To Sedate or Not to Sedate? The Dog that Is.
"Just pop her a pill and she will be fine," said my 80 year old landlord who had success with this measure when flying his dog 25 years ago. A few friends said the same. And my vet summarily handed me a bottle of sedatives as matter of routine. These experiences, and maybe yours, left me with a false sense of assurance that sedatives were a no risk, only gain, venture.
The vet receptionist advised, based on years of experience no doubt, that we try the pills at sea level first to see how our pup reacted. Okay, sure. But, that tactic leaves a lot to be desired considering the dog may act totally different at 25,000 feet. And often times they do!
According to the AVMA, airlines, breeders who ship dogs all the time, and my Google sense (that's what you develop after staring at search results for hours and hours and hours), you should NOT sedate your dog. Sedation can alter their ability to acclimate to changes in altitude, oxygen availability, and temperature. Not to mention, some dogs, like terriers for instance, are sort of control freaks, like ummm well probably you, and when they are separated from you, placed in a crate, loaded onto a airplane, AND feel like their muscles have just turned into spaghetti, they can't keep their eyes open, and they are mellowing out...well, they start to panic and panic is bad!
So, even though she is prone to fits of hyperventilation and gyration when a firework is set off within a 5 mile radius. And even though she has severe separation anxiety. And even though, well, she's a terrier for god's sake. We chose to trust her canine survival instincts, trust that if she was healthy and 100% alert she would do better than if drugged. And, folks, it worked out just fine! Coming off the plane she didn't show any signs of distress and in fact came out wagging her tail.
Now, the question of whether or not YOU should sedate yourself is a different story that will be covered in a future installment...however, I can say that I am in strong favor of some sort of parental sedation. More to come.
AVMA
http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/animatedjourneys/livingwithpets/sedate
The vet receptionist advised, based on years of experience no doubt, that we try the pills at sea level first to see how our pup reacted. Okay, sure. But, that tactic leaves a lot to be desired considering the dog may act totally different at 25,000 feet. And often times they do!
According to the AVMA, airlines, breeders who ship dogs all the time, and my Google sense (that's what you develop after staring at search results for hours and hours and hours), you should NOT sedate your dog. Sedation can alter their ability to acclimate to changes in altitude, oxygen availability, and temperature. Not to mention, some dogs, like terriers for instance, are sort of control freaks, like ummm well probably you, and when they are separated from you, placed in a crate, loaded onto a airplane, AND feel like their muscles have just turned into spaghetti, they can't keep their eyes open, and they are mellowing out...well, they start to panic and panic is bad!
So, even though she is prone to fits of hyperventilation and gyration when a firework is set off within a 5 mile radius. And even though she has severe separation anxiety. And even though, well, she's a terrier for god's sake. We chose to trust her canine survival instincts, trust that if she was healthy and 100% alert she would do better than if drugged. And, folks, it worked out just fine! Coming off the plane she didn't show any signs of distress and in fact came out wagging her tail.
Now, the question of whether or not YOU should sedate yourself is a different story that will be covered in a future installment...however, I can say that I am in strong favor of some sort of parental sedation. More to come.
AVMA
http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/animatedjourneys/livingwithpets/sedate
posted by seattlegal at
10:39 AM
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