Guest Greytluv Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) How much should I give my 85lb dog? I'm driving about 3 hrs and have to give him something. Thanks. Edited February 23, 2012 by Greytluv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 What does your vet say? I traveled with my Annie Bella, a 67-pound female, just this past weekend, and the vet prescribed 1 mg of Xanax, to be given no more than every 24 hours. Annie has a lot of car anxiety which the Xanax relieved. The Xanax didn't knock her out. It did eliminate her anxiety almost 100%. She no longer panted. She no longer wandered the back of the SUV. She no longer stayed awake for the trip. I could tell she wasn't happy, but the symptoms of that unhappiness were not manifested in panting, drooling, drippy nose or pacing. There were no negative effects either. Even during the 5-hour trip, she was able to jump out of my SUV, do some P&Ping, walk around sniffing and then easily jump back into the vehicle. The 1 mg. didn't seem to last much beyond 4 to 4.5 hours, though. As the trip wound down she started exhibiting mile anxiety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Maximum dose is 4 mg per 24 hr period. I'd start with 0.5 or 1 mg depending on how sensitive your dog is to the medication. It will have an effective life of about 5 hours, with dosing no closer together than 8 hours. Make sure you give it to him BEFORE he begins to be stressed. It doesn't appear to be as effective once the anxious behavior starts. Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I just had to make an 8 hour trip with my very anxious girl--she needed 2mgs to settle--1mg just wasn't cutting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BrianRke Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Diamond gets 2-3mg before a storm or other "traumatic" event Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Maximum dose is 4 mg per 24 hr period. I'd start with 0.5 or 1 mg depending on how sensitive your dog is to the medication. It will have an effective life of about 5 hours, with dosing no closer together than 8 hours. Make sure you give it to him BEFORE he begins to be stressed. It doesn't appear to be as effective once the anxious behavior starts. This. Also note that while they say it takes 30-60 minutes to kick in, maximum effectiveness appears to be a couple of hours in. I increased Violet gradually from .5 to 1 to 2 mg when we were trying to treat her SA and when that wasn't cutting it, the vet okayed jumping to 4 mg. Bad idea. She was high as a kite and stumbling around. Well actually she may have thought it was a really fun experiment, but I don't recommend it. If I were you, I would test it out when you are at home and can observe the results first. ETA: She is 60 lbs. Edited February 24, 2012 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Dogs, like people, react differently to meds. Annie Bella's Xanax dose was noticeable kicking in in about 10 minutes. Within 40 minutes, she was in a very calm condition that lasted for another 2+ hours before she started showing signs of becoming less calm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3greytjoys Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 If I were you, I would test it out when you are at home and can observe the results first. Important to call your vet first, and offer names of any other current medications. Xanax can be dangerous to mix with other meds. I agree about testing Xanax at home first. It can create the opposite of the desired affect in certain hound patients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliemac Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 My Riley gets 1-2 mg Xanax before storms ... my vet explained that giving that dose of Xanax after Riley started showing signs of stress was like giving him a treat (e.g., it does nothing). btw, Riley weighs 69# good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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