Puppy Pharmaceuticals

Upon leaving your house, have you noticed your puppy’s seemingly endless need for some last minute affection? Or perhaps the little fellow is totally obsessed by a favourite toy, or constantly gnaws and tears at a specific chair. But that’s just a puppy misbehaving… isn’t it?
Now it seems that medical researchers have been able to identify many of the naughty habits of puppies are very similar to bad human habits – and can be treated pharmaceutically. This is, of course, a potential source of revenue for the pet-medicine industry that saw Americans alone spend over $49 billion on their pets last year.
The most popular puppy-medications are those intended to help your canine-companion to fight separation anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and obesity. Perhaps the last one may be needed since a record 20% of American puppies are overweight. A fair guess is that the number is lower in Australia, but it’s still a warning on thinking twice about your puppy’s diet and exercise regime.
Other medications formulated specifically for pets are meant to help ageing dogs with memory problems. Because, as with humans, better treatment leads to longer life-expectancy, which in turn creates a need for memory, or the lack of it, related remedies.
While most of these medications may have some immediate use for dogs that are having problems, it is important to observe that medication alone is not the way forward. Perhaps you do not spend enough time with your puppy? Do you feed it meals that are proper portion sizes and the correct nutritional value? How much time do you spend on exercise? In many cases, behaviour modification in the form of consistent exercise, training and simple quality-time may show improvements and prevent the need for medication.

Image by Meneer_Zjeroen.