"Trazadone Trazodone"

Nerds know how to spell it right. Every time. I don't. So I alternate the spelling. Sometimes people ask me about "anxiety" in dogs and especially

• Car ride anxiety
• Separation anxiety
• Overall anxiety
• Grooming & Fireworks Anxiety

They require different medications. Sometimes meds have to kick in hard, and fast. And other times you just want the pet to feel "okay" for a while under specific conditions.

Car Ride Anxiety: Needs to hit 'pretty fast' and it's nice if the medicine "tends to" reduce the need / urge to vomit. I really like Acepromazine given about 90-120 minutes before travel for this.

Separation Anxiety: This needs a medicine for ONE purpose only: NOT a lifetime of sedation. But "To Create Communication Where there is None."
Meaning we want to simmer the dog down so he can LEARN, and when he LEARNS how to curb his anxiety he can get OFF the medicine.

Overall Anxiety: The whole "day to day" may be a angst-producing experience for dogs. Especially ones with reactive attachment disorder (un-socialized for the first 8-12 weeks) and most German Shepherds and other Attack Breeds who don't have an Alpha Pack Leader. [Which is most German Shepherds and other Attack Breeds..]

For the above, prevailing angst can be well-managed with 1) EITHER Prozac or another SSRI, which builds serotonin in the dog's brain. "Pretty well" and for "Quite a while" but the benefits eventually wear off. I prefer Fluoxetine to the other SSRI's but every Vet has an opinion. They're like divorce. Everyone has one.

2) The other way prevailing angst is curbed is with something like Trazodone which actually calms the dog down. Period. It's not building or conserving a chemical in the brain. It just SIMMERS DOWN the Mu receptors, and at the titrated dose: WITHOUT making your dog stoned all the time. Trazodone is 'dose dependent' and so, some people should start their dogs out LOW and then slowly increase the dose over a week or two.

Many dogs can do well with 1/4 of a milligram per pound (.25mg/lb sid) once or twice a day. Owners of vigilance (attack dogs) breeds may find that their dogs require more than 2 and 1/2 milligrams per pound (2.5mg/lb bid) twice a day if the dog respects no Alpha and has no command-set to focus on. This is especially true if these dogs have never heard the word "No" before and suddenly you want it to stop doing something.

Grooming and Fireworks Anxiety is a "special day" requirement for some dogs and needs something that hits sort of hard, and fast, and sticks around for more than 3 or 4 hours. Acepromazine is best for this.

Conclusion:

Trazodone is good for 'smoothing out the rough edges" on a day-to-day basis. You dose LOW and then titrate up to the 'amount that works'.

Doc

None of the above will matter when the work is done to reveal how THC / Delta-8, 9,10 work in dogs. I anticipate great things.

Trazodone for Crazy Neurotic Breeds