Can you give a dog a sedative? If so, can you buy them from a pet store? or do you have to go to the vet?

Question

We are getting ready to fly and we are planning on bringing the dog with us. We are worried about how he would handle the flight (ie, doing #1 and #2 in the carry bag) so we were curious about giving him a sedative. Good idea? Suggestions?

Answer 1

You can buy over-the-counter sedatives for dogs, but be careful. Talk with your vet to make sure you're giving your dog a PROPER dosage for it.

It is generally considered UNWISE to sedate dogs during airplane travel; it can lead to injury or death of the plane hits a lot of turbulence or the cabin pressure changes sporadically.

If you're worried about the dog eliminating in the carry bag, restrict its diet before your flight. Unless your dog has trouble with its blood sugar levels, it can go without food for a day. The less there is on its stomach, the less chance there will be of it defecating or vomiting during the flight. Give it some Pedialyte before the flight to keep its electrolytes up.

Do NOT use "wee wee pads" or other such items in your carry bag. These pads have a scent that entices the dog to mess on them. Lining the carry bag with clean towels will keep the bag dry if the dog has an accident. If you put in a small blanket with your scent on it, the dog will also be comforted by the familiarity of the scent.

Bring zip-lock sandwich bags to pick up and cleanly dispose of any solid waste your dog may produce in flight.

Remember that after the flight the dog will be stressed and a little dehydrated. Again, give it some Pedialyte (if you can do this in the form of ice cubes it's best the dog)... and give it time to "decompress". Dogs are as susceptible to jet lag as humans.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can you give a dog a sedative? If so, can you buy them from a pet store? or do you have to go to the vet?
We are getting ready to fly and we are planning on bringing the dog with us. We are worried about how he would handle the flight (ie, doing #1 and #2 in the carry bag) so we were curious about giving him a sedative. Good idea? Suggestions?

Answer 3

Dog Sedatives For Travel

Answer 4

Sorry that you have this problem, yes there are sedatives. The most common is Valium (that group anyway) but if your dog or cat is aggressive it will make him feel happier to bite you. The vet will be the best one to ask for help. I suggest that you practice cutting his claws when you brush him and then one at a time cut them with very large pair of toenail cutters if you do not have the normal dog nail cutters. Be sure to use them correctly so you do not cut near the blood vein- it hurts them and it will make it even harder next time. Also buy a muzzle, they aren't that expensive and it will keep you from getting hurt even if your dog isn't intentionally trying to bite you. and finally practice massage therapy, you start massage from the nose and then down his back and then to his toes. This will teach him how to relax and then you will be able do almost anything. just one last comment- i am an animal behaviorist- I always say to ignore the bad behavior and praise the good. Take you time with him, make you training sessions short and don't let anything interrupt them, you will be successful if you plan it out. good luck

Answer 5

Your dog needs to be seen by a vet before you think about giving it any sort of a sedative, whether from the pet store or the vet. If your dog has any sort of an underlying condition with his heart, lungs or kidneys, a sedative could cause death. If you are up to date with vaccines and have seen your vet in the last year, he should be able to put up a script for you. Usually acepromazine is the drug of choice. It's not very expensive, and you would only need a couple of pills. Typically it's given an hour or so before travel. The medication will not prevent the dog from urinating or defecating while traveling. It will reduce the stress of the journey. but will not shut down normal organ function. The best thing to do is hold food and water for 4-6 hours before you plan to travel. Given the medication with a very small amount of food. Provide every opportunity for the dog to void himself before you put him in the carrier.

You also need to check with your airline before you take your dog on board. Often they require some sort of a health certificate in order to allow the dog on board, even in a carry on. Check now so that it doesn't become an issue the day of your flight.

Answer 6

"The airlines recommend NOT to give sedatives.
On some occasions the sedatives can make the dog sick, it also tends to make the dog drowsy and a sick, drowsy dog is a dangerous combination.
Usually if a dog is sick they will try to throw up, if it is drowsy the reflexes are slower, creating the possibility of choking.
That is why airlines say no sedatives unless prescribed by a vet, and, under extreme circumstances.
Since you are carrying the dog on as carry on, I assume it is a small breed dog.
When I have flown with my babies I always carry a "goodie bag" for just the emergency accidents you mentioned.
It includes: A small travel pac of handi wipes and napkins, several of the cheap pint size baggies, 4 or 5 cheap gallon size baggies, 4 or 5 pee pee pads, a plastic soda bottle of water, a small plastic drinking container, and a small baggie with about a hand full of dog food.
All the above will fit in a wall mart size bag, several of the newer carry on bags have small compartments that will hold most of the items also.
Line the carrier with a pee pee pad, you know your dog, if he/she becomes restless make a trip to the bathroom.
Use the napkins to collect any "monuments" and place in the small baggie. Put the small baggie in the bathroom trash. If the pee pee pad needs to be removed, use the larger baggie for them. Then re-line the carrier with a fresh pad.
If you give water or food, give a very, very small amount at a time.
The airline require a current (within 10 days) vet health certificate and proof of vaccinations.
These are only suggestions of the thing I have done, and that worked well for me.

Answer 7

Yes a sedative is a good idea, but you need to have a vet prescribe it so you get the correct dosage for your dog's weight and also one that is safe for your dog. Some breeds can't handle sedatives as well as others - so you need to consult a vet.

Answer 8

Yes there are pet sedatives! No they aren't sold at the pet stores because they need to be perscribed for your pet. So a trip to the vet is necessary.

Answer 9

Dogs are one of the most common pets world wide. Because of this, it makes sense that there are many different dog training methods out there. Unfortunately, most of these training methods are less than ideal to use for your pet.

Because of all of these differing dog training methods out there, many new pet owners get confused which to follow and even start using methods that are highly inaccurate or counter-productive for their pets. This article will show you the top three dog training methods that you should avoid like the plague!

Method 1: Using Punishment as Training

You'd be surprised how many pet owners use punishment as their "bread and butter" for obedience training. Unfortunately, as with bread and butter, this is one of those dog training methods that is very "unhealthy" for both you and your pet.

Think about it. When you punish anything, whether it's a dog or a human being, you're using negative energy. It's like you're a dictator and your pet is your slave. This is a very negative relationship between both and will only lead to problems in the future.

You want to establish a positive, loving relationship with your dog. Punishment is NOT how to do it. There are much more effective training approaches out there that work much better.

Method 2: The "One Person in the House Trains the Dog" Method

I couldn't think of a more creative title so I just named it the most descriptive title! Basically this is one of those common dog training methods that people follow without even realizing it! Here's a common scenario:

There is one dog and multiple people in the house that play with, feed, and take care of the dog. Out of those many people, only one actually trains the dog to listen and obey them. The others merely play with the dog.

This dynamic is highly ineffective if you are serious about training your dog. The reason is that only one person training a dog, no matter how great their training skills are, will not get the dog to listen to everybody. The dog will realize that it needs to behave around one person, but know that the other people don't care. Dogs are smart! They know who the "dominant" people are and who they can get away with more "mischief" with.

I've seen this problem happen with many pet owners where they try really hard to train their pet but cannot achieve any results. The reason is often that while one person is trying to train their pet to not do one thing, the other people in the house are actually rewarding the very thing!

An example of this is when dogs jump on people. This is not good behavior and one person could be training them to stop this. At the same time, another family member may think it's cute and pet and cuddle them after they do this. What's a dog to think when different reactions happen with different people?

Method 3: Following No Dog Training Methods - Using Intuition

I know many pet owners that think that because they have children and successfully raised them that they can get their dog to listen to them as well! Aside from the big ego, this approach assumes that dogs learn exactly the same way that humans learn.

While this is true to some extent, dogs are dogs and people are people. Different approaches are needed for different animals. While they may be more subtle than training a giraffe, they are still there and have a big impact on the results you'll see.

It is important to understand exactly what you are teaching your pets to do and not to do. If you don't, you may very well end up doing things counter-productive.

The best solution to this is to pick up a book or go find some training course out there that has a depth of coverage on the topic.

Other Poor Methods of Approach

If you've been trying to train your dog for a few weeks now and haven't seen any real results then I'm pretty sure that you're following a "Method to Avoid" approach. While I only listed three methods, there are thousands of other approaches that don't work. Take the results that you are getting as a signal if you are using a good method or a poor one. If you haven't seen any good results from your approach, move on and try another one.

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Answer 10

speak with your vet to get more details. Some animals have allergies to certain meds and can be fatal if given the wrong med. I give my cat sedatives when going on a long trip, but initially I spoke with the vet first to get the dosage and specific meds that he can take safely. If you love your dog get his vets approval before you give him anything over the counter.