My old dog is anxious. Can she take meds for her last vet visit?

Poor guy. He will need to see your local vet to get the medication (i.e. Fluoxetine, Clomicalm, etc) he needs to have a hopefully stress free and anxiety free time away from you during your leave. I would recommend scheduling an appt with your vet soon. Anything over the counter (Thundershirt, pheromone diffuser) is likely not going to be strong or effective enough to make a difference, especially if he is as anxious as you say he is. Also, it may be better if he is at home in familiar surroundings, than with you in a foreign place. Having a sitter come to the house is probably the best case scenario for him, unless of course you have tried this before to no avail. Best wishes with Germa and I hope you work things out for her. Take care.

I'm so sorry! It will not hurt to give her more pred but this is likely not going to make her feel any better. She really needs pain medication. If your vet gave you an opiate pain medication like tramadol, this is appropriate to give up to three times daily. More pred is likely going to make her pant more and could potentially make her feel nauseous--it is a steroid and not specifically pain medication.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm very sorry to hear about Bundas, that sounds like a tough situation. The most humane way to euthanize a pet is with a veterinarian who can administer a sedative and a euthanasia solution to painlessly stop the heart. There are some veterinarians who can perform at-home euthanasias, which may be a good option for Bundas. While there are no sleeping pills for dogs, there are pills that can cause light sedation and a calming effect. I'm not sure what is available in Hungary, but I recommend asking your veterinarian about medications such as Trazodone, Gabapentin, Acepromazine or Melatonin. These medications can be combined to help "take the edge off", and reduce the stress of Bundas's last moments with you. I hope this is helpful!

I'm very sorry to hear that you are saying goodbye to Dublin today. Unfortunately, there are no over the counter pain medications that are safe for dogs. Talk to the vet who will be euthanizing Dublin to discuss any sedative or pain management options. Most vets will offer sedation prior to euthanasia to make everything as peaceful and comfortable as possible.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this with little Chili. Neurologic disease in elderly pets can be difficult to treat, understand, and very hard to watch, just like with people. It sounds like her seizures are well-controlled with the Keppra, but she is displaying additional neurological symptoms: pacing, circling, confusion. I am not entirely convinced these are all due to anxiety though. Usually neurologic disease in elderly dogs is due to only a few things: metabolic disease (liver, kidney, or diabetic issues), vascular events (strokes), or a brain tumor. If you have ruled out metabolic disease, which I'm sure your vet has, the other two diagnoses carry a very guarded prognosis. My concern is that the symptoms you are seeing are likely the result of progressive disease due to one of those two possible causes. While anxiety medication might help some, I fear that it's not going to give you or Chili the results for which you're hoping. In this case, it's important to think about quality of life for Chili: what's fair to her? If adding in an anti-anxiety medication helps her resume normal activities where she goes back to being Chili and doing the things that make her "Chili," fantastic. If not, it may be time to make some difficult decisions about what's best for her. If you do decide to pursue an anti-anxiety medication, your vet might consider Selegiline (specifically for cognitive dysfunction in people, not a lot of reported success in animals), Clonazepam (in the valium and Xanax family, but slightly different), or Clonidine (a blood pressure medication, also used to treat anxiety) in combination with an anti-depressant, such as Prozac. All of these would require careful monitoring and consideration in combination with the Keppra. Whatever you decide, best of luck to you and Chili!

You can always try over the counter remedies for anxiety before resorting to drugs. That being said, I have rarely seen these "natural" products work on dogs especially ones that have severe anxieties. Here are some things you can try: 1. Thundershirt: http://www.thundershirt.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzuHJ_Y2j1QIVFo1-Ch00fwx0EAAYASAAEgKaavD_BwE 2. Rescue Remedy for Pets: http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ 3. DAP (dog appeasing pheromone): http://dapdiffuser.com/ If those do not help, I would suggest you speak to your vet about a prescription of Trazodone. I think it is the best anti-anxiety medication without many side effects and it doesn't make them too groggy or "out of it". Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would contact the veterinarian again and ask if they can provide you with a sedative / anti-anxiety medication prior to coming in and then have you muzzle her prior to bringing her in. Medications such as Trazodone and amitriptyline together can help with the anxiety. She really needs to be seen by a veterinarian and have her blood tested to see if there are any abnormal systemic changes that could be causing the symptoms you are describing. With her age, I am concerned about something systemic that could be abnormal or cancer. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.