Pharmacological treatment of canine and feline undesirable behaviors by Finnish veterinarians

Undesirable behaviors of dogs and cats may reduce their quality of life and may cause harm to their owners. Such behaviors have been treated with medications as well as behavioral training and environmental modifications. Finnish veterinarians answered a web-based questionnaire to characterize the treatment of undesirable behaviors in dogs and cats by medications. Fourteen indications related to undesirable behaviors were defined in the questionnaire. Most psychoactive medications authorised for veterinary or human use in Finland and allowed to be prescribed for animal use according to the national legislation were listed. In addition, some sedative and analgesic agents were included. Canine and feline undesirable behaviors were treated by the respondents with a wide variety of medications. In many cases, none of the remedies used could be demonstrated to be a clear favourite for a certain indication. Off-label use of psychoactive medications was common. Many medications were used without research-based evidence of their efficacy for the indication in those species in question. Treatment of dogs was more often associated with advice for behavioral training in addition to medications than treatment of cats. Both the common off-label use of medications and the wide variety of substances used for the particular behavioral problem reveal the need for further clinical evidence of the efficacy of medications to treat various canine and feline undesirable behaviors.