Anyone have any experience with this anxiety drug?
We are thinking of using this for Lance when we have my daughters graduation party at the house. He is not very comfortable with a house full of people at all. I am not one to use medicines if I absolutely do not have to. I feel like this is one of those times. Lance will literally bark from the time people arrive til the time they leave, and then once again when they leave as well. :(
I talked with my vet about what to do, and he prescribed the Acepromazine 25 mg. He said to give it 3 hours before the party and then I would crate him in my room away from everyone. I started doing some research through google on this drug, and it kinda of freaked me out. I read that you shouldn't give it to herding breeds, does anyone know if this is true? The what if's of what could happen as well, didn't comfort me any either. Now, I am feeling a bit anxious!!!
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It doesn't mater how much exercise he gets before the party, he will still be anxious. :( I wish there was an easy solution, but thats just not the case. I have thought of these possbilities :
having my husband take a ride before the party with Lance and coming home when most everyone is already there? Then crating him away from everyone.
Boarding him is out of the question since he has auto immune issues and has not been able to receive all his vaccinations needed for boarding.
We do not have anyone that we could leave him with either.
Would it be wrong to leave him in his crate, even though he was barking the entire time?
When we had a smaller gathering for my daughters confirmation he was pretty barky that day as well, but we just dealt with it. My sister in law says to me, to bad he wasn't a bird where you could cover the cage. So, I thought to myself, hmmmm, and I grabbed a blanket and threw it over his kennel and surpisingly it seemed to work pretty well!!!??
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My vet is aware of the other meds Lance is on for his auto immune issues, but I can't help to wonder if it would be ok.
He is currently on:
Pentoxifylline 400 MG ( 1 whole one in the morning and then two half doses through the day)
Azathioprine 50 MG (1/2 tablet every 3 days)
Prednissilone 20 MG (1/4 of a tablet every 3 days)
Thanks for reading this long winded discussion. Looking forward to hearing from you.
UPDATE:
I gave Lance one 25 mg pill at around 10:00 am for a trial run. He currently is still really groggy and laying by my husband. I am not liking watching him so groggy. :( He did wag his tail for me. Oh and it is 8:00 right now.
My daughter is mad at me, for giving him the Ace. Teenagers...sigh. Although I do know how she feels, I am trying to figure out the best solution. I definately don't like seeing him like this.
I do think we are going to have to come up with some other solution to Lances anxiety on Saturday. It will be in the 100's so going for too many walks probably will be out of the question but maybe some short ones, including one right before the party.
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Sorry Nat, I don't have a clue. Could you give him a benadryl, crate him and still use a blanket if needed at least it might help him be a little calmer. Good luck:)
Thanks!
I used ace successfully with my last dog (spaniel mix). He had some major fear issues. There was a fine line between just right and too much on the dosage. He weighed 35 pounds and got 1/4 to 1/2 of a 25mg pill. 1/4 often was not enough and 1/2 could sometimes be too much. (Age might have been a factor though, he was 12 when we started with the ace.) You definately need to give it an hour or two before the party. I once forgot and waited until just before a trip. It didn't take at all, panic attack for the whole four hour drive.If I timed it right everything was fine. Mellow and fairly lucid for the trip.
I think Melissa has used it with Kirby. You might want to go back through her posts.
Sorry I just saw this post (while searching about Thundershirts!). Not sure if its too late, BUT I would skip the Ace and try Alprazolam instead. Ace does not work if there is stimulation (ie people coming and going, noises, etc). Ace shouuld not be used in boxers, I've never heard anything about not giving it to herding breeds. Franklin was on it when he broke his leg and it didn't do much of anything for him except lower is already really low heart rate. Alprazolam worked great. Its what the vet I work at now prescribes for fireworks and things like that and what Frank's old vet prescribed when teh Ace didn't work.
ps. I bought a thundershirt for Kirby and he HATES it. Lays and whines when its on him and won't move or just sits and tries to chew it off. I am going to try it for a few more days but it will probably be returned.
No you are not too late! In fact, I am glad you brought it back up, I have been putting it on the back burner and had another question came up. Very interesting, I am surprised the vet didn't think of this!?!? I will ask him about the Alprazolam. He is due to go in for his heartworm test this month.
I need to do a trial run on the meds before the party which is June 30th. When I do the trial run should I have him crated for an extended time like I will for the party?
I am wondering if he prescribed the Ace because of the other meds lance is already on??
I have heard with the thundershirt you should put it on in advance and also relate it to good things, like feeding him off of the shirt!! Although if the food is laid on the shirt, I would think he would really want to chew it off??
Yeah I basically bought the shirt yesterday and put it on, gave him treats, left in on for about 5 minutes and took it off. Several hours later I repeated but left it on longer. The second time he just laid and whined and whined and then started chewing on it. When I took it off (after maybe 10ish minutes) he ran around like he was SO HAPPY to have it off.
Ace works for some dogs, for my two it does nothing. Benadryl makes Franklin act like somebody puhsed fast forward and he buzzes around like a little bee. Since Ace is cheap I'd give it a shot and see if it seems ot help Lance, only thing is that if there is a lot of stimulation when you give it, you won't the same results as if you give it and its quiet at home. If he is TOTALLY knocked out with it when it is quiet then it would probably be safe to assume it will work with stimulation too. I just like the Alprazolam because I've had good results every time. Kirby takes a MUCH larger dose than Franklin even though he is smaller though so that's where a trial would come in handy. Vet recommended 1-2 mg for Franklin every 8-12 hours, the first time I gave him 1 mg he was a zombie for 2 days! I gave Kirby 1 mg two days ago and saw ZERO results, so each dog is VERY different in their response.
Do you have a thundershirt? These can help with anxiety also. Just a thought.
I do have a thundershirt!! I bought it last year while in Michigan on a mini vacation, seemed to work well there, but when I tried it at home, didn't seem to work as well. i should give it another try maybe.
What about Benzodiazepines? check out the charts in this article. It worked very well for me, short term use only and have a taper off plan ready.
If drugs are not an option, hire a dog walker for the event?
Thanks for the advice Sam. I will also ask the vet about Benzodiazepines and see what he says. Hiring a dog walker is a good thought as well. Wish having people over at the house didn't have to be so stressful for him :(
at our clinic some times there are dogs who come in and HAVE to have that pill, otherwise they bark them selfs out of breath and so stressed that they shake. they panic the whole time they are there. but when we give them the pill, they are more relaxed and prone to sleep. you do what u have to do:)
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