Pharmacological therapy with a combination of alprazolam and fluoxetine and use of the trace element lithium gluconate for treating anxiety disorders and aggression in dogs

Abstract

Abstract This research studied 2 different treatments, lithium gluconate and a combination of alprazolam and fluoxetine, with the aim of assessing their efficacy for treating anxiety disorders in dogs. One hundred thirty-five dogs took part in the study, divided into 2 diagnostic categories: anxious dogs with aggression and anxious dogs with no aggression. The animals in each category were divided randomly into 3 testing groups, each with a different treatment but with the same behavior modification program. The first group (T1) received a 2 mL ampoule of lithium gluconate per os for 10 weeks. The second group (T2) was given a combination of alprazolam (0.07 mg/kg) and fluoxetine (1.0 mg/kg) per os for 4 weeks. The third group (CT), which was selected as the control group, underwent the behavior modification program only. No significant differences were found in anxiety signs that could be related to sex, age, or reproductive status. However, for the category of anxious dogs with aggression, significant differences were found between the different periods ( P = 0.04, P = 0.03). In the case of anxious dogs with aggression, it was found that the evolution of anxiety signs was better in dogs in the T1 group than in those in the T2 and CT groups. Furthermore, the T1 group showed a better correlation between the variables: improvement of anxiety signs and compliance of the owner with the proposed therapy.