CBD for reactive chihuahua?

[u/Emergency-Sand-8260]

I have a 4 year old chihuahua/possible corgi mix who was adopted about 4 months ago. The rescue my family got him from didn't give us much information about his background other than he came from a hoarding house and had extremely limited to no contact with the outside world, other dogs, and people aside from his owner. Everything seems to set him off - animals, people, bikes, e-scooters, delivery vans, even the sound of another dog's leash clinking from outside - so walks can be stressful for both of us.

He's friendly + very sweet with family and a few neighbors but still barks loudly and aggressively at strangers, seemingly at random. (We were told that he really doesn't like men but he seems to be totally random with who he growls/barks at) We've met with a trainer to learn some tactics to reinforce good behavior and distract him from other dogs on walks, and our vet recommended trying medication for at least 3 months. He's been on prozac for 2 months and we haven't noticed any difference but we want to give it the full 3 months just to give the meds a fair chance. Come 3 months and no change and we'll work with the vet to safely taper him off.

I think what will help him most is consistent training, reinforcing good behavior and gently correcting negative behavior, and daily exposure to the outside world/exercise/mental stimulation, but with how explosive he can be this has been really tricky. We don't want him on meds forever if they aren't doing much and I've been curious about CBD for dogs. I've used it for sleep and anxiety in the past with little to no effect, which could have just been my own experience and/or bunk products I bought.

What has everyone's experience with CBD been like? I know it's a piece of the bigger puzzle of training, socializing (if possible), attention, exercise, stimulation, etc. and CBD alone won't "fix" him, but I've been curious because I've heard really mixed results from other neighbors with dogs - it's either a wonder elixir that corrected behavior overnight, an expensive bottle of snake oil that did nothing at all, or an expensive bottle of snake oil that made their dog dizzy and gave them diarrhea. Before we give him anything new we will be contacting his vet to make sure it's safe. Any tips or suggestions are appreciated!! TY!!

Edit: looks like someone commented something similar but it was deleted + I didn't explain well in the original: we don't want him on meds or CBD longterm unless it's deemed absolutely necessary. For the shortterm it may help him calm down with his new environment and all of the stimuli/freakout triggers outside. We want him to feel comfortable in his environment and we're not treating meds like a cure-all without considering all the other factors that go into him feeling happy and safe. His behavior when we met with a trainer to discuss barking/aggression was what prompted us to seek meds, as per their advice, and the vet agreed with their assessment. If it was occasional barking or only when he was really overwhelmed we wouldn't consider meds; because it's so constant and he seems so riled up (scared/nervous/territorial/all 3?) we were told medication could help him through the early rough adjustment period and wouldn't be needed longterm. We're going with what the vet recommended (minimum 3 months on prozac before making a decision to continue taking or taper off) and not adding anything without consulting them first.

The main priority is helping him be more calm around other dogs and people, which will take a very long time and a lot of repetition, reassurance, and love, because given what little we know of his early life it wasn't good. We want to give him the best chance possible and have also accepted he may never be fully calm around other dogs and take a while to warm up to strangers, but I think it's possible he can improve with time and care.

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[u/doggambit]

I haven't found it to be effective for any of my dogs.