure her behavior is aggression and not play/excitement? 

Is she physically biting them to cause pain or just nibbling? 

How much exercise does she get? 

Did they say anything about her issues when you adopted her?

I just want to get clarification.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Nil said:


> What training have you done? For how long? What were you instructed to do?
> 
> Have you seen a behaviorist or trainer?
> 
> ...


I have most of the same questions before I offer advice, OP. 6 months for reactivity/fear aggression (is she actually causing physical harm when going after guests? Standing up and walking away is relieving social pressure and giving her the opportunity to lash out if she's already so nervous with them being there) isn't enough to declare medication for me, but it would depend on the answers to these questions.


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## Rescued (Jan 8, 2012)

we put one of our late dogs on prozac for 3-4 years before her death (of old age). she was a german shorthaired pointer rescue that had obviously been someones hunting dog that ran off. the dog was neurotic- loved her to death and my dad still wants another pointer, but she was literally, neurotic. tore through drywall during thunderstorms, almost collapsed our entire shed on herself, freaked out at other dogs and people, fireworks, you name it. (and yes, this was after 3-4 miles of bikejoring daily, i promise this wasnt due to inadequate exercise)

it made her a normal dog. she was never agressive so i dont know how it woulve worked with that, but you could tell that she was finally happy and more mentally "calm", if that makes sense. it was a lifesaver- still scared of thunderstorms but she overall had an incredibly higher quality of life when on prozac.

take from that what you will.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Medication should only be used in conjunction with training. I would consult a vet behaviourist about that. Sometimes when dogs are in a highly stressed state, it slows down learning, so putting them on medication reduces their stress level to a point where they're able to learn. 

I would consult a vet behavourist or a trainer, because if you've been working on this on your own and there is NO improvement, there could be something wrong in your training mechanics, or maybe you're putting her over threshold without realising it.

I would also read up on Behaviour Adjustment Training (BAT). There is a book available (or a downloadable pdf from the Ahimsa website) and there are some good videos on youtube.


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## kswaters85 (Nov 12, 2012)

We saw a behaviorist, who instructed us in a training program to "redirect" her fear in to positive actions; for example, doing a "Watch me" and "sit" or "lay down" whenever people come in to the house or when she sees another dog. After months of working on this, our boxer has learned all the commands and responds well when we practice, but in real-life situations she cannot focus enough to listen to our commands.

Her behavior with other dogs may be play/excitement and she just doesn't know how to properly interact with them, as I believe she was a breeder on a puppy mill before we rescued her and was never socialized properly. However, with people it is absolutely fear-aggression, as she escalates from bumping their feet with her muzzle to full on biting if the person does not sit down. 

She gets long walks at least 3 days a week (I try to take her out every day, at lest on a short walk if I can). She also has access to a large backyard where she chases squirrels in the mornings. 

When we adopted her we only saw evidence of her leash reactivity towards other dogs, which I thought we could handle well enough with exposure and training. The foot biting towards people only started when she realized that we were her "people" and felt like she needed to protect us.

Does this clarify?


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

> Her behavior with other dogs may be play/excitement and she just doesn't know how to properly interact with them, as I believe she was a breeder on a puppy mill before we rescued her and was never socialized properly. However, with people it is absolutely fear-aggression, as she escalates from bumping their feet with her muzzle to full on biting if the person does not sit down.


Boxers are notoriously bad with other breeds. I think other breeds find them obnoxious at best. They seem to be like a little kid who won't stop poking his finger at you and saying "I'm not touching you!" (I say this with love.)



> When we adopted her we only saw evidence of her leash reactivity towards other dogs, which I thought we could handle well enough with exposure and training. The foot biting towards people only started when she realized that we were her "people" and felt like she needed to protect us.


That's not her protecting you. That could be her resource guarding you, which explains why your previous training isn't working. RG is relatively easy to deal with. However, since this is an ongoing thing, I'd say try what I suggest, but call a behaviorist first. Make an appointment and while you wait, try this. (iaabc.org has good behaviorists.)

Every time you have people over, throw her treats, lots of high value treats. She needs to learn that people in the house means yay! treats! rather than "oh, no, I'm losing my people!" So keep her away from the people, but throw her lots of treats. Slowly, over the course of days, let her get closer and closer, but still throw her lots of treats. If done properly, she should go from biting at shoes to being at least accepting of visitors, if not excited. If it doesn't work, it won't hurt.

As to prozac, I'm fairly pro medication. But, I've benefited greatly from psych meds myself, as have family members, so ymmv.


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## kswaters85 (Nov 12, 2012)

Yes, our behaviorist said she was resource guarding us, which was strange to me at first because she has absolutely no problem when I take her food or toys away, which is what I always associated RG with.

Here's another weird thing that our boxer does: sometimes, for no apparent reason, she will stand in the middle of the room and cry. Not whine, like she wants attention or to go out, but cry, like she's truly sad about something. I'm always in the room, but she doesn't look at me when she does this. Any ideas what this could possibly be? It breaks my heart when she does it, because I know her early life was traumatic and I want her to be happy.


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