Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in dogs and cause significant suffering. Medication, properly used alongside behaviour therapy, is an evidence-based welfare intervention — not a last resort.
Dog anxiety is a welfare emergency hiding in plain sight. Millions of dogs live with chronic fear and anxiety that impairs their quality of life, strains the human-animal bond, and often ends in relinquishment or euthanasia. The reluctance to use medication — rooted in concerns about drugging pets or anthropomorphic ideas about dogs not needing medicine for mental health — prolongs suffering unnecessarily. Modern veterinary psychopharmacology has a strong evidence base; fluoxetine in particular has been extensively studied in dogs and is generally safe and well-tolerated. The correct frame is that anxiety medication for dogs is equivalent to using medication for chronic pain — a compassionate intervention that reduces suffering and improves life quality. Behaviour therapy remains essential but is often more effective with medication reducing baseline anxiety levels.