Plus-Hex CLINICAL
Appendix 1 . Stress scoring plan . Courtesy of Lydia Barry , BSc ( Hons ), RVN , Cert VNECC , PGCert Vet Ed . ( Continued from page 44 )
Score |
Dog ' s behaviour and appearance |
Environmental modification |
Pharmaceutical intervention |
4 Obviously very tense , anxious , shaking , whining , will not lie or sit down
Panting intensely
Difficult to manoeuvre on lead and encouragement does not help
5 Extremely stressed , barking / howling , tries to hide
Needs to be lifted up or force used ( please do not do this ) when pulled by lead
All of the above , plus :
• Consider housing in a larger kennel
• Consider housing securely in a dog park , with no contact with other patients
• Consider moving to a different ward , if suitable
All of the above
Consider
Acepromazine 0.01 mg / kg IV ( or 1 mg / kg PO ) up to TID
and / or Trazodone 10 – 12 mg / kg PO up to TID and / or Gabapentin 20 – 30 mg / kg PO up to TID May need to add Diazepam 0.2 mg / kg PO up to QID or consider
Dexmedetomidine infusion : 1 – 2 µ g / kg bolus IV , followed by IV infusion of 0.5 – 1 µ g / kg / hour ( rate can be varied as determined by patient response ).
( Note : check for contraindications to the use of alpha-2 agonists ; these are likely to be mainly cardiac and renal disease )
If the patient is eating , consider Trazodone 10 – 12 mg / kg PO up to TID and / or Gabapentin 30 mg / kg PO up to TID May need to add Diazepam 0.2 mg / kg PO up to QID or Alprazolam 0.1 mg / kg up to QID and / or consider
Dexmedetomidine infusion : 2 µ g / kg bolus IV ( or 2 – 5 µ g / kg IM ) followed by IV infusion of 0.5 – 1 µ g / kg / hour ( rate can be varied as determined by patient response ).
May add
Acepromazine : 0.01 mg / kg IV ( or 1 mg / kg PO ) up to TID
Score at 10 / 11 am and 10 / 11 pm . Follow modifications as needed . When using medication for behavioural management , it is best to deliver drugs before the patient is hyperaroused . The lead clinician must prescribe the pharmaceutical intervention .
IV , intravenous ; PO , by mouth ; IM , intramuscular ; TID , three times a day ; QID , four times a day .
Volume 39 ( 6 ) • December 2024
45