Anxiety help

So, Dory and I are flying out to her new home next week. Tuesday to be exact. I was given Acepromazine to try her on to sedate her a bit due to her anxiety issues. She was crated for 6 months by a previous rescue at a vet because they didn't have a foster home for her. As a result, she is very anxious when crated. Of course, she has to travel in a carrier (Sherpa) in-cabin during the flight. The Ace isn't working at all. It makes her very hyper for about 15 minutes and then she calms down but still cries and scratches at the Sherpa to get out. I've tried 25 mg of the Ace and it's just not working. I'm going to call the vet this morning and see if there are any other suggestions. She also prescribed Xanax but said the Ace is longer acting and would be the best for her. We're running out of time to mess around so I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions. We have a 3-hour layover in Denver so I would prefer something I could give her prior to the first leg of the flight and then on our layover to keep her calm the rest of the flight. Rescue remedy doesn't work either. I've only left her in the Sherpa about 15 minutes and she's not horrible but she's not happy either. Should I try longer and see if she settles down?

No idea on the meds but can you try a thunder shirt for her? It's worth a shot - I've heard that they work well for some dogs:



http://www.thundershirt.com

Although my sister is not a vet, she works at the vet clinic and I remember her mentioning to me that the Ace only makes them sleepy and really does calm down dogs with anxiety. If you want to calm the anxiety, I would see about the vet RX'ing her some Xanex. My sisters beagle has anxiety and gives him a Xanex when he's very anxious and it does tend to work. I've given it to Gracie and Emma on the 4th of July because they both freak out with fireworks and it has helped them. She did say though that you should give it about half an hour to an hour before. Hope this helps and good luck with the flight.

Thanks, Darci. I have some Xanax that the vet prescribed as a backup if the Ace didn't work. She just said the Ace lasts longer and would be better. It doesn't do a thing for Dory though. I'm going to try the Xanax tomorrow. We're taking the day off today as I'm exhausted from the stress and I'm thinking that with increasing the dosage of the Ace 5 mg per day this week, she's built up a tolerance to it.

You are welcome and good luck!! I always feel so bad for them when they are anxious. I think the Xanex lasts about 4-6 hours, if I'm not mistaking. Let us know how she does!!

We use Ace mixed with another drug to make dogs sleepy (as long as they don't have a history of seizures) before surgery intubation at the vets. For dogs that have high anxiety, sometimes Ace makes them worse.

Is the xanax Alprazolam? My Bella has taken it and it's worked for her. How early is your flight? Are you able to walk her to the point of exhaustion beforehand?

Yes, that's what the Xanax is. The flight doesn't leave until after 4pm so I plan on trying to wear her out beforehand. It's nearly a 10-hour trip altogether. We have a 3-hour layover in Denver.

The Ace does seem to make her a bit more anxious. She gets really hyper then calms down a bit and then decides to be very loving, rolling all over me, wanting to be on me and then she wants to chew on everything. Other than that, nothing. It doesn't seem to make her sleepy or anything.

She's not horrible in the carrier. She just whined and scratched at it. I'm hoping once we're on the plane and she relaxes a bit, she'll be fine. Not much else I can really do I suppose. Hopefully the Xanax will help.

Silly question, she's riding next to you or under your seat, yes? Would you be able to give her an additional dose of the alprazolam mid flight? Bella has had her dose up to 3 times a day.

Yes, she is riding in cabin with me. We have about a 4-hour flight to Denver and a 3-hour layover there then another 2 hours to Spokane. I was going to give her a dose an hour before the flight then once we get to Denver on our layover. Hopefully that will do the trick. Thanks for all the help!

no experience at all here, except, my sister used to bring her king charles over from europe... and the "White noise" of the engine and the floor vibration (a la being on a clothes dryer - ON, I said (LOL) for a kid) will hopefully sooth...

also a note: the floor of the plane often gets hot... so keep an eye out for that.

good luck.

Probably a stupid question, but have you spent much time teaching her to like the carrier? You know, playing games where she goes in, gets a treat and gradually having her wait, and slowly build up to closing it for a few seconds, then a few minutes etc. You typically can build up to a them being comfortable for several hours in just a few days. I don't know her story, but it's always worth trying to work with them a little.

Unfortunately, I just got the carrier last Friday. I've been working with her as much as possible and trying to make it a good place for her. I wanted to have a carrier in advance and work with her more, but there were some issues that prevented that. I'm very frustrated about it, trust me.

Her Sherpa bag has a tray on the bottom and padding inside. I plan on aiming my air vent down towards the floor for her and will keep an eye on her. She's not really hot natured so I think she'll be fine. Thanks for all the help.