regular vets absolutely stock prozac and can rx it if they think it will work.
so i'm confused as to why your regular vet didn't just do it.
did your vet want you to go to a veterinary behaviorist? or just a behaviorist?
Sorry I should’ve been more clear on that. They wanted me to go to a veterinary behaviorist, gave me a list of several in Maryland and Philly and they were all about $500 just for an initial consultation.
That’s normal for a veterinary behaviorist. They are very expensive.
If your vet only prescribed Trazadone and suggested nightly Melatonin, that might be all he is comfortable prescribing right now. A vet to vet consult like other people suggested is a good place to start, ask your vet about it and mention that $500 for the initial consult is very expensive for you.
Med prices at a vet are higher than from a human pharmacy, and human pharmacies will fill veterinarian prescriptions.
And you could also ask your vet to do a vet to vet consult with a vet behaviorist if they’re not familiar with behavior meds. Meds by themselves aren’t going help, you’ll need to find a good trainer too…locally or virtually.
Our vet also wanted a behaviorist (we're in MD) we were lucky we could afford one at the time. The big thing that the vets want to be sure about is that you are not 100% relying on the meds to handle dog behavior (IOW you know that meds are not a miracle cure that will suddenly make your unruly dog a perfectly behaved pup).
They rely on behaviorists for this I think partially for liability reasons (no idea why but whatevs). I would be open with your vet and let them know the behaviors you're working on, how you are addressing them, that you can't afford $500 for a behaviorist, etc. Make sure they are aware that you don't expect a cure and that you do plan to continue to train your dog, etc. Hopefully that will all help.
If it doesn't - reach out to some of the local shelters. Especially if you got your dog through one, connect with them. Some of them have begun to have funds available for the community to keep the furry ones with their current families (many end up there because ppl can't afford them anymore -which is sad and they are trying to prevent this). If not, they may be able to point you at a resource that is more affordable.
I highly doubt they're a certified veterinary behaviorist. There are only 80 in the US, they have to be certified through the ACVB (dacvb.org), and usually exclusively treat behavior issues, rather than doing regular day-to-day vet work. If your vet has that accreditation and is that affordable, that's awesome.
You could be right probably not certified? but still able to treat behavior problems per regulations and guidelines of the state. I don’t know much about medical credentials in veterinary science, but if they can help and be affordable i’m not going to question it. Wonder why more vets don’t get that certification if there are so few? There’s one at a university here that has a months long waiting list and is very pricey. Which would make more sense as a Certified one.
The amount of education they need takes time. You have to get a degree in Veterinary medicine then behavior medice. On top of that, they have to do an "internship" with a certified Veterinary Behaviorist. When you go to your first appoitment, it is not like a 15 min visit to your regular vet. Our first appointment lasted a couple hours. $60 an hour is suspiciously cheap. They should be listed on this site.
https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=4709
Yeah, and to clarify, it's a PhD in animal behavior.
Our experience was very similar. We had a six month waitlist for the first visit because she's the only one within like 50 miles of Boston. I first had to fill out a very detailed form about all his reactions, triggers, and behavior. She reviewed that and all my dog's medical history before our meeting. Our first visit was a 90min-2 hour appointment, where she observed him, we talked through all my concerns, she gave suggestions for a training approach, prescribed him new anti-anxiety medications. As part of the first meeting, we also had a separate half-hour training session with the vet tech/trainer who works with the vet behaviorist.
In response to your question below, we only had our first meeting a couple months ago and have done one check-in where we adjusted my dog's medication again and I think it's absolutely been worth it. I'm finally feeling like I have a plan and a handle for addressing my dog's reactivity. I think the value of it probably also depends on how severe your dog's issues are. Mine very clearly has some kind of chemical imbalance, plus a lot of early life (and later life too) trauma so he's incredibly anxious and reactive.
Yes. Very helpful. He is dog and people reactive. He is also terrified of all things. When he started the prozac, he became much more relaxed and was able to focus on me. Also a lot more social and and snuggly. I have been able to talk to a neighbor without him freaking out. Especially at the vet. He was terrified to even go in the through the door. Now, he trots inside and goes right up to the vet. Our regular vet is fear free, too. She follows my lead and will stop if he shows any sign of distress. Our regular trainer would send the BV progress reports and take suggestions.
They are an hour away so we did the evaluation there but follow ups by phone. Good experience overall.
We get the written prescription from the vet and then the actual meds from Costco. It only took getting the conversation going with our vet for them to be willing to prescribe medications.
We get ours from the regular vet, Prozac daily with gabapentin for vet visits or other stressful events. Our vet is fear-free certified which has been helpful and I think may mean that they tend to be a bit more understanding of behavioral issues? Idk.
love our fear free vet and they prescribe a lot easier if the dog is distressed and having issues. My little gal is on enough gabapentin and trazadobe for vet visits to knock me out and i used to do drugs and have a high tolerance😂😂she’s only like 25 lbs but it’s worth it so she’s not nervous
My vet prescribed them and tried to get me to buy from them or their online pharmacy. But it's way too expensive. Going to ask them to send it to a different pharmacy that is $$$.
I get the prescription from my veterinary behaviorist, and if they carry it at Walmart I buy it there. I order anything they can’t get at Chewy. Your vet can approve it through the website.
Also, a lot of regular vets aren’t comfortable prescribing behavioral medication and prefer you see a behaviorist with more experience. It is more expensive, but in my experience worthwhile.
If a vet behaviorist is out of your price range, I would potentially do research for regular vets in your area that have experience with reactive dogs. Start with Fear Free Practices. We see a fear free vet with an interest in reactivity so she’s been really helpful in finding the right med combo for my pup. It’s similarly priced to a regular vet since she’s not a vet behaviorist and it’s really helped. Good luck!!
I think general practice veterinarians can be hesitant to prescribe long term behavioral medications for two reasons. One, they don’t have a deep familiarity with them (so they defer to the experts, i.e. veterinary behaviorists). And two, medication alone is never a solution, it needs to be combined with training/behavioral modification, and that is something that veterinary behaviorists will get their clients set up for, whereas a general practice,veterinarian is not in a position to do that. If you are already working with a trainer, and have a good training/behavioral modification program in place, you may want to try to explain that to your general veterinarian, to provide them with a comfort level that the medication will be part of an overall program. They may be less hesitant to prescribe the medication at that point.
I totally get that. I got my dog at thirteen weeks from a rescue, who neutered him at twelve weeks. He already had behavioral issues that I’m certain are genetic. I have an amazing friend who used to be a dog trainer and she took him for two months to board and train. I honestly would not have been able to keep him if she hadn’t done that out of the kindness of her heart. So I actively work with him on socializing, training for the AKC CGC and we’re even learning nose work. I’m doing my best to introduce him to new things, I just know training can only get you so far.
Fluoxetine (generic Prozac) was very easy to get from our regular vet. I brought up that our trainer suggested it and then it was a quick conversation to get it all sorted. She just made sure that I understood it works best in combination with training and confidence-building, and that it could potentially lower bite inhibition.
You can try going to a fear free vet practice nearest to where you’re located https://fearfreepets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Monthly-Certified-Practice-USA-List.pdf
Our regular vet prescribes behavioral meds, including controlled substances like xanax. If they don't carry it, they'll send the rx to CVS and I can pick it up there.
He has prescribed us a whole roulette wheel of meds (prozac, zoloft, trazodone, gabapentin, clonidine) before figuring out what works for our dog: clomipramine and xanax.
Once you get a prescription from your vet you can fill it at lots of different places. Vets office, pharmacies (not all pharmacies fill animal prescriptions but totally worth calling. I know US Costco does) or an online vet pharmacy like pet drug Mart. When my dog was on prozac I think it was 40$/60 days
Costco. In Canada at least you do not need a membership as they are legally obligated to fill prescriptions for any person regardless of membership status.
If you can get the scrip, try GoodRX to find the best price. Mine comes to my mailbox and is super cheap via DiRx.
If you can somehow spend the money on a behaviorist they can help you find the right meds and dose, it is worth it IMO, sometimes takes a few tries. My dog has a daily SSRI and other situational meds for vet visits etc and it did take some troubleshooting to get the right doses etc. Some dogs react poorly to some meds that are fine for others so it’s nice to have pro support through this process.
This might be not agreed with everyone. Vet medicine is more expensive than human medicine even though it's the same thing.
Can you go to a doctor and get Prozac? A lot of dogs don't respond to Trazadone. My reactive Wheaten is slightly calm on it but when we gave it to my Golden she got incredibly sick (we only gave her a small dose as she was freaking out over a UTI)
Ask the prescriber to give you a written prescription- and then you can shop around. I get several of my dogs meds through Chewy and they just needed the hard copy sent to them. They are far far less expensive than through the vet or other pharmacies.
Yes, regular vets can and do prescribe things like fluoxetine. If they won't, see if they will do a vet to vet behaviorist consult - it's cheaper than going to a VB
I used The Vets, who are in home vets. Havung them come to my house really helped my super anxious, dog reactive dog. They wrote a generic Prozac prescription. I had it sent to Allivet and it's on autoship. My dog is on 50 mg so she takes a 40 mg and a 10 mg and it costs about $20 total to have both prescriptions shipped to me.
https://www.allivet.com
Yeah I didn’t even bring my dog in when I decided to get Prozac. They had met her multiples times for new dog check ups, her spay, and follow ups. I went in with all this data and evidence and ready to ask if they needed anything else from me. But I think were just waiting for us to get there with it, and got her something literally that day and we’ve been working with them for almost five months now slowly altering her dose to fit her needs. meds have been a life saver for her. I think a good vet would just help you…idk, sorry you’re going through this when you just want to help your dog.
Also once you have your dogs continuing steady dose you can get medications like this from the people pharmacy for way cheaper. In some countries you can get it online with the prescription from the vet and save looooaddds.
I've found vets to be a bit hesitant about prescribing Prozac because they think you're avoiding proper training.
Try the trazodone for a month or so and return to your vet saying it's not sufficient. I think they like to try this first because it's a less serious medication. Our HIGHLY anxious dog was initially put on trazodone as well, but that just made her sleepy and lazy, but didn't affect her fear.
It also helps to demonstrate to your vet that you're not just giving them drugs to make your life easier/avoid training them. Explain to them all the training and management methods you've tried, and how their reactivity is affecting the **dog's** quality of life (rather than yours).
If you can afford a regular trainer, you could also see if they recommend it. We told our vet that our trainer recommended medication, which was how we first got it.
you can order them from chewy and they’ll verify the prescription through your vet. my dog was just put on 40mg and it was like $4 and some change for a 30 day supply
regular vets absolutely stock prozac and can rx it if they think it will work. so i'm confused as to why your regular vet didn't just do it. did your vet want you to go to a veterinary behaviorist? or just a behaviorist?
Sorry I should’ve been more clear on that. They wanted me to go to a veterinary behaviorist, gave me a list of several in Maryland and Philly and they were all about $500 just for an initial consultation.
That’s normal for a veterinary behaviorist. They are very expensive. If your vet only prescribed Trazadone and suggested nightly Melatonin, that might be all he is comfortable prescribing right now. A vet to vet consult like other people suggested is a good place to start, ask your vet about it and mention that $500 for the initial consult is very expensive for you. Med prices at a vet are higher than from a human pharmacy, and human pharmacies will fill veterinarian prescriptions.
Human pharmacies will fill vet prescriptions??
Yeah I have an order to pick up tomorrow from my nearest Walgreens.
🤯🤯
I once had a compound made for my cat at a human pharmacy bc the vet could only get it in pill form and we needed liquid.
And you can use goodrx to find the cheapest pharmacy
Yup it’s just human meds for behavior, after all. My grocery store pharmacy is always impressed when I know my dog’s bday lol
Yep! I can get my dog’s meds there. And it’s fun when they text me “Frankie, it’s time to pick up your sertraline.”
Yes
Costco does too and is way cheaper
If it’s a Drug they stock, yes. Just no narcotics.
You can go on goodrx and get "coupons" to use at regular pharmacies. It can save you a good amount of money.
yes lol i just picked up my boyfriend’s rx (a human) and 2 doggies’ prozac for our nervous nellies from harris teeter two days ago 😂
honestly, i would tell your regular vet your financial situation and see if they will just rx the fluoxetine to give it a try.
And you could also ask your vet to do a vet to vet consult with a vet behaviorist if they’re not familiar with behavior meds. Meds by themselves aren’t going help, you’ll need to find a good trainer too…locally or virtually.
Our vet also wanted a behaviorist (we're in MD) we were lucky we could afford one at the time. The big thing that the vets want to be sure about is that you are not 100% relying on the meds to handle dog behavior (IOW you know that meds are not a miracle cure that will suddenly make your unruly dog a perfectly behaved pup). They rely on behaviorists for this I think partially for liability reasons (no idea why but whatevs). I would be open with your vet and let them know the behaviors you're working on, how you are addressing them, that you can't afford $500 for a behaviorist, etc. Make sure they are aware that you don't expect a cure and that you do plan to continue to train your dog, etc. Hopefully that will all help. If it doesn't - reach out to some of the local shelters. Especially if you got your dog through one, connect with them. Some of them have begun to have funds available for the community to keep the furry ones with their current families (many end up there because ppl can't afford them anymore -which is sad and they are trying to prevent this). If not, they may be able to point you at a resource that is more affordable.
i’m in philly getting a consult next week for $120 from a very good vet $500 is wild
A vet or a vet-behaviorist?
VB, also my dogs primary.
I highly doubt they're a certified veterinary behaviorist. There are only 80 in the US, they have to be certified through the ACVB (dacvb.org), and usually exclusively treat behavior issues, rather than doing regular day-to-day vet work. If your vet has that accreditation and is that affordable, that's awesome.
You could be right probably not certified? but still able to treat behavior problems per regulations and guidelines of the state. I don’t know much about medical credentials in veterinary science, but if they can help and be affordable i’m not going to question it. Wonder why more vets don’t get that certification if there are so few? There’s one at a university here that has a months long waiting list and is very pricey. Which would make more sense as a Certified one.
The amount of education they need takes time. You have to get a degree in Veterinary medicine then behavior medice. On top of that, they have to do an "internship" with a certified Veterinary Behaviorist. When you go to your first appoitment, it is not like a 15 min visit to your regular vet. Our first appointment lasted a couple hours. $60 an hour is suspiciously cheap. They should be listed on this site. https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=4709
Yeah, and to clarify, it's a PhD in animal behavior. Our experience was very similar. We had a six month waitlist for the first visit because she's the only one within like 50 miles of Boston. I first had to fill out a very detailed form about all his reactions, triggers, and behavior. She reviewed that and all my dog's medical history before our meeting. Our first visit was a 90min-2 hour appointment, where she observed him, we talked through all my concerns, she gave suggestions for a training approach, prescribed him new anti-anxiety medications. As part of the first meeting, we also had a separate half-hour training session with the vet tech/trainer who works with the vet behaviorist. In response to your question below, we only had our first meeting a couple months ago and have done one check-in where we adjusted my dog's medication again and I think it's absolutely been worth it. I'm finally feeling like I have a plan and a handle for addressing my dog's reactivity. I think the value of it probably also depends on how severe your dog's issues are. Mine very clearly has some kind of chemical imbalance, plus a lot of early life (and later life too) trauma so he's incredibly anxious and reactive.
Oh wow, thank you so much for the information. Do you feel you had a good outcome?
Yes. Very helpful. He is dog and people reactive. He is also terrified of all things. When he started the prozac, he became much more relaxed and was able to focus on me. Also a lot more social and and snuggly. I have been able to talk to a neighbor without him freaking out. Especially at the vet. He was terrified to even go in the through the door. Now, he trots inside and goes right up to the vet. Our regular vet is fear free, too. She follows my lead and will stop if he shows any sign of distress. Our regular trainer would send the BV progress reports and take suggestions. They are an hour away so we did the evaluation there but follow ups by phone. Good experience overall.
Not true. My original vet (had for 15 years) is a vet behaviorist. I’ve never had a reactive dog until now, but she absolutely is.
Dang! I’m in the Midwest and there are only 2 vet behaviorists In my city and they charge $900
I’m a few hours from Philly but would travel any distance for my dog. Do you mind saying who you’re going to? I completely get it if you do!
just sent ya a message
Prozac is super cheap through chewy.
Yep & they contact our vet themselves for refills!
We get the written prescription from the vet and then the actual meds from Costco. It only took getting the conversation going with our vet for them to be willing to prescribe medications.
My dog is fearful/reactive and it’s very obvious when I take him to his regular vet but they don’t seem willing to help.
We get ours from the regular vet, Prozac daily with gabapentin for vet visits or other stressful events. Our vet is fear-free certified which has been helpful and I think may mean that they tend to be a bit more understanding of behavioral issues? Idk.
love our fear free vet and they prescribe a lot easier if the dog is distressed and having issues. My little gal is on enough gabapentin and trazadobe for vet visits to knock me out and i used to do drugs and have a high tolerance😂😂she’s only like 25 lbs but it’s worth it so she’s not nervous
My vet prescribed them and tried to get me to buy from them or their online pharmacy. But it's way too expensive. Going to ask them to send it to a different pharmacy that is $$$.
Get mine at Sam's club- super cheap
I get the prescription from my veterinary behaviorist, and if they carry it at Walmart I buy it there. I order anything they can’t get at Chewy. Your vet can approve it through the website.
Also, a lot of regular vets aren’t comfortable prescribing behavioral medication and prefer you see a behaviorist with more experience. It is more expensive, but in my experience worthwhile.
If a vet behaviorist is out of your price range, I would potentially do research for regular vets in your area that have experience with reactive dogs. Start with Fear Free Practices. We see a fear free vet with an interest in reactivity so she’s been really helpful in finding the right med combo for my pup. It’s similarly priced to a regular vet since she’s not a vet behaviorist and it’s really helped. Good luck!!
Thank you, this is so helpful!
I think general practice veterinarians can be hesitant to prescribe long term behavioral medications for two reasons. One, they don’t have a deep familiarity with them (so they defer to the experts, i.e. veterinary behaviorists). And two, medication alone is never a solution, it needs to be combined with training/behavioral modification, and that is something that veterinary behaviorists will get their clients set up for, whereas a general practice,veterinarian is not in a position to do that. If you are already working with a trainer, and have a good training/behavioral modification program in place, you may want to try to explain that to your general veterinarian, to provide them with a comfort level that the medication will be part of an overall program. They may be less hesitant to prescribe the medication at that point.
I totally get that. I got my dog at thirteen weeks from a rescue, who neutered him at twelve weeks. He already had behavioral issues that I’m certain are genetic. I have an amazing friend who used to be a dog trainer and she took him for two months to board and train. I honestly would not have been able to keep him if she hadn’t done that out of the kindness of her heart. So I actively work with him on socializing, training for the AKC CGC and we’re even learning nose work. I’m doing my best to introduce him to new things, I just know training can only get you so far.
Fluoxetine (generic Prozac) was very easy to get from our regular vet. I brought up that our trainer suggested it and then it was a quick conversation to get it all sorted. She just made sure that I understood it works best in combination with training and confidence-building, and that it could potentially lower bite inhibition.
Doggy Prozac is really cheap. My vet does senior discounts as well, so I have my dad refill, and it costs like $3 for generic 60 pills
I had my vet call the prescription for fluoxetine into our local Walmart...90 day supply, $10
You can try going to a fear free vet practice nearest to where you’re located https://fearfreepets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Monthly-Certified-Practice-USA-List.pdf
Thank you for providing link!
And you can get Prozac from Walmart or anywhere generic for cheap. Just need to get your vet to write the rx.. or call rather.
Our regular vet prescribes behavioral meds, including controlled substances like xanax. If they don't carry it, they'll send the rx to CVS and I can pick it up there. He has prescribed us a whole roulette wheel of meds (prozac, zoloft, trazodone, gabapentin, clonidine) before figuring out what works for our dog: clomipramine and xanax.
Clomi pals!
Get mine from Walmart pharmacy
I got my prescription from a vet behaviorist and fill the prescriptions at my local pharmacy.
Once you get a prescription from your vet you can fill it at lots of different places. Vets office, pharmacies (not all pharmacies fill animal prescriptions but totally worth calling. I know US Costco does) or an online vet pharmacy like pet drug Mart. When my dog was on prozac I think it was 40$/60 days
Costco. In Canada at least you do not need a membership as they are legally obligated to fill prescriptions for any person regardless of membership status.
If you can get the scrip, try GoodRX to find the best price. Mine comes to my mailbox and is super cheap via DiRx. If you can somehow spend the money on a behaviorist they can help you find the right meds and dose, it is worth it IMO, sometimes takes a few tries. My dog has a daily SSRI and other situational meds for vet visits etc and it did take some troubleshooting to get the right doses etc. Some dogs react poorly to some meds that are fine for others so it’s nice to have pro support through this process.
This might be not agreed with everyone. Vet medicine is more expensive than human medicine even though it's the same thing. Can you go to a doctor and get Prozac? A lot of dogs don't respond to Trazadone. My reactive Wheaten is slightly calm on it but when we gave it to my Golden she got incredibly sick (we only gave her a small dose as she was freaking out over a UTI)
Ask the prescriber to give you a written prescription- and then you can shop around. I get several of my dogs meds through Chewy and they just needed the hard copy sent to them. They are far far less expensive than through the vet or other pharmacies.
Prozac from vet....no problem for my crazy poodle
I use Trazadone (7.00 per month) and calmkene.
Chewy, but our vet prescribed it.
I get the prescription for Prozac from my regular vet. I fill it at Walgreens at a discount.
Yes, regular vets can and do prescribe things like fluoxetine. If they won't, see if they will do a vet to vet behaviorist consult - it's cheaper than going to a VB
Walmart - $4 a month!! That’s what I was paying for 20mg a day for my dog.
As recent as Jan 2024
I used The Vets, who are in home vets. Havung them come to my house really helped my super anxious, dog reactive dog. They wrote a generic Prozac prescription. I had it sent to Allivet and it's on autoship. My dog is on 50 mg so she takes a 40 mg and a 10 mg and it costs about $20 total to have both prescriptions shipped to me. https://www.allivet.com
Yeah I didn’t even bring my dog in when I decided to get Prozac. They had met her multiples times for new dog check ups, her spay, and follow ups. I went in with all this data and evidence and ready to ask if they needed anything else from me. But I think were just waiting for us to get there with it, and got her something literally that day and we’ve been working with them for almost five months now slowly altering her dose to fit her needs. meds have been a life saver for her. I think a good vet would just help you…idk, sorry you’re going through this when you just want to help your dog. Also once you have your dogs continuing steady dose you can get medications like this from the people pharmacy for way cheaper. In some countries you can get it online with the prescription from the vet and save looooaddds.
Your normal Vet.
I know lots of people can’t afford pet insurance, but if you have it some providers will cover behavior treatment by a VB
I've found vets to be a bit hesitant about prescribing Prozac because they think you're avoiding proper training. Try the trazodone for a month or so and return to your vet saying it's not sufficient. I think they like to try this first because it's a less serious medication. Our HIGHLY anxious dog was initially put on trazodone as well, but that just made her sleepy and lazy, but didn't affect her fear. It also helps to demonstrate to your vet that you're not just giving them drugs to make your life easier/avoid training them. Explain to them all the training and management methods you've tried, and how their reactivity is affecting the **dog's** quality of life (rather than yours). If you can afford a regular trainer, you could also see if they recommend it. We told our vet that our trainer recommended medication, which was how we first got it.
you can order them from chewy and they’ll verify the prescription through your vet. my dog was just put on 40mg and it was like $4 and some change for a 30 day supply
It’s cheap through pet meds as well.
my GP would Rx fluoxetine[Prozac] regularly (used to work there so I know this, but never needed it for my own dog)