PuppyMavis Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Hi, Our dog is 2 1/2 years old. When a pup, she had body-handling and food guarding issues. At one point she had a complete meltdown at the vet's office when they tried to look in her ears, and was growling and snapping. I immediately began working with her on these issues. For the body handling/vet problems, we started going to the vet's office once every week, just to get treats and attention for behaving, getting on the scale, etc., without having an actual exam. I also worked with her daily, for a few minutes at a time, on getting her used to things they might do at the vet's office. I did this by saying what I was going to do first, performing the action, and then giving her a treat. For example, I'd say "teeth", look at her teeth, say "yes!" and then give her a treat. We started this very slowly with first just saying "teeth", touching the outside of her muzzle and treating, to being able to pull back her lips and look at her teeth. We did this with "ears", "eyes", "paws", "tail", etc. With ears and eyes, this eventually progressed to using a little flashlight so she'd be comfortable with this at the vet's office. Fast-forward to today. She hasn't had any meltdowns at the vet's office since the first one and she lets us handle her without any issues. About a month ago, I noticed what appeared to be another tooth coming in directly behind one of her bottom front teeth. I took her to the vet and she would show them her teeth, but did not want to open her mouth. She didn't get angry or revert to her old behavior, but refused to open her mouth. They were able to briefly feel around and get a quick look, and said they thought it was a baby tooth that was loose and would soon fall out. Now a month later, the tooth has not fallen out and appears to be getting bigger than the original tooth in front of it. I made a follow-up appointment for tomorrow. When I talked to the nurse, she said that since Mavis wasn't cooperative on the last visit, and they don't want her to regress to her old behavior, that we should give her medicine before the appointment. I picked the meds up on Monday, and they gave us two 100 mg tablets of Trazodone, and she is supposed to take one with breakfast (@ 4am) and another 2 hours prior to the 3:30pm appointment (@ 1:30pm). From what I've read online, this medication is FDA approved as an antidepressant for humans. It is not FDA approved for dogs, but it is common for vets to prescribe for behavioral issues and post-surgical recovery when in confinement. The general recommended dosage is 2.5 mg per pound per day and up to 15 mg per pound given every 24 hours. Mavis weighs 36.6 pounds, so it sounds like she would fall within this range. But there are a list of possible side-effects and I'm feeling reluctant to give her the medication. I called our local vet hospital and they have a dentist on staff. She is the only board certified dentist in the state and they could get us in tomorrow too. So now I'm considering cancelling our appointment with the current vet, not giving her the meds, and taking her to the dentist instead. It's my job to be my dog's health advocate, but I'm not sure if I am over-thinking this? Which I have the tendency to do... I would love to get some feedback and advice on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooper2 Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Going to a specialist in veterinary dentistry is a good idea if you have access to one, and can get a prompt appointment. There's a decent chance that once your regular vet actually looks in your dog's mouth that your vet will refer you to a specialist anyway, so if you have the opportunity, go directly to the specialist and skip an intermediate step. But the vet/dentist is still going to have to look in her mouth, and your dog is not likely to be any more cooperative in a new location with a new person than she is someplace where you've spent a year desensitizing her to being handled. So call the vet dentist, tell them about your dog's previous issues with being handled, tell them that your current vet gave you Trazadone to give before the next exam, explain why the vet gave you the Trazodone, and ask if you should give it before the visit with the dentist. Otherwise, you are likely to be wasting a visit when the dentist can't look in your dog's mouth either. I understand your reluctance to medicate your pup, but really, what other options do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuppyMavis Posted August 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Thanks for your feedback! You're right. I called the vet dentist and scheduled an appointment. I told them about the Trazadone and her past behavior as a pup. They said I don't need to give it to her before the visit, that this dentist is great, and deals with all types of dogs with varying levels of aggression. They'll work with her and won't push her beyond her comfort zone. I guess we'll see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted August 1, 2018 Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 I give my 3 dogs Trazodone for thunder and fireworks. I have not had any problems with it. It works better than other drugs we have tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuppyMavis Posted August 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2018 Thanks for your response! This is reassuring, in the event I do need to give it to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starry777 Posted August 3, 2018 Report Share Posted August 3, 2018 Sorry I don't have advice but... I love saddleback BCs! Do you have any more pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caesg Posted August 21, 2018 Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 How did it go at the dentist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreizehn Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 I work at a veterinary clinic and we regularly suggest trazadone for dogs who are “bad” at the vet (aggressive). Give parents the dose, they give it to their dog before a bit coming in, and by the time they’re here they’re actually able to be handled. Have given it to large dogs and small dogs. I definitely see where you’re coming from about training it out instead of drugging it away though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuppyMavis Posted August 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2018 Hi, and thanks for the responses! We took Mavis to the vet dentist and per their recommendation, did not give her the Trazadone beforehand. At first, she would let the vet look at her teeth but didn't want to open her mouth. But after more treats and sweet talk, she let the vet open her mouth and get a look a few times, which was great! She was sweet and well behaved during the entire visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandJ Posted June 27, 2019 Report Share Posted June 27, 2019 Hi! My name is Ryan and my BC’s name is Jackson. We were at the vet today for a nail trim and his big boy rabies shot (the 3 year one). Last time we were there for a nail trim he wasn’t a fan. Had to get a muzzle on him. Still couldn’t really get the nail trim all the way done. So his last experience at the vet wasnt the best. Honestly ever since he was neutered he hasn’t been happy about going back. Long story short, this visit today wasn’t any better. couldn’t get the muzzle on him this time and he was biting me during the process. They prescribed him Trazodone to use before his next visit. He’s a year and 4 months old. No signs of aggression until now. He gets plenty of exercise with his 7 basketballs in my yard lol. He showed a mild sign of aggressiveness a month ago when he was barking at my fence because the neighbors dog was going crazy. I tried to pull him back and he turned his head and bit me. Even resisted after I held him down to stop the craziness. I’m not quite sure how to handle my next moves with correcting him the best way. Venting with a lot to think about. Any advice would be great. First time posting in a thread ever.. so excuse this post if I’m in the wrong category. Thank you for reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaKat Posted July 13, 2019 Report Share Posted July 13, 2019 On 6/27/2019 at 6:07 PM, RandJ said: Hi! My name is Ryan and my BC’s name is Jackson. We were at the vet today for a nail trim and his big boy rabies shot (the 3 year one). Last time we were there for a nail trim he wasn’t a fan. Had to get a muzzle on him. Still couldn’t really get the nail trim all the way done. So his last experience at the vet wasnt the best. Honestly ever since he was neutered he hasn’t been happy about going back. Long story short, this visit today wasn’t any better. couldn’t get the muzzle on him this time and he was biting me during the process. They prescribed him Trazodone to use before his next visit. He’s a year and 4 months old. No signs of aggression until now. He gets plenty of exercise with his 7 basketballs in my yard lol. He showed a mild sign of aggressiveness a month ago when he was barking at my fence because the neighbors dog was going crazy. I tried to pull him back and he turned his head and bit me. Even resisted after I held him down to stop the craziness. I’m not quite sure how to handle my next moves with correcting him the best way. Venting with a lot to think about. Any advice would be great. First time posting in a thread ever.. so excuse this post if I’m in the wrong category. Thank you for reading Hi Ryan, I'm not qualified at all to give advice on this issue but I wanted to suggest posting this in a new thread. The original post is from last year and your reply may be overlooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted July 13, 2019 Report Share Posted July 13, 2019 Welcome to the Boards. I second Annakat's recommendation for a new thread, especially because your questions aren't really about trazadone per se as they are about behavioral issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.