Photographer: Christopher Furlong
Copyright Getty Images
Posted: 02/10/2012
Puppy uppers, doggie downers?
Medicines such as Prozac and Zoloft are being prescribed for man's best friend, according to a report by ABC News .
Americans spent nearly $7 billion on pills for their pets, up 35 percent from just four years ago, according to David Lummis, a senior pet market analyst for Packaged Facts.
Dr. Nicholas Dodman is a veterinary version of a psychiatrist and advocate of mind-altering drugs for animals.
Dodman founded the Animal Behavior Center at Tufts University near in North Grafton, Mass., where about 30 years ago horses led the way to prescribing medicine for domestic animals.
But animal trainer Cesar Milan, known as the "dog whisperer," says he is skeptical of using psychiatric medicines on pets, ABC New reports.
Milan believes that exercise, proper diet and tough love are the keys to curing psychological problems in pets.
Have you or would you give psychiatric medicines to your pet? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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