I think it depends on the circumstances--some dogs, like MinPins and poodles, are natually spazzy and most owners know that. I don't believe that dogs should be medicated to make life more "convenient" for their owners. But, in the event that the dog has experienced something out of the ordinary, I don't see a problem with medication for anxiety issues given the dog hasn't shown symptoms of larger issues.

Does that make sense? One friend's dog was denied food before he was abandoned and adopted, and now gets really crazy around food time. A medication to calm him down and get him to eat all of his food doesn't seem too wacky.

I'd agree with that - it's like the way doctors approach humans. It's one thing giving an animal meds to deal with a medical condition like anxiety, and it's a whole other issue giving them medicaions just because the dog is energetic.

And this brings up the point that people should really do their research and truly think about the fact that a dog is a big commitment. It's not like a cat (nothing against them at all, I have cats, but they are pretty low maintenance...clean box, food, water, regular vet checks, occasional petting...repeat), dogs are a lot of responsibility.

When I got my dog, I did a crap-load of research on the breed and my husband and I talked about training and the rest of the responsibilities being a good dog owner before we got her. A lot of people don't do that and just think they'll get whatever they feel like, and that training is teaching the dog to sit. If you get an energetic breed, you can't just drug the dog up to have a relaxed dog...that's not cool. Likewise if you get a dog like a border collie, which really needs stuff to do...almost all the time, or they go crazy and can get very destructive.

More evidence of why some people shouldn't own pets much less have children.