Questions about ACE and other Meds for my Foster

[MissKitty]

Mera (my foster) was spayed today at a clinic I have never been to.
The shelter I am fostering her for does not pay for pain killers so I bought them myself (after okaying it with the shelter). And I wanted to check and see if some of what they prescribed is normal for this situation.

She has-
Acepromazine- 1/2- 1.5 10mg pills every 8 hours, as needed
Rimadyl- 1 25mg tablet every 12 hours
Tramadol- 1/2 50mg tablet every 8 hours, as needed

So my questions are, is ACE safe? I remember reading quite a few posts about it, but I can't remember what people were worried about. She is bouncing off the walls already, so it would be nice/easier to sedate her to keep her from opening the wound.

The second question is, the vet said to give the Rimadyl and Tramadol at the same time. I checked to make sure I had the part correct, as I never seen them used at the same time. Is that normal?

Thanks!!

[jamielvsaustin]

I don't know about giving those two drugs at once-but I too have heard bad things about ace, and while my dogs have never had a negative reaction to it I try to make sure they're never given it.

I don't know that ace would be so bad with a dog recovering from a spay/neuter...from what I understand-it's bad because it makes the dog appear calm. So it sort of paralyzed them, but they're still scared/in pain/freaked out-whatever.

I think you can put it in the search engine in the health section and come up with a couple threads.

[Mooresmajestic]

Tramadol and Rimadyl are safe to give together, but they usually work better staggered.

I personally used benadryl to sedate Vi after her spay. If you do use ACE, just be aware of the side effects. Some side effects include, lowering inhibitions and potentially change the dog's personality (short term).

[star_frances]

If you're unfamiliar with her breed mix it may be best to avoid using the ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acepromazi ... ts_in_dogs

Also, there is this: "Research has shown these drugs functions primarily as chemical restraints without affecting the animal’s emotional behavior. While under the effect of Ace, the animal still has a very strong fear, anxiety, avoidance or arousal response, but it does not physically display these reactions and is less able to react. The dog or cat appears calm and relaxed but mentally is lucid and still having an intense emotional reaction to its surroundings. Ace is a dissociative agent and prevents the patient from understanding his environment in a logical manner. So, the actual fear level of the animal is increased. Compounding the situation, the animal is being restrained and it makes a negative association with the entire experience."

http://fearfuldogs.com/acepromazine/

[BrokenAquarian]

If your dog is a possible Boxer mix, it's ill advised to give them ACE. The Boxer forum that I used to frequent had lots of info about the breed being sensitive to it.

[Misskiwi67]

How much does the dog weigh?

If you can keep her calm and quiet without Ace, then skip it. If she's going bonkers in her crate and potentially going to harm herself, then use a low dose.

[MissKitty]

Thank you for the replies everyone!

I decided not to use ACE and so far have not needed it. I don't know her heritage and I have managed to keep her calm by keeping her in an x-pen with lots of WTE toys and keeping someone nearby for company.

She weights 14 lbs misskiwi, for future reference, is it bad to give ACE at a certain weight?

[Misskiwi67]

Thank you for the replies everyone!

I decided not to use ACE and so far have not needed it. I don't know her heritage and I have managed to keep her calm by keeping her in an x-pen with lots of WTE toys and keeping someone nearby for company.

She weights 14 lbs misskiwi, for future reference, is it bad to give ACE at a certain weight?

Nope, weight only matters for dosing.