Behavioral effects of chronic imipramine treatment in genetically nervous pointer dogs

The genetically nervous pointer dog has been proposed as a model for human anxiety disorders. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, seventeen nervous pointer dogs were treated for four weeks with imipramine hydrochloride (10 mg/kg), a potent antipanic agent in humans. Although three of the dogs demonstrated marked improvement to imipramine but not placebo treatment after short-term administration, chronic imipramine failed to modify the aberrant behavior in any of the dogs. These findings are discussed in the context of the nervous pointer dog as a model for human anxiety disorders.