SYDNEY’S pets are being doped up to help them cope with anxiety and depression as their owners leave them alone all day.

Vets are increasingly prescribing costly pet forms of Prozac and Valium to stop anxious dogs tearing up the house while their owners are at work. Cats are also prescribed Prozac, but feline anxiety often goes undetected.

Despite high-rise lifestyles, many Sydneysiders refuse to compromise on canine companions, taking big breeds into small flats and leaving them cooped up for hours on end.

media_camera Dog owner Sehame Samba, of St Peters, with pets Brooklyn and Meeko at Sydney Park. Brooklyn was suffering from anxiety and Ms Samba had the option to put Brooklyn on Prozac or get a companion for him, so she bought Meeko and Brooklyn’s anxiety problems improved. Picture: Toby Zerna

Animal behaviourist and trainer Liarne Henry said dogs acted up after being left alone for long periods and bigger dogs, including working dogs, suffered the most.

“Working dogs will suffer more, they will destroy an apartment if they’re not getting enough stimulation,” she said. “I have seen dogs put on medication for separation anxiety when really all the dog suffered from was boredom as they didn’t get any mental stimulation and hardly any exercise.”

media_camera Behaviourist Nathan Williams’ dogue de bordeaux Mala. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Dr Jacqueline Ley from the Australian Veterinary Association said vets were right to diagnose dogs with mental health problems and there was no evidence dogs were being overprescribed medication.

She said simple behavioural ­issues had increased due to more people leaving dogs unattended while they worked 12 hours a day.

“People are working longer hours now,” she said.

“In the past the mum and kids would be at home. Now both parents are working and the kids are at school. Apartments are quite little. It can be harder for interesting things to ­happen in an apartment.”

media_camera Sehame Samba with pets Brooklyn and Meeko. Meeko has helped Brooklyn overcome separation anxiety without having to resort to medication. Picture: Toby Zerna

More important than space, however, was the amount of time with their owner and the amount of mental stimulation they received.

“Dogs are not naturally a solitary animal, they tend to like someone to hang out with.”

But some animal behaviourists say owners are calling for help to get their dogs off medications because of erratic and aggressive behaviour.

“Two years ago I would have one call every two months, it was rare,” behaviourist Nathan Williams said.

“Now, it is like three a week, complaining about the side effects like aggression from Prozac. People are getting ripped off, drug companies are driving this, they educate the vets.”

Ms Henry said she had seen side effects of medication such as aggression, leading to attacks on people.

“I had a client who overdosed their dog after going to three different vets, and that dog ‘turned’ — it attacked a person,” she said.

Southern Cross vet Sam Kovac said while medication could be useful, a second dog as a companion for the first was often a better solution than turning to drugs.

“Getting another dog is the most natural, holistic way to solve it.”

That was the option Sehame Samba of St Peters took when a vet suggested two options for her anxious dog Brooklyn: Prozac or a companion dog so he would develop a sense of responsibility.

“That was fantastic to watch, the first day they instantly fell in love, it was magical,” Ms Samba said.