gabapentin for vet visit ....

[Gazhasteeth]

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Had to administer Gabapentin alongside another tablet the night before and 2 hrs before vet visit for annual booster, I cant say it seemed to make a lot of difference really but now he's been home for an hour it seems to have kicked in ..... does it take longer to work on some dogs?

 

[JudyN]

It kicked in quicker than that with my dog, and it's meant to clear the system in a matter of hours. Different dogs may well react differently, however. My guess would be that the stress of the vet visit was too much for the gabapentin to control (like paracetamol for a broken leg).

 

[Gazhasteeth]

That's kind of what I was thinking, I suppose he might of been worse still without it .... it's all really strange since we got him from the Rescue place 6 yrs ago he's been nervous but not too bad .... this year like herding an hysterical cat ....

 

[JudyN]

How old is he now? From what I've read, almost all dogs have full immunity after around 10 years, though that might depend on whether he had all his jabs from puppyhood. I stopped getting boosters for my dog when he got to a certain age as his stress levels were so bad.

It also seems that most dogs have full immunity after just a few jabs, though to test the immunity you need to do a titre test which involves getting a blood sample....

 

[Gazhasteeth]

He's roughly 9 this year .... not having it done has occurred to me but I also thought Insurance companies demanded it as well ....

 

[Hemlock]

Some do but others simply don't cover for vaccinatable diseases. Worth asking.

 

[Gazhasteeth]

Thanks, I didn't know that ..... I imagine i'm going to struggle to get him insured at all for anything affordable by next year!

 

[Hemlock]

When I got up to 6 dogs, I abandoned insurance and kept a separate account for them instead. Membership of Dogs Trust includes Public Liability insurance, which is a very good deal and helps rescue dogs too. When I was down to one dog, I continued both arrangements as it worked for me, but of course its an individual decision.

 

[Feverfew]

Had to administer Gabapentin alongside another tablet the night before and 2 hrs before vet visit for annual booster, I cant say it seemed to make a lot of difference really but now he's been home for an hour it seems to have kicked in ..... does it take longer to work on some dogs?

The sedatives really do vary a lot, so it might be worth mentioning it to the vet for any future visits. My vet and I have the same protocol for my Carpathian Shepherd as he is a super sensitive, super vigilant dog: the first time we used tramadol and he went down like a sack of spuds as the adrenaline just leaves their system really quickly, especially if it's a dog that lives on his nerves. So now he has a slightly lower dose, which works very well.

You do need to keep everything very calm even after they have had the sedative, eg, no good giving a sedative and then expecting a dog to be calm in a waiting room with strange dogs in there. I always have dogs in the car, or I wait outside, until it's our appointment time, and we just go swoosh, straight into the consulting room. My vet is great and well organised in getting the doors open in time - it really is like a military operation.

On vaccines, there is much debate on how often dogs need them, but the general guidance from the World Health Organisation is every 6 years. Not many people know that! It's worth finding out what the prevalence is of leptospirosis in your area - if the risk is quite high, that's definitely one to have annually. Kennel cough vaccines aren't usually worth the trouble unless you have a dog with a compromised immune system.

 

[Gazhasteeth]

My neighbour used to have his dog done in the car park from the same vet, every time we ask they say no and give us "the 1st appointment of the morning" ...of course we get there and 4 other dogs are in the waiting room.There is no choice of vets around my area now either, all the independents have been taken over by the same chain ..

 

[JudyN]

Why won't your vet see him in the car park, Gazhasteeth? Over the pandemic all our consultations were in the car park as there was no way they'd be able to get Jasper in the consulting room if I didn't come too (I was always present for pre-meds, for the same reason).

For several years, my vet would vaccinate Jasper in his bum while I stuck bits of sausage through his muzzle as fast as he would eat them. It was a much bigger target, less prone to whipping round suddenly, and the vet was further away and not visible in J's peripheral visit.

They were very good at accommodating his foibles, out of a sense of self-preservation if nothing else

 

[Gazhasteeth]

That is part of the problem, for some reason they have started a policy of taking the dog into a separate room for the purpose of injections .... god knows why. It doesn't help that we never seem to see the same vet twice either, makes it impossible to build up any kind of relationship. I've been given the name of a different practice but it does involve a pretty lengthy car ride so its not ideal ....

 

[JudyN]

That's really sad, Gazhasteeth

 

[Feverfew]

That is part of the problem, for some reason they have started a policy of taking the dog into a separate room for the purpose of injections .... god knows why. It doesn't help that we never seem to see the same vet twice either, makes it impossible to build up any kind of relationship. I've been given the name of a different practice but it does involve a pretty lengthy car ride so its not ideal ....

Very sorry to hear that. You are the client, however, and within your rights to remain with your dog throughout his treatment. Very few vets have the nerve to refuse such a request.

Could you also ask to see one specific vet when you book an appointment? I know these big practices can be quite high handed, but you are ultimately paying their wages and have a right to be treated kindly and respectfully, as does your dog.

 

[Montysdad]

When my last dog was very poorly, he had to be sedated for a few a vet appoinments,used tramadol but
still didnt kick in properly for a couple of hours and he was as bad as normal at the vets,crashed out as soon as we got
home , took a day for him to get back to normal.Think the sheer terror of being at the vets overrode the adrenaline
reduction, no way was he going to be touched at the vets, never heard a dog scream like that when they tried.
So sad he was like that, he was so poorly and needed help

 

[Gazhasteeth]

Hi Montysdad, was your dog always that way with vet visits? I ask because this is quite recent for us. We've had him for about 6 years from the rescue place and while he's never been thrilled about going, this snapping at the vet and lying on his back writhing around is new ..... he was put under to have some extra toes removed from his back feet which had gone manky a couple of years ago ...I suspect that was the start of this. If tramadol doesn't do it I suspect nothing will!

 

[Montysdad]

He was never keen on Vets and got worse every time he went as he got older,started when he was castrated as a pup and the vet hurt him as he took the stiches out.In the end he had to be examined outside but even that was difficult.
He had to be sedated prior to being put to sleep,awful for him and me as it prolonged everything.
I now have a rescue dog who is as good as gold with vets, must have had a few visits prior to me adopting
him as he was up to date with jabs and had recently been castrated, went recently to have an infected nail bed looked
at and the he was quite happy to be there.
As others have posted most vets seem to have been taken over by big groups and its almost impossible to see
the same vet twice so the dogs dont get the chance to get used to one, also they seem to be much more money
driven and dont want to have to mess about with uncooperative animals.
My old dog had a mix of Gabapentin and Tramadol on vet day,think he needed 2 hours for it to fully kick in,even
then he still had fight in him.Have sedated dogs in the past and they were zonked out in a hour.
Would advise that you talk to the vet about the most appropriate sedation and timing,
also if they will allow it take you dog for a few visits to the vets just to say hello to everyone without being treated,
it may help to break the fear.I tried it with my dog and it seemed to help a little