How to choose a sedative for a dog: a review of the best remedies

In this article I will review the most popular and effective sedatives for dogs. I will give the composition of these medications, their average cost, and principle of action. I’ll tell you what medicinal herbs can be used as a sedative at home for dogs of small and large breeds.

Purpose and form of sedatives for dogs

Sedatives come in various forms:

1. Drops on the withers.
2. Diffusers.
3. Drops for oral administration.
4. Powder.
5. Collars.
6. Gel.
7. Pills.
8. Injection.

It is best to discuss which sedative your dog needs with your veterinarian. There are contraindications for use, and the products may have different strengths, compositions and directions.

The main indications for the use of sedatives for dogs:

• Pronounced sexual arousal in both males and females. More often it is the males who suffer from anxiety; if there is a female in heat nearby, they may even refuse to eat;
• Transportation, especially over long distances;
• The period of adaptation in dogs after difficult life situations;
• Behavior correction;
• Stress from change of environment or owner;
• Noise and other types of phobias;
• Fright;
• Obsessive-compulsive disorders;
• Exhibition or visiting a show;
• A trip to the veterinarian or groomer.

Contraindications to the use of sedatives:

1. Individual intolerance to the components of the drug;
2. Blood pressure disorders;
3. Puppy age for drugs with phenibut and other potent substances;
4. Serious pathologies of the liver and kidneys;
5. For seizures, as prescribed by a doctor.

From stress and fear

If you know that your dog will soon face a stressful situation: a trip, a visit to the clinic, the arrival of a new family member or animal, then you can use mild medications with a cumulative effect. 10-14 days in advance , mainly these are herbal preparations or with pheromones. For example, the Sentri or the Bayun cat .

In case of severe fear, it is better to use fast-acting products. Sileo gel is well suited for stress caused by fireworks or fright from thunder . It is applied between the dog's cheek and gum, absorbs quickly and starts working in 15-30 minutes . The effect lasts 3-4 hours .

Sileo is a strong sedative for dogs and should not be used too often. Repeated giving is permitted no earlier than after 2 hours.

There is also a modern drug: Aptus Relax . This is a dog food supplement that has been formulated to improve animal behavior in stressful situations. It can help in a variety of cases. For example, if your pet:

1. Hides or gets scared during fireworks;
2. Does not tolerate meeting new people well;
3. Begins to worry when you have to go to the doctor;
4. Reacts painfully to trimming nails or fur;
5. She worries in any other situations that are nervous for her.

Aptus Relax helps a dog survive stress, but does it gently. It does not affect the pet’s consciousness and does not make it sleepy - it only helps to maintain a calm state. This effect can be achieved precisely thanks to the unique composition of the feed additive. All active components are aimed exclusively at maintaining a calm state, which can be very difficult to achieve in some situations.

For example, some dogs are even afraid of traveling in a car - especially if they realize that they are not being taken for a fun walk, but to the veterinarian's office or for a haircut. With Aptus Relax, the dog will be able to cope with everything that happens to it much easier, because it will not worry about it.

Compound:

• Biopeptide mixture based on colostrum ®. Contains biologically active proteins that have a proven calming effect.
• Green tea/L-Theanine . It is he who is responsible for reducing stress and relaxing the animal.
• L-tryptophan . This is a component that is responsible for healthy sleep. In addition, it supports the health of the animal.
• Thiamine . It is also vitamin B1. Helps calm an anxious dog.

Directions for use: The feed additive is available in the form of a treat. One package contains 30 lozenges. They can be given to your pet separately, or together with food. Just note that it is best to do this in advance - half an hour before the predicted stressful situation. Then your pet will be ready and will bear it much easier. Even a banal nail trim will go better if the animal does not worry about it.

The dosage depends on the dog's weight:

1. Less than 15 kilograms - ½ lozenge per day;
2. From 15 to 30 kilograms - 1 lozenge per day;
3. More than 30 kilograms - 2 lozenges per day.

Aptus Relax is manufactured by Orion Pharma, which is located in Finland. There is an official company store in Russia that delivers products throughout the country - from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.

You can order Aptus Relax and other company products on the Finvet.ru website. There you can also choose the delivery method - Russian Post or Pony Express. In addition, you can get a 25% discount on your first order using the promotional code START25.

In case of aggression

If your dog behaves aggressively or barks for no reason, you should try to find out the reason before taking sedatives. Undesirable behavior may be associated with fear, pain, fright, and mental disorders. If everything is fine on the health side, then you should try to correct the behavior together with a dog handler.

Additionally, medications containing phenibut ( Stop-stress, Vetspokoin ) or human antidepressants ( Amitriptyline, Fluoxetine ) may be prescribed. Adaptil spray or diffuser, help prevent barking

If the pet suddenly becomes aggressive or does not allow medical procedures to be performed on itself, then the veterinarian can give a sedative injection for dogs, for example, Vetranquil .

During heat

During estrus, veterinarians do not recommend the use of hormonal estrus-suppressing drugs, as this can lead to the development of oncology and cystic degeneration of the internal genital organs.

If the pet behaves restlessly when excited, then it is better to use mild preparations with pheromones, herbs or milk protein from a nursing mother, for example, Zilken .

Calming tablets for male dogs will help them endure the period of sexual arousal, especially if there is a female dog nearby.

Indications for use

Stress, especially chronic stress, can seriously harm an animal's health. Situations that require the use of sedatives:

• a trip to the dacha, to visit;
• the owners go on vacation, when the dog stays in a pet hotel or at home with relatives;
• visiting a veterinary clinic, groomer;
• holiday period with fireworks, noisy festivities, if the dog is afraid of loud sounds;
• a large number of guests in the house;
• the arrival of a new pet;
• birth of children;
• increased excitability in uncastrated males and during estrus in females, as well as leaving urine marks in the apartment;
• aggressive behavior;
• loneliness when the dog barks, whines, howls.

A sedative is not a panacea in such situations; the help of a dog handler or animal psychologist is often required, and sometimes medical intervention. But if stress in a dog is inevitable, you can and should prepare for it.

Medication assistance allows you to:

• normalize the functioning of the nervous system (sedatives weaken excitation and enhance inhibition processes in the brain);
• eliminate hypersensitivity to irritants;
• stabilize heart rate, reduce blood pressure;
• reduce feelings of fear.

Sedatives are not classified as sleeping pills or tranquilizers; while taking them, the pet can continue to lead an active life.

We choose a sedative according to the size of the breed: for small, medium and large dogs

When choosing a sedative, you should also pay attention to the pet’s weight and the instructions for the drug so that an overdose does not occur. Choosing the right volume and mg quantity can save time and money.

Antidepressants

Most often, for dog owners who are concerned about various disorders, experts primarily recommend drugs from the group of antidepressants. This refers to serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They are prescribed to eliminate pathological conditions such as:

• fear of loneliness;
• aggression;
• anxiety states;
• panic disorders.

Although you need to understand that with the help of these drugs it will not be possible to eliminate acute panic attacks. The expected therapeutic effect occurs only with prolonged and systematic use. These drugs are considered the safest for dogs, although in some individuals they can cause certain gastrointestinal disorders. Among the drugs in this group, the following have proven themselves to be effective:

• "Prozac";
• "Solax";
• "Fontex";
• "Ladosse".

Sources:

• https://fb.ru/article/88778/kakoe-uspokoitelnoe-dlya-sobak-luchshe
• https://kotsobaka.com/sobaki/bolezni-i-lechenie-s/uspokoitelnoe-s.html
• https://zoosecrets.ru/kak-uspokoit-sobaku-oshejnik-muzyka-v-poezdke-mashine-nochyu-pered-veterinarom/
• https://dajlapu.com/uspokoitelnoe-dlya-sobak-spisok-sredstv-otzyvy/
• https://vetbober.ru/uspokoitelnye-sredstva-sobak-stop-stress/
• https://zveri.guru/zhivotnye/sobaki/lechenie/kak-podobrat-uspokoitelnoe-sredstvo-v-dorogu-dlya-sobak.html

The best calming tablets for dogs

The tablets can be given along with food, hidden in a treat or special masking barrels of TitBit treats. You can also forcefully place the medicine on the root of the tongue, but this may cause unnecessary stress.

Veterinarian recommendations

Remember that the use of the above drugs, whether medications or herbal tinctures, must be justified. That is, in any case, before giving your pet tablets, drops or tinctures, you should consult a doctor.

The use of each individual drug must be justified, and most importantly, the drug must be completely compatible with the animal’s body.

Therefore, a specialized doctor must diagnose your pet, and also identify what side effects the use of certain medications may cause.

Soothing drops

Drops can be added to food or directly dripped into the mouth. You can also dilute it with water and drink it from a syringe without a needle.

However, some owners note increased drooling in dogs and a reluctance to take drops . In this case, you should choose a different form of release of the drug.

How to give?

Any medicine has a specific smell and taste, including motherwort. If the owner acts rudely, the dog will always run, hide and show aggression in response to an attempt to give the drug. And this is just additional stress.

The easiest and most effective way to cheat for large breeds is to hide a tablet in a treat (a piece of cheese, meat, minced meat). You can give the capsule in the form of a game: give it to your pet as a reward for the “catch on the fly” command - many dogs swallow pills out of habit.

If this method fails to persuade your pet, you will have to move on to an alternative method. If the medicine is bitter, you can mix the powder with water or give it to your dog using a syringe (without a needle).

To do this, calmly approach the animal, sit down, hug the pet by the neck and slightly raise its head, holding it with your hand from below.

Now, with your index finger and thumb, you need to carefully open the mouth, pushing the syringe behind your cheek (try to get into the space between the teeth) and press on the plunger. The diluted medicine gets into the throat and the dog has to swallow.

Important! Do not rush to introduce too large a portion at one time. This can cause your pet to choke and start coughing. After this, he will be wary of even such a harmless attempt to give a sedative.

Calming collar for dogs

For owners of non-contact dogs and animals during the adaptation period, you can use special collars. In this case, there is no need for constant interaction and additional stress from giving the drug.

Collars may be covered in powder, which gradually falls off. Sometimes owners think that it is spoiled, but the manufacturer hastens to reassure that this is the norm - a special protective layer so that the soothing substances do not evaporate ahead of time.

Most often it contains herbs or pheromones from a lactating bitch. For example, the Relaxivet for cats and dogs contains chamomile and lavender oils as active ingredients. If you do not like its smell, then it is better to choose another active ingredient. Dog collars with Sentry and Adaptil are suitable for weaned puppies, pets of all ages and breeds. It is not recommended to use when stopping aggression, as the effect is weak.

Collars with any active substance should be put on the dog so that your finger is placed between it and the pet’s skin. From the warmth of the neck, essential oils and pheromones begin to evaporate and have a calming effect that begins almost instantly. The effect lasts up to one month. The collar should be removed when bathing and grooming . Does not cause addiction in dogs.

Approximate cost:

• Adaptil - 1400-1900 rubles.
• Sentry 1-3 pieces per package – 1500-3000 rubles.
• Relaxivet – 500 rubles.

What sleeping pills are suitable for a long journey?

Transporting an animal by car is a very convenient and fairly fast way of transportation, but it is also a lot of stress for the pet. In this regard, it is recommended to give anti-stress medications to pets immediately before traveling. And if it does not have the desired effect, then you can give a small amount of sleeping pills.

When transporting an animal, it is recommended to use short-acting sleeping pills. The dose of medication depends on the duration of the trip and your pet’s resistance to shock and stressful situations. If you decide to inject with sleeping pills, it is better to trust a specialist. You can, of course, do this at home, but you need the appropriate experience.

To transport a small pet while asleep, we recommend using the following medications:

• "Nalbuphine" - intramuscularly 0.2 ml;
• "Relanium" - intramuscularly 0.3 ml;
• "Butorphanol" - intramuscularly 0.3 ml;
• "Vetranquil" - 0.15 ml subcutaneously.

After the animal falls asleep, it is necessary to provide it with a comfortable position, give it access to air, and also cover it with a blanket.

Is it possible to give a dog valerian, corvalol, glycine and how to calm it down at home?

If there are no veterinary sedatives at home and the dog is stressed, the question arises of giving human medications.

Valerian infusion has a sedative effect. It makes dogs relax, makes them sleepy, and normalizes blood pressure. It is better to use an aqueous solution of valerian rather than an alcohol solution. Dosage depending on the size of the dog: 5-15 drops .

Corvalol contains peppermint and phenobarbital. Can be used if you urgently need to calm your dog or stop seizures. It is not recommended to give the product frequently. Dosage 3-10 drops per dog . If you are afraid of a negative reaction or overdose, you can add Corvalol to water or drop it on a cotton pad and just let your dog sniff.

Glycine is included in some veterinary products, for example, Stop-stress, but it has a weak effect and owners often do not notice the effect of use.

You should use caution when using a dog sedative from a human pharmacy, as it is easy to overdose and may affect your pet's breathing or heart function.

In addition to medications, you should first try to eliminate the source of stress or fear and take your four-legged friend to a safe place.

Stroke your pet, talk to it, but do not hug or hang over it, as this can aggravate the situation . For the dog, such behavior on your part seems threatening and will add unnecessary stress.

What should not be done or mistakes of the owners

In order for sedative measures to have the desired result, the following mistakes should be avoided:

• You cannot make sudden movements, wave your arms, or shout at the dog - aggression may intensify, and the pet will instinctively rush at the owner for the purpose of self-defense;
• You should not try to calm an excited dog with treats - the animal will perceive the gesture as encouragement for its behavior;
• You cannot shout at a barking dog. The pet attracts attention to itself and in fact it gets its way. He will continue to do this forever, knowing that you will always respond to barking. You should try to ignore it for a while;
• If some sedative does not help her, it should be changed to another. It may not be suitable. In no case should the dosage be exceeded;
• It is forbidden to give the dog sedatives used by the person himself - the effect may be the opposite, aggression and activity may increase;
• A hyperactive dog can only be calmed by appropriate physical activity; it is not advisable to use sedatives.

Muscle relaxants

These are drugs that act on the central nervous system; they reduce smooth muscle tone and have a sedative and analgesic effect. Designed to prevent and eliminate reactions to stress factors; they are used during medical procedures that cause discomfort or pain. Available in mixtures and solutions for injection.

For dogs, Vetranquil or Rompun are more often used. Injections of these sedatives should be given to the animal about an hour before possible exposure to a negative factor, the duration of the effect is 6-8 hours.

A drug from the Benzodiazepine group

Substances of this class have sedative, hypnotic, and anticonvulsant effects. They reduce feelings of anxiety, relieve fear, strong anxiety, but their effect on the animal’s body quickly passes. It is strictly forbidden to use such medications for a long time, so that mammals do not develop a feeling of addiction or dependence.

A dog suffering from epilepsy is well helped by Diazepam, a drug belonging to the same group. The drug easily relieves the convulsive state of the animal, stabilizing it. The sedative is used only in the most urgent cases. Veterinarians say that despite the positive treatment and timely stopping of neuronal damage, the use of such drugs should be careful, especially for hyper-aggressive animals.

"Spitomin" is a psychotropic, balanced drug.

Relieving the initial attack of panic is not all. The pet needs to be treated so that the symptoms of the disease do not recur. An excellent, sedative drug “Spitomin” will relieve the problem of phobic disorder and urinary incontinence. This is the mildest remedy that contains almost no side effects. You need to undergo a course of treatment for a period of 4 to 6 weeks with a gradual increase in dosage.

Reasons for concern

There may be several reasons to worry about your pet's condition:

1. The dog becomes depressed and doesn’t want anything. Lying in a secluded place, he does not respond to any calls, does not eat or drink.
2. Unreasonable aggression - rushes at everyone, growls, barks, howls.
3. Manifestation of fear - hiding from everyone, not allowing anyone to touch him.

All these symptoms in your pet indicate that he is sick; you need to urgently contact a professional. The dog feels its owner well. Her recovery depends only on your attitude towards her.