Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
We are driving 18 hours with Ginger. The trip is split in two days...nine hours each. The vet gave me a script for aceprmazine 10mg. She said to give 1 and 1/2 pills 2 hours before we leave for the road.
Questions: Do I feed her prior to the meds?
Will she sleep and then be up all night and then do I drug her again the next day?
Has anyone given their dog any type of sedation for travel and were there any side effects?
Any receommendations?
Thanks
Pam
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Carol
This is out first trip with Ginger, so I don't know how she will behave. She is good in the car around the city..sometimes whines, but doesn't get sick. I just asked the vet about travel with and dog and she prescribed this med.
Pam
I really don't like the idea of druging a dog , especially for a car ride. We just took Lexi and Billy from Fort Lauderdale to North Carolina and back on vacation. More then 2400 miles and they were just fine. We stopped every two hours, took a short walk and were off again. They loved the car, met tons of people and were with us all the time. We rented a cottage with a yard, stayed in hotels, and ate outdoors in restaurants. Lexi loved to ride in the car with her head on my shoulder. She would stay in that position forever. (see pictures below)
They were so good, we would do it again in a heartbeat.
I took Webber from North Carolina to Washington State, to Southern California and back. No meds ever. On long trips dogs sleep. We stopped for gas, or for me to go to the restroom, and he would potty too and have some water. It was great fun. Dogs that are sedated don't eat and drink well, they are wobbly, and if something went wrong with the meds you would be miles away from your Vet. If the dog doesn't get sick, I don't understand why it would need to be sedated. Unless the dog is so hyper that it wouldn't be safe to drive and wouldn't stay in a crate or halter tethered to the seat belt, I wouldn't do it.
How it works:
Acepromazine is classified as a phenothiazine neuroleptic, which means it modifies the chemicals in your pets brain to change their behavior. Its a tranquilizer that depresses the central nervous system. The mechanism of action is not exactly known, however, its thought to block receptors of dopamine in the brain, a chemical used for cell-to-cell communication.
Maddie loves long car rides up north that usually take at least 4 hours of straight travel. She usually sits up for the first 15 minutes to 1/2 hour and after that she is spread across the back seat sound asleep. She'll get up to look outside once in a while and then plop back down on the seat until we get to our destination.
I don't think you need to sedate Ginger - she should be fine and if she does whine a bit just ignore it unless of course you have been on the road long enough for her to be asking for a pee break.
Enjoy your trip.
We've taken Cocoa on several road trips (two that were about 9 hours each). She does get car sick, but we put puppy pee pads around her and once she throws up (usually about an hour into the trip) we throw out the pads and she does fine for the remainder of the trip. I don't think she likes the car rides much, but she just lies down and rests. It never occurred to me to sedate her- she just naturally rests in the car without any sedation. I've never known anyone who sedated their dog for a car trip so I can't comment on it.
Drugs have their place, but I wouldn't medicate a dog for a trip unless that dog had MAJOR car traveling issues involving repeated vomiting and severe anxiety. Trust me if she only whines a bit the trip will be EASY!
Our Cass and Thule were quite 'busy' in the car, sometimes whining out of excitement, pacing, etc. But that was on short trips...an hour into any longer trip and they'd end up lying down and eventually sleeping. Ginger should be FINE without any drugs. I wouldn't worry about it. Just give her potty breaks when YOU take potty breaks and/or when she usually needs them (based on if she tends to poo at a certain time of day) and when you get gas/make stops. That should be all she needs. HAVE A GREAT TIME and don't worry about sedating her. There's no real good reason to.
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