Sedative?

[indyselsa]

Are there any safe OTC sedatives you can give a dog? I don't want to make her sleep, I just want to give her the feeling I get after a big turkey dinner.

[Mutt Manners]

You can safely give you dog dramamine. I'm not spelling it correctly, but it the same stuff we take for motion sickness.

Here is some advise:

It is OK to give dimenhydrinate (Dramamine TM) for motion sickness in dogs.
There have been several doses for this published. The easiest one to
remember is 25 mg three times a day for dogs weighing less than 10 pounds
and 50mg three times a day for dogs weighing more than that. Dramamine is
an antihistamine and can cause drowsiness in dogs, in addition to the
anti-vomiting effect.

It also helps to take dogs for really really short rides pretty frequently.
Sometimes it is necessary to take rides as short as one or two minutes to
start with. Gradually, over time, increase the amount of time of the rides
until they are normal length for routine chores. Make sure you go to some
fun places. Bank drive throughs that give biscuits are good -- stuff like
that.

Mike Richards, DVM
8/10/99

website is http://www.vetinfo.com/dogmed.html

Julie

[riana]

Why do you want to give your dog a sedative - any specific reason. I'm just curious!!

[indyselsa]

My new puppy (9 months old, came from the pound) is having severe seperation anxiety- to the point where she was injuring herself in the crate when I was away from home. Usually we only have to leave her at home alone for 4 hours (I work 8-4:30, my boyfriend works 1-9), but this week my boyfriend's out of town, so she has to be in her cage for 8 hours, 4 days. (I took Friday off to make it easier for her.) We got a better crate, and this one she seems to actually like. My vet wanted to give me a sedative to help, but it was VERY expensive, and I was hoping to avoid strong medication like that. I was hoping for something more natural that would just relax her, maybe help her sleep, but not conk her out for hours at a time.

Yesterday I came home on lunch and spent as much time as I could with her before crating her again and leaving for work, and she seemed to do okay. I'm hoping we can make it through the week like this.

[RWDVM]

Sedating is not the answer to relieve separation anxiety. First, the patient will become refractory to the effects of any sedative, whether natural, anti-histamine, or narcotic. Second, it does not address the core behavioral disorder which tends to worsen with age if not corrected.

A better alternative would be to combine maintanence therapy with a good anti-anxiety med with behavioral augentation. Good anti-anxiety meds, like Clomicalm or amitriptylline, work by increasing seratonin in the brain, the "well being" neurotransmitter. They have a similar effect as drugs like Prozac or Paxel in people.

However, the goal is to eventually be able to wean the dog off of the meds, which can be accomplished by interacting with the dog in a manner that does not contribute to or perpetuate the separation anxiety. This is done by follwing these guidlines:

1.) Crating is a great idea. I would continue this.
2.) Place the dog in the crate 30 minutes before you actually leave. Do not pay any attention to the dog during this time. Do not verbally scold the dog if she whines or cries, as even negative attention is still attention. When you leave, do not say good bye or acknowlege the dog in any way.
3.) When you come home, do not greet the dog immediately. In fact, don't even let her out right away, but wait 30 minutes. Once out of the crate, let the dog go outside to eliminate and run around, but don't initiate play until she calms down from the excitement of your return home.
4.) When you know that you are not going to be leaving the house all day, place the dog in the crate periodically in the middle of the day for no reason at all. Leave her in there for 30 mintues without acknowleging her. Let her out without making a big deal about it.
5.) Feed her in her crate with the door left open so that she may eat in there and exit on her own when she's through. Thorw treats in the crate in the same manner periodically.

All of these steps serve to lessen the mental impact of your exit from the home and your subsequent arrival home for the dog. Making light of these events in the eyes of the dog will help to alleviate th stress of your absence. Remember, with any upleasant experiences, the anticipation of them is almost as bad, if not worse, as the actual unpeasant experiences. Like going to the dentist.

These steps also serve to reinforce the crate as a happy, protective place, rather than a temporary prison while Mom and Dad are away.

Talk to your vet about the meds. Try implementing the behavior steps whether you choose to try the meds or not. If you and your vet decide on a combination medical/behavior modification approach, discuss eventually weaning the dog off the meds once the desired behavior is attained. Good luck! And remember this, I write not only as a vet who deals with this problem in clinical practice, but also as the owner of a very spoiled yellow lab who has separation anxiety. Using these measures, I have been able to keep her off anti-anxiety meds for over 4 years. rw

[catdoc]

Great advice! Dr Roger!!!! I know a dog trainer that recomends this same routine.

[MariaRosa]

KUDOS to YOU, Dr. Weldon, THANK YOU for giving this advice! I know you all will think I'm crazy, but for some reason I actually CRIED when I read why this question was asked, and then cried thankfully to read the doc's response.

I, too, feel that the use of meds to sedate a dog with separation anxiety is just plain wrong. Like Dr. Weldon says, when you do that, you aren't solving the problem, you're just masking it...the problem is still there, it's just cloaked under a medicated haze.

I don't think you can do better then the advise already given by Dr. Weldon.

I did have a few extra little tips, though, that you may want to add to the above advise....

* Consider leaving a radio or tv on in the house while you're away,
* Place a softly ticking clock nearby.
* If you really need to GIVE something, go the natural route and get a bottle of Rescue Remedy from a health food store. For some dogs, Rescue Remedy makes a huge difference.

---Paula

[bambi_22]

hi, i am a studying pre vet student, and am broke, financial aid hasnt come in yet, and my vet clinic job isnt in season right now. i have a dog that a week ago, was been viciously shot numerous times in the back end, "foul play" suspected. she has a big gash above her tail in addition to 8 other holes. i am cleaning and administering aspirin, probios, antiseptics, antifungal, antibbacterial, stuff, plus 5ccs of penicillin each day... all the other wounds are ok, except the big one. it went from gray nasty dead looking, to pink healthy tissue looking, but there is a tiny spot where necropsis (or whatever) has settled in. that needs to be removed, and the wound needs to be stitched up. she will not let me physically touch the wound. i need a sedative to put her out so she wont feel the needle or fight with me. what can i give her that would help, does anyone else have any other ideas? im deoing the best with what i have, and there isnt the $250-300 needed to stitch her up professionally.

[Julia423]

bambi 22 ...the original post is over two years old...you'd do better with your original thread that you started today...