Top > Health > 2007 > May > 2007-05-17

Dogs Deserve their Prozac Too!

The company that created the original anti-depressant pill, Prozac, has come up with an ingenious way of pushing up sales of their product. Eli Lilly and Co. have received the go-ahead by the American Food and Drug Administration to package the pill and sell it as a product that will treat nervous and anxious dogs. The new pill will be called Reconcile and will be given to dogs suffering from separation anxiety disorder, among other things, in the form of a beef flavored chewable tablet.

Lilly?s spokesman said that around 17% of all American-owned dogs suffer from separation anxiety disorder, usually brought on when they are left alone for long periods of time. In a society where people work more and are at home for less time, their dogs seem to suffer and results can be seen by major behavioral problems such as excessive barking and property destruction.

The drug is taken from a class of drugs that is traditionally prescribed to treat human depression. It can be recommended by veterinarians for the use by dogs, after they rule out other possible causes of behavioral problems such as psychological disturbances. This is not the first pill on the market to treat emotional problems in canines ? the Swiss company, Novartis, has already introduced a similar product called Clomicalm that is used to treat nervous mutts. This product is also based on an older form of human anti-depressant. Future studies will show whether these drugs are effective in treating man?s best friend.