Dr. Lera Clone explains why dogs need higher doses of Xanax for thunderstorm anxiety than humans do. Dogs absorb less of the human formulation, so vets start low and increase until it works. She uses her Cavapoos Ruby and Ginger as examples.
Ruby and Ginger — Cavalier King Charles mixed with toy poodles (Cavapoos).
Xanax (a human benzodiazepine used off-label in veterinary medicine).
Hey guys, My name is Dr. Lera here at Heron Lakes Animal Hospital. Today I'm here with Ruby and Ginger. These are my two dogs and they are a Cavalier King Charles mixed with toy poodles, also known as Cavapoos. And so today, this is a follow up video about thunderstorm anxiety and also general drug dosing. One of the things that is recommended medication wise for dogs for thunderstorm anxiety or anxiety in general is Xanax. And so the drug is actually made for humans and we in veterinary medicine use it for our patients. What a lot of clients will ask me is why are we using such a high dose? The reason we use such a high dose is because the drug is not really available for the dogs to absorb as much as it is for humans. So although you may be thinking it's a higher dose, in actuality, it is probably and most likely not. And that's going to be the case with most medications that are not veterinary specific. Start off with a low dose and eventually what you'll do is you'll work up to a dose that's effective. If you guys have any questions or concerns, leave it in the comments. Otherwise give us a thumbs up. Subscribe and share with others. Thanks for watching and have a great day.
