Xanax Dosage Question

[Guest nuri]

so, over the course of the last year nuri's thunderphobia has gotten worse. in general, he is not an anxious dog otherwise. he started with simple panting/pacing and has increased to peeing in the house even with a walk before the storm and me watching and making loud, crazy, distracting noises as he pees. i ended up getting a prescription from his vet for xanax. the vet recommended 1/2 to start off and if that doesn't work to up it to 1 pill (1mg). the last time there was an awful storm while i was home (not out at work) the 1 tablet didn't even touch his anxiety. i ended up giving in a few hours in and giving him 1/2 more. it seemed to do the trick. i guess my question is if it is OK to give the 1 and 1/2 every time immediately (without the time spacing), especially if i am about to leave for work, knowing that there is a storm approaching. (the other day i left giving him only 1 pill and he peed twice during the short storm! )

oh, i guess it would help to know his weight...he generally runs 75ish pounds.

i just feel so badly for my big goofball! any help would be greatly appreciated!!! thanks!

 

p.s. would belly bands even be worth it? without consistency? i have some from a fundraiser, but have never used them...he dances around like a loon trying to bite it off, so i end up feeling awful and taking it off!

[greysmom]

The belly band isn't a bad idea, especially if he's going to be alone when a storm comes. But he needs to get used to it gradually. Put it on, give him a treat, take it off. Repeat, repeat, repeat - gradually lengthening the time he has it on.

 

Part of the xanax is timing. I have found it takes 45mins-1 hour to take full effect, and if you give it to him after he's already started panicking, it's not as effective. And it's only really effective for about 2 1/2-3 hours, then starts to drop off. Check with your vet, of course, but I believe the max dose per day is 4 mg, so a 1 1/2 mg dose is OK. You might find the xanax does not work for Nuri very well. Just like with people, some drugs work on some dogs differently than others. If he doesn't improve after a good trial, talk to your vet about another kind of fast-acting anti-anxiety med (like valium).

 

I'm currently weaning my spook OFF xanax, but at her height, she was getting 1 1/2 three times a day. We're down to half that now and she's doing great!

[Hollis]

The belly band isn't a bad idea, especially if he's going to be alone when a storm comes. But he needs to get used to it gradually. Put it on, give him a treat, take it off. Repeat, repeat, repeat - gradually lengthening the time he has it on.

 

Part of the xanax is timing. I have found it takes 45mins-1 hour to take full effect, and if you give it to him after he's already started panicking, it's not as effective. And it's only really effective for about 2 1/2-3 hours, then starts to drop off. Check with your vet, of course, but I believe the max dose per day is 4 mg, so a 1 1/2 mg dose is OK. You might find the xanax does not work for Nuri very well. Just like with people, some drugs work on some dogs differently than others. If he doesn't improve after a good trial, talk to your vet about another kind of fast-acting anti-anxiety med (like valium).

 

I'm currently weaning my spook OFF xanax, but at her height, she was getting 1 1/2 three times a day. We're down to half that now and she's doing great!

 

 

How much does she weigh please? We just started Bree on Xanax. She's 55ish lbs and gets 1 pill/1 mg twice a day. We just started this for Dewey and I think its doing her good. But if more is acceptable........

[greysmom]

Cash weighs about 68 lbs, and that dose was making a difference, BUT (here's my spiel )

 

Xanax acts relatively quickly, and doesn't need a build up time of a week or more to become effective (though bodies do become addicted to it). It really only lasts about 8 hours so two doses a day doesn't give full coverage. Which is why you need to keep dosing throughout the day. But if it's working for Bree then it's working. Like I said above, all drugs work differently on all dogs, so your experience may vary. She also may need only *some* support, and not a full spectrum anti-anxiety control.

 

I'm weaning Cash off first to see how she's doing and if she's really still as anxious as before (which was *really* anxious), and secondly because I think, if she's not any better spooky-wise, I want to switch her to a med that acts differently - like clomicalm or one of the other SSRI class of anti-anxiety drugs. Cash still does have her freak-outs, but they are of much shorter duration and not so all-encompassing for her. She does have a life now, and I think she's fairly happy. I know she can be better though. We'll see what happens.

[RobinM]

My vets say NO to xanax and yes to valium. 10 mg of valium. Weight range between 69 and 92.

[Jackandgrey]

My vets say NO to xanax and yes to valium. 10 mg of valium. Weight range between 69 and 92.

 

Valium might as well have been tic tacs for all the effect they have on Joshy. And he absolutely needs 2 mg of Xanax for any effect. Yes it does work better if you can give it before the storm. I rarely can since most of ours hit in the middle of the night. But it does help a great deal even so. He weighs 75 pounds.

[Guest budsmom]

Valium didn't do anything for Twiz, either. She blew through 30 mg like it was a cookie! We switched to Xanax, she was prescribed 1 1/2 pills (3mg, I think) at a time and she's about 59 lbs. You definitely need to get it into them before they start to flip out, but the timing with storms is really tricky. My vet suggested I get a barometer and whenever it started to drop and we had storms predicted, to give Twiz her drugs. As it turns out, Xanax doesn't do much for her either, except to make her really restless when she came "down" from it. I finally just went to giving her 1 mg to help take the worst of the edge off and hope it helps.

 

 

[GeorgeofNE]

My vets say NO to xanax and yes to valium. 10 mg of valium. Weight range between 69 and 92.

 

Interesting!

 

I used to have to give my Kramer (not a greyhound, so no one freak out!) Acepromazine to fly on the 12 seater planes we take to Nantucket. As he got older, the vet said it was no longer appropriate, and he gave me Valium. The dog had never been more upset and vocal! Then the vet told me that Valium tends to loosen a dog's inhibitions, so a dog inclined to vocalize under stress will do it MORE, etc.!

[RobinM]

When I had my Lhasa, a different vet from a different practice said NO to xanax as well.

[Guest nuri]

robin-

this is my first adventure into xanax for a pupper...just curious, any specific reason why no xanax?

[greysmom]

It's an off-label prescription, first off - no official OK to use for animals or for any reason other than human anxiety. Many vets just won't do it. Plus there are other similar drugs that are specifically for dogs, so many don't feel like xanax is appropriate.

 

It works for some, and doesn't work for others. You just have to talk with your vet and try what you feel is appropriate and necessary for your situation.

[RobinM]

robin-

this is my first adventure into xanax for a pupper...just curious, any specific reason why no xanax?

 

 

I never asked but I was told. It was so long ago that I forgot but I never forgot the absolute NO. I will ask when I remember too becasue I am curious. My vet also says NO to pepto and yes to pepcid. But that is because Pepto has aspirin in it.