Has anybody given this to their dogs and had any bad reaction to it?

I've used it a few times, not with my current dogs though. Never had a bad reaction but found that if they're really stressed they can fight the sedative off.

It can have the effect of releasing inhibitions when used as a sedative which be quite alarming in a large frightened dog!  My friend has used it when grooming her giant breed and the vet advises never placing the dog between her and the door but large breeds are more susceptible apparently.
It is a strong drug all round, affecting the blood pressure as well, so not one to use lightly I would say :)

I have known some dogs pass out with it and the vets have a heck of a job getting them to come round. Other dogs though are fine, but it is a drug and are any drugs ever really safe?

Well, some are a lot safer than others :)

I used it once on a GSD and he took so long to wake up properly (longer than a general anesthetic) that I worried too much to ever use it again. Having said that it did the trick and a dog who usually couln't go ten miles in a car without being sick made a 7 hour trip on the day we moved house. He just slept the whole trip, and for 24 hours after !!!!

It's known to be a trigger of epileptic fits.

Contra-indications.

What do you want to use it for?

It may sedate the dog however it will not lessen its fear etc.

It can have the opposite effect of sedation in some animals.

Used to use it quite a lot years ago clipping horses, however it was not always suitable as the horses used to sweat up all the same, just not kick or bite you to death so clipping was still a problem.

My girl whelped last Friday, had a long drawn out labour, which resulted in us taking her to the vet for a c-section.  She ended up whelping naturally at the vets, after having numerous calcium and oxytocin injections.  She was pretty stressed by the time she had finished, so my vet gave her an ACP injection and prescribed 2 x 25mg tablets twice daily for 3 days.

She had 2 fits on the first day and 4 on the second,  she has spent the last 24 hours in the vets hospital,  we sadly lost a pup on each day :(.  Most websites I have read up on this drug don't mention if it's safe to use on lactating bitches, but I am thinking not.  My vet did say she had had a reaction to the drug, but surely it shouldn't have been used on a bitch with new pups?

She is home now and thankfully back to normal and her remaining pups are so far picking up and mum is much more relaxed, we only gave her one tablet the day after she whelped because I knew the fits had something to do with this medication.

Do you think this drug should have been used on a newly whelped bitch, knowing she would be feeding her pups?

It shouldn't be used on short nosed breeds.
As these are known to have sensitivities to this drug.

Yes I had read that Boxers have had life threatening reactions to this drug.

I can't answer if it should have been given to a lactating bitch, but presumably your vet checked this. What I'm surprised about is that they said to give her the tablets for 3 days? I can see the point in the injection if she was really stressed at the vets - but why would she need them when she was back home?

They said they 'thought' she would be stressed for a while after the traumatic birth, because she was a little anxious after delivery,  I personally think she was only stressed because of the surroundings and people, I'm sure had I been there with her she would have been fine, but for some reason they wouldn't let me in with her.  I know it's a veterinary hospital and I know they are very busy, but it would have been in my girls best interest if I was there to keep her relaxed.

ACP does not reduce stress, it just prevents the dog displaying normal symtoms of stress;.

The stud manager used it to travel nervous traveling racehorse mares to stud, one had the most awful reaction, really 'popped out of her skin' all the way. We had a very old horsebox, a real classic even then, and I had to stand hanging on to her all the way. She was sweated up and a total hyper bag of nerves. The return journey, I just stood holding her, talking etc, and although she shook every inch of the way she didnt go hyper. Its a good drug in some cases, but can have some odd side effects. And, as has been said, it dosent cure the problem just dopes the animal out of reacting.

Rather you than me :)  I would nto have liked to be in that box! :D

Oh Jane, I was 19 at the time, and although had no real fear of horses I had a healthy respect, if you get my meaning, and that was by far the worst journey I have ever had! Traveling showjumpers abroad was simple compared to it, believe me! Its one journey i have never forgotton, even though it is now 30 yrs ago! ;)

I dislike the wide use of ACP in horses. Its not a nice drug IMO. I had a race horse in that had ten to travel here because he had a bad leg and the groom didn't want him coming off the box like a lunatic. He fought it off - had no effect at all. I've seen it used with laminitics a lot and it can knock horses off their feet. I don't like it to be used for clipping at all - far better to train the horse to accept the clipping imo :)

On the advice of my vet, one of my previous dogs was given ACPs to calm him prior to his booster vaccination.  Unfortunately (and surprisingly) the vet was unaware that the sedatives would prevent the immune system from mounting a response to the vaccination.  Sadly this mistake cost my dog his life.

That is awful. :(

Yes, calmstorm, it was a terrible time.  And it seriously damaged my trust in vets....

I was kindly pointed to Doctors Foster & Smith Pharmacy web site, where it states:

Do not use in pregnant or lactating animals (female animals nursing their young)

We have an appointment back at the vets tomorrow and I have a few questions I want answers to!

Should be an interesting consultation, Sharon ;)

Compensation for the lost pups for starters, a refund of your C section costs at least.

In the end she didn't have a c-section, Barbara, but whelped naturally. Which IMO means even less reason for sedation because the whelping itself should have started the bonding process, and once she was back in familiar surroundings would have relaxed.

Oops should have re-read.  Can't understand the Vets actions in this case, maybe it is the lack of normal whelping experience.  Anyone with any would realise that of course the bitch would be anxious whelping at the vets and would settle once home.

Our duty vet yesterday also said that he'd never give ACP post-operatively (if she had had a c-section) because it further depresses blood pressure.

What did the vet say in answer to your questions, Sharon?

Of course they managed to squirm their way out of it!  Said the drug is used often, and that she had probably had it previously before her c-section 2 years ago, I asked him to check her records.....no mention of it, he said probably because it was an emergency, in the middle of the night, sometimes things don't get written down

He said that she had obviously had a severe reaction to the drug.....NEVER!! .......and that he had now marked her records so that she will never get it again, I didn't plan breeding from her again anyway, but did plan on getting her spayed, so I'll have to make sure they don't use the ACP!

I asked what the chances were on the drug causing the death of the two pups,  Vet said he really couldn't say, as he hadn't experienced any problems with it before, but he was going to look into it for me......I won't hold my breath!!  He also used the 'we take a risk with every drug administered' sentence, yes I know we do, but if there is a chance of it causing more harm than good, surely they should have re-considered using this drug!!

So basically I came out of the vets none the wiser, but I'm not going to let it rest, I will ring and ask for a follow up to the vets 'research'

I am now looking around for another vet, but unfortunately because this is a Veterinary Hospital, it seems all the vets locally use it for out of hours emergencies,

I showed him all the info I had gathered from different web sites etc. and he didn't even glance at them

All sounds very typical, I'm afraid. :(

I honestly don't think I could trust that vet 100 per cent again. And as for not looking at the info :rolleyes: did you leave it there with him, maybe he will read it later??
I was so glad at a time when I really needed my vet to listen to me (he didn't know much about epi) he did, with both ears, and even now never gives her anything that he hasn't double checked beforehand whereas with the other dogs he just 'advises' and 'administers' if you know what I mean. the only vet that didn't listen to me (at the same practise)  and left me in tears was never allowed to see my dogs again.

When Maddie was given a quarter of a tablet (acp) it knocked her for six! and she was 'out of it' for nearly 24 hours! She weighed 50 kilos at the time and was prescribed half a tablet, but some broke off into her water bowl which is why she only ended up taking a quarter of it and, as it turned out, a quarter was enough.

My girl only weighs 11.5kgs and was prescribed 2 tablets TWICE daily!

The only time I used it was on a Belgian (50 pounds weight) that was very bad with fireworks and gave half a tablet.  She was falling about and almost comatose, and I felt dealing with her fears was preferable to the effects of the drug.

Dont like the sound of this drug and will keep it firmly in mind for any future visits to the vets!
The other thing to perhaps question is why you weren't allowed in with your bitch when she was delivering normally?? if it had been a section then you could understand but with her going through that without you was bound to cause her even more stress. i am afraid i would have insisted to be there.
I am of the opinion that doctors and vets do think they can baffle us with technical terms and excuses but remember at vets YOU are the paying customer and deserve to know all the facts and should be told  about drugs etc that are given to out animals. I never come away without having all questions answered and wont except waffly answers.

I am of the opinion that doctors and vets do think they can baffle us with technical terms and excuses but remember at vets YOU are the paying customer and deserve to know all the facts and should be told  about drugs etc that are given to out animals. I never come away without having all questions answered and wont except waffly answers.

Agree absolutly, and I think there are a great many people that feel that way. Some people are in awe of any authority figure, and seem to believe they are 'all knowing' and we should not question this knowledge. Many, myself included, have their own personal incidents where questions have or could have saved many dire consequencies.