[Dailydrool] Acepromazine question.

[Vanis, Nancy]

I know this is a subject that has been discussed on the drool - many times.  I did find a few of the posts in the archives.



I just wanted to ask about something I saw in an article on the Yahoo news website today about dogs and July 4th.  In the article, a vet stated:

"When I was in private practice, a lot of people wanted tranquilizers," said Dr. Michele Toomoth, the shelter vet in Rancho Cucamonga. Back then, she would prescribe Acepromazine, a sedative made just for dogs. She stopped when she learned how it worked.

"If you give a dog a sedative, it can't move but it's still freaked out," Bain explained. It's like going through surgery with your brain awake and your nerve endings working, but you can't move, Toomoth explained.

Today, they don't sedate dogs at the shelter and Bain won't give a dog anything but a true anti-anxiety drug like Xanax or Valium. Dog owners will have to talk to their vets about side effects, she said, but they are minimal. "There are lots of people on these medications and they function just fine," she said"

I have used Acepromazine only once during the 4th of July.  I used less than the minimum dosage on my bassets since I had heard it can really cause the dog to zonk out, and it did really affect my guys for a few long time.   I know a lot of people swear by it.

My question is - has anyone else heard that - about how acepromazine works?  As in 'the dog can't move but is still freaked out."?  I did have one vet at a speciality vet clinic recently recommend Valium or Xanax recently over Acepromazine.  I didn't think about it at the time but I am wondering if they have found out more about how acepromazine works.
Nancy

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